Wedding Cake Origins

March 3, 2010 | Author: Leslie, Cakes!

The tradition of the wedding cake originated from ancient Romans. They originally had the bride and groom eat a loaf of bread, usually from wheat or barley during the celebration. The groom would later break the cake over the bride’s head. It was supposed to symbolize the groom’s breaking of his bride’s hymen and his domination over her. Thankfully, the breaking of the bread over the bride’s head part did not carry on to the present.

In 1840, England’s Queen Victoria later made lavish improvements in her own wedding cake. Queen Victoria’s version is what still survives to this day. It had several layers and decorated with white icing, quite an impressive upgrade from its early Roman beginnings.

As for the wedding cake topper, no one really knows for sure. The most popular story tells of a baker’s daughter who requested her father to make a symbol of the love between her and her future husband. In answer to her request, the father made two miniature figurines representing the couple and placed them on top of their wedding cake.