9 Popular Wedding Cake Traditions Around The World - Ferns N Petals (2024)

FAQs

What is the tradition with wedding cake? ›

Historically, the bride cuts the cake herself to symbolize losing her virginity; however, this wedding tradition has evolved. Now couples cut the cake together. As the last official part of the reception, it also indicates the time when your older guests may want to go home.

Vanilla. It's no surprise that vanilla is the most popular wedding cake flavor. "Vanilla is timeless and classic," says Anna Bakes, a baker in Florida.

In American weddings, it's traditional for the father to walk his daughter down the aisle and “give her away.” Actually, the Jewish tradition allows both parents to walk the bride and the groom down the aisle. Many brides and grooms are adopting this tradition and forgoing the traditional procession.

If you want to get married, sleep with a piece of the cake under your pillow. It is said that if you place a piece of take-away wedding cake under your pillow, you will dream of your future spouse! This piece of folklore dates back as early as the 17th century.

The traditional recipe for an English wedding cake is a fruit cake. This type of cake has a long shelf life. In fact, a tier of the wedding cake is often saved for the Christening of the couple's future offspring.

Also referred to as "ribbon pulling," the tradition's roots date back to the 1600s. And although cake pulls are prevalent across Louisiana and other southern states, the tradition was actually brought over by the British. Our modern cake pull is a unique blend of the various traditions practiced throughout the UK.

It may not make your mouth water but this is thought to be the world's oldest complete wedding cake dating back to 1898. The cake which was baked 113 years ago has now got brown icing because the sugars have seeped through to the surface.

The world's most famous cake, the Original Sacher-Torte, is the consequence of several lucky twists of fate. The first was in 1832, when the Austrian State Chancellor, Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, tasked his kitchen staff with concocting an extraordinary dessert to impress his special guests.

The world's biggest wedding cake weighed a staggering 6.818 tonnes and was created by a team of 58 chefs at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Connecticut, USA. The 7-tiered cake was 4 metres (13.1 feet) tall and featured as part of the hotel's bridal showcase in 2004.

Most traditionally, a Japanese couple would hold their wedding in Shinto style in a shrine. The ceremony is officiated by a Shinto priest. Shinto is the indigenous faith of Japan and is the major religion along with Buddism. Holding a wedding in Shinto style is the most common in Japan at this time.

What four items does a bride supposedly need for luck? ›

"SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE." This wedding saying is derived from an Old English rhyme, which lists the four good-luck objects a bride should have on her wedding day. "Something old" represents the couples' past lives, while "something new" symbolizes their happy future.

The History of the Wedding Cake Smashing Tradition

The wedding cake smash tradition originated in Ancient Rome. After tying the knot, brides would have barley cake crumbled over their heads, which signified male dominance and the promise of fertility.

Answer: Traditionally, guests are expected to stay until after the cutting of the cake. This was usually the last thing the couple did before making their getaway.

White symbolises purity, virginity and innocence. It's also a colour that can mean cleanliness, simplicity or a blank slate ready to join with another to create something new altogether. White is the most traditional of wedding colours, but can also be made to look very contemporary.

It is said that if the couple cuts the cake together and feeds each other the first piece, it is a sign of their commitment to each other. However, some people believe that if the couple cuts the cake separately or if the groom cuts the cake alone, it is a sign of bad luck or a lack of unity in the relationship.

Over the centuries there have been many traditions created surrounding the cake and it still remains an important aspect of any wedding. It's important to take the time to plan a cake that reflects the couple and keep in mind all the various customs created around wedding cakes.

For some newlyweds, celebrating their first anniversary means eating a helping of their preserved wedding cake together. The cake-freezing ritual stems from a 19th-century convention in which partners saved the top tier for their first child's christening (with some believing it to be an omen of good luck).

Cutting the cake together represents the first act that the couple do together, although in the past it was actually tradition for the bride to do it by herself to symbolise the loss of her virginity on her wedding night.