Our Museum Services team made a sweet discovery related to Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding to the Honorable John F.A. Cecil on April 29, 1924. It’s a fascinating detail that was recently uncovered in an attic—a first for Biltmore—and the sweet discovery all started with a simple phone call.

Fred Cothran proudly holds the keepsake cake from the Vanderbilt-Cecil wedding.

A sweet discovery

In 2014, Biltmore acquired a piece of cake for the Biltmore collection, which our curators confirm is the only edible artifact now housed in the archives. Cake? For the archives? Indeed. And even more of an enticing tidbit: we believe that it’s about to be 100 years old!

Candler resident Frederick Cothran, then 96, found the cake in a trunk he inherited from his aunt, Bonnie Revis. Miss Revis was a cook at Biltmore House between 1924 and 1935. He contacted Biltmore’s museum services department to report that he had what he thought was a piece of cheese from Biltmore House. Not wasting any time, Laura Cope, Collections Manager, paid a visit to Cothran.

“Food is personal. People bond over it, and it’s easy to relate to it on several levels,” she says, and that’s why she had to see the cheese for herself.

Keepsake cake with monogram details. “CVC” for Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil and “JFAC” for John Francis Amherst Cecil.

When she met Cothran he presented her with a neat and tiny box engraved “Biltmore House” on the top. Two sets of monograms are engraved on either side: “CSV” for Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt; and “JFAC” for John Francis Amherst Cecil.

After getting back to Biltmore House, Laura researched the customs of the day and realized that this was more than likely cake rather than cheese. Then, upon hearing a recording of Paul Towe from Biltmore’s Oral History collection,  she and her colleagues confirmed that this was indeed cake – fruit cake – that the Cecils gave out as favors on their special day.

Mr. Towe recalled attending the wedding as a small boy. Towe’s father was employed at Biltmore in the 1920s and 1930s, and his sister, Sarah, was a flower girl in the wedding. Towe said that “everybody got a little white box with their name on it with a piece of fruit cake.”

Charles Rauscher was a French confectioner and caterer, and his business, Maison Rauscher, was known as the ‘Delmonico’s of Washington’.

The box top’s underside has a stamp on it, “Rauscher’s – Washington, D.C.” In her research, Laura learned that Rauscher’s catered and supplied many fine confectionaries and baked goods to society families in Washington, including the wedding cake for President Wilson in 1915.

The tradition of wedding cake keepsakes can be traced back to Victorian times, typically sliced from the groom’s cake, which was often a fruit cake. Slices were wrapped and placed in tiny boxes to take home as a memento of the wedding. The belief was if an unmarried woman slept with a piece of the groom’s cake under her pillow, she would dream of her future husband.

Prince William and Katherine Middleton carried out the tradition by sending pieces of boxed cake to commemorate their wedding in 2011.                              

Cornelia Vanderbilt and John Cecil’s keepsake cake box has stood the test of time for a century.

This 100-year-old piece of cake may be considered an odd addition to a collection that contains famous works of art, books, ancient tapestries and antiques. Historically speaking, that’s not the case.

“This is a clear line connection between our day and their day, so it’s worth the effort to have it in our collection,” Laura said.

Main photo: Guests at the wedding of Cornelia Vanderbilt and John Cecil enjoyed breakfast in the Biltmore House Winter Garden, April 29, 1924.

Many people say that the success of an elaborate event lies in the details. Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding to the Hon. John F. A. Cecil on April 29, 1924 was no exception—from photographers to invitations to accommodations, many hands insured that all was perfect for the big day.

According to Lori Garst, Biltmore Curator, society columns were aflutter as soon as rumors began about the engagement of John Cecil to Cornelia. Letters from the Washington Times and other inquirers arrived at Biltmore asking if the engagement rumor was indeed true. No information was officially released by Edith Vanderbilt until the decision was made as to what photographer would capture the moments of the wedding and take the official bridal portrait for the newspapers.

An Official Announcement

A formal announcement was made at a dinner hosted by Mrs. Vanderbilt at Biltmore on March 8, 1924. After much conversation, Mrs. Vanderbilt awarded two professional photographers from Washington, D.C. the job. Underwood and Underwood photographed the actual wedding, while Harris Ewing captured incidental photographs including the social whirl which occurred the week prior to the wedding.

Invitation to Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding (left); invitation to the wedding reception (right)

Wedding invitations were one of the first details to secure. While famous New York jewelers, such as Cartier, wrote offering to print the wedding invitations, Adolph & Dungan engravers of Louisville designed the wedding invitations, and Inland Press of Asheville printed them. There were two separate invitations to the occasion. Five hundred people received an invitation to the ceremony at All Souls Church at 12 noon and the reception immediately following at Biltmore House. Another 2,500 received a separate invitation to attend only the wedding reception at 12:30 p.m.

Arrangements & Accommodations

With guests arriving from across the globe, Mrs. Vanderbilt’s secretary, William Ashby, had the job of making travel arrangements to Biltmore and arranging accommodations for the wedding party, close family, and friends. Most guests stayed at the Grove Park Inn, Biltmore Country Club, and Kenilworth Inn. However, 43 guests including members of the wedding party stayed in Biltmore House. Ashby sent extensive instructions for cleaning and furnishing Biltmore House to Mrs. Donohue, the head housekeeper, as early as March 15.

Rooms were updated with new wallpaper and paint, iron beds and mattresses were ordered for the visiting guests’ staff, and all sheets were washed and ironed. The bride’s wedding party stayed in the Oak Sitting Room and Mr. Vanderbilt’s Room, while the maid of honor, Rachel “Bunchy” Strong, stayed with Cornelia in her room. The groomsmen stayed at the Biltmore Forest Country Club which opened just two years prior.

Edith Vanderbilt escorting her daughter Cornelia into All Souls’ Church for Cornelia’s wedding

Other house guests included the bride’s cousins Mr. and Mrs. John Nicholas Brown, the groom’s father Lord William Cecil, and several of Mr. Vanderbilt’s sisters. Meticulous notes were kept by Mr. Ashby documenting when guests arrived, departed, and what room they stayed in Biltmore House.

No Detail Overlooked

He also kept lists of last minute specifics to make sure nothing was forgotten. His records included seating charts for the church, train reservations for guests’ departures including their preferred train accommodations, wedding gifts and addresses, and cars to be provided for the guests’ convenience. As a final detail, Mr. Ashby secured the assistance of the Biltmore Fire Department to sprinkle the streets of Biltmore with water to keep the dust down.

The Asheville Citizen published extensive accounts of the wedding for two days. While many of the details of the wedding ceremony are found in these articles, the lists and correspondence found in Biltmore’s archives give us a true understanding of the specific arrangements made to insure that Biltmore’s only bride had a perfect day.

The Honorable and Mrs. John F.A. Cecil as they left All Souls Church

The First Bride of Biltmore

A poem titled “The First Bride of Biltmore,” written by Mrs. Vanderbilt’s sister, Pauline Merrill, painted a beautiful picture of Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding day on April 29, 1924.

The sun rose clear and beautiful from the hills that surrounded Biltmore.
All the world seemed happy on that day.
The daughter of the house was to be married.
The beautiful Cornelia who knew all the mountain people;
The Cornelia who loved the house and grounds;
The Cornelia who was loved by all.
The wedding bells pealed joyfully from the belfry of the little old church.
The tenants were crowding to the gate to behold their beloved mistress.
The guests crowded into the church.
The musicians played his best of the little organ.
Finally the bride entered the church escorted by eight bridesmaids and leaning on the arm of her widowed mother.
She looked more beautiful than ever before.
John Cecil, her bridegroom, had reason to smile proudly on his pretty Cornelia.
The marriage service was gone through with, and when Cornelia walked out, with a radiant smile on her face, the children streamed flowers at her feet.
Then they went back to the house.
The enormous rooms were fuller than ever before as the crowd surged forward to congratulate the first bride of Biltmore House.
Her English husband shook hands with a proud smile.
But, at last, it was over and the setting sun shone rosily over the young couple as they started on their honeymoon.