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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

At least one commissioned a wedding cake in the shape of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 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

She’s made it so intrinsic to her plot, for so many believable reasons, that it’s also the icing and the cherry on the wedding cake.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025

Unfortunately, he didn't see the wagon handle, so he tripped on it, slid on the wet concrete, fell in the puddle of melted ice and, unfortunately, toppled the wedding cake.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg