Wedding Cakes Gone Wild?
By Ana Finkel
What we know of today as the wedding cake has far surpassed what any ancient Roman bride would have ever imagined. From breaking a loaf of bread over the brides’ head, some say to symbolize the husbands’ new found control or the “breaking” of her “purity”, to three tiered, white, vanilla wedding cakes, this staple symbol of marriage continues to evolve. Today, Bridezilla demands decadent masterpieces on an increasingly shrinking budget, in an industry where ingredient costs are always on the rise. From traditional paradigms to society’s shift toward the art culture, healthy living, and cheap eats, many cake artists are left scurrying for creative inspiration on the dime.
Wedding ceremonies in the United States were once characterized by the stark white wedding cake, inside and out, three tiers, period. Brides and cake artists collaborated on various designs; roses, ribbons, pastels. Blah. They stayed white, or close to it, and unable to break free from the tiered design, the wedding cake stayed as it was, just a part of the ceremony, fun to watch as it was smothered all over the brides’ pretty face, but nothing too much more.
Walking into the reception hall after a wedding you may never know that oddly-placed statue of a helicopter on the table next to the hors d'oeuvres was actually carved from chocolate, or the vase of lilies atop the cake was free-formed from sugar. Today, wedding cakes range from the traditional boring white picture of purity, to magical castles with dragons and flowing moats, or diamonds and fairies. The wedding cake is now art, and the main attraction, besides the bride of course, of the entire ceremony.
As lovely a concept as it is, such a masterpiece of edible perfection is atrociously expensive, and not just for the bride. Decorating a wedding cake can be extremely time-consuming, and depending on the ingredients, more expensive than Bridezilla might think. You won’t often see a baker rolling around in a Hummer or Lamborghini. That’s because the wedding cake that cost the couple-to-be $500.00 to $2,000.00 or maybe more, cost their cake artist almost just as much when you factor in the cost of labor and those high-quality ingredients Mrs. High-Class or Mrs. Organic demanded. There’s certainly nothing wrong with high-quality ingredients, no true baker will despise you for it, it’s the expensive taste combined with the despicable expectation of low cost which presents a problem in an economy where we can’t say no to a new customer. From the ancient Roman bride and her loaf of bread to Bridezilla and her 500 lb edible crown, what’s next in this evolution process?
Angkor in Longmont
Hi Gabby,
My husband, family, and friends enjoy the Angkor in Longmont. It is
Southeast Asian cuisine (Cambodian, Thai, Vietnamese & Chinese foods).
It is excellent! I do not understand why the restaurant is not filled
with customers -- maybe the location? The waitresses and waiters are always pleasant and dressed nicely. They have been at this location for at last 5 years. Just thought I'd tell you about the restaurant if you were in their area. I hope they do not disappear, but I do wonder because they do not seem to be busy.
Last night my husband and I ordered take-out (we live in Brighton) and took it to my sisters house just south of Longmont. It was absolutely delicious. I found their take-out menu on-line at
www.menupix.com/menudirectory.
If you do visit them, I'd appreciate your opinion.
Thank you,
Diane
PS my favorite dish is Cambodian Curry over Spinach (with Chicken)
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