When was the last time you enjoyed a slice of wedding cake?
This question lingered in the back of my mind as I savored the first bite of vanilla frosting and white cake amid the happy throng of far-flung relatives and longtime friends at the post-wedding party for my friend Steve and his partner Dave last week.
A three-tiered affair, with separate sections of carrot, chocolate and vanilla, the cake itself was so beautifully done I almost hated to see it cut.
Apart from the sweetness of marital union, wedding cake, from ancient times forward, has symbolized prosperity, happiness and fidelity, among other things. Though its form has changed through the ages, evolving from a wheat bun to a minced meat or organ concoction known as Bride's Pie, the cake we recognize today only came about with affluence and the availability of ovens and refined flour and sugar. The now ubiquitous wedding cake endures apparently both because of and despite change, as does marriage.
It gave me immense pleasure to share in the traditions of cake, toasts to the groom and groom, music, conversation and food. With any gathering, however, it is the people involved that make it memorable. In this case, the grooms, their hosts and the mix of friends and family members on both sides who are now joined because two wonderful men decided to make their already established commitment as legal as it can be.
In the months since the historic Supreme Court decision allowing marriage equality to stand throughout the nation, several sets of my friends have declared their intent to marry but Steve and Dave are the first to do so. This is both a fitting end to one year and a just and happy beginning for another.
Until Next Time...
(As a post script, I was asked to emphasize how happy they were that friends and family could come and and celebrate with them).
7 comments:
It has been years since I had wedding cake. Where I live in Canada we have marriage equality for over a decade so that Supreme Court decision deserves the biggest and best cake ever! Finally!
How I wish we would come to the party on the marriage equality front. It will happen, but should have already happened.
My wedding cake was so good... we hardly gave any leftovers away, we ate THEM ALL! I hope you get to eat lots of wedding cake this year <3
Lovely cake for a lovely union.
It was great to have you there, E!
A lovely occasion!
Beautiful post. I have not had wedding cake for quite some time now. But cake as such? I'll be tucking in in a mo. :-)
Greetings from London.
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