The heat is on! The day is moist and sunny. The guests are dewy from dancing. Still, the bride dazzles like a diamond and the groom gleams with desire. The photographer is poised to snap a steamy shot. The couple entwines. It’s time to cut the cake.

           Much more than a focal point, the wedding cake has become a star in it’s own right at modern day celebrations. The ancient Romans sprinkled cake crumbs over the bride’s head symbolizing fertility. Today, the wedding cake is still an enduring romantic symbol of love and fertility. If we think about it, the wedding cake is the first food touched, tasted and licked by the newlyweds. True, the couple may share a champagne toast, but still, there is a glass or goblet between their lips. The wedding cake, however, can’t help but get on the couple’s fingers, lips and ah yes, tongues.  And that is sexy. It’s easy to see why many couples’ best pictures are taken during the cake ceremony.

           “To this day, the cake ceremony involves certain etiquette observed by proper guests. Polite wedding guests remain at the reception until the cake is served and everyone is encouraged to eat a bite, as it brings good luck to the bride and groom. In the southern region of the United States many couples choose a traditional wedding reception whereby only wedding cake and champagne or punch are served.” (For more wedding cake tips see MY BRIDE GUIDE, Chapter 13, by Judith Ann Graham or visit www.myweddingmyway.com)

           So how does a bride a groom go about finding a sexy, tasty wedding cake? For starters, this is one project the couple won’t mind doing together. Let the taste test begin. Bakers offer a plethora of fillings, icings and flavors from which to choose much to the delight of sweet tooth connoisseurs. Once you have decided on your favorite flavors, let your imagination run wild with style. Gail Watson, owner of Gail Watson Custom Cakes, NY, says, “go for it, it’s your wedding. Choose a cake flavor you really love and don’t worry about everyone else. Cakes are as delicious as they are beautiful, so really express yourself with your wedding cake.” A current trend is to create wedding cake centerpieces in lieu of floral arrangements on guests’ table. Every cake is decorated differently and flavored differently. Unique and fun, guests love comparing and sharing flavors and styles. Everyone enjoys talking about delicious food and this, literally, takes the cake!

           Another wedding cake trend is the use of color. No longer confined to traditional white scrolled icing on sponge cake with a ditzy bride and groom perched on top, today’s wedding cakes can be delicate pastels of flowers, butterflies or ribbons that look more like a designer chintz sofa than a cake. Vibrant use of color is also popular. Dramatic indeed is a Red Velvet cake cascading waterfalls of red rose petal icing. Perhaps you want a cake that resembles an English garden. No problem, choose your favorite colors and flower mix and ask your baker to “grow” your cake. Maybe flowers are too fussy for you. Think about a cake stacked like pillows embellished with pearls or gemstones. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. The point is to allow you, the couple, to truly express yourself through your wedding cake. 

           Which leads to another trend – cake shape. Not all wedding cakes are round. Consider a stack of squares, or hearts, or gift boxes, or hats, or pictures, or buildings, – again, be creative and look for a talented, enthusiastic baker to make your dream come true. Be prepared to spend as much as $20. Per slice depending on how elaborate your cake is. If you are having a theme wedding your cake may reflect your theme. A renaissance couple might consider a “gilded” cake ala Louis IV architecture. A Venetian couple could whimsically express themselves with a harlequin cake design. A beach bride and groom may fantasize having a “treasure chest” cake from the sea. It is such fun coming up with a cake that unmistakably represents you. 
           Weddings are all about tradition and conformity. Wedding cakes, however, allow you, the couple, to share some of what you have in common in a fresh, clever way. Surely, your love for each other is just the start of what will become an adventurous life together. Why not have adventurous wedding cakes that will be on your guests’ lips long after the cake has disappeared.