Wedding cake ideas for all budgets

As a stunning focal point for your festivities and a delicious way for everyone to share in the sweetness of your big day, the wedding cake is a vital part of every couple’s wedding celebration.

As you begin to explore options as part of your wedding planning, you’ll be considering what type of cake will best complement your wedding theme. Appearance, flavours and textures all come into play, as will the time of year, the climate and location in which your wedding will take place.

Whether you choose to commission a professional pâtissière to conjure up the confectionery marvel of your dreams, or revel in the generous services of a friend who is a dab hand with the royal icing, there really is a perfect cake for every couple. 

Coming up, some of the best wedding cake ideas for all budgets, all in the best possible taste. And of course you’ll need the perfect person to help craft your cake of dreams, that’s where Pastry Corner come in. Their expertise and beautifully designed cakes are perfect for all New Forest Collection weddings, whatever your style, venue or taste preferences. 

Simple wedding cake ideas

Elegant and understated, a simple wedding cake is perfect for couples preferring a timeless, classic style. 

Simple doesn’t mean uninspired of course. A two-tiered cake can appear effortless and romantic, with textured white frosting to give interest and blush pink flowers that echo the blooms in your bouquet. Then there are the clean, classic lines of a three-tiered cake with Italian buttercream frosting and decorated with strawberries, which is always pretty hard to beat.

Just because you choose to go simple, doesn’t mean you have to compromise. Imagine several single-tiered cakes with white frosting placed generously on your wedding table, each hiding a different flavour inside. You want chocolate? Lemon? Vanilla bean or caramel? You and your guests can have it all!

Summer wedding cake ideas

Lighter hues and fresher flavours are always on trend at this time of the year. Think sunny yellow-coloured cake with fresh orange flowers for a truly mouthwatering summer wedding confection. Other ideas include a naked three-tiered cake with vibrant, juicy berries, or a multi-tiered cake with blush pink combed buttercream, decorated with figs and flowers.  

During warmer weather, it’s important to bear in mind that your gorgeous wedding cake will be affected if left out too long in the heat. Options include bringing it out of refrigeration at the very last minute, or even using a faux cake in place of the real thing until it’s time to cut it. 

Winter wedding cake ideas

A winter ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to incorporate seasonal leaves, berries and frosted accents into your wedding cake design. 

Sheer white icing provides a crisp backdrop to vivid red berries and dark evergreens, with touches of gold leaf bringing warmth to this cooler, frosty palette. A multi-tiered cake in deeper, luscious colours like burgundy, copper and midnight blue creates a real visual feast and offers a more decadent, sumptuous feel.

Go traditional in terms of flavours at a winter wedding with rich fruits or spiced gingerbread, or surprise everyone with a lighter, fresher citrus twist. 

Two tier wedding cake ideas

A more intimate celebration means your cake needs to serve fewer guests. A two-tier cake is a great option for around 40 small delicious portions, although this will of course depend on the size of your tiers, so do check with your baker or pâtissière to make sure everyone will get a slice!

Whilst white-on-white creates a timeless beauty of a two-tiered cake, incorporating contrasting colours in a cake with two layers is a simple, effective idea too; gold leaf on a bottom tier and white icing with flowers above works for any season. Coppery, warm orange colours on a base layer with creamy white and seasonal fruits and leaves above is ideal for an autumnal scheme. 

Ever-popular two-tier designs also include drizzle effects or jewel-coloured, shiny glazes in raspberry, chocolate or caramel. 

Colourful wedding cake ideas

If you’re going bold and beautiful with your wedding scheme, a colourful cake is going to fit right in.

Make a serious statement with a striped black and white multi-tiered cake decorated with brash and brazen blooms, or a cake with embroidery buttercream in a design that you love; imagine scenes of birds, flowers, animals and plants depicted in vividly bright blues, greens, yellows and reds to create a true work of art that’s (almost) too good to eat.

More understated, a single tier cake in teal or pale mint green with highly decorative sugarwork flowers, or a pure white cake adorned with colourful florals, can be elegant, sophisticated and still make a powerful statement.  

Unique wedding cake ideas

Whilst not strictly cake, there are some other delectable delights that also serve as stunning centrepieces. These are ideal for more informal and rustic celebrations and are sure to please your guests.

A luxurious and gorgeously dishevelled-looking pavlova, piled high with cream and seasonal fruits, is right at home in a relaxed and intimate summer celebration. A teetering tower of doughnuts, filled with a variety of creams and dusted with spices or sparkles, can also be a playful, fun treat to get people smiling. 

Cookies in different shapes, beautifully iced with personalised messages, macarons in rainbow colours, or meringue kisses in pastel shades. All of these offer a unique take on the classic wedding cake. 

Naked wedding cake ideas

This doesn’t refer to a cheeky wedding theme that might only be suitable in sunnier climes, but to a simple, unfrosted cake that relies on the flavours of the sponge itself and plenty of creamy fillings, syrups and fruits to do the talking. 

Whether you go single-tiered or multi-layered, the naked cake is versatile enough to suit any wedding scheme, and provides a clear canvas to carry fruits, flowers and embellishments in the colour palette and style of your choice.  

Persian Love Cake is an aromatic delight that lends itself perfectly to this trend, combining warming cardamom and saffron with fragrant rose and orange flavours. Soaked in syrup and topped with crushed pistachio and rose petals, this naked wedding cake makes a beautiful centrepiece, and as it’s baked with almond flour, it makes a great gluten-free option too.

Rustic wedding cake ideas

The ultimate choice for outdoor weddings or any laid-back, relaxed celebration, a rustic wedding cake can lend a creative, artsy feel to your table.

You might choose a naked, or semi-naked cake, or one with just a few little hints of the cake showing through; to this one you might add a few touches of gold leaf and some delicate flowers and foliage for a cake that is the epitome of boho-chic, and looks simply exquisite at any time of the year. 

A rustic wedding cake that plays with a woodgrain effect, so the buttercream icing of your multi-tiered cake is textured to look like the bark of your favourite tree, can be wonderfully impactful. Add a carved heart and your entwined initials for a sweet romantic touch.  

Another option for a rustic spring or summer wedding is a nature-inspired cake decorated with edible pressed flowers, bringing the sweetness and beauty of the English garden to your festivities.