A wedding is a mysterious church ceremony of blessing a marriage. The creation of an unbreakable spiritual connection between spouses can be celebrated with a magnificent banquet, a classic wedding evening, or in a narrow circle of loved ones, when the newlyweds are given instructions and good wishes are expressed. A wedding cake decorating a festive table symbolizes love, prosperity, and family happiness.
Primary requirements
Restrictions regarding dessert are “dictated” by the traditions of the wedding sacrament. In preparation for the sacrament, the bride and groom must fast. Not only is it not forbidden to feast after a church ceremony, but the priest may even recommend celebrating the holy event. The celebration should be kind, cheerful, bright, and not just a tribute to fashion.
Selection rules:
- Light filling - light sponge cake with yoghurt, curd cream, or whipped cream, with a layer of berry and fruit jam.
- Delicate design - shades of white, pastel colors. Nothing pretentious or avant-garde. Classic decorations include wedding crowns (crowns), doves, swans, and flowers.
- Weight and volume - 150-200 g per guest and several servings for loved ones who did not come to the holiday, and their children.
A portioned cake or cupcake dessert will simplify the task of cutting and packaging “gift” pieces.
Canonical wedding
Orthodoxy is a religion of the fullness of being and joy. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Living in the world of symbols, it is necessary for a person to designate a significant event. A festive cake for a feast in honor of a wedding is a symbol of true boundless, inexhaustible love and deep feelings. A confectionery product with a special, “spiritual” status.
Cake for deep believers:
- The filling is to the taste of the spouses and their guests. In winter with the aroma of citrus, with boiled condensed milk, caramel, cream cheese, in summer - with pieces of fruit and berries in sour cream, yogurt, sour cream between white sponge cakes.
- The design is minimalist. Snow-white orange blossom flowers, symbolizing tenderness and innocence, delicate roses or elements of church paraphernalia: wedding rings, embroidered towel, crosses.
Can there be an Orthodox feast without cake? Maybe. But truly moved by faith hearts need a sign - tangible, special and understandable.
Wedding according to the canons
Newlyweds who respect traditions are allowed to show some frivolity when choosing the design of their wedding dessert. Figurines of the bride and groom and their photos on the surface are appropriate. The cake itself can be made in the form of a complex, multi-tiered confectionery structure. A cake with angels, doves, and in the shape of a heart looks romantic.
Wedding of a married couple
Spouses who have been married for several years can celebrate their wedding with a sumptuous feast or a light buffet.
Cake design options for the wedding of an adult couple:
- hearts connected together, decorated with snow-white wings, wedding candles;
- family album with wedding photo;
- flower basket or bouquet.
Congratulatory inscriptions are complemented by sayings from the Bible. In addition to cream flowers, pieces of berries, fruits, and caramel are used as decoration - just like for regular holiday cakes.
Types of products
Today the culinary industry is ready to offer a cake option for every taste. You have the right to choose the color of the product, as well as its style and taste . Masters are able to make almost any wish come true.
A wedding cake can be:
The latter type is gaining more and more popularity, as it looks very stylish and is extremely convenient to serve to guests.
The product
can be coated with mastic. These cakes are perfectly smooth and beautiful.
Using mastic, any shade can be added to the outer layer. Mastic is also used to create unique decorations on cakes. Many people prefer cakes without mastic . Then the products are generously decorated with cream and berries or fruits. Sweets with flowers look beautiful.
Cream cake is better for those who do not appreciate the taste of mastic products, and also if it is known that guests will not appreciate mastic. In any case, a cake with cream without mastic is a win-win option.
Some tips
Where to order
Try to order a cake either from a large confectionery shop or from trusted private confectioners.
Recently, making cakes to order has become such a popular trend that many people have started doing this, who do not follow food storage rules, save money by buying cheap ingredients, and do not maintain cleanliness and hygiene during the cooking process, so you need to order carefully, based on reviews or based on company reputation.
When to order
It is best to decide in advance what kind of cake you want and place your order at least a week in advance so that the cake is ready exactly on the wedding day.
You should not pick up the cake from the pastry chef too early - it will be difficult for you to store a usually rather large box in your home refrigerator. The most ideal solution would be for the cake to be delivered to you by the middle of the event, then you will not have any storage issues.
How to deliver
The best solution would be if the cake is delivered to you by a confectionery courier.
Transporting a cake yourself is quite difficult because:
- they are often packed in a rather large box, which is very inconvenient to transport without a personal car;
- if the weather is hot outside, then your cake may not survive a long trip - the elements of the top layer may begin to melt and spread;
- There is a very high risk of damaging the cake during transportation - just tilt it and individual elements may slide out of place.
Therefore, I recommend immediately discussing the terms of delivery with the confectionery and, if possible, not taking on this responsibility.
Delivery Features
It is better to entrust the transportation of the wedding cake to the confectionery courier. Delivery should not be organized on your own for the following reasons:
- It is difficult to transport a large box without a personal car;
- in hot weather the cake will begin to melt;
- Intricate decorations are easily deformed when maneuvering on the road.
Important! Delivery service vehicles are equipped with fastenings and refrigeration chambers. You can be sure that the confectionery product will not melt or lose its shape during transportation.
Design ideas
The options are not limited to a gentle, neutral design, universal for couples of any age - newlyweds or those with experience.
Church paraphernalia
Suitable for the majestic atmosphere of a banquet hall at a monastery, a mini-banquet in a narrow circle of believers.
Options:
- crowns;
- cross;
- image of a wedding icon;
- wedding rings;
- candles.
Appropriate quotes and pictures of biblical stories are used.
Wedding
bright day
Cakes with a picture or in the form of a church
They symbolize the inviolability of the marriage union, the purity of the thoughts of the husband and wife. Confectionery techniques make it possible, without mastic, to make custom cakes in the form of temples - old, new, and even demolished (as shown in the photo).
Available in all formats:
- “flat” - the image of the temple is printed on edible paper and placed on the top cake;
- “plot” - the cake is decorated with a church complex - with a park, outbuildings;
- 3D - scale model of the temple.
A peaceful atmosphere of warmth and harmony will be created by the image of a chapel or monastery. An option for deeply religious spouses.
Kingdom
Temple
Decoration with doves
The image of a dove is a symbol of fidelity, peace, moral purity, love and salvation. Mastic or caramel figurines of a simple and at the same time majestic bird are used to decorate wedding cakes.
Options:
- with rings, laurel branches, flowers in their beaks;
- under an arch entwined with flowers, on the handle of a flower basket;
- in a nest strewn with pink petals.
The cakes are painted with snow-white bird outlines made from sugar icing, white chocolate, and whipped cream. A pair of doves will certainly give the newlyweds happiness, kindness and prosperity.
Loyalty
The Bird of Happiness
Floral design
An option that fits into a celebration of any size and direction. Regal lilies, luxurious roses or modest daisies. They are used to make bouquets, wreaths, and flower petals are scattered over the dessert in “artistic disorder.” You can order a cake with flowers as a wedding gift for relatives and friends.
Inflorescence
Plume
Chandelier Cake, Cloud Cake and Other Most Impressive Celebrity Wedding Cakes
On International Chef's Day, we decided to talk about food - namely, about food that is a real work of art.
We don’t know how delicious celebrity wedding cakes are, which cost incredible amounts of money, but you can certainly admire them endlessly! Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock
Of course, the weddings of crowned heads cannot do without luxurious cakes. For the celebration of Albert II and Charlene Wittstock in 2011, a cake was prepared, which the press then called the largest in the world. It was decorated with protea flowers, a plant that symbolized South Africa, the bride’s homeland.
Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock
Alexander Ovechkin and Anastasia Shubskaya
If domestic celebrities want the media to write about their cake, they, of course, order it from star pastry chef Renat Agzamov, the most popular master in this field, whose price list is legendary.
Alexander Ovechkin and Anastasia Shubskaya
At the wedding of Ovechkin and Shubskaya, which last year was called one of the most expensive weddings of Russian celebrities, guests were served a masterpiece by Agzamov - a cake in the form of a palace with dancing figures of the bride and groom.
The pastry chef himself described his creation as follows:
The architectural style was diluted by transparent caramel columns with lighting. At the top of the cake there is a transparent stand, also made of caramel. All transparent elements are illuminated with cold light, while chocolate decorations are illuminated with warm light. It turned out very fabulous!
Renat Agzamov
Yana Rudkovskaya and Evgeni Plushenko
But the cake at the wedding of Yana Rudkovskaya and Evgeni Plushenko, also created by Agzamov, was impressive with its unusual shape.
The cloud seems to be floating in the air, held by Atlas. Small angels are holding the cloud on the side, and luxurious angels with large wings are located on top. In the central part of the cloud is a caramel heart, which also beats due to artistic lighting. The cake is covered in cotton candy! If the ceiling height were greater, I would gladly make it 7 meters high, no less...
— the pastry chef shared on Instagram.
Yana Rudkovskaya and Evgeni Plushenko
Not all of Rudkovskaya’s followers, however, were delighted with the confectionery product. Someone compared the cake to soap foam, while others even called it “an exploding tube of toothpaste.”
Alexander Radulov and Daria Dmitrieva
How do you like a cake in the shape of an ancient temple with fountains and flames? This is the style chosen by hockey player Alexander Radulov and gymnast Daria Dmitrieva. Which is quite logical: the entire celebration was based on an ancient Greek theme. We won’t be surprised: this cake was also prepared by Renat Agzamov.
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello
Not only did Sofia Vergara marry a real handsome man, but the cake at this celebration was of unprecedented beauty. Several floors decorated with white flowers: we’re not sure that everyone will raise their hand to cut something like that!
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello
Prince William and Kate Middleton
If we are talking about a royal wedding, then the cake should not only be luxurious, but also include a number of different symbols. In the case of Kate and William's wedding cake, these were the emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, an acorn as a symbol of longevity, a lily of the valley symbolizing tenderness, and much more. Pastry chef Fiona Cairns managed to fit all these signs into the design of her creation, while it looked very elegant. The cake was eight stories high, decorated with 900 icing flowers, and cost about $80,000.
The design of the cake was created according to the bride's taste; another one was made for the groom - dark, made of chocolate.
Prince William and Kate Middleton
Prince Charles and Princess Diana
The cake at the wedding of Charles and Diana was half the price of William and Kate's, but, I must say, it turned out to be just one of many: in total there were as many as 27 cakes at the celebration! This one, however, was the “official” one and took over 14 weeks to make.
Interesting fact: a “double” was created for the cake - in case something suddenly happened to the culinary masterpiece. 34 years after the celebration, a piece of the wedding cake was sold at auction for $1,300.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana
David and Victoria Beckham
We can't imagine Victoria Beckham eating chocolate or caramel, so we're not surprised that the wedding cake of the celebrity and her husband consisted of apples. History is silent about what the filling was made of, but at least the cake looked like an ideal dessert for a wedding of healthy lifestyle followers.
David and Victoria Beckham
Elvis and Priscilla Presley
Nowadays, multi-story and multi-thousand-dollar cakes at celebrity weddings are perceived as something familiar, but in 1967, Elvis Presley and his bride Priscilla made everyone talk about themselves. At their wedding in Vegas, the newlyweds cut a six-tier cake, which was decorated with their names and fifteen hundred marzipan roses. In today's times, this culinary masterpiece would cost more than 20 thousand dollars.
Priscilla and Elvis Presley
George and Amal Clooney
There was no place for “creepy roses” at the wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin: it’s not for nothing that the bride is famous for her impeccable taste. For the celebration, Italian pastry chef Roberto Ramperti created a four-tiered cake in the Art Deco style - as stylish as the couple themselves.
Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting
You won’t surprise anyone with cakes costing tens of thousands of dollars, but a cake hanging from a chandelier is another matter! Pastry chef Kimberly Bailey brought this extravagant idea to life for the wedding of Kaley Cuoco and her fiancé Ryan Sweeting. The installation alone of this miracle of nature took two hours, and in order to start cutting the cake, the bride needed three assistants.
Kaylee's assistant told me that she wanted something "out of the ordinary" and I was delighted with it. I had the idea to make the cake an extension of the chandelier, when I shared this with Kaylee, she happily agreed,
- says the pastry chef.
And although celebrities have already gotten divorced (Kaley Cuoco married Karl Cook this summer), their cake still appears in many wedding collections.
Ryan Sweeting and Kaley Cuoco
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
What if the cake is so big that it doesn’t fit through the doors of the banquet hall? At the wedding of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, which amazed the whole world with its size in 2000, the ten-story cake had to be dismantled for a while. Two floors were detached to bring the product into the hall, then attached again.
The height of the confectioner's creation was almost two meters; the decor was made using thousands of glaze flowers. The cake cost seven thousand dollars—sheer nonsense compared to the total holiday budget of one and a half million dollars.
Liza Minnelli and David Jest
Pastry chef Sylvia Weinstock, who worked on Douglas and Zeta-Jones's cake, also created a cake for Liza Minnelli and David Jest. This celebrity couple paid 40 thousand dollars for a huge cake in black, white and red, 12 floors high. Let us only add that the decor was completed with leaves made of pure silver.
Weinstock is considered a legendary confectionery creator and has worked with just about every American celebrity in her career, from J.Lo and Kim Kardashian to members of the Kennedy and Clinton families.
Liza Minnelli and David Jest
Donald and Melania Trump
Where would we be without the wedding of the current US President? At a celebration of this level it was impossible to do without an insanely luxurious cake. This is what it was: decorated with three thousand white roses made of glaze, one and a half meters long, weighing more than 90 kilograms. For all this splendor, pastry chef Cedric Barbara received a check from Trump for 50 thousand dollars. Not luxurious enough? Then we add that each guest was also entitled to a small cake, decorated in the style of the main one.
Melania and Donald Trump
How to celebrate a wedding in a Christian way?
In holding such large-scale holidays, there are many worldly traditions that are established in families or in a particular area. However, despite this, Christians must adhere to the line of behavior that the Lord commanded .
National or family customs should not overshadow a Christian's faith
Traditions and customs of the area of residence may have pagan overtones. Of course, Christians need to refuse to participate in such things. The feast after the wedding should be decent, temperate and decent . It is not appropriate for Christians to get drunk, hold wild and vulgar dances, engage in immodest conversations, sing shameless songs, or in any other way discredit a high position.
A wedding is a joyful event that should not be overshadowed by someone’s unworthy behavior. Fun should be in moderation.
Photo
Every pastry chef strives to create a masterpiece that will be remembered by everyone around him. And wedding cakes are no exception, and photos will help you see this:
