I came across some fun pictures in a hundred-year-old magazine of a wedding cake and a tablescape idea for a spring wedding. Enjoy!
1916 Wedding Cake and Reception Tablescape
I came across some fun pictures in a hundred-year-old magazine of a wedding cake and a tablescape idea for a spring wedding. Enjoy!
A Hundred Years Ago 
Help, which fork do I use??!
I struggle to properly use two forks. With three I’m clueless. 🙂
I think you use them from the outside in, so at the end of each course, you lose a fork.
An entirely different era….
It sure was. Some things were so much more formal back then.
This was fun. Wonder who made cakes inspired by that article and what happened to the newly married couples.
I like how the caption on these old pictures indicates who designed the cake and tablescape. It shows a certain respect for those talented individuals.
Wow, that’s pretty cool!
I agree. I’m glad you liked this post. 🙂
The table setting is lovely! One thing though… If there were many guests, I sure would hate to be the dishwasher!😉
How true. I wonder how large the typical wedding was a hundred years ago.
My first question was, “What is gum paste?” Well, as it turns out, gum paste is a form of sugary dough used to decorate things like wedding cakes — and it’s still around. You can buy it at places like Walmart, or make your own. Who knew?
The articles I read were very clear, though: gum paste is not fondant!
Interesting. . . Thanks for researching this. Until I read your comment, I’d just assumed that it was some type of fondant.
Wow, that cake looks really complicated!
Popular wedding cake designs have sure changed across the years. 🙂
Love how festive their tables always were. The attention to detail is quite beautiful.
I’m a very informal person when I entertain, yet sometimes I think that something important has been lost across the years. 🙂
That’s a great point. 🙂
I think this is so interesting!
I’m glad you liked this post. 🙂
I love these kind of things.
Quite elaborate. According to the cutlery it looks like they served quite a few courses. I wonder what the menu looked like. Quite strange to start with a fruit cup. 🙂
Thanks for asking. The menu was included in the magazine article. Your comment made me realize that I should have included it in the post. Here it is: strawberry cup, wafers, rolls, lettuce cream soup, olives, radishes, eggs in aspic jelly, broiled chicken, potato balls, asparagus salad, pistachio and fresh coconut ice cream, wedding cake, candies, salted nuts, coffee. No recipes are included–though I’m curious about a few of the dishes, especially the lettuce cream soup.
It must have been quite the event. In 1916, Ladies Home Journal was already a mass circulation magazine magazine. I’m thinking that this tablescape and wedding spread may have been aspirational for many readers, and not typical.
That is quite a menu, though in most part the dishes are quite simple, it definitely was labor intensive.
I too think that it was not typical and more of an aspiration.
As for the lettuce soup – it was quite common in classic French cuisine. It’s interesting that it somehow lost popularity. I wonder why. I still use it in certain soups. It adds lots of body and creaminess without making the soup heavy.
You can check this link for a recipe: https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/zucchini-lettuce-and-herbs-soup/
Thank you for posting — this sounds delish, and I have been hungry for a “new” soup!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked the recipe and hope you’ll enjoy the soup. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂
I enjoyed learning a little about the history of lettuce soup. It sounds like it’s time to reverse the trend, and revive the use of lettuce in soups. Thanks for sharing the link. This soup looks wonderful.
I’m with you on reviving lettuce soup. 🙂
Charming setting and a very interesting menu. The ice cream would be delicious.
My sense is that ice cream freezers were a relatively new invention back then, and that ice cream was a very popular treat. Sometimes I’m amazed by how many ice cream recipes there are in old cookbooks. As the weather gets warmer here I’m going to have to browse through the ice cream sections of hundred-year-old cookbooks, and see if there is a recipe that I want to try. 🙂
That will be fun. I have just printed out the spice cake recipe. Hoping to give it a try tomorrow. 🙂
I think that you’ll like it. If you make it, let me know how it turns out. With these old recipes, it’s always helpful to get the opinions of others about any tweaking that may be needed.
I will keep you posted.
Goodness. We’ll all have to go out and get married again……
It’s interesting how styles change across the years – even for wedding cakes. For example, bride and groom figurines on top of the cake were popular once upon a time. And, wedding cakes with plastic pillars between the layers were very popular when I got married.
Me too! I still think the cake(s) should be rich fruit cakes, but I gather they’re no longer in vogue.
Beautiful and fascinating – what a find! 🙂
Thanks, it’s nice to hear that you liked this post.
Oh this is so lovely. I wonder if it was just for a small family gathering…as you say, perhaps is was their Martha Stewart edition 🙂 And the narcissus would smell heavenly! Mine are just finished here in PA.
You may be right that it was for a small family gathering. I love how you describe the smell of the narcissus on the table.
I’m not a fan of cupids, but I still think both the cake and the table setting are rather pretty!
I tend to associate cupids with Valentine’s Day. Apparently a hundred years ago, cupids represented something broader (love) than just a holiday.
Lovely cake and table setting!
I’m glad you liked it.
PRECIOUS POST!!
Thank you! It’s wonderful to hear that you especially enjoyed this post.
It is a bygone era … although I have seen elaborate cakes at some weddings I have been to.
Times were just different back then. 🙂
So great! I love seeing how the tables were set, and the pretty little details.
It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed this post.
Wish I could have attended this wedding!
So do I. It would be so much fun if we could jump into a time machine and attend a wedding from a hundred years ago. 🙂
One of my grandmothers got married in 1910 and one in 1919. I would love to time travel back to either. Pretty sure neither had anything like what is pictured.
definitely!
Have a lovely Sunday, and best wishes from Paris, Sabine.
They look lovely. I appreciated how the person writing the caption mentioned colors (“white satin” and the “strawberry… color note”). I’m going to imagine the narcissus is yellow, but it might be white or other colors (I have no idea how long those colorful varieties–like pink–have been around).
I’m going to imagine that the narcissus were yellow, too. It seems like the author would have indicated what color they were if it was something different. It’s fun to see how descriptions included colors back in the days of black & white. 🙂
My niece is getting married soon. She will enjoy this post. My blog got accidentally deleted. I am so happy to be back. I have missed your posts!
I’ve missed you, too. Welcome back!
It’s so interesting to see how far cake decorating has come.
It’s fascinating how styles and decorating techniques have changed across the years.
Isn’t it so interesting how the styles have changed? I am a home baker and I’m currently writing an insert on the wedding cake trends through the decades. May I use your photos and reference your blog?
Yes, you may use the photos and reference my blog. Thanks for checking.