History of the Wedding Cake

Almost nobody can imagine their wedding day without a special wedding cake to make the celebration complete. The tradition of having a cake at weddings goes back hundreds of years to medieval Europe, and likely even beyond.

Wedding cakes have probably been around since ancient Greece and Rome flourished. In ancient Greece, sesame and honey cakes may have been served to (or even thrown at) the new couple to promote fertility. In Rome, bread was shared by the bride and groom and then broken over the bride’s head, also in the hopes of ensuring fertility and good fortune. Guests would try to catch the crumbs as they fell to the ground, desiring to share in the couple’s good luck. This may have been the beginning of the modern tradition of giving a small slice of wedding cake to each guest in attendance.

In medieval times, the bride and groom did not supply the wedding cake. Rather, each wedding guest brought a small cake or bun to contribute to the festivities. The many cakes were stacked up high in layers. It was considered good luck if the bride and groom could kiss over the top of the stack without toppling them over. (It’s from this custom that we probably inherited the tradition of using a kissing-bride-and-groom cake topper, too.)

Over time, these many-layered wedding cakes gave way to the typical tiered cakes that are found at weddings today. It is possible that these tiers evolved from the shape of the spire from a famous medieval church. St. Bride’s Church in London was designed by Christopher Wren, and an ingenious baker decided to create a cake in the form of the famous landmark. The cake was a hit, and people have copied it ever since.

The white icing that is typical of today’s wedding cakes gained precedence in Victorian England. While white has long been a symbol of purity (and thus of the bride’s virginal state), Queen Victoria helped popularize bridal white. Her lavish wedding in 1840 boasted a wedding cake that weighed 300 pounds and was adorned with flowers. Amazingly, a piece of this cake is still on display at Windsor Castle!

Wedding cakes are a tradition that have lasted for centuries and will no doubt endure for hundreds of years more. By choosing your own wedding cake, you, too, will take part in this wonderful tradition.

Keywords: History of the Wedding Cake, Weddingblog, Wedding
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