Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Groom's Cake.. Then and Now


If you try to research the origins of the groom's cake at a wedding, you will find several stories that claim to be the true basis of its existence. Many say that the groom's cake was a gift to the groom from the bride, but, there seems to be a discrepancy on whether it was supposed to be a chocolate cake or a fruitcake. Some sources say the cake started off as a fruitcake but since many people preferred chocolate cake, the custom eventually changed into chocolate cake. Others say that in the past, the groom's mother typically made the cake. I did find several sources saying that the groom's cake began as a southern tradition in the U.S., and one of the most common explanations I found is stated here, in an article from www.online-weddings.com:

"The history of a groom's cake goes like this. The groom's cake was not to be served to the guests while at the wedding reception, but rather it was to be sliced up, placed into packages and given to them as favors when they departed. Single women at the wedding would take their pieces of cake home and sleep with it under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husbands."

Regardless of the history of the groom's cake, it is currently a fun trend for the bride to surprise the groom with a cake that depicts his interests. The groom's cake is not just showing up at weddings either, it is also very often served at the rehearsal dinner instead. Many local cake shops can create almost anything you can think up, so bride's are getting extremely creative with their groom's cake ideas. Here are some pics of some great groom's cakes!

(photo credits: Traditional chocolate groom's cake from Publix, Crown Royal and Bucs Helmet cakes from A Piece of Cake's website; Xbox cake from Ashley and Nate's wedding taken by Beth Carrick; Univ. of Illinois cake from Meag and Ryan's rehearsal dinner taken by Beth Carrick; Mario Bros. cake from groomstand.com)

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