As a wedding photographer, I have a bird’s eye view of lots of different weddings.  But no matter how many I see, there are traditions that turn up at all of them.  So, being the curious sort that I am, I decided to do a little research and write an occasional post on the history of some of the more prevalent wedding customs.  In the process, I’ll pull photos from some of the different wedding versions I’ve shot to give you an idea of the range out there.

I’m going to start with one of my favs – the wedding cake.  Beyond just liking cake (who doesn’t?) I love to photograph them.  If you get the light right on them, they’re truly beautiful to capture.  But I’m pretty sure they’re not there for my benefit.  So why do we have them at all these weddings?

Well, from what I’ve found, the history of the wedding cake is decidedly messy, I mean, for real messy.  The Romans used to bake a loaf of barley bread for the groom to break over the bride’s head.  Charming.  Supposedly, this represented the breaking of the hymen (doubly charming) and the dominion of the husband over the wife (that’s a triple!).  Fortunately, history saw fit to move on from there.  In Medieval times, they did a couple of good things, in my opinion.  They dropped the part where the bride gets whacked over the head by her new he-man of a husband and they added sugar to the bread (really good move).  Guests would come to the wedding bearing small sweet cakes or rolls and pile them as high as they could.  The couple would then try to lean over the piled cakes to kiss without toppling them.  If they managed that they would live long and prosper.  No one seemed to know what would happen if they knocked them all down.  I’m guessing plague, locust and maybe raining frogs, but it’s just a guess.  Another cool Medieval tradition included cutting the cake into very small pieces and throwing it over the shoulders of the bride and groom (I told you it was messy).  The guests would then dive for the small bits and presumably eat them off the floor.  If they managed to get a crumb of cake they would, you guessed it, live long and prosper.  Another version of that has the bride passing small bits of cake through her ring to all her guests.  Bad idea for a big wedding.

For the wedding cake as we know it, you have to skip forward to the 17th century.  The English and the French both claim to have made the first tiered, iced and decorated one (of course they do), but somewhere in that time a nasty concoction called the Bride’s Pie (think lots of organ meats in dough) wisely evolved into a version of the cake we see today.  By the time Queen Victoria got married in 1840, the custom was so entrenched she had a cake that measured 9.5 feet in diameter.  That’s a big cake and the term royal icing comes from there.  Many people believe the cake topper also came from Victoria and Albert’s cake.  They didn’t have a replica of themselves, but they did have little turtle doves and cupids and stuff.  Got people to thinking.  There’s also a story that sounds so made up I dare repeat it, about a baker making little dolls of his daughter and her fiance for the top of their wedding cake.  But who knows.  What we do know is they were wildly popular during the middle part of the 20th century and have been making a bit of a comeback.  Who doesn’t love a good cake topper?

The traditional white icing was at first a practical consideration.  It was hard enough to make smooth icing back then – some sources mention stirring for 2 hours – much less dye it.  In addition, it supported the Victorian idea of purity.  But while sugar was widely available, refined sugar not so much.  So only the rich people had it.  As a result, the whiter the cake, the more affluent the family.

The groom’s cake came about around the same time, but looked quite different than it does today.  It was basically a fruit cake (I know, yuck) that was cut into pieces and given to guests as a take home gift – kind of like those little bags of Krispy Kremes.  It was also the cake young girls put under their pillows so they would dream about their future husbands.

If you know other things regarding the history of the wedding cake you’d like to add, just put it in the comments section.  But I’ll just close by saying this is one tradition I approve of 100%.

 

For those of you who only know me as an Atlanta wedding and portrait photographer, I thought it would be fun to share photos from one of my other photography jobs.  I have the privilege of shooting the show shots for the musicals performed at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre in Marietta.  If you don’t know about them, you should definitely check them out.  They are the only local professional musical theatre company in Atlanta and they do really outstanding work.  They do 5 or 6 shows a year (sorry, I can’t remember which, I just show up with my cameras on final dress when it’s on my calendar).  Right now they’re doing All Night Strut, which is a song and dance review of music from the 30’s and 40’s.  It’s a terrific show with lots of recognizable music and a super cast.  Anyway, I’ll start posting some photos from the shows every few months to give you an idea of what it looks like and maybe entice you to go check it out.   Because, let’s face it, you need to get out from behind the computer for a little while and give yourself a break from all that wedding planning.

 

Every now and again I get a call for a small private wedding. They’re always so sweet and touching because there’s nothing at all to distract from the ceremony. Such was the case with Tami & Neville who got married in Atlanta at a small church on Columbia Drive last week. The entire wedding consisted of the two of them, the pastor and Tami’s mother. It didn’t stop them from looking terrific, though! I always feel strangely honored in those circumstances – like I’m getting to witness something special that so few people are a part of. It was a strikingly blue day, but so cold (less than 10 with the wind chill) it was hard to get from the car to the church. So we shot everything in the sanctuary. Nice wedding, though. I appreciated being a part of it.

 

If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you remember Amanda & Matt’s engagement photos I shot at the River Mill Event Centre in Columbus, GA this past summer.  It’s a great venue for engagement photos and an even better one for the wedding photographs!  It was a truly magical day and night.  Amanda’s mom, Cathy, works with the centre and did an amazing job of decorating for the wedding and Matt’s mom, a former wedding planner, clearly had a strong hand in designing a lovely day.  The chef there is a big deal on the international scene and he didn’t disappoint.  Amanda and Matt graciously fed us (thanks, guys!) and it was wonderful food.  It was a big crowd – well over 300 and had one of the best wedding bands we’ve yet encountered.  Check them out if you’re looking for a group who keeps your wedding reception hopping!  They’re called The Maxx and they were absolutely terrific.  They got everyone at the place on their feet.  Okay, enough babble.  Enjoy Amanda and Matt’s photos!

 

I met Lindsey and Chris as they did their world wind wedding trip to Atlanta over the holidays picking, not just a photographer, but all of their other vendors as well.  They live in Boston and are coming back south to get married (Lindsey is from Atlanta and her parents are still here) at the end of April.  A great couple – one of those you can imagine celebrating their 50th together – we had a fun shoot one morning in December at Piedmont Park.  Most all Atlanta wedding photographers shoot a lot of engagement sessions in Piedmont Park, but it’s just so pretty with lots of areas for interesting photos, that I enjoy it every time I go back there.  That day was no exception – although it was sooooo cold.  Without Lindsey’s glove/mitten thingys, that she so graciously loaned me, I would still be fighting frostbite!  Check back for their wedding photos in late April!

 

You might remember back a few months ago on the blog the engagement photos I took of Jenifer and Brandon at Road Atlanta.  It was a way fun shoot (including their little dog Chloe!) and I truly enjoyed hanging out with them.  Well, they had their big wedding day December 5th (I know, I’m really late with this) in Flowery Branch at it was a totally fun one.  Their guests and bridal party had such a strong bond to the two of them, it lifted the whole occasion.  And I can see why – they’re both so totally genuine and wonderful.  Take a look at the watch shot.  If you’re looking for a very cool groom’s gift, maybe you could follow in Brandon’s footsteps – he made those himself!  Being a mechanical Neanderthal myself, I was way impressed with that.  Also, I had great sunset karma with these two.  It was way cold but we managed some great wedding party photos as the sun was setting!

 

Okay, I know I’ve been incredibly lame at updating my blog, but I’m, yet again, attempting to turn over a new leaf. I had a great shoot with Shakera and Antonio in December (although it was one of those bitterly cold Atlanta days and we froze while taking these engagement photos!). It was fun anyway. Antonio is one of those wry witted grooms I so enjoy and Shakera is a natural in front of the camera. I’m photographing their Atlanta wedding in May at Pristine Chapel, so check back here to see their big day!