A short history of your wedding cake!

This special cake has been part of the wedding day since medieval times when they were made from wheat to symbolise fertility and prosperity, and thrown at the bride! Then Romans decided it was a sign of good fortune and blessing to break the cake over the brides head and any loose crumbs that fell would be collected up by the guests for good luck and prosperity for their own future. Obviously over the years (and thankfully!), it became impractical to break the cake over the brides head and the tradition soon disappeared.

In medieval England, the cakes were made from sweetened bread, piled as high as possible. If the bride and groom could kiss over the pile of bread, they would live a lifetime of prosperity. Thus the idea of adding height to the wedding cake became apparent.

The cake is and has been for many years, shared amongst the wedding guests. This possibly also derived from the 17th century when pieces of cake were given for guests to place under their pillow and the ladies would then dream of their future spouse!

The tradition of a white cake symbolised purity, and also in Victorian times the whiter the cake (made with the finest refined sugar), the more affluent the families appeared.
The wedding cake should take centre stage at the reception venue and is cut by the bride and groom to symbolise their first task performed jointly an husband and wife..…how sweet!

In the late 19th century it was expected that a christening would be soon to follow a wedding, hence the tradition of keeping the top tier of the cake. If not used for a christening, then it was to be shared between the couple on their first anniversary.