The history of wedding cakes is a story that would be worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, there are very few items that we have at our weddings now that were part of the wedding ceremonies of Romans, so next time you are enjoying a piece of wedding cake spare a thought of the brides from a thousand years ago.
The earliest wedding cakes that have been recorded weren't cakes at all. Instead, they were loaves of bread. Like modern cakes, the loaf was made specifically for weddings during the age of the Roman Empire more than 1,000 years ago. But the loaf wasn't served to the wedding guests. Instead, the loaf was broken over the bride's head. Different historians claim this act was done for several reasons. Some believe the breaking of the bread symbolized the bride's loss of virginity on the wedding night while others claim the breaking was meant to bring the couple good fortune and fertility in their years together.
During Medieval times in England, another wedding tradition started that led towards our modern history of the wedding cake. Guests would pile up sweet buns on a table in front of the couple at their equivalent of a wedding reception. Then all of the guests would hold their breath in anticipation as the couple leaned over the pile to try to kiss. If they were successful, the wedding was considered blessed with good fortune. Worth remembering when you are thinking about how many tiers you should have on your wedding cake.
The history of the wedding cake also includes a pie. For around 150 years - a period starting around 1650 through the early 1800's - bride's pie was a popular dish at the weddings of the wealthy and important. Not all of these pies were the sweet treats we think of today as "pie." Instead, most were meat pies. Inside each of the pies was baked a glass ring. When the guests consumed the pie, the woman who found the ring in her helping was supposed to be the next one who would be tying the knot. This is like today's tossing of the bridal bouquet.
During the end of the 1800's, the bride's pie was replaced with a cake. These weren't very glamorous creations by modern standards. Most were plum cakes decorated in simple white icing with little fanfare. They were only single-tiered. Initially, these cakes - like the bride's pies - were only being used at the weddings for the wealthy and noble families.
These cakes were the start of the white wedding cake and continued into the Victorian era. The Victorians believed the white of the cake symbolized the bride's purity. Having a cake of any other color was considered bad luck for the couple. However, early white wedding cakes didn't symbolize anything. They were made that way for simplicity reasons. The expensive refined sugar needed for the white icing on these cakes also made them a sign of prosperity - an important symbol for the Victorians. Multi-tiered wedding cakes, as you might imagine, were even more costly than the single-tiered items found in most Victorian weddings. These were originally only going to be found in the weddings of English royal family members. Eventually that changed and the more layers were added to the cakes of "regular folks," too.
Today, wedding cakes are made in all sorts of colors, sizes and shapes, it is no longer considered bad luck to not have a white wedding cake. Some brides even have fake wedding cakes, which you probably wouldn't want to have broken over your head! Thank goodness some wedding traditions have changed!
Suzanne Daykin writes for http://www.cheap-wedding-solutions.com
Suzanne has spent the last 14 years working in the Hospitality Industry as a wedding planner and event manager. Suzanne set up her own event company in 2006 and now looks to help future brides and grooms save money when they are planning their wedding.
Lots of cheap wedding cake ideas to help you find the cake of your dreams.
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