What’s everyone’s favorite part of a wedding? No, it’s not your wedding dress. (Although it is darn gorgeous, we’re sure!) And no, it’s not those perfect place cards for which you and your ‘maids stayed up hours DIY’ing the calligraphy. And despite several of your guests dissolving into a puddle of tears, it’s not even when you and your hubby poured your hearts out during your vows. Instead, it’s when everyone eats their hearts out that almost always manages to be the biggest crowd pleaser of the night! Ahh yes, the wedding cake. Everyone from the flower girl to the grandparents anticipates that first bite of sugary confection at the reception. And while the style of wedding cakes have certainly changed throughout the years, that probably never will. Didn’t realize that big day desserts evolved across the decades? Well, allow us to take a trip down the yummiest memory lane. In our latest BRIDES video, we’re throwing it back to the wedding cake trends of decades past. Try not to get too hungry watching…
Think the brides of yesterday weren’t fawning over celebrity cake confections as much as we do now? Wrong! Sure, they might not have had Instagram to ‘like’ those scrumptious treats, but the wedding cakes of celebs still sparked the trends of the nuptial norms of the decade.
For example, in the 1940s, it was Queen Elizabeth’s towering tiered wedding cake that set the standard amongst big day desserts. Reportedly standing at nine feet tall and weighing in at 500 pounds, it’s certainly not hard to see why! Ten years later and the extravagantly-frosted wedding cakes of Grace Kelly and JFK took center stage and are still just as timeless as Jackie Kennedy’s ever-graceful bridal style.
By the 1970s, it was the terrifically over-the-top toppers that stole the show. This is when those classic bride-and-groom figurines really took off. (We’re betting your mom still has her’s stashed away somewhere!) And the 1980s were of course defined by Princess Diana’s five-tiered showstopper — a slice of which was actually just auctioned off last year. Wonder who that lucky auction winner was who snagged themselves a piece of 34-year-old fruit cake…
Today, big day desserts are just as unique as brides themselves. Who said wedding sweet treats even technically had to be cakes? Brides and grooms are serving up tons of sugary alternatives (hello tiers of donuts!) to the classic cake, delicious enough to make your stomach rumble.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to dig in and watch the video above! Maybe you’ll be inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s endless tiers for your own nuptials noms…