Wedding Cakes
Informative Speech - History Of The Wedding Cake
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history and development of the modern wedding cake.
Central Idea: Our decadent, modern wedding cake took centuries to evolve from its humble beginnings as rough breads.
I. The origins of today’s wedding cake can be traced back to ancient Roman
II. With the Roman conquests, the Roman wedding traditions were carried to
III. During the 1660’s, a French chef visiting England was introduced to the
English wedding custom and changed it forever.
IV. In Victorian England, the wedding cake made its most dramatic
transformation into the cake we know today.
V. Over the past 150 years, the wedding cake continued to evolve.
VI. In my experience as a wedding cake designer, I have been asked to
create many special and unique designs.
(Transition: Let us begin the evolution of the wedding cake with the Roman traditions.)
I. As I mentioned, the wedding cakes origins have been traced to ancient
A. It was customary for guest to bake round breads and bring them to
1. These breads were very course and dry.
2. They were baked from wheat for their symbolism, not their
B. These breads were then broken over the bride’s heads.
1. The wheat of the bread symbolized fertility.
2. The act of breaking the bread over the bride’s head was to
II. The Roman tradition was carried to England with the Roman conquests.
A. The tradition was then adapted by the Normans and Saxons.
B. The Normans began stacking the breads.
1. The Norman custom evolved in the belief that the stack not
only symbolized fertility but prosperity as well.
2. The bride and groom were then expected to kiss over the
a. If they successfully kissed without knocking over the
tower of breads, their marriage would be prosperous.
b. Very few brides and grooms were successful.
C. The Normans and Saxons also made the breads more
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history and development of the modern wedding cake.
Central Idea: Our decadent, modern wedding cake took centuries to evolve from its humble beginnings as rough breads.
I. The origins of today’s wedding cake can be traced back to ancient Roman
II. With the Roman conquests, the Roman wedding traditions were carried to
III. During the 1660’s, a French chef visiting England was introduced to the
English wedding custom and changed it forever.
IV. In Victorian England, the wedding cake made its most dramatic
transformation into the cake we know today.
V. Over the past 150 years, the wedding cake continued to evolve.
VI. In my experience as a wedding cake designer, I have been asked to
create many special and unique designs.
(Transition: Let us begin the evolution of the wedding cake with the Roman traditions.)
I. As I mentioned, the wedding cakes origins have been traced to ancient
A. It was customary for guest to bake round breads and bring them to
1. These breads were very course and dry.
2. They were baked from wheat for their symbolism, not their
B. These breads were then broken over the bride’s heads.
1. The wheat of the bread symbolized fertility.
2. The act of breaking the bread over the bride’s head was to
II. The Roman tradition was carried to England with the Roman conquests.
A. The tradition was then adapted by the Normans and Saxons.
B. The Normans began stacking the breads.
1. The Norman custom evolved in the belief that the stack not
only symbolized fertility but prosperity as well.
2. The bride and groom were then expected to kiss over the
a. If they successfully kissed without knocking over the
tower of breads, their marriage would be prosperous.
b. Very few brides and grooms were successful.
C. The Normans and Saxons also made the breads more
Bibliography: Charsley, Simon R. “The Rise of the British Wedding Cake.” Natural History Dec. 1993: n. pag. Online. EBSCO Host Research Databases. 16 Oct. 2002. Wilson, Bee. “Cake Talk.” New Statesman 26 Jul. 1999. Online. EBSCO Host Research Databases. 16 Oct. 2002. Charsley, Simon R. Wedding Cakes and Cultural History. London: Routledge, 1992.