Traditions and Symbolism

Traditions and Symbolism

Breaking the Cake over the Bride's Head

An old tradition that isn't practiced today, breaking the cake over the bride's head has its origins in the roman empire. The groom would eat part of a loaf of barley bread baked for the occasion and break the rest over the head of the bride. It is believed that this symbolized the breaking of the hymen and the dominance of the groom over the bride. As time wore on and wedding cakes evolved into a more modern form of a cake, it became impossible, much to the relief of many brides, to properly "break" the cake over the bride's head. There have been reports of breaking an oatcake or other breakable cakes over the bride in Scotland in the 19th century. In North Scotland, friends of the bride would place a napkin over the her head and a basket of bread is poured over her head. There is no easy explanation for the evolution of this tradition, as the principal symbols of the tradition, the groom and the actual process of breaking, have been done away with.

Color

When asked about the color of a wedding cake, most people would answer white. The white color of the icing on a wedding cake has come to symbolize purity and virginal attributes. This notion was first put forward in Victorian times. Before then, though most wedding cakes were white because of a more practical reason. At the time, ingredients for the wedding cake were much harder to acquire, especially for the icing. White icing meant that only the finest refined sugar was used, and so the whiter the cake, the more affluent the families involved were perceived!

Another reason that the whiteness of the cake was considered pure was the association of the cake with the bride. Originally, wedding cakes were called bride cakes. This not only emphasized the bride as the main focal point of the wedding, but also created a link between the bride and the cake. In fact, even today, the link is being reinforced. Many couples have requested wedding cakes be made to match their color with the wedding dress!

Cutting the Cake

Perhaps the most well-known tradition associated with wedding cakes is the joint task of cutting the cake. Here the first piece is cut by the bride with feigned assistance from the groom. It has come to symbolize the first task in the couple's life together and is a key image for the wedding photographer to capture. Originally. it was the sole duty of the bride to cut the cake for sharing by the guests. As cakes became grander, the task became quite formidable, particularly in the early multi-tiered cakes where the icing had to be strong and rigid enough to support the upper tiers. It became a joint task more out of necessity than symbolism.

Immediately after the cutting, the bride and groom feed each other the first slice. This action symbolizes the commitment to provide for each other that the bride and groom have undertaken. However, in most American weddings, this task has the appearance of a traditional slapstick pie-fight.

Giving Pieces of Cake as Gifts

The idea of presenting pieces of cake as gifts for guests was started as far back as the roman empire, but it is still carried on today. After the tradition of breaking the bread over the bride's head, the guest would grab for the crumbs that fell to the ground as catalysts for fertility. The idea of sleeping with a piece of cake underneath your pillow was chronicled as early as the 17th century and is the main reason behind giving cake as a gift today. It is said that you will dream of your future spouse if you sleep with a piece of wedding cake underneath your pillow. A twist on this tradition in the late 18th century has the bride handing out tiny crumbs of cake that were passed through her ring for people to place underneath their pillows. This was stopped after ceremonial rules frowned on the bride removing her ring after the service.

Groom's Cake

Another tradition that was more prevalent in early American ceremonies is the grooms cake. Usually a dark cake to contrast the wedding cake, it was a second cake that was present at the reception as well. The reason for this second cake is not commonly known. There are claims that the grooms cake was to be served to the bridesmaids by the groom with a glass of wine. Another claim states that the grooms cake is to be saved and shared with friends after the honeymoon. This tradition is not widely recognized in most ceremonies, but there are still some observances of this in the southern half of the United States.

Saving the Top Tier

With multi-tier cakes, most couples decide that they would like to save the top tier for a later time. The process involves freezing the cake for consumption as much as a year after the ceremony. This tradition has its roots in the late 19th century when grand cakes were baked for the occasion of the christening of a child. It was expected that the a christening would occur soon after the wedding ceremony, so the two ceremonies were often linked, as were the cakes. With the increasing complexity of the wedding cake, however, the christening cake soon became a paltry partner for the wedding cake. When three tier cakes became popular, the top tier was often left over after the reception. A christening provided a good reason for disposing them. People could then rationalize the need for three tiers, the bottom tier for the reception, the middle tier for distributing and the top for the christening. As time wore on, the wedding became less and less associated with procreation. So the reason for saving the top tier has expanded. Whatever the reason, when the top tier is finally consumed, it serves as a reminder of the happy occasion for the couple.

Separating the Tiers

The first wedding cakes were very simple compared to today's multi-tiered masterpieces. The first multi-tiered cakes were made for royal weddings in England, with the first one not even having "true" upper tiers (they were made of spun sugar rather than being actual cakes). As these upper tiers evolved into real cakes, the problem of preventing the upper layers from sinking into the lower layers was prevalent. The idea of using pillars to decorate a cake was present before the multi-tiered cakes appeared, so it was natural for bakers to regard this as a way to support the upper tiers. To prevent the pillars from sinking into the bottom tier, icing was hardened to support the pillars.