The Wedding Cake

The wedding cake has been part of the wedding breakfast since the days of ancient Rome when the wedding party ate a cake made of salt, water and flour. The wedding cake, as we know it developed in Victorian times. Queen Victoria’s wedding cake is supposed to have been one of the first to have icing on it.

The ritual of the Bride cutting the first slice has its origins in a wish to ensure a fruitful marriage. The Bride of today may be thankful that the old custom of physically breaking the cake over the head of the newly wedded woman has been superseded. The guests would scramble for fragments of the cake, which were said to bring good luck; the belief is retained in the peaceful custom of sending pieces of cake in cake boxes to absent friends.

Another custom was to place a ring inside the cake; the guests are then invited to cut themselves a slice of cake, the person finding the ring was suppose to be ensured happiness for the next year.

Unmarried lady guests were often given a piece of cake to place under their pillow so they could ‘dream on them’; this was thought to enhance their chances of marrying in the future. Bridesmaids who sleep with a piece of cake under there pillow are thought to dream of their future husbands.

An old Yorkshire custom was to throw a plate holding pieces of cake out of the window as the bride went into her father’s home after her wedding. If the plate did not break on landing, the bride was destined to be unhappy or wretched. If the plate broke as it normally did, she was sure to be happy.

The top tier of the wedding cake is often kept by couples to use as a Christening cake for their first child – but remember to be careful storing it.