Holy Frosting, Batman! A friend sent me this slide show of wedding cakes baked by master bakers in Kuwait, and I was mesmerized by their intricacy and beauty. When you see wedding cakes like these--literally, tremendous works of art meant to be admired and enjoyed--you have to wonder what the rest of the wedding is like. I was certainly curious about it, so I checked it out. Here's the scoop on Kuwaiti weddings!

As you'd expect, Kuwaitis adhere strictly to the teachings of Islam, which has specific rules regarding marriage and its related customs. In the case of marriage, the bride and bridegroom will have been approved of, though not necessarily chosen, by both sets of parents. This tells me that most Kuwaitis are permitted to marry for love.

The bridegroom makes a down payment to the bride's father, and the more distinguished the family, the higher the dowry. There's also a delayed payment part of the dowry, which is much larger than the down payment because it's intended for the future security of the bride in the event of divorce or the husband's death.

After the happy couple has unofficially agreed to tie the knot, they become engaged in an Islamic court under Islamic law. Both names are registered, usually by two males or by two females and a male. I don't understand this, but apparently, the formula is that two females equal one male. Once engaged, the couple is legally entitled to date and see each other on a limited basis. In some ultra-traditional arrangements, the bridegroom may never see the face of his wife-to-be until after they are married. Surprise!

The marriage itself is testified to and legalized in the same fashion, after which comes the traditional wedding feast, truly a lavish affair. These cakes clearly attest to that! And at the reception, the males and females rarely fraternize.

So the women, who can be unveiled, are in the same room or tent, where they dance, eat, chant at the tops of their voices, and try to impress and outflatter each other. The bride is decked out in her finest, and sometimes she'll have had her feet and hands temporarily tattooed with a red dye called henna.

The men are also together in similar surroundings. Sometimes, the bridegroom may enter the room or tent where his wife is, where he sits beside her for a while, and then the happy couple leave to start their married life in peace.

So I only have a couple of questions--which gender gets to party in the same tent with the amazing wedding cake, and when does the couple get to cut into it? Oh, and one more--what kind of wedding favors can the guests expect? I have two super suggestions that give those amazing wedding cakes the honor they deserve! First is the Silver-Plated Wedding Cake Place Card/Photo Holder (left,) which guests can use at home to display a photo of the real cake. Next is something more for the women, who sound like they're having a rip-roaring good time in that tent. I think they'd love these "White Wedding Cake" Bubbles, guaranteed to add to the already joyful festivities! So tell me, what do you think of these amazing Kuwaiti cakes?

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