Wedding Cakes

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Years ago, bread was broken over the happy couple's heads during the wedding reception for good luck. If any crumbs fell to the ground, guests would pick them up and eat them for luck. Thank goodness people became more mindful of the five second rule and this practice fell by the wayside. Instead, the bride and groom serve wedding cake.

Early Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes didn't actually become popular until the 19th century. For commoners, wedding cakes were just single tiered white frosted cakes. For royalty, cakes with several tiers were used to accommodate the many wedding guests. It is said that the more tiers a cake had, the wealthier the hosts.

Wedding Cake Traditions

According to an old wives tale a single woman who sleeps with a piece of wedding cake under her pillow will have sweet dreams of her wedding day. The reality of this, of course is that, the hopeful dreamer wakes up with a head and pillowcase filled with icing and crumbs.

Many couples like to save the top tier of their wedding cakes to put in their freezer. On their first wedding anniversary, they remove the cake from the freezer, thaw it out and eat it in celebration. Most couples find the cake doesn't taste anywhere near as good as it did on their wedding day!

Wedding Cake Ceremony

The wedding cake is now a prominent part of the wedding reception. It sits on an elegantly adorned table with a knick knack placed on top. The bride and groom take turns cutting the cake to the applause of their guests while it's all captured by the wedding photographer. Most couples feed each other bites of wedding cake with a fork, though there are some who throw caution to the wind and smash their cake in each other's faces. It’s always good to discuss the cake feeding procedure before the wedding, as many brides to be are not amused by having their hair and makeup ruined by sticky wedding cake.

Once the cake cutting ceremony is over, the cake is wheeled back into the kitchen to be cut for all the guests. There are those who don't wish to serve the cake in this manner, however, and instead choose to have it wrapped and placed in baskets for guests to take home.

Styles

Wedding cakes now come in many different shapes, colors and flavors. A couple can choose to have traditional round cakes, sitting on plastic tiers, or square cakes decorated as gift boxes. Cakes can be adorned with butter cream flowers and a bride and groom cake topper, or with a cascade of real flowers falling over the side. Because of the large selection available, you'll want to look at many different styles before making your decision.