new wedding cake designs

Do you know what the most stylish wedding cakes will look like this year? Are cupcakes still in? Is fondant still king? Here is everything you need to know about 2010 wedding cake trends.

A new simplicity is ruling the bakeries this year. Overly ornate and precious cakes are taking a backseat to those which are simple, elegant, and above all, delicious. After seasons as the hot wedding trend, brides are finally cooling towards cupcakes, and instead opting for a real wedding cake, usually with three tiers. Very elaborate frosting made to mimic the wedding gown and bridal jewelry is less popular than frosting which looks like...well, frosting.

Speaking of frosting, move over fondant, buttercream is back! Now this is not to say that the smooth texture of fondant is totally out of style for 2010, but with simpler cakes, there has been a definite shift back towards traditional buttercream frosting. One reason for the renewed interest in buttercream is that it looks more like icing, as opposed to the almost plastic-looking artificial effect of perfectly smooth fondant. (I once attended a wedding where a young boy simply could not be convinced that a fondant covered cake was anything but a plastic fake!) The best thing about buttercream, though, is its flavor. It just tastes delicious, which is something that no one has ever claimed about fondant.

Since delicious is a big cake trend this year, that surely means that chocolate wedding cakes will be popular, right? Right! No longer reserved for the groom's cake, rich dark chocolate has made its way to center stage on the main wedding cake. It is being used in elegant cake designs which feature architectural detailing, fresh flower accents, and a swanky use of ribbons. If you are in love with the idea of a crystal monogram to coordinate with your bridal jewelry, have it made as a flat plaque which is on the side of a tier instead of a big fanciful cake topper. Chocolate cakes are one wedding trend which your guests are guaranteed to love!

Streamlined geometric wedding cakes are also in style for 2010. A three or four tier cake with square layers will look chic this year. Motifs with clean lines suit this modern cake design, as do bands of horizontal stripes. Emphasize a minimalist chic by keeping the cake itself pure white. Festive touches of color in the motif will keep the cake from looking too plain. Symmetry is also in, by the way, so stack those square tiers with the same orientation; none of that topsy-turvy stuff that was popular a couple of years ago. The Dr. Suess look is definitely out this year.

They say that three is a magic number, and that is true for wedding cakes in 2010. A pretty way to make a statement with a simple cake is by making it in multiple. Make one medium sized cake with several tiers as the centerpiece, and then flank it with two matching mini-cakes, one on each side. This is a great idea for brides who want to keep the design of their cakes clean and modern, yet want to have a cake display with some "oomph".

wilton wedding cake designs fall wedding cakes

Wedding cakes are one of the most special parts of a reception. When your guests see your cake, naturally you want them to be wowed! A gorgeous cake just is not perfect without the right cake topper, however. These are some terrific ideas for wedding cake toppers to complete your cake beautifully.

The traditional wedding cake topper is the bride and groom pair. These small statues are designed to resemble miniature versions of the actual newlyweds, right down to their white gowns, pearl bridal jewelry sets, and tuxedos. Many couples find the traditional bride and groom topper to be too boring, but they can be wonderful for a vintage inspired wedding. You can find actual antiques dating back to the 1920s to add just the perfect vintage flair to your wedding cake. The Bakelite ones are especially in demand.

For a formal wedding, one of the most popular styles of cake topper is the custom crystal monogram. This is a fabulous accent for the bride who loves all things glitzy, from beaded gowns to crystal bridal jewelry sets. You can have one large single initial from the groom's last name (if the bride is taking his name), a first initial from the bride and the groom, or a special crystal monogram made with their shared last name initial in the center and a first initial for each newlywed on either side. The effect is very glamorous and elegant, wonderful for an evening wedding.

Nature can be a great place to get inspiration for a wedding cake topper. For a fall wedding, a forest theme cake would be marvelous. Frost a rich spice cake with a chocolate icing textured to look like bark then top with marzipan mushrooms, leaves, and tiny forest animals. Or make a lovely spring cake with each tier frosted in a different pastel color. Tie it all together by topping with a collection of colorful butterflies. The effect will be whimsical and very pretty.

Consider your wedding theme as a great source of ideas for your topper. Having a beach wedding? Decorate the top tier of the cake with faux coral, seashells, and starfish. For a Winter Wonderland reception, a tiny sleigh with bride and groom figurines would be a cute alternative to the expected snowflake topper. Or top a garden wedding cake with a tiny vase filled with blossoms. This is a great way to enhance the theme of your wedding while making your cake even lovelier.

Last but not least, flowers are a classic cake decoration that always deserve consideration. Sometimes the simplicity of a breathtaking display of beautiful roses atop a white cake or daisies on a pale yellow confection is sheer perfection. Handcrafted sugar orchids would be stunning cascading down the top and sides of a formal wedding cake. Whether you prefer real flowers or sugar blossoms, they are always going to look great. As fun as it is to try something creative, at times the classics can be just the thing.

pearl wedding cake designs

Every wedding reception needs a sweet ending. Wedding cakes are ever popular, of course, but so are other sweets such as cupcakes, brownie cakes, and even pies. These are some delicious ideas for spring and summer wedding desserts.

If a classic wedding cake is your style, design one which really suits the season. A delightful idea for a spring wedding cake is one with a Swiss dot motif in a pale pink or yellow color. The little dots are a lovely coordinate to pearl wedding jewelry worn by the bride. If you wish, you can even have the baker make strands of frosting "pearls" around the base of each cake tier, like pearl wedding jewelry for the cake. It is the ultimate in a feminine and romantic spring wedding cake.

Cheerful designs are ideal for summer wedding cakes. A cascade of vividly colored tropical flowers made from sugar is a wonderful decoration for a summer cake. Beach theme cakes are also very popular in the warmer months. Decorate your cake with sugar seashells, coral, sand dollars, or tropical fish. For a country wedding, a terrific summer cake design is a buttercream cake frosted in a basketweave pattern topped with fresh berries. Just be sure to keep it out of the sunlight, because buttercream can melt!

Cupcakes have become a classic alternative to a tiered wedding cake. They are fun, easy to serve, and can be displayed in a manner that is just as pretty as a traditional cake. An assortment of pastel frosted cupcakes on a white cutwork porcelain tiered stand is a lovely dessert for a spring wedding. Each tier of the stand can feature a different cupcake flavor, such as vanilla, chocolate, lemon, and red velvet. Cupcakes are just as fun for a summer reception. Pick a bright color scheme for the frosting, such as pink and green or aqua and tangerine. Another great idea for summer cupcakes is key lime cake frosted with a coconut icing; the tropical flavors would be very appealing for a beach wedding.

Fresh fruit pies are a great alternative to a wedding cake or cupcake stand for a summer reception. Order an assortment of pies with all the best seasonal fruits, including peach, cherry, blueberry, and strawberry-rhubarb. Serve with fresh ice cream or whipped cream for a wonderful dessert. You can either have a whole pie table, or serve little mini pies to each guest (perhaps with one larger pie for the "cake" cutting ceremony). A great favor idea for a pie reception would be a small basket of berries or peaches with the pie recipe tied to the basket with a gingham ribbon.

There are many more tasty possibilities for spring and summer wedding desserts. Chocolate lovers can indulge their sweet tooth with a brownie cake. Stencil a pretty design on the top with powdered sugar, and decorate around the edge with fresh raspberries. An ice cream or gelato bar is a fantastic dessert idea for a summer wedding reception, perhaps in addition to a cake or cupcake tower. With so many delicious options for spring and summer wedding desserts, the hardest part may be narrowing it down to just one - I recommend many taste tests "just to be sure"!

wedding cake pictures

For many couples one of the great things about getting married today is the fact that they are no longer bound by the customs and traditions that ruled the arrangements for their parents' wedding, but are able to plan a wedding that very much suits their own personalities and lifestyles. But what about those couples who are planning a military wedding?

The basis of a military wedding is of course no different to any traditional white wedding in terms of the format of the wedding and the following reception, with a addition of some traditions that are peculiar to military weddings in general and to weddings from within individual corps or units in particular. This can make it somewhat more difficult to stamp your own personality on your wedding, but there are areas of the wedding, such as your wedding cake, where you can still be more than a little creative.

Whether it's a military wedding or not, there's nothing to say that you have to have a traditional circular white wedding cake. Nowadays cakes come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and colors and there's no reason at all why you shouldn't have your own military cake.

If the kids can have birthday cakes shaped like dinosaurs, then why shouldn't you have a wedding cake in the shape of an aircraft carrier or a Hercules? The problem of course is that your wedding cake needs to be very much a focal point of your reception and this means that it needs to have height - hence the tradition of building cakes into tiers. Your aircraft carrier may well be big enough to feed your assembled guests (and of course to put the bridge away in the freezer for the christening of your first child) but it will not have the dramatic effect that can only really be found by giving a cake height.

In most cases the answer is to choose a cake that you like in terms of flavor and color, but to stick with a fairly conventional shape (round, square, octagonal etc.) and to tier the cake in several layers to give you the required height. Then you can add the final personalization by finishing the cake off with one of the many military wedding cake toppers available today.

Here you could of course have your aircraft carrier or Hercules, but perhaps a safer, but no less personal, choice would be to have representations of yourselves complete with your chosen wedding dress and dress uniform.

The days of the cheap plastic replicas of the bride and groom are long gone and you can now have extremely realistic figures crafted which will match the bride's dress and bouquet, and even her hair, as well as dressing you in the correct uniform complete with badges of rank and medal ribbons. Military wedding cake toppers today have become quite an art.

wedding cake toppers

It seems so much of a wedding is about the bride, but what would a wedding be without a groom? A nice way to demonstrate your love and devotion for your new husband is to have a cake topper that is themed with his favorite hobby. Fishing, perhaps?

Maybe your new husband has a special fly that he likes to use when he fishes that you can have incorporated into your cake topper. Use may use the actually fly, a new one of course, or have a cake decorator make one for you. For a little fun, you can have the bride and groom sitting barefoot on the top of the cake, reels in hand. For a real laugh, you can have either the groom or the bride fishing for the other. You can find all kinds of customized wedding cake toppers online. Give yourself enough time to have it arrive and to make sure that it is what you thought you were getting. Sometimes what you see online and what you get aren't exactly the same thing.

You could have a crystal or a glass wedding cake topper with two kissing fish in it. Having live fish in a fishbowl on the top of your cake will make quite an impression. If you aren't sure the real thing is for you, blown sugar could create an edible illusion of a fish bowl and sugar fish could be placed inside.

For a truly unique cake, you can have it designed like an aquarium with each tier a layer of the ocean complete with coral reefs, fish, algae, and a topper of a bride and groom in a fishing boat. Just about every icing is easy to tint. Sea blue fondant would make smooth waters or rich, aqua butter cream could give a little texture to your cake.

wedding cake

For many couples one of the great things about getting married today is the fact that they are no longer bound by the customs and traditions that ruled the arrangements for their parents' wedding, but are able to plan a wedding that very much suits their own personalities and lifestyles. But what about those couples who are planning a military wedding?

The basis of a military wedding is of course no different to any traditional white wedding in terms of the format of the wedding and the following reception, with a addition of some traditions that are peculiar to military weddings in general and to weddings from within individual corps or units in particular. This can make it somewhat more difficult to stamp your own personality on your wedding, but there are areas of the wedding, such as your wedding cake, where you can still be more than a little creative.

Whether it's a military wedding or not, there's nothing to say that you have to have a traditional circular white wedding cake. Nowadays cakes come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and colors and there's no reason at all why you shouldn't have your own military cake.

If the kids can have birthday cakes shaped like dinosaurs, then why shouldn't you have a wedding cake in the shape of an aircraft carrier or a Hercules? The problem of course is that your wedding cake needs to be very much a focal point of your reception and this means that it needs to have height - hence the tradition of building cakes into tiers. Your aircraft carrier may well be big enough to feed your assembled guests (and of course to put the bridge away in the freezer for the christening of your first child) but it will not have the dramatic effect that can only really be found by giving a cake height.

In most cases the answer is to choose a cake that you like in terms of flavor and color, but to stick with a fairly conventional shape (round, square, octagonal etc.) and to tier the cake in several layers to give you the required height. Then you can add the final personalization by finishing the cake off with one of the many military wedding cake toppers available today.

Here you could of course have your aircraft carrier or Hercules, but perhaps a safer, but no less personal, choice would be to have representations of yourselves complete with your chosen wedding dress and dress uniform.

The days of the cheap plastic replicas of the bride and groom are long gone and you can now have extremely realistic figures crafted which will match the bride's dress and bouquet, and even her hair, as well as dressing you in the correct uniform complete with badges of rank and medal ribbons. Military wedding cake toppers today have become quite an art.