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The fruitcake goes way back and it is said that this tasty holiday staple probably originated in ancient Egypt. People have always celebrated grand occasions—birthdays, anniversaries and of course weddings with a mouth-watering cake. 

 

If a wedding cake needs to be made more than a few days in advance, royal icing is frequently used along with fondant, which is cut carefully and formed to fit exactly the particular dimensions of the cake. Along with marzipan, fondant and other rolled or formed icings, the icing has the advantage of sealing in freshness so that the cake could be made days in advance and still be tasty and moist upon serving. Royal icing gets its name from having been the traditional icing for fruitcake -- which was the wedding cake of choice among English royalty, and then among the general English population. 

 

Customarily, an English couple getting married will exchange their vows outside the wedding chapel doorway, allowing the ceremony to be witnessed by anyone who might want to watch. The traditional English wedding cake is a fruitcake, usually made with raisins, ground almonds, cherries and marzipan. The top layer of the wedding cake is called the "Christening cake" which the couple saves for the baptism of their first child.

 

Imagine beautiful wedding flowers being sprinkled by the flower girl or boy preceding the English bride and her wedding party, on their way to the chapel or wedding venue. The bridesmaids wear wedding dresses very much like the bride's, so that she cannot be ‘singled out by any jealous evil wishers, who might curse her for her happiness’. This is of course what century old traditions are all about!

 

A unique Victorian wedding reception event is called a 'ribbon pull'. A sterling silver charm is purchased for each of the bridesmaids. A ribbon is tied to each one, and the baker places them between layers of the wedding cake as it is being assembled. Before the bride and groom share their first slice of cake, the bridesmaids gather so that each can pull one ribbon, claiming a future good promise.

 

The fruitcake is served at the wedding reception along with another conventional cake -- the groom's cake. The latter originated during the Tudor period and it was once English custom for this to be a fruitcake as well. However today, the groom's cake is likely to be chocolate.