Whether it’s a simple homemade pound cake or a professional confection standing five tiers high and decorated within an inch of your budget, most people do expect to at least see a cake of some sort at your reception.

Obviously, one can do without. I did. Mr. Twistie and I served our guests individual fruit tarts. They were a huge hit.

Most couples, however, will not only have cake, they will buy it. But have you ever thought about how a professional cake is made for a wedding? Here are a few fun facts to keep in mind that may help you make good decisions when it comes time to find and purchase your wedding cake.

Wedding cakes are not sold by the cake, but by the slice. Depending on what sort of cake you want, any special requests, how it’s decorated, how difficult those decorations are to do, and even where you live, that slice of wedding cake might be $1.50… or it might be $12.00. Things that ratchet up the price include: blown sugar decoration, cake jewels, fondant rather than buttercream, specialized shapes, extra fillings, and a whole lot more. Really think about how those details will affect your bottom line. After all, chances are you’re getting at least fifty and quite possibly a couple hundred slices out of that cake. It adds up quickly.

Wedding cakes take days to construct. That’s right, days. Don’t panic, though! Yes, the cake under that gorgeous, smooth layer of fondant is several days old, but it’s been well brushed with syrup (often simple syrup, but sometimes with a booze-laden one if you ask for it) which keeps the cake moist and fresh. The fondant also acts to hold the moisture in so your cake won’t be dry. Why do you need to know this, then? Because if you call your baker asking for a significant change to your cake in the week before your wedding (different flavor, different color of fondant, different filling) there’s a good chance you’re too late. The cake as ordered is already underway. Try not to make any changes to the cake in the final two to three weeks before the wedding.

If you’re decorating your cake with fresh flowers you’re getting from your florist, be very sure you let him/her know what those flowers are for. Many flowers you get from the florist have been raised with a lot of pesticides to make sure the blooms are perfect. Those pesticides are often nearly as toxic to people as they are to bugs. You want to make sure those aren’t the rose petals used on your cake. Better yet, have the baker source any flowers going on the cake. (S)he’ll know where to find gorgeous blooms that are safe to eat.

Never buy a cake on looks alone. Of course you want your wedding cake to be pretty. That goes without saying. Still, the most important thing about a cake is that it tastes good. Be sure to have a tasting with any baker you’re considering and pay attention to the flavor and texture of the cake. That’s one detail your guests will appreciate you paying attention to!

Oh, and while this is a little gross, it’s kind of a good thing to know: if your frosting or fondant is black going in… it’s lime green coming out again. Seriously. Just in case any of you are planning a Halloween theme or are really Goth and want a black cake. It’s just a little startling when it happens to you.

Good wedding cake isn’t rocket science. In fact, if you approach the question thoughtfully, it’s (wait for it) a piece of cake!

If not, click on the link.

If you are familiar, just bask in the perfection of this tribute wedding cake from Pink Cake Box.

Mmm… I want a slice.

I know, it struck me – child of the sixties and Yellow Submarine fan though I am – as possibly a bit scary and OTT… until I saw it done right.

The key, as shown in this fabulous photo of a real wedding featured at Design Sponge, is restraint. Keep the backgrounds to stark white or black, and use the neons sparingly. Stick to just a couple colors, but don’t fear them.

As you can see here, a bright white background and carefully considered touches of neon pink, neon orange, and lime green make for a festive, fun, yet surprisingly sophisticated look.


One way to show you don’t fear neon is to put it on yourself. From funky jewelry to fabulous fun tights like these (though I have to say I dislike pairing them with white shoes. I would probably go bold on the footwear with them), or spectacular neon nail polish, you can carry out your theme in bold touches from head to toe.

While I saw several people encouraging neon bridesmaid’s dresses, I have to say I’m not wild about that one. It sounds like a great way to alienate your best friends and any sisters-in-law you have in your bridal party… unless they all love neon, too. My advice? Stick to your background neutral and dole out neon details like the nail polish, tights, and jewelry. Trust me, your bridesmaids will thank you.

For flowers, go with gerbera daisies, or just go crazy and do fabulous faux blooms, like these felt and button flowers I saw at Blog.Celebration.Co.Za.

Another great place to use neon is the dessert table. Whether you go for a super bright cake:
like this one I spotted at Pink Cake Box, or a variety of colorful treats such as Parisian macarons:

or cupcakes:

… you can go big with neon in the desserts.

Yes, a marriage is a serious thing, and I do believe in taking the wedding seriously. But it doesn’t have to be solemn, or timid in color. Have a blast… of neon!

Well, recently another trend has popped up that’s just a little more elaborate, but still does away with that endless cake cutting: the individual wedding cake.

As you can see above, they’re tiny versions of a larger wedding cake. Typically there will be one full tier for the happy couple to cut and serve among the wedding party, while the waiters serve individual small cakes to individual guests.

Even though it reduces the cake cutting fees, this is still more expensive than cupcakes since each cake is more elaborately decorated and a little bit bigger than a cupcake, more often than not.

Is it for everyone? No. I don’t think there’s much of anything that’s for everyone. All the same, I’m coming down on the side of LOVE for this one. They look charming, and there’s something delightfully indulgent about the concept of eating an entire cake by yourself… even a very tiny one.

What about all of you?

I’m not a terribly sparkly kind of woman. I could have had a diamond – or any gemstone – engagement ring. I chose a sterling silver frog. I could have had any kind of embellishment on my wedding gown. I chose handmade silk lace. I could have worn any jewelry on my wedding day. Again, all silver without gems.

In general I’ve ignored nearly every style trend that sparkles for the better part of fifty years now, and I doubt seriously that I’m going to change on that. Glitter just isn’t me.

And yet I found myself intrigued by that sparkly purple sequined cake shown above. Why? Because the sequins are edible.

I’ve hated the cake jewelry trend of the past few seasons in large part because I firmly believe that nothing inedible should go on a cake. But if the sequins are edible… well, that’s kind of interesting.

Of course, a fully sequined purple cake isn’t for everybody. It’s nice to see on other sites that it’s more than possible to use the sequins subtly, as well:

… as demonstrated by this charmingly understated sequined cake posted at Cake Central.

The best news of all? I’ve found instructions for making your own edible sequins if you want to give them a go in your own kitchen, or at least get a better idea of what they might taste like before you instruct your baker to do the ultimate sparkly Vegas-themed cake for your reception. This handy tutorial at Confessions of a Scratch Baker should give you plenty of information to decide if this is an idea for you.

Me? I’m still not a sparkly woman… but I am a crafty one and an avid baker. Who knows? I may just have to give this a try sometime.

Dessert tables are expected to continue to be a big deal in weddings. Variety is the spice of life, and a wonderful way to end a reception meal.

A further wrinkle on this trend that’s on the rise for parties that last late into the night is a second spread of snacks offered to guests on their way out. Doughnuts, cookies, sliders, coffee and cocoa… this is the chance to offer up a tasty final gift to your guests.


Alternatives to flowers are another trend on the rise. Paper, brooches, fabric, feathers… if it can substitute for flowers, someone’s using it. This is a great trend if you’re dealing with allergies or want to DIY your bouquets and centerpieces over time. But real flowers are hardly going anywhere.

More brides have been doing DIY projects for their weddings, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. Whether it’s to save money, add uniquely personal touches, or honor a family tradition, using your own hands to put at least a couple pieces of your wedding together can be tremendously satisfying.

Green is clearly the way to go in the coming year. From invitations of recycled paper to living plant centerpieces, to packets of wildflower seeds as favors, brides and grooms everywhere are getting eco-friendly and loving it.

More weddings than ever are happening in the great outdoors. Whether it’s a garden, a beach, the woods, couples are choosing the sky as the ceiling they prefer. As someone who had an outdoor wedding and loved it, I say go for it… just make sure you have a backup plan in case of inclement weather.

Of course trends are fun, but never follow one if it feels wrong to you. You should do what matters to you.

Funnily enough, when Mr. Twistie and I got married, we didn’t have a cake. We had individual fruit tarts in half a dozen flavors. I had been thinking of a cake, but then I discovered that Mr. Twistie wasn’t much of a cake fan. Why make him eat something he dislikes for dessert at his own wedding? He was the one who came up with tarts, and they were a great idea.

Still, there are times when I dream of the wedding cake I would have liked to have had. It would have featured chocolate, with layers of hazelnut and coffee flavors, too. As for the frosting? Probably a cinnamon buttercream. Maybe some raspberry filling.

What? Those are some of my favorite desserty flavors, and I would have wanted them. And while fondant make a particularly smooth and pretty cake that lasts well, it just doesn’t taste as good to me as a good old-fashioned buttercream.

So what about you? What would your dream cake look/taste like? What flavors do you want? Or would you rather have something other than cake?

I’m curious, so tell me all about it!

Oh, and if your cake isn’t going to be either round or square, don’t panic! They include equally handy guides for tiers shaped like hearts, flowers, ovals, and paisley, too.

If you’re the one baking your own cake (or you’re giving the job to someone close to you who is a great baker but hasn’t done this level of work before), you can also find great tips on the site for how to construct, decorate, display, and even transport this all-important confectionary creation to your reception site.

There is a section of recipes, but I have to say they didn’t impress me much. Frankly, I would look elsewhere.

But if you need to find a speciality pan, pastry bags and decorating tips, or display items to get you going, Wilton is a great place to start.

(I am still waiting for copies of my mom's wedding photos, hint hint!)

Turned out, they were just right for a backyard semi-formal faux rustic wedding that was only attended by 10 people and involved a dinner reception at a restaurant in Salem, MA in October. With cake first, of course. And the brides loved them – I’d been almost hoping to score one as a keepsake for me, but there were two spoons and two brides so what can you do, right?

Also from Monkeys Always Look!

And another, from Etsy seller jessicaNdesigns

There is definitely no shortage of people stamping spoons out there, and since the spoons are usually thrifted or vintage or found silverware, you’re going to spend a lot less on a wedding cake topper made of spoons than you will on most other cake toppers. Are you having a semi-formal faux rustic backyard wedding? Would spoons work for you, do you think?

As Patrick Stewart might say: "I can see EVERYTHING"

I’d say this week’s LOVE/HATE is pretty self-explanatory. What we have here is a wedding cake that’s naked, i.e., not wearing any frosting on the outside. Naked wedding cake runs the risk of looking messy-messy, but I think this one’s a winner. Personally, I’d hate to see this catch on, because frosting is my favorite part of the wedding cake, but a naked wedding cake would be cute at a casual or glamorustic wedding.

What do you think? Would you ever let your wedding cake go naked?