There is one question that I am dying to ask the wedding gods.  Just where in the world did the idea of a ‘cake topper’ come from?  Who decided that when you get married, you needed to invite a miniature plastic bride and groom to sit upon the top most layer of your wedding cake?  In my quest to find the ‘perfect’ cake topper and to answer my question, I stumbled across a smattering of wedding cake lore.

Did you know that the tradition of a wedding cake was first celebrating in ancient Rome.  Only it wasn’t a cake but a loaf of bread that the groom would break over the bride’s head to show dominance in the marriage and over her.  Guests and relatives would then eat the bread to ensure good luck.

Around the late 17th century, the wedding cake came to be known as the bride’s pie or cake (mince pies made of sugary sweet breads) in which a glass ring was hidden during the preparation.  The lucky woman at the wedding gathering to find the ring in the cake would be the next one to wed.  Another interesting tradition that I stumbled upon was the breaking of the cake into tiny pieces, which were then passed through the bride’s wedding ring. These pieces were offered to the unwed female guests to be placed under their own pillows.  That night, they would dream of their future husband.  Now, waking up to smashed cake under my pillow is my idea of a party.

In today’s traditions, the action of the bride and groom cutting the cake is meant to symbolize their first joint task in married life. And the gesture of feeding cake to one another is a symbol of the commitment the bride and groom are making.  I tried to research what the smashing of the cake into each other’s faces meant – but came up with nothing.

Alas, as far as the origins of the cake topper – that’s a little more fuzzy.  There are no true records of the official first, but it is believed that the tradition dates back to well over 100 years ago when the daughter of a baker was getting married and wanted something to symbolized the eternal love between her and her husband-to-be.  At her request, the father created two small figures – and viola!  The origins of the little plastic people who sit on wedding cakes.

I consider myself to be very lucky with it comes to selecting the wedding cake, or cupcakes in my case, for our wedding.  I have an inside source.  My sister-in-law, who decorates cakes for a living.  I asked her if she could please be our baker-extraordinaire.  And she so graciously said yes.  I am really excited to have her use her talents and be a part of our day in this very special way.

So next comes the cake topper.  I really didn’t want flowers.  I was looking for something that would last for years.  Something that I could sit in my curio cabinet and ‘remember when.’  I started looking in the usual places and was not liking what I saw.  Plastic brides and grooms, with poorly painted faces, in various random poses.  We aren’t baseball fans.  Or fisher-people.  We aren’t Cinderalla and Prince Charming, nor are we the ‘jump-into-his-arms-and-he-spins-me-around’ types.  And my response to the brides dragging their grooms across the cake are, ‘Why are you even bothering?’

I was looking for something different, unique and of course, artsy.  Something that would look great not only on top of a cake, but also sitting on my shelf.  I happened to be playing around with Pinterest one day (to which I am totally addicted) and saw that my favorite local art gallery, Artfully Elegant in Bethlehem, PA,  had pinned some of their new store additions.  And I saw it – my cake topper.  Excited couldn’t describe it.  It was just what I was looking for – artsy, simple and not plastic at all.  The artist’s business is called ‘Homemade Circus,’ and her designs come from her interest in abandoned and forgotten carnivals and circuses.  I think that there is something sweet about the two love birds sitting in the simple wire heart and birdcage frame.

When I spoke with Erin at the gallery, she mentioned that they hadn’t been listing them as cake toppers because they were afraid that people wouldn’t buy them, thinking that they couldn’t be sculptural as well as functional.  “Perfect,” I said, “because I was looking for something that wasn’t just functional, but also sculptural!  When can I pick it up?”

For now, it will sit on my shelf for all to see and admire.  And come June, it will have the best seat in the whole reception – on top of the wedding cake.