The Wedding Cake has been traditional at Weddings now for around two thousand years, although not in the format which we know it today.
With origins tracing back to Ancient Rome, the original ‘cake’ was actually a wheat or barley bread loaf, baked especially for the Wedding ceremony. The loaf was not cut and shared out among the guests, but instead was broken over the Bride's head to bless her with a fertile, plentiful and happy life. Guests at the marriage would then all scramble for the broken crumbs which were seen as good luck tokens.
The cake in its modern iced and tiered sense has only been around for some two hundred or so years. Originally the top tier was frozen and consumed by the Bride and Groom on their first anniversary. However, modern ingredients dictate that, more often than not, the cake needs to be consumed within a matter of weeks.
The cutting of the cake by the Bride and Groom symbolises the couple’s first task together as man and wife. As soon as the cake has been cut, and to symbolise commitment to provide for each other, the Bride and Groom then traditionally feed each other the first slice.
Breaking the cake over the head of the bride, watching your guests jump to the ground to grab some crumbs and eating a piece of mouldy iced sponge cake twelve months down the line may not be what you had in mind when you think about your Wedding Cake (unless you are very odd that is), but there are plenty of modern twists on the traditional that may appeal. The Look, The Taste and the Cake Decoration articles take an in-depth look at the options open to the modern Bride and Groom and are well worth a read. Failing that, grab a loaf of Hovis, tear it up into little pieces, throw it to the ground, and let the fun begin!
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