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• wedding cake
  wedding cake

  noun

  a white cake, traditionally in tiered layers, covered with white icing and decorated.
• wedding-cake
  wedding-cake

  adjective

  highly ornate or overly elaborate.

wedding cake

¹ American  

noun

1. a white cake, traditionally in tiered layers, covered with white icing and decorated.

2. (in England) a fruit cake, similar in appearance.

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wedding-cake ² American  

[wed-ing-keyk] / ˈwɛd ɪŋˌkeɪk /

adjective

1. highly ornate or overly elaborate.

   wedding-cake architecture.

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wedding cake British  

noun

1. a rich fruit cake, with one, two, or more tiers, covered with almond paste and decorated with royal icing, which is served at a wedding reception

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Etymology

Origin of wedding cake¹

First recorded in 1640–50

Origin of wedding-cake²

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Colleton’s 1820 Greek Revival courthouse is elegant like a wedding cake.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

This is not a wedding cake; it’s a celebration among friends.

From Salon • Feb. 3, 2026

The early embrace of sunshine as an antiseptic, formalized in New York’s wedding cake towers that were required to step back gradually from the street, soon morphed into a generalized opposition to tall buildings.

From Slate • Jul. 23, 2025

Their wedding cake will even feature a small tribute to Popcorn, with his name written at the bottom.

From BBC • May 24, 2025

Together they stood on the sidewalk and gazed at the wedding cake in the window.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn