A popular item found at every wedding is the traditional wedding cake. Costing anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars this unique piece of pastry has found itself as a mainstay and focal point of marriage celebrations.
This wedding tradition dates back to the time of the Romans as they were the first to introduce the idea of the wedding cake. However, their “cake” was not the fancy sweet tasting and calorie filled creations we see today, it was rather a simple loaf of wheat bread that was broken over the bride/grooms heads to bring them luck and prosperity. During the middle ages the tradition lived on in the form of simple biscuits or scones. The history of wedding cakes as we know them today did not start until the 17th century when French bakers actually stacked wheat buns and covered them with icing.
In today’s world our “wedding cakes” come in all different shapes, colors, tastes, and sizes; with their prices matching accordingly. The more traditional of these, being white wedding cakes which are a symbol of purity and virginal attributes. Originally wedding cakes were called “bride cakes” and they emphasized that the bride was the main focus of the wedding and the white color and its associated symbolism, mentioned above, were pointing toward her. At a wedding reception the first two slices of the wedding cake are cut by the bride as the grooms hand is placed over hers. Then the groom feeds the bride the first slice and the bride feeds the groom the second. This is symbolic of how they will live to support each other.