<P> Traditionally the bride would place a ring inside the couple's portion of the cake to symbolise acceptance of the proposal . During the mid-17th century to the beginning of the 19th, the "bride's pie" was served at most weddings . Guests were expected to have a piece out of politeness . It was considered very rude and bad luck not to eat the bride's pie . One tradition of bride's pie was to place a glass ring in the middle of the dessert and the maiden who found it would be the next to marry, similar to the modern tradition of catching the Flower bouquet . Bride's pie would evolve into the bride's cake . At this point the dessert was no longer in the form of a pie and was sweeter than its predecessor . The bride cake was traditionally a plum or fruit cake . The myth that eating the pie would bring good luck was still common but the glass ring slowly died out and the flower bouquet toss replaced it . </P> <P> Fruit cakes were a sign of fertility and prosperity, which helped them gain popularity because married men wanted to have plenty of children . The bride's cake would transform into the modern wedding cake we know today . In the 17th century, two cakes were made, one for the bride and one for the groom . The groom's cake would die out and the bride's cake become the main cake for the event . When the two cakes were served together, the groom's cake was typically the darker colored, rich fruit cake and generally much smaller than the bride's cake . The bride's cake was usually a simple pound cake with white icing because white was a sign of virginity and purity . In the early 19th century, sugar became easier to obtain during the time when the bride's cakes became popular . The more refined and whiter sugars were still very expensive . so only wealthy families could afford to have a very pure white frosting . This display would show the wealth and social status of the family . When Queen Victoria used white icing on her cake it gained a new title, royal icing . </P> <P> The modern wedding cake as we know it now would originate at the 1882 wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; his wedding cake was the first to actually be completely edible . Pillars between cake tiers did not begin to appear until about 20 years later . The pillars were very poorly made from broomsticks covered in icing . The tiers represented prosperity and were a status symbol because only wealthy families could afford to include them in the cake . Prince Leopold's wedding cake was created in separate layers with very dense icing . When the icing would harden the tiers could be stacked, a groundbreaking innovation for wedding cakes at the time . Modern wedding cakes still use this method, with an added form of support with dowels imbedded in the cake to help carry the load especially of larger cakes . </P> <P> Wedding cakes have been present at wedding ceremonies for centuries . They were not always the focus of the event and often came in different forms, like pies or bread . There has always been a lot of symbolism associated with the wedding cake . The earliest known sweet wedding cake is known as a Banbury cake, which became popular in 1655 . The white color has been attached to wedding ceremonies since the Victorian era when Queen Victoria chose to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840 . Queen Victoria accentuated an existing symbol, the color white is frequently associated with virginity and purity . The wedding cake was originally known as the brides cake therefore the color white became common because the cake needed to reflect the bride . </P>

Where did the tradition of wedding cake come from