Wedding Cakes

Along with the 'something borrowed, something blue, etc.' and the throwing of the bride's bouquet, the wedding cake is another of the traditional mainstays of most western weddings. Its origins are said to go back to Roman times or even earlier, and a ceremonial cake pops up in a number of nonwestern cultures, as well.

It seems the inclusion of fruit and nuts in the cake was originally to represent fertility, or at least the hope of it. In fact in some cultures the cake wasn't so much eaten as squashed up and thrown over the bride to ensure her fertility. Not so good for the expensive hairdo, though.

Why is cutting the cake together such a big deal?

It's said to symbolise your new partnership when you both hold the knife and make the first cut. At many weddings people cheat and have the cake already cut where the couple insert the knife. It may be a little disrespectful to tradition, but it does avoid the embarrassment of the knife slipping or the icing exploding all over the guests. After the first cut is complete and the photographs have been taken, a wise couple will hand over the rest of the carving process to a capable family or staff member. Cutting up a cake is probably not how you want to spend even ten minutes of your wedding day.

Who should make yours?

If you're lucky enough to have a friend or relative who is an expert cake-maker and wants to make yours, that's probably a good idea and will save you a fair amount of money. But be warned. Weddings are busy times and if it's a close relative like your mother or your mother-in-law who is making the cake, she will have quite a lot of other stuff to do around the same time as she is making it. This can be distracting. And it only takes an incorrect measurement of flour or sugar to create a last-minute disaster.

Unless you're really on a budget I think it's much safer to opt for a professional cake-maker. If Auntie Margaret has her heart set on making your cake and will be deeply offended if you go elsewhere, try to distract her by saying you wouldn't dream of putting her through all that work and would she like to do a reading at the ceremony, or make a short speech at the reception, instead? That way she will still feel valued, and chances are will probably decline the invitation to speak unless she knows she'll be comfortable with it.

The professional cake-maker does not need to be one of those glossy specialist companies with a whizzing-bow-tie website and a brochure like a coffee table book; your local bakery probably does some lovely designs and will come in at a reasonable cost.