Curiously cutting edge royal memorabilia

Wedding cakes are a curious phenomenon and a rare opportunity for bakers to go totally over the top. But Royal wedding cakes take the biscuit in terms of elaborate decoration and conspicuous excess.

If you’re following the Royal Wedding news, you’ll have heard that William and Kate have opted for ‘his and hers’ wedding cakes. Hers will be the official multi-tiered fruit cake, decorated with edible flowers - representing the emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland...










His choice, of an unbaked chocolate biscuit cake by McVitie’s, is not quite as curious as it seems: In 1923, The Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later George VI and The Queen Mother) picked the Scottish company to make their cake, in recognition of the bride’s Scottish roots.





So, what are we to expect? The ‘bride cake’ for Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840 was nearly 3 metres wide and weighed more than 135 kg. Even the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s 2005 nuptials boasted a cake that included 1,080 eggs, 100 kg of marzipan and 36 bottles of booze.

A fair part of any royal cake will be sliced up to be presented in commemorative tins for the guests. A piece of cake from the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana fetched £1,000 at an auction in 2008.




Of course, every wedding cake also needs an appropriate knife, and we may have found just the thing: This curiously collectable vintage cake knife from ShopCurious commemorates the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.

Presented in its original gold and red embossed box, this charming piece of cutlery is in excellent condition, and would make a lovely wedding gift - though I’m not sure it was designed to cut through a cake made from frozen chocolate biscuits.

Are you?

Bottom drawer prize draw giveaway

Grace à ...

Okay, the times they are a changing - and today things ain't looking so good in the UK. I suggest you take a moment out to comment on this post - you may even win a copy of the 112 page hardback book, Grace Kelly Style.**

If you're going to be swayed by the media, why not escape into a fantasy world of free stuff that's fabulous, frivolous and fun? For the moment at least.

Grace Kelly was a fashion icon long before her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco, so it’s hardly surprising there was such a lot of interest in her wedding trousseau and bridal wear. By the way, the word ‘trousseau’ derives from an old French word for ‘bundle’, though it’s a term familiar to many cultures. Throughout the ages, the trousseau has traditionally comprised of the articles assembled in preparation for a wedding, honeymoon and the initial months as a newlywed – things like clothing, accessories, jewellery, beautifying lotions, potions, bed-linen and so on.

Previously stored in chests of drawers, sometimes known as ‘hope chests’, the Victorians even created an event called the ‘trousseau tea’, where they showed off the crate loads of china, linens and silks that had been collected for the wedding party. (No such preparation for any potential union of UK political parties, of course).



By 1956, when Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco, trousseaux were generally much less extravagant. However, Grace Kelly’s wedding trousseau was certainly fit for a Princess, consisting of around forty day and evening outfits, including two Helen Rose-designed wedding gowns, and a dozen High Society film costumes, donated by MGM.




One doesn't often hear the ‘t’ word mentioned these days, (unless it stands for thong, perhaps), as pre-wedding shopping is more likely to mean sexy lingerie, stockings, suspenders and frilly garters. Nowadays, you can purchase these sorts of items online too: If you’re in search of unusual pieces for a wedding trousseau, ShopCurious has some curiously original accessories, though we prefer the more natural, old fashioned variety of wedding attire - and gifts with provenance, as well as purpose.




…And what about men? Isn’t the whole concept of the trousseau a tad sexist? I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas for unique pre-wedding gifts and examples of things you’ve purchased, or stashed away in anticipation of your impending nuptials. I reckon there must be some huge bottom drawers out there, full of curious bits and bobs that have been hoarded up, but never used.

Do you?




** Win a copy of the book, pictured right.

Comment on this post within the next week or so, (with a link to your blog or profile so we can contact you if you win), to be entered into a prize draw for a copy of the book, Grace Kelly Style:

Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, to accompany the Grace Kelly Style Icon exhibition, this book, written by H Kristina Haughland, with an introduction by the curator, Jenny Lister is full of fabulous photographs of Grace Kelly as ‘The Actress’, ‘The Bride’ and ‘The Princess’.

(Closing date for entries Tuesday 18th May)

Summer wedding

Did you know that in Victorian times, June was considered the luckiest month for a wedding - hence the tradition of early summer weddings? June has always been the most popular month, as it is named after Juno - the Roman goddess of marriage. She would bring prosperity and happiness to all who wed in her month. Practicality was also a consideration since, if married in June, the bride was likely to give birth to her first child in spring, allowing her enough time to recover before harvest time. June also signified the end of Lent and the arrival of warmer weather, so it was time to remove winter clothing and partake of an annual bath! April, November and December were also favoured months, as they didn't conflict with peak farm working times. October was an auspicious month too, signifying a bountiful harvest. May, however, was considered unlucky. 'Marry in May and rue the day' says an old proverb, but 'marry in September's shine, your living will be rich and fine'. The Victorians were very superstitious about weddings, resulting in many traditions that have since fallen out of favour. Around the turn of the century, it was customary to create a marriage globe in the form of a collection of precious things from the special occasion, usually the bride's wedding crown, flowers and other family momentos inside a large glass dome. The items chosen to put into the dome were highly symbolic, for instance:

• Oak leaves to represent the longevity of union

• Sheaves of wheat to symbolise the gift of life

• Rectangular mirrors to signify the years of engagement

• Diamond shaped mirrors meaning fertility

• A large central mirror symbolic of the reflection of the soul

• Clusters of grapes standing for prosperity

• Roses or daisies representative of love

• Cherries seen as protection from bad fortune

• Ivy indicating attachment to each other

• Chestnut tree leaves signifying links to others

We have a couple of original antique wedding domes available at ShopCurious. These are beautiful pieces of history and would make a totally unique and very romantic wedding gift. Alternatively, you might simply want to invest in one as a curiously collectable heirloom for future generations, or to decorate your abode in opulent Victorian style? Perhaps you're even inspired enough to make your own modern day version. Are you?