Biltmore's 90 Yr. Old Wedding Cake

Fruitcake is known for standing the test of time, but this story seems to really take the cake.

April 29th is the anniversary of an epic event in Biltmore Estate history.

"90 years ago today, the estate was really bustling," says Leslie Klingner, the curator of interpretation.

In 1924, George Vanderbilt's daughter Cornelia tied the knot with John Cecil at All Soul's Church.

Nearly a century later, historians stumbled upon a wedding memento that could actually leave a bad taste in your mouth today. A couple of months ago, 96 year old Frederick Cothran of Candler gave Biltmore something that belonged to his late aunt, a former cook at the estate.

"He discovered a little box," Klingner says. "At first he thought there was cheese in it, which was a mystery to us. "

The box is wrapped with "Biltmore House" engraved on top. There are two sets of monograms including the initials of the bride and groom. In the corner of the box, some oil is seeping through the container.

Turns out, this was no hunk of cheese. It was actually a tiny slice of english wedding tradition.

"And what we found is that it's a piece of their wedding cake and a memento from the wedding 90 years ago today," Klingner tells us.

The fruitcake is now stored in a freezer at the estate until historians figure out what to do with it.

"That's good question, what do you do? We're used to taking care of the house, we've never been faced with how to take care with a piece of cake before. "

The sweet wedding tradition continues today. In fact, Prince William and Duchess Kate gave a slice to their guests. That wedding happened to be on the same date as the Vanderbilt-Cecil ceremony.

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