What do they call those little statues or figures that sit on top of a wedding cake? Do you know? They are called ” Wedding Cake Toppers “, and they have become somewhat of a tradition in this world in which we live. There is an incredible variety of toppers on the consumer market today. Let’s spend a little while learning the story of the “topper”.

Let’s start off with a formal description. A wedding cake topper is a small statue, figure or model that sits on top of a wedding cake. Usually made out of plastic, it usually depicts the bride and groom in their formal wedding attire…taking their vows on that special day…

With the description out of the way, the history is next. We should mention right from the start that we don’t have exact records of the first topper. We do know that they date back to at least 100 years ago. One tradition tells us that the daughter of a baker was getting married, and asked her dad to do something to make the occasion memorable. He thought and thought and, being a baker, decided he would bake a special wedding cake. On top of this cake he would put a little figure depicting his daughter and her future husband. He intended that it depict the love that they shared for each other something that the whole world could see. On the day of the wedding he unveiled the cake, and his daughter was delighted. She was so delighted that the topper has been a tradition ever since (or so the story goes).

Perhaps just a story but it does foreshadow the prominence that cake toppers were about to take. Surely this humble baker didn’t realize what a tradition he was about to start? The world would never be the same again.

Elvis and Rock & Roll are iconic symbols of the 1950′s. But what about the wedding cake topper? They had their place as well since many, many young men were returning from years of war and starting to wed and raise families.

Into the modern age in which we live we see that toppers have continued in their popularity. They have “adjusted” with the times somewhat. For example, it is now possible to get wedding cake toppers depicting various ethnic races, and same sex toppers as well. A little cottage industry in humorous wedding toppers has taken off as well such as those depicting a bride holding her groom by the collar so that he can’t flee the scene of the wedding. Another humorous topper shows the bride dragging her future husband back to the altar. Some toppers depict the hobbies that the bride and groom enjoy.