Why Are Wedding Cakes White?

Hmmm, cake. If there’s anything that’s pretty much universally loved, it’s cake. With its variety of sweet flavors, textures and styles, it’s no wonder that it remains one of the strongest wedding traditions to date. But like any tradition, an inquisitive mind will come to ask “why? Why is wedding cake white? Why cakes at all, for that matter?”

Well, for the first one –because they’re tasty. The second will be answered in greater detail below and lastly: cakes made of wheat and barley became popular in ancient Rome –likely because pretty much any citizen could grow or purchase the ingredients to make something special for the celebration (regardless of wealth), and later down the road Rome conquered Britain and exported many of their traditions to the British, who in turn, went on to become a fixture of western civilization in their own right. The tradition basically sustained and grew throughout the centuries. It’s kind of amazing, actually.

As to why they’re white…

Well, white it typically the color symbolizing purity, and the wedding cake was originally known as the “Bride’s Cake”. It was her cake, representative of her and the color white became an overall theme for the bride –purity of bride, purity of dress, purity of cake. That’s the obvious thematic conclusion but there’s actually another layer (we regret nothing) to it. White weddings (dress and cake) gained a great deal of traction during The Victorian Age. The refined sugars used to make white icing were not easy to come by, and by making the cake, white the families could show off their affluence.

Of course brides today are welcome to keep the traditional white icing for their wedding cake, or pursue different styles and tastes, but now you have some more wedding history savoir faire for those reception chats.

Schedule your tour today!

Phone: (973) 751-1230