Cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, more cake

Cutting the wedding cake is the first task that a Bride & Groom do together to symbolise their shared future. But it hasn’t always been this way.

In Roman times the wedding cake was really plain and made of wheat, salt and water (yummy!) and was broken over the head of the Bride (nice!) to bestow fertility and good luck. I’m glad this isn’t practiced any more; imagine all those crumbs I’d have to retouch out! As time moved on cakes became bigger and harder to break and so the Bride took the tradition of cutting the cake. The strong icing introduced by the Victorians, to strengthen the cake and make tiers possible, was difficult to cut and so the cake cutting became a joint task for both the Bride and Groom. There’s usually more cake than can be eaten with a tiered style and the top tier was traditionally kept for the Christening of the couple’s first child but is now more often kept to celebrate their first anniversary. Steve and I planned on doing this. But cake doesn’t last long in our house! [You might like to read this great article by Maisie Fantasie for more background on how wedding cakes and traditions have evolved.]

The cake is one of my favourite details to photograph at a wedding. A close second to shoes. The traditional tiered wedding cake is ever popular but there are so many other options now that I’m always blessed with something different to photograph.

I’ve seen some truly scrumptious looking creations from simple white iced tiers decorated with fresh flowers to more icing than cake cupcakes. Quite a few Brides have lovingly made their own wedding cakes which have been nothing short of amazing. A Choccywoccydoodah sculpture is always impressive but if you’re not a cake fiend then a ‘cheese’ cake to be served with biscuits after dinner is a fun alternative. I love Fawsley Hall‘s take on this with cute little mice scampering over the cheese.

But there’s no room for cheese in the cutting photo. Nooo no no no no no! I like to stay around and capture the action as it happens rather than a cheese-o-rama ‘mock cutting of the cake’ photo. But be warned: this is a bit of a paparazzi moment for your guests!

If this little lot isn’t mouth-watering enough you’ll find more wedding cake photographs on my facebook fanpage.