Have your cake ... and eat it too

Words by Melody Lord

It's the sweet treat that serves a dual purpose at a wedding: decoration and dessert.

The master of ceremonies calls everyone's attention and the room falls silent. In one of their first acts as a newlywed couple, the bride and groom stand together to perform the ceremony of cutting the wedding cake. As a symbolic gesture, the groom and his bride cut the cake that represents health, wealth and fertility in their future life together. Tenderly, they feed each other the first bites of the cake to represent their commitment to care and provide for each other through the years.

It is a truly romantic moment, in some ways the culmination of the wedding reception, so it is no wonder that so much thought and effort goes into the selection and design of the wedding cake. The cake serves another purpose too; as a decorative centrepiece that helps to set the mood and theme of the reception, so it is often designed to complement the bride's and bridesmaids' outfits and other decorations.

For more of this article see issue 5 and issue 6.