Modern Wedding Cakes for Contemporary Brides and Grooms

Unless you browse wedding magazines or go to stylish weddings, you may not be aware of the wide range of contemporary options for wedding cakes. Do you imagine a white tier, topped with a kissing couple, and adorned with fondant flowers and embroidery? This may be your dream, but other dream cakes and desserts are being served. Before talking to a cake designer, find out about the wide range of options that couples are choosing from. Today almost anything goes, with an emphasis on exquisite flavor, artistry, beauty, elegance, and personal style.

A design can be simple, complex, classic, funky, humorous, conservative, romantic, whimsical, earthy, or even quirky.  It can reflect:

• personalities of the couple,
• cultures of the merging families,
• religious beliefs,
• a special wedding party theme, or
• sheer elegance. 

The possibilities are endless.  As you check out wedding cake pictures, save copies of favorite photos.  Find general ways to describe your design to a baker.  For example, “we want an earthy feel and hope to celebrate how much we enjoy camping and boating together”.
For color there are no longer rules that wedding cake decorations must match the bridal gown or the decorations.  Popular colors are chocolate brown, purple, red, orange, turquoise, coral pink, and baby blue—but the current message is to follow your personal instincts as to coloring.

Wedding cakes can be stacked, tiered with pillars, or displayed on a stand. A wedding cake can be a single cake, if large enough to serve everyone; or a small tiered cake, together with one or two individual cakes. The tiered cake will be used for ceremonial cutting and picture taking; and the individual cakes will be served to the guests.
Yet another option that has emerged in recent years is cupcake wedding cakes. Cupcakes are economical and easy to serve. They also lend themselves to exquisite decorations. Creative displays on stands or in a tabletop design provide the same unity and excitement as a single cake.
Creativity can also extend to shapes, alignment, and color. Tiered cakes can be stacked in a symmetrical way or have a lopsided look. Shapes don’t need to be square or round, for example, consider these alternatives:

• Hexagon,
• Rectangle,
• Heart, or
• A wavy, quirky shape.

For eye-catching variety in a tier, combine different shapes.

Traditional fruit wedding cakes with marzipan and fondant icing are not compulsory by any means. Consider the following possible flavors:

• Cheese cake—mango, strawberry, chocolate, white chocolate, lemon, vanilla, or raspberry;
• Chocolate truffle, fudge, or a flourless chocolate recipe;
• Mousse—dark or white chocolate, orange, lemon, strawberry, lemon, or raspberry.

How do you want to cover the cake? Fondant icing is firm, sugary, smooth, and quite durable if on display for a prolonged period in warmer temperatures. Particularly suitable for traditional decorations, fondant also lends itself to modern cutouts and trimmings. A poured ganache gives a smooth shiny surface.

Butter cream icing melts in the mouth and has a softer, fluffy appearance. Butter cream icings come in a wide variety of flavors such as raspberry, strawberry, chocolate, café mocha, hazelnut, mango, coconut, banana, green tea, almond, passion flower and butterscotch.

Ask one or more bakers to show examples of what can be done with butter cream and fondant icings, to get a sense of the look of these two mediums. Also explore the types of edible and non-edible decorations that can be added. Peruse the following list for elements that attract you:

• Sugar seashells
• Sugar flowers
• Sugar bows
• Sugar lace or embroidery
• Sugar pearl strings
• Fresh flowers
• Gum paste flowers such as roses, calla lilies, daisies, cherry blossoms and orchids)
• Jewels or charms(“bling”)
• Non-edible figurines.

Traditional wedding cake toppers and updated versions are popular. These include figurines of bride and groom, doves, and hearts.  Modern cake displays may be topped with fresh flowers or a custom decoration made of materials such as ribbons, crystals, feathers, and pearls.  A wide range of toppers and other wedding cake ideas can be found on the internet, as well as at local baking craft centers.  Wedding toppers can also be rented or purchased from a cake shop.

Have Fun Designing the Wedding Dessert

Wedding cake prices vary on the basis of many factors such as number and size of servings, ingredient costs, bakery prestige, cost of special decorations, display choices, etc.   Keep in mind your general design values, while staying open to a few possibilities. This will help you to stay within your budget.  Have fun and visualize a cake you’ll enjoy and fondly remember for years to come.