I am a cake designer. Obviously, I am going to tell you that , yes, you should have a wedding cake. But there are some really good reasons why you should…
What’s the story?
The origin of wedding cakes dates back to ancient Rome. At that time weddings concluded with the groom breaking a loaf of barley bread over the bride’s head, symbolizing fertility. Guests would scramble to pick up the crumbs in to take some home as it was seen as good luck. We have moved on a bit from floor cake since then for more reasons than just health and hygiene. The modern wedding cake has grown out of a number of different ethnic traditions over the years. During the 16th and 17th century Bride’s pie was served. Bride’s pie was a delightful sounding filled pastry concoction of what sounds like, whatever could be found on that particular day (you can read more here). After this low point for wedding cakes, time moved on to then serving a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake which are far nearer to what we know today as the wedding cake. The bride’s cake was a simple pound cake covered in icing and the groom’s cake was a dark fruit cake. Thankfully, the wedding cake became sweet and moved away from being quite nasty sounding. I wouldn’t have blamed people in those earlier days for opting out of having a wedding cake. Wedding cake was originally a luxury item and the taller the cake, the higher the social status. It wasn’t until white began to be seen as a symbol of money and social importance in Victorian times that we began to see cakes more like what we have today.
It’s a tradition
Are you looking at including traditions in your wedding or making your own traditions? One of the biggest pieces of advice I offer to couples is considering what they want on their wedding day. Trying to please all of your guests will mean you probably won’t please anyone, so it’s important to work out what your own priorities are. If spending out on a wedding cake isn’t high on your list, then you can definitely go without. What I wouldn’t recommend though, is aiming for a big or lavish wedding cake, but expecting a supplier to make it for next to nothing. There are a lot of much cheaper wedding cake alternatives available. Brownie or donut towers, for example, are much cheaper options. I shouldn’t be saying this, right? I am a cake maker! Well, yes. But I like working with couples whose cake is a priority for them and I am fully aware that it isn’t everyone. But, as a cake maker, I have to put forward the benefits of having a wedding cake… I’ve been looking through the internet researching for this blog post and wedding cakes really do get some bad press! They’re always dry, uninteresting and no one ever eats them. I’m afraid I just don’t agree… That’s just not true! Wedding cakes are not what they used to be. Your wedding cake can be anything you want it to be. Gone are the days of fruit cake that, let’s face it, isn’t popular, or dry boring cake. Your wedding cake can have as many different flavours as you have tiers, can feature delicious things like chocolate ganache and can be a work of art!You can serve it instead of a dessert
How about serving your wedding cake as your dessert? Some of my couples have chosen to do this instead of having another dessert and served their cake with custard, cream or fruits. Yum! All you’ll need is a slightly larger cake to allow for dessert portions rather than standard portions, and a kitchen or caterer that is willing to get on board with your idea.
