Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes are a multi-purpose item at any wedding.

They certainly serve as a great decoration at the reception (whether on the head table or off to one side) and it can even be dessert for all of your guests.

The Tradition of the Wedding Cake:

Originally, the wedding cake was not a cake at all, only some grains of wheat which were thrown at the bride (That's right, this evolved into throwing rice later on) to wish her fertility.

Sometime in the Roman Empire, thin wheat cakes were crumbled over the bride's head to bless her with fertility, and the wedding guests got to pick the crumbs up off the floor and eat them for good luck! Yum!

Further on down history's line, guests brought sweet buns to the wedding celebration and piled them up in a bucket. The bride and groom kissed over the pile - the bigger the pile, it was said, the more prosperous the couple would be. Sometimes, these sweet buns would get thrown at the bride. For some bizarre reason, this was thought to increase the likelihood of the couple having lots of babies.

Sometime in the 16th century, some French chef got smart and thought to provide the royalty for whom he was cooking with a sanitary, sweet cake covered with icing and decorations that guests could have cut and delivered to their plates for dessert, instead of having to scrape off the floor (after bouncing off the bride).

Now, usually the couple cuts the cake after dinner (originally symbolizing the loss of virginity), and makes the piece of cake they cut part of their first meal together. Some couples feed each other a piece of cake, symbolizing the fact that they will always support each other. Other couples mash cake into each other's faces, but that smacks a little too much of scooping breadcrumbs off the floor for my taste, never mind the lack of respect it implies.

Different Kinds of Wedding Cake:

Well, your choice is almost without limit and here are a few suggestions to get you started:

traditional wedding cake (fruitcake/ white cake or whatever is traditional for your culture or ethnic background)
non traditional wedding cake (carrot cake, cheese cake, strawberry Jell-O cake... the list is virtually endless)
tiered, one layered, stacked, pillared wedding cake
wedding cakes incorporating fountains, stairs, other "architecture"
cupcakes piled up or on a stand or tiered plate
boxed candies or chocolates set up to look like a wedding cake
a cookie tree (or brownie tree, or cream puff tree...) wedding cake

You may want to consider altering some of the basic "rules" of traditional wedding cakes, like having one that's not white, inside or out, or even one that's in the shape of your dog...!

Wedding Cake Toppers:

consider using your mom and dad's wedding topper
use a small piece of sculpture i.e.: (a Willowtree angel, small statue of a couple hugging...)
what about a small token of something that is important to you as a couple i.e.: (If you're both master gardeners and met at a gardening seminar, a miniature wheelbarrow, spade, watering can surrounded by lots of flowers would be appropriate. Get the idea?)
fresh flowers is always simple and nice
if you want easy, you can purchase all kinds of different toppers at bakeries and craft supply houses
ask a friend or family member to make one for you and you can be (pleasantly or otherwise) surprised at the reception!

To Cut or Not to Cut: What do we do with the cake after dinner?:

Traditionally, the wedding cake was cut only by the bride to symbolize her upcoming loss of virginity. This tradition has morphed over the centuries to include the groom as well and now symbolizes "cutting" into a new life together. A photo opportunity if ever there was one.

do we do the traditional "cut the cake" ceremony?
do we use the wedding cake for dessert?
do we serve it as part of a "midnight snack" with tea and coffee after the party has been going for a while?
do we offer it to people to take home with them so they can share our cake at home or put it under their pillows that night to dream of their future spouses? (Please provide containers or have some already pre-wrapped.)
do we save it for the day-after-the-wedding brunch to have for dessert then?
do we save it for our first year anniversary party?
do we save only the top layer and divvy up the rest in one of the above ways?
do we bake extra layers so we can "let (our guests) eat cake" as often as possible?!

And here is the story of the top of our wedding cake and how it was put to multiple uses!