Happy September, ladies and gentlemen! As we near the upcoming holiday season, it’s got me thinking about all kinds of traditions for weddings and beyond. From throwing the bouquet to blowing out candles, there are many traditions of today that we don’t necessarily understand or question.
That being said, there are traditions that aren’t as prevalent today and exist only on unique or various occasions. When talking to an event planner friend recently, I mentioned remembering my bridesmaid’s luncheon (which is another one of those fleeting traditions now days we may cover at another time) and how delightful and fun the cake charms were. She was puzzled on what cake charms were, so I figured I’d write a blog post and discuss it!
Mostly a Southern “thang”, cake charms or cake pulls are charms sometimes attached to colored or ivory ribbons that are baked into or placed under your bridal shower cake. These ribbons can be attached to a name tag or special wish for each bridesmaid. Each charm found has a symbol that represents a fortune appropriate for each woman’s or bridesmaid’s life situation. The ribbons can be color-coded for single, married, or very young women so that each charm is appropriate for their time in their life (such as a ring, a baby carriage, and so on). Other popular charms include an airplane (for travel), a coin (for good luck), and a key (for new opportunities).
When I got married just over 29 years ago, we had the cake charms as part of the bridesmaid’s luncheon the day before our wedding day. A special cake was made for the occasion, and each girl in my wedding party chose a ribbon, and at the end of it was a charm! While I can’t remember exactly what charms my mom chose to put into the cake, they were probably something like a star, a heart, or a butterfly. All of my bridesmaids loved this!
The origination of this tradition is speculative but seems to have stemmed from the United Kingdom back as far as the 1600s. In 17th century England, the tradition was to sew charms onto the bride’s skirt of her dress to be later pulled from the dress by the bridesmaids and kept as tokens and trinkets of good luck. As the times turned, it is believed to have transformed into cakes instead of dresses creating the tradition of baking the charms into a wedding cake. In the south of the United States, this seems to have begun in the early 1920s and throughout the twentieth century.
Nowadays, you can find these “charming” charm ornaments on sites like Etsy and Amazon. Though it may not be a popular or mainstream tradition in today’s wedding world, you can also ask your wedding cake baker if they provide this service. It would be a wonderful tradition to a bridesmaid’s luncheon (if you’re having one!), a bridal shower, or simply a pre-wedding celebration! Traditionally the cake pull is for single women, but charms are available for various times of your guest’s life, as well as some options for a gender-neutral charm.
Though there are an overwhelming number of options to personalize your wedding, if you would like to incorporate an iconic tradition from the South in your day, this would be something to consider! There are many options for these charms, and this could create such a personalized touch to your wedding day. I know my memories of my bridesmaid’s luncheon include this tradition and remember how wonderful it was to celebrate this with my girls before my big day.
Have you been the recipient of a bridesmaid cake charm?! Comment below!
