Comments on: The Strange History of the Wedding Cake

By: Groomscake at Weddings: Making a Comedic Comeback | The Sweetest Plum

Groomscake at Weddings: Making a Comedic Comeback | The Sweetest Plum — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:50:01 +0000

[...] http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2009/07/the-strange-history-of-the-wedding-cake/ [...]

By: Should You Keep an Emergency Food Stash? (Yes, of course!) | Food & Think

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:36:46 +0000

[...] an in-depth report on royal canapés, sorry to disappoint. You’ll have to look elsewhere—or read Abigail Tucker’s fascinating history of wedding [...]

By: Thursday Tips: Wedding Cake Pricing | Wedding Blog by WedAlert Network

Thursday Tips: Wedding Cake Pricing | Wedding Blog by WedAlert Network — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:02:13 +0000

[...] history behind wedding cakes is surprisingly strange! The Smithsonian Mag helps explain it, saying, “In ancient Rome, marriages were sealed when the groom smashed a [...]

By: Thursday Tips: Wedding Cake Pricing

Thursday Tips: Wedding Cake Pricing — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:56:51 +0000

[...] history behind wedding cakes is surprisingly strange! The Smithsonian Mag helps explain it, saying, “In ancient Rome, marriages were sealed when the groom smashed a [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:02:12 +0000

Each May I take a group of students to London, and one of our activities is a historic tour of Fleet Street. Our guide takes us to St. Bride’s Church, a Christopher Wren-designed building, set just off Fleet Street, and directs our attention to the spire. The story goes that a baker whose shop was on Fleet Street in the 1800s was contemplating the cake he was baking for his daughter’s wedding. He looked out the window, saw the spire, and was, as it were, inspired. He used the form to build a tiered wedding cake, the first says our guide, and it has been copied ever since. Truth? Who knows? But it’s a great story.

By: Civilizations History Detectives | Childrens Bookshop Online

Civilizations History Detectives | Childrens Bookshop Online — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:01:41 +0000

[...] = "0000FF"; google_color_text = "999999"; google_color_url = "191919"; Civilizations History [...]

By: Does anyone have any fall wedding pictures, mostly of green and orange?

Does anyone have any fall wedding pictures, mostly of green and orange? — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:07:34 +0000

[...] The Strange History of the Wedding Cake | Food & Think [...]

By: Wedding flowers?????????

Wedding flowers????????? — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:51:12 +0000

[...] The Strange History of the Wedding Cake | Food & Think [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:59:35 +0000

This is a fascinating bit of history. I co-own a wedding venue in BIrmingham AL. It is interesting how the brides are bringing up the cost issue when talking about their weddings. The cakes have become so decorated and large that cost is running into the near $1000 to much more!

In the South, it is common for the bride and groom to also have a “groom’s” cake. This custom actually goes back several hundred years. But one function of the groom’s cake is to decrease the total cost of the bride’s cake as it is also part of the dessert for the guests.

Another trend we are seeing in the wedding industry is to use cup cakes stacked together and decoratively topped with icing. This is also a much less expensive alternative and allows the “cake” to be simply de-constructed instead of cut.

By: Classy Crashing « Travel Tattles

Classy Crashing « Travel Tattles — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 02:38:45 +0000

[...] I state in my video, wedding cake may come from a tradition practiced by the Ancient Romans. This article further explains the history of wedding cake and details its not-so-appetizing past. One British [...]

By: Da da de dum | Mary and Carls Wedding Blog

Da da de dum | Mary and Carls Wedding Blog — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:07:28 +0000

[...] Let them eat Cake! I love the idea of a giant tower of pastry, dripping in gooey hardened icing. More so, I love this article. Read this: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2009/07/13/the-strange-history-of-the-wedding-cake/ [...]

By: J. Berge

J. Berge — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:08:07 +0000

When I worked for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in the mid 80s we discovered a piece of Queen Victoria’s wedding cake in one of the letters of the Philadelphia Cadwalader family – sent to them by one of their friends that had attended the wedding. It was a little brown square with brownish icing. Also firm in texture.

By: Breaking Bread (and Dancing With It) at a Macedonian Wedding | Food & Think

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:33:09 +0000

[...] Before Christmas. (Smithsonian staff writer Abigail Tucker wrote an interesting post about the strange history of the wedding cake last [...]

By: Food Rituals in Hindu Weddings | Food & Think

Food Rituals in Hindu Weddings | Food & Think — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:03:50 +0000

[...] new spouse a bite of cake—has no symbolic meaning today, although it may stem from the ancient Roman custom of smashing a barley cake over the bride’s head to ensure her fertility. Considering the reaction of some modern brides to having their perfectly done hair and makeup [...]

By: F. Chin

F. Chin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:28:55 +0000

Coincidentally, your article here uses a photo from Flickr, and I came upon these great cakes by a great pastry chef (unknown to me), also on Flickr -
A Zinnia Wedding Cake
Why Not for a Wedding?
Another worthy candidate
Wouldn’t this please a bride?
All of these cakes are by Heidi at http://www.mirabellecatering.com