Oh, this would have been so much fun on so many occasions. We all know that a wedding cake is a traditional part of the wedding, but would you believe that the tradition used to be to get the wedding cake and have it thrown at the bride? It’s seriously true, and would have been a lot more fun than eating it. So where and when did this fun tradition begin, and why on Earth would anyone every want it to end? I mean, food fights are a lot of fun, and when a lot of people are at differing levels of inebriation, it would be a lot more fun. Am I right, or am I right?
This fun practice of throwing wedding cake at the bride is a medieval tradition. The idea was to throw it at the lucky girl because it was a symbol of fertility. I guess there’s nothing quite like physical assault with a hard fruit cake to say that you will be the bearer of many children. No doubt that it would have also been done because of the associated fun, but what the hell has a cake got to do with fertility? I don’t know. But what I do know is that the wedding receptions used to get a lot messier.
After the bride had worn the wedding cake after having it thrown at her, the guests at the wedding would collect the remaining pieces of food and make a mound. No matter how much food there was, a mound would be made, be it big or small. It was then up to the bride and groom to stand on either side of this mound of food, and perform a kiss. If they could complete this task without demolishing the mess of food, they could expect a lifetime of good fortune. I suppose that there’s no better way to begin a life of good fortune by ruining expensive clothing that will require quite an expensive dry cleaning bill. So if it was so much fun, why did it all end?
As with everything, all good things must come to an end. The tradition of throwing the wedding cake at the bride, along with kissing over a pile of food caught the attention a a visiting French chef some time during the 1600’s. He was horrified at the undignified custom, and suggested a new method. His idea was to retain the cake, instead of throwing it at the bride, and completely get rid of the pile of food. In its place he suggested stacking the cake on pillars made out of cut broom handles. No more cake throwing, no more kissing over a pile of food, no more mess, and a lot less fun. His ideas eventually caught on about two hundred years later, when society was attempting to become more sophisticated and civilized.
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