The wedding cake is an important wedding item, with significant meaning and an ancient history leading back to the Victorian era and even to an earlier period of time in the past. I think you would enjoy your wedding cake cutting moment with greater pleasure if you could get a bit familiar with old customs and traditions related to wedding cakes.

Old photographs from the 19th century reveal us important facts about the origins and the evolution of this traditional wedding custom. The multitiered wedding cake was reserved only for the well situated royalty, and Queen Victoria made a great step in the wedding fashion by wearing a white wedding gown and serving a huge, multi-tiered white wedding cake 1840, on her wedding day, when she married Prince Albert. Fortunately these old photos are available online due to great Internet possibilities.

The wedding cakes of the English royalty were designed in a spectacular, expensive style. The top layers of these cakes were made entirely of sugar. So, we have to deal with a symbolic aspect of the white color, connected to purity and innocence, and a financial one: rich brides wanted to express their material wealth trough the white color of their wedding cake. The expensive material of white sugar was affordable only for rich families. A wedding was all about the family business in those times, love and devotion came only after the social and political-material aspects of the marital union. A marriage proposal was first of all a financial or a political alliance, especially in the English royalty class. The Victorian times are over, but the tradition is preserved and still enjoyed by many of us.

In the late 19th century the custom of the bride`s pie, original from the ancient Roman times has disappeared. The single tiered wedding cake appeared first and later on the more complex multi-tiered cake design of the British royalty as well. The old custom of saving the top tier for the first year anniversary dates also from the 19th century. The top tier was originally saved for the Christening of their first child. Modern couples give birth to their first children much later than their ancestors. Times change, but traditions live on. Well, I have read an amazing story about the 19th century wedding traditions, here is the summary:

The Marquis of Lorne married Queen Victoria’s daughter in 1871. Princess Louise wrapped a slice of her wedding cake. For more than 138 years this old slice was put up for sale. The wedding cake of the princess is one of the most famous wedding cakes in history. Unfortunately, the princess and the marquis could never have children. They had no luck eating this amazing cake creation of the ancient fertility symbol. The etiquette journals of the 19th century had a great impact on western civilization. The British royalty was the ruler of the wedding fashion world. Every bride wanted to imitate them.

You may have a Victorian themed wedding even in modern times of wedding fashion. You may be as authentic as you want to be. Victorian wedding accessories are available online on the Internet today! But you have to take your time to watch as many old photographs from the 19th century as possible. Pictures with wedding cakes from those marvelous times are very rare. But you may admire beautiful dresses in Victorian journals. Queen Victoria`s wedding cake was decorated with roses, and weighed more than 300 pounds! I know, you would like to see that wedding cake!

I suggest you to Google around for Victorian themed websites on the Internet. Enter the Victorian top sites and search for famous photo albums. You`ll find amazing photographs about the Victorian wedding fashion. Travel back in time until you’ ll find something authentic and valuable. Your passion for history is supported by many wedding accessory merchants. This way, you may experience the atmosphere of the Victorian times online. Search for Victoriana.com! This way, you may keep in touch with the 19th century lifestyle. Your antique photographer will provide you every photograph type you need, even 1850s photos representing the ancient wedding fashion, their dresses and the cakes that were used in the past.11