Wedding-Cake Porn Almost Too Good To Eat

As a lesbian who came of age in the '90s, I've always been ambivalent about marriage — and weddings. It was always difficult to participate in institutional rites of passage that I myself couldn’t undertake. Yet, I’ve very happily attended many traditional nuptials (including those of several former girlfriends), and was genuinely thrilled for the newlyweds. I'm now finally able to legally marry. But, and perhaps it's a bit Groucho Marx-esque of me, I still refrain from taking the vows.

One thing I'm unequivocal about, however, is wedding cake. I once attended a ceremony that featured both a statuesque cake and a cupcake tower — before those were even cool. Sometimes the dessert ends up being the most long-lasting memory of the night. I walk out, hail a taxi when all is said and done, and think about that last bite of cake I ate — and how it represents the marriage ahead. I don't know much about baking, but it seems to me the cake is a fitting symbol for the marriage-to-matrimony transition. At first sight, it presents the Mister and Missus's best foot forward in the most elegant, unique, and impressive way. Once cut open, it reveals multiple layers — and it often ends up smashed on the floor at the end of the night.

And yet, full of hope, couples still throw weddings every year — and probably put a lot of thought into those last sweet bites of the evening. As an ode to the symbolic confection, we've rounded up 11 truly spectacular, locally made masterpieces from New York Weddings’ Winter 2015 issue. Click ahead, and dig in!