Wedding Cake Traditions
Posted by Georgina Bennett on 24th Feb 2015
The wedding cake has grown from a tradition where bread was broken over the bride’s head to bring good fortune to the couple. Wedding cakes were considered a luxury item, so the bigger the cake, the higher the social standing. Tradtionally wedding cakes were fruit cakes topped with marzipan and icing. White wedding cakes were the norm as it symbolised purity.
Once, the wedding cake used to be cut only by the bride. This was symbolic of her upcoming loss of virginity. Today, the cutting of the wedding cake is an important part of the wedding reception. It includes both the groom and bride cutting the cake and sharing a bite with each other to symbolise the sharing of their lives together.
Another wedding cake tradition involves unmarried people placing a piece of wedding cake under their pillow to dream of their future spouse.
The top tier of the wedding cake was traditionally saved and used at the christening of the couple’s first child. Today many couples have kept the top tier to be used at the couple’s first anniversary.
Today many people have their beautifully decorated wedding cake displayed during their reception and serve it to their guests after dinner. Wedding cakes now come in a range of flavours, sizes and shapes. Some couples are even forgoing cake and having an alternative food item arranged in tiers.
What kind of wedding cake are you having?
