Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Wedding Cakes

Amy White
3-16-09
The Big Day
It’s your big day and you have been planning since you could remember. On your way to pick up the wedding cake you start to think about why it is so important to have an oversize cake at your wedding. You wonder when it started, and how did it get to become so popular. When you get to the bakery you ask the baker but he doesn’t know, so you ask friends, family and anyone who would listen but no one knows. So you drop it and have a great time, and after the wedding you start to look up information and you find answers to the questions you have.

This paper will cover different aspects of the wedding cake including, the origins, the cultural view, the symbolic meaning it holds, and the wedding cake that we know and love today. Many of the resources that were found agree about the development of the wedding cake and the origins in which it started.

"The wedding cake as we know it today - - with its successively smaller layers, supporting pillars, fancy frosting and festoons - - had its origins some hundred years later to honor Queen Victoria’s daughter" (Publisher Weekly). It is said that she also popularized the white wedding dress and the white cake that weighed 300 lbs (Eden Cakes). But, what was it like before Queen Victoria created this?

Many, many, many year’s earlier guest would bring their own cakes or breads to the wedding because a bride who made their own cake would be bonded for misfortune for the rest of the marriage (Eden Cakes). The earliest known society that did this was during Ancient Greece and the time of the Romans. They would use loaves of wheat bread, and which they broke pieces off over the bride and grooms head to symbolize luck and fertility which then was eaten by the single women to ensure their own betrothals (Cake Channel). This tradition is know now as the bouquet toss where the bride throws her bouquet of flowers behind her and the single women try to catch it.

In the Romans eyes wheat symbolized fertility and a bountiful harvest. Not only were the cakes made of wheat, they would throw grains of wheat at the bride and groom to ensure fertility to the new couple (Eden Cakes). The rice throwing tradition is still popular today at many weddings, however, now there are bubbles that can be blown or streamers that can be popped. This tradition is done after the ceremony has taken place and the couple are walking down the isle and out into the main street.

Leaving the Roman times and going into the Middle Ages some things changed. Rice throwing was still a big part of the wedding, but, instead of bread guest would bring sweet rolls or buns to the wedding. Instead of having the guest shower them with the crumbs they were expected to kiss over the big pile of rolls and buns. If they could do it without knocking the pile down they would be blessed with children. Soon to follow this tradition a French man decided that he was going to cover the cake with sugar, which caught on fast. This event made the first frosted and tiered wedding cake (Eden Cake).

In the 18th century came a new tradition that many couples still do. After the cake is served the couples keep the top tier for the first anniversary or at the baptism of their first child. Which ever one comes first the couple must be careful

During the 19th century butter-cream icing was invented. This was great and it replaced the boiled icing that was used in the past (Time Line). During this time a tradition was created where the bride and groom would cut the cake and feed it to each other. The groom would feed the bride first and visa versa. By feeding each other it symbolized strength in the marriage and a hope for fertility (Cake Channel).

So what about today? Well, back then everyone wanted the same boring old white cake because it symbolized something special in the marriage. Well, this is not no more! Know a bride can pick any shape, color, size, decorations, and she can even get cupcakes (Cake Channel). With this freedom the bride is able to express herself the way that she wants to on her big day.
With out these things happening and occur all around the world were would the wedding cake be today? Well in Japan the thought behind the wedding cake is a little different than anywhere else. During the Medieval times wedding cakes were thought of as inedible and a symbol of children and fertility. The bride would cut the cake using a sword and then leave it alone for the rest of the night. Instead of sharing a piece of cake the bride a groom shares Sake. With this, two "chamber ladies" carry in two separate containers full of Sake. Each container is decorated differently and represents something different. One of the chambers will stand for the women and the other for the man. From the two separate containers the Sake is poured into one class to unify the marriage and to create a bond between the two. Over time the Japanese have caught on to the Western ways of celebrating and they too sprinkled bread crumbs over the couples head, and the bride also puts a piece of the wedding cake in her pocket until the honeymoon is over (Walter, 1982).

There are many traditions and cultural aspects to the wedding cake, and the way that people act. However, the wedding cake has a meaning that seems to steam to every culture. This meaning is fertility and the hope that the couple will be blessed with children. When looking back it is easy to see that the wedding cake has grown from a simple form of wheat bread, to a beautiful tiered, decorated cake. But no matter what the culture is it will always hole a special spot in the wedding.

So when you go out to look for that perfect wedding cake think of the traditions in which the cake holds, the symbols in which it carries, and the way that it has grown into what we have known and loved.

















Work Citied
Walter, Edwards (1982)
Something Borrowed: Wedding Cakes as Symbols in Modern Japan.
American Ethnologist, 9(4); 699-711
Accessed: 3-10-09; www. Jstor.org/stable/644671
Publisher Weekly
Accessed: 3-10-09; http;// search.barnesandnoble.com/Wedding-Cakes-and- Cultural- History/Simon-R-Charsley/ 9780415026482#TABS
Accessed: 3-10-09; www. Edencakes.com/history-of-wedding-cakes/
History of Wedding Cakes
Accessed: 3-10-09;
http://www.cakechannel.com/history-of-wedding-cakes.html
About Cake
Food time line on Webcat.
www.foodtimeline.org

19 comments:

  1. Amy,
    Learning more about wedding cakes is very interesting. I think my favorite wedding cake was a cheese cake that had butter cream icing. It was very decadent! What kind are you going to have?

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  2. Yeah the bubbles popping doesn't seem like the best idea. Probably not good for the environment!

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  3. I had never thought about the wedding cake being a symbol of fertility and wedding strength because it is made of flour. I love going to weddings, and seeing the various wedding cakes is an exciting part.

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  4. This paper made me think about what kind of wedding cake i want. There have been some strange traditions in the past but i will keep the tradition of eating the top tier of my cake for the one year.

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  5. Like the people who've already commented, your report (which was really good!) made me think about what kind of cake I want :). I think it's fascinating to think about how much culture and tradition is packed into such a seemingly small facet of our culture! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. I was not aware that the traditon of a wedding cake went back this far. Its neat to see all the different meanings and such behind wedding cakes in different regions.

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  7. It is so crazy how far the idea of a wedding cake has come. Wedding cakes used to be so simple and now they are huge and elaborate. I enjoyed learning about the symbolism behind wedding cakes. Thanks!

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  8. Often times I think too much emphasis is put on wedding cakes, but I see that it is an important aspect of a couple's special day. I can't believe the bride used to cut the cake with a sword!

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  9. Boiled icing sounds disgusting. I'm glad buttercream was invented! I like how you included other traditions as well, like throwing rice.

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  10. It's really interesting to see how customs of the big day have evolved. A lot of what is done today doesn't seem to make much sense or have any relevance, but when you learn what the original traditions were and how they got to what they are to day it makes a little more sense and makes these little customs special.

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  11. I found this paper very interesting. I liked learning about the history of wedding cakes. That is one of the major things I am excited about if I ever decide to get married. I love watching all of the wedding cake shows like the Ace of Cakes it is amazing the designs they come up with and can create.

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  12. Very intersting to read how birthday cakes have changed throughout time.

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  13. I meant to say wedding cakes instead of birthday cakes..my bad!

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  14. I didn't realize how much the wedding cakes have evolved. I haven't thought too much about my own cake. Most likely it will be a simple traditional white cake.

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  15. I love the idea of the wedding cake. It truly can break or make a good wedding.

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  16. I Love Wedding cake! it's the best kind of cake there is. I don't know why it just is! I never thought about how much wedding cakes have changed, and I never realized that many people don't use what I think of as a traditional wedding cake. WHEN i get married (in like 100 years) I will save the top layer as is tradition. A friend of my family always makes our wedding cakes and just for the future they are the best cakes you wil EVER eat! She also took time when I was younger to teach me how to decorate wedding cakes! It was very interesting to also see what all time gets put into making a good cake!

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  17. The kissing over the rolls is pretty interesting! And the Roman beliefs.

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  18. the creation of the teared wedding cake to honor Queen Victoria is an awesome fun fact! i really enjoyed it!

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  19. I loved the way you began your paper, it is great, and so true. It is so crazy the importance the wedding cake has on the entire day.My husband is a chef and the wedding cakes that he has had to create is insane, the cake is often more thought out and important than the food, I often watch differant shows on what exactly can be done with cakes and it is unbelievable, pinball machines, towers, etc, everything and anything. I was amazed at the actual history of the wedding cake, it is such a huge part of the day, you tend to forget and never think about the actual origins. I want a cake now! :)

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