Why do we serve wedding cake at weddings?

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Evelyn Carpenter

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Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a wedding without including the wedding cake in the banquet, because it is not only a cake, but also a tradition with a lot of meaning in a wedding ring ceremony. However, its ancient symbolism has been forgotten, and for most people it is just a dessert that sometimes the bride and groom cut in front of all their guests.However, the cake is part of a very important tradition and not just another wedding decoration on the candy bar. Want to know its history? Stay tuned for this article.

In search of fertility

In ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians or the Greeks, desserts similar to the bride and groom's cake were used as a symbol of fertility. Since then, every culture has had different reasons for including a cake or sweet in their wedding celebration.

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Good luck to you

In Egypt, when the pharaohs married, cakes were made with sorghum flour, mixed with salt and water. After the ceremony, were crumbled over the heads of the bride and groom to wish them good luck.

Large family

During the marriage feast, the Greeks served sesame sweets and honey, a portion of which was kept for the bride, along with an apple and a quince, to have many children .

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Attracting abundance

The origin of the rounded shape of the wedding cake dates back to ancient Rome, as we know it today. However, it was a simple cake, made with spelt flour. The groom would eat half of the cake during the ceremony and the other half would be crumbled over the bride's head. The guests would eat the rest of the crumbs that fell off, as a augury of prosperity, abundance, good luck and fertility .

Symbol of friendship

During the Middle Ages the tiered cake was born, with the assembly of small sponge cakes given by the guests. The bigger the "tower" created with the biscuits was In England, if the bride and groom managed to kiss on these cake towers without being ruined, they would have good luck for the rest of their lives.

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The croquembouche

As you can imagine, it was in France in the 17th century that this type of pastry became more sophisticated, creating the first croquembouche which coupled the cake layers with the help of candy Although the original version of this dessert is a tower of profiteroles, the idea of a bride and groom's cake remains and in France the top tier of the wedding cake is still composed of a small croquembouche.

The tower of a bell tower

As the centuries go by, the cake becomes more and more distinguished, but maintains the meaning of friendship and fertility In the early 18th century, a young apprentice baker, Thomas Rich, decided to surprise his bride-to-be on their wedding day with a cake inspired by the bell tower he saw every day from his bakery. Thus, the tower of St. Bride's Church in London quickly became the mold for all wedding cakes in England and almost everywhere else in the world.of Europe.

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And in our country?

Although the traditions of the wedding cake in our country are based on those that exist throughout the world, there are some traditions of their own One of the most classic ones is to freeze a piece of the wedding cake and eat it on the date of their first wedding anniversary, or when the first child is born. This is a very symbolic act that alludes to the stages that the couple goes through. In case you're wondering, you can freeze the cake covered in plastic and absolutely nothing happens to it. Another tradition is that some guest steals the figurines of the bride and groom that go on the cake, so if they have disappeared don't worry, someone wishes you good luck and is waiting for you to be married for a year to return them.

And don't forget the most important tradition of all: splitting the cake together, as it symbolizes the union of the couple as they share their first meal as a married couple. Still don't know what design to order? A good idea is to take inspiration from your wedding decorations to match the theme. And why not include a phrase of love or your initials? The important thing is that it's everythingnot only in taste, but also in aesthetics.

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Evelyn Carpenter is the author of the best-selling book, All you need for your marriage. A Marriage guide. She has been married for over 25 years and has helped countless couples build successful marriages. Evelyn is a sought after speaker and relationship expert, and has been featured in various media outlets including Fox News, Huffington Post, and more.