Wedding Cakes 101: Part III, Cake Ideas & Trends

This is the third part in our Wedding Cakes 101 series. Today, let's discuss wedding cake ideas and trends. In days gone by, most wedding cakes consisted of white cake with white icing in three or four round tiers. Nowadays it's anything goes when it comes to wedding cakes. Try to incorporate a little of your personality, favorite colors or wedding theme into your wedding cake.

Experiment With Colour

When Desperate Housewives' star Eva Longoria married basketball player Tony Parker back on 07-07-07, the couple had a red wedding. From red bridesmaids dresses to red buses transporting the guests, the wedding was all decked out in bold red, right down to the cake. They served a five-tier vanilla-bean pound cake filled with organic raspberry preserves and white buttercream, and topped with red icing. Don't be afraid to experiment with bright or multi-colored icing to make a bold statement. This red and gold cake is from Sara's Simply Delicious in Vancouver.

Themed Wedding Cakes

Consider matching your wedding cake to your theme. For example, if you are having a fairy tale wedding with castles, coaches and glass slippers, you can select a castle shaped cake as well. Many bakeries can make these types of cakes but be sure to ask for pictures to check out their work. Castles and other theme cakes have a lot of details, so you want to make sure it's done right! This fun castle wedding cake is from Just Temptations in Toronto.

Consider Cupcakes

Instead of a wedding cake, many couples are opting for cupcakes instead. Cupcakes can be stacked in tiers to resemble the shape of a wedding cake. They are cheap, easy to serve and everybody loves cupcakes! For the traditional cake cutting ceremony, you can have a small cake on top. Choose different flavors of cupcakes with or without fillings. These wedding cupcakes pictured here are from Sweet Cravings in North Vancouver.

Other popular trends in wedding cakes right now are the topsy-turvy cake, which features layers with a slanted top, as well as wedding cakes that alternate shape and color from tier to tier. This festive wedding cake pictured here is also from Just Temptations.

Story by Kori Ellis