May 17, 20245 min read

2024 Wedding Cake Trends

Updated: Jul 16, 2024

If there is one thing that wedding guests love more than the bride & groom, it’s the wedding cake… I am only kind of joking haha! No, but really, wedding cakes have been a traditional part of wedding days dating back to Ancient Rome (Yes, I did have to look this up lol). Think about your beloved grandparents or parents' wedding pictures. I can guarantee you’ve seen photos of them smiling while cutting their cake, or smashing the first bite into each other’s faces. What I’m trying to get at is that the wedding cake tradition is a classic element to a wedding day that has continued to evolve with the times! As a wedding planner, I have seen some super cool ways that the wedding cake tradition has changed to cater each bride & groom & their specific weddings! Today, I am going to share a list of some of my favorite wedding cake trends that I think will take off in 2024!

Photo: Wisteria Jade Photography, Cake: Michelle's Patisserie, Cookies: Crumbl

Photo: Brittany Jean Photo, Cake: Michelle's Patisserie

Wild & Untamed Photo, Casa Costa Bakeshop

Rooted Trumpet Photography, Mrs. Lilly Cakes

Tollman Media, Sweet Grace San Antonio

Intimate Cake Cutting between the Bride & Groom

I am going to start with my personal favorite- a private & intimate cake cutting just between the bride & groom! It has always been common for the cake cutting to take place in front of all the guests, but once I saw one of my couples do a private cake cutting with a smaller personalized cake, I am now Team Intimate Cake Cutting! I love this trend because it gives the couple a quick moment to be alone & enjoy their dessert. How many brides & grooms cut their cake & then don’t even get to enjoy a slice because guests were bombarding their cake table with a phone camera in their face? TOO MANY in my professional opinion. You can still have a larger tiered cake out in the reception area if you want it for the looks, or sheet cakes in the back for catering to go ahead and cut for your guests! It’s a win/win situation for all! You might feel hesitant to this idea because your guests won’t get to witness you cutting the cake, but I promise, as long as they receive a slice of cake or a dessert in general, they will be fine & dandy!

Macy Hartman Photography

Macy Hartman Photography

Macy Hartman Photography

2. Wedding Cake Flower Meadows

I love that couples are starting to incorporate their wedding flowers more heavily into their wedding cake design! My second favorite wedding cake trend is floral cake meadows! If you don’t know what I am talking about, it is exactly how it sounds. It is an arrangement of flowers designed specifically to go around your cake, to cocoon it in pretty blooms! This is a great alternative to putting flowers on the cake, although I’m not opposed to both! Because the cake cutting is a picture perfect moment of a wedding day, you might as well go all out & make it the perfect photo op. Getting an arrangement made specifically for your cake in your wedding colors will tie in your cake table with the rest of the wedding design.

Once, I even had a bride buy a special cake stand that had bud vases going all the way around it to hold the blooms. It was STUNNING, and it is pictured below! It can now be rented by Lisa’s Cakery in Marble Falls, Texas if you are interested! She also makes the BEST cake ever!

Katie Knotts Photography, Lisa's Cakery

Photo: Brittany Jean Photo, Cake: Michelle's Patisserie

3. Acrylic Cake Layer

I’m not entirely sure why, but there is just something about an acrylic cake layer that adds so much elegance to your cake! An acrylic layer is a clear piece that goes in between the layers of your wedding cake. It is usually plastic, but trust me, it doesn’t look cheap. It honestly looks luxurious to me! This kind of ties in with number 2, but I love acrylic layers because it adds a new way to incorporate flowers into your cake design. You don’t even have to use the acrylic layer for flowers, it can also just be a fun way to stack up your cake & make it seem bigger without having to pay for more cake layers. I haven’t seen this trend done a lot in person, but I am hoping more of my couples will jump on this wedding cake trend!

Christiana Vega Photography, Lisa's Cakery

Christiana Vega Photography, Lisa's Cakery

4. Unique Desserts vs. a Traditional Wedding Cake

I know this might sound shocking coming from a wedding planner, but my last wedding cake trend is to NOT HAVE A WEDDING CAKE AT ALL! Just because it is tradition, doesn’t mean you have to do it if you do not want to! I genuinely get a lot of couples that don’t even like cake, but they still spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cake just because they feel like they have to. I am a very Type A person (I am literally paid to plan & organize things), so I LOVE tradition & routine, but a wedding day should reflect the couple, no one else! If you don’t like wedding cake, it is completely fine to opt out!

An amazing alternative is to have different kinds of individual desserts like cookies, cupcakes, cheesecakes, lemon bars, brownies, WHATEVER, so your guests can choose what they like best! Another fun idea is to have a unique dessert vendor at your wedding. A churro cart, cotton candy cart, ice cream truck, or snow cone stand are all fun ideas that can take the place of a classic wedding cake, plus it adds a unique experience for your guests.

If you still want those super cute cake cutting pictures, may I suggest you go back to my number 1 point in this blog & get a small cake just for the bride & groom to cut in private! Again, it is a win/win for all.

Brittany Jean Photography, Michelle's Patisserie

Wildflower Barn Photography, Michelle's Patisserie

Photo: Wisteria Jade Photography, Cake: Michelle's Patisserie, Cookies: Crumbl

Well who knew I could get so passionate over wedding cake? I guess I am no different than those wedding guests scrambling to grab a slice before it is all gone lol! Seriously, I hope this was helpful & inspires you to do something different with your wedding cake! This is your permission to go against tradition. It is your wedding day & it should reflect you & your spouse. DO WHAT YOU WANT! Do something fun & unique! Let me know in the comments if you’d use any of these wedding cake trend ideas! I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of them at 2024 weddings!

If you have any questions about the vendors involved in any of the photos in this blog post, please reach out to bridgesandcompanyevents@gmail.com