Reaching back nearly 1900 years, to the thriving Roman culture, a wedding cake was virtually nothing more than a small loaf of barley bread. Made from wheat, as a symbolic gesture of fertility and fortuity, it was a bland and naked predecessor compared to the culinary creations of the modern day. During the ceremony, the groom would eat part of a loaf and then break the rest over his bride's head. This breaking of the bread was seen as not only a form of blessing, but also as a breaking of the bride's virginal state and the dominance of the groom over her. After the rite was completed, the guests when then scramble to catch a crumb or two for themselves in accordance to the belief that, by doing so, they would then share in the future prosperity of the couple.
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