History of wedding cake
Historically, cake has held a prominent place in celebrations of every era, and the wedding cake has evolved from a symbol of fertility to an artistic and unique tradition all it's own.
The people of Ancient Greece dipped cakes made with honey into wine as part of special feasts, and conquering Romans adapted the ritual to their own. In these ancient cultures, wheat was a symbol of fertility and bountiful harvest - the essence of life itself. Records of early Roman weddings tell of guests pitching grains of wheat at the bride and groom, to encourage fertility in their union. This is speculated to be the origin of the modern day tradition of rice throwing.
As customs evolved, the practice of bringing small wheat cakes to the ceremony became commonplace. The guests would crumble the cakes over the bride's head, symbolizing the same gifts of fortune and fertility. Guests would then eat the fallen crumbs to share in the young couple's good fortune. Wheat was considered a gift of nature, essential for survival, and the offering of wedding cakes as a blessing to the union was the ideal gift. The symbolic nature of this was not to be underestimated, for the importance was in the act of giving - from guests to newlyweds - and the bride who baked her own wedding wheat cakes was certainly bound for misfortune.
By the Middle Ages, sweet buns or rolls had replaced the plain wheat cakes, but it was still customary for the guests to bring these to the wedding. They were stacked in a tall mound between the bride and groom, and if they were able to kiss over the stack, they would be blessed with many children and much prosperity. It is said that in the seventeenth century, a French pastry chef added his signature to the custom by frosting the cake tower with sugar, helping the buns to retain their form. This is believed to be the first account of a tiered, frosted wedding cake, after which the modern wedding cake is patterned. This version of the confection has survived in its own rite, however, and even today the croquembouche - a tall pyramid of profiteroles, or cream puffs - can be found at many French weddings.
Until refined flour and processed sugar became available in the eighteenth century, wedding cakes were typically dense fruitcakes baked well in advance and soaked in spirits to preserve them. The top tier was saved for the first anniversary (a tradition many still follow today) or the christening of the first child. This cake was handled with great care, for superstition held that if the tier crumbled before the first anniversary, there would be trouble in the marriage.
Many wedding traditions we enjoy today we owe to Victorian England. The elaborate, edible decorations that we associate with a traditional wedding cake came from the Victorians' love of ornament. Queen Victoria, who is said to have popularized the wearing of bridal white, had a cake that weighed over 300 lbs. While most wedding cakes today do not quite reach such a grand scale, many brides still prefer a cake of impressive stature.
