Detail of Replica Cleveland Wedding Cake Decorations
This photograph shows a close-up of the top two tiers of a five-foot-tall replica of the wedding cake enjoyed by President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland when they married in the Blue Room of the White House on June 2, 1886. White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier replicated the wedding cake in 1987 at the request of a filmmaker who wanted it for a documentary. The cake, replicated from a drawing, had royal icing and pastillage decorations, all hand made by Chef Mesnier. However, the cake never made it out of the White House; as Chef Mesnier was adding the final touches he was informed that the documentary had been cancelled. Chef Mesnier was asked again to replicate the cake in 2014 for a fundraising gala benefiting the Grover Cleveland Birthplace Historic Site in which the cake was part of a wedding reenactment.
This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1979 to 2004.