25 favourite wedding cake ideas for 2018 brides and grooms – with pics!

Published by Claire Gould on

Dark wedding styling ideas for 2018 weddings, with Emma Barrow Photography (26)

Cake: Edible Essence | Photo credit: Emma Barrow

1. Make an impact with a square, tiered cake!

This beauty from Edible Essence is pure white with a delicate pattern and the effect against the dramatic, dark tablescape is sublime. I adore the arrangement which tops the cake, complete with its own adorable vessel!

Coming to the English Wedding Blog in February – we can’t wait to see more!

Boho floral wedding editorial, photography by Jenny Heyworth for Aspire Photography Training (3)

Cake: Cutie Pie Cake Co. | Photo credit: Jenny Heyworth

2. Perfect your colour palette!

Consider your venue, think about where your cake will be and plan accordingly. You could even create a little backdrop to ‘frame’ your cake if you’re worried it will be smothered by garish curtains in a stuffy corner! Think mirrors, fairy lights or a block colour like this pink wall which frames a cake so prettily!

I adore the soft tones of this cake’s tiers – the pretty florals are perfect, and it’s wonderful to see a cake so beautifully presented!

Angela Reed Events and Nathalie Delente Photography, Chelmsford (8)

Cake: Fifi’s Cakery | Photo credit: Nathalie Delente

3. Make it minimal

Any designer will tell you simplicity is beautiful. This cake with four tiers and a pretty white heart topper is breathtaking against a bare, almost industrial background. Botanical styling will be everywhere in 2018, and we do love a trailing fern, a twist of wispy foliage and varying shades of green.

I love how this cake from Fifi’s Cakery isn’t draped by ferns – they’ve used the minimum, and rather than detract from the clean lines of the wedding cake, they frame and showcase it beautifully. Less is more, folks!

Styling by Angela Reed – full supplier list and feature here

4. Twist natural materials around a modern, architectural design

I adore the look of this cake with its gold metallic tier and slender branches woven around the base tier – plus, it has marbled layers in a pale grey. Cakes don’t get much better!

Award winning Bristol and Bath wedding planners Pudding Bridge (12)

Cake: Edible Essence | Photo credit: Mrs Jutson

5. Just add art!

This little ‘frame’ made of sugarpaste is divine! For a pretty, feminine wedding cake opt for sugarpaste ruffles, 24 carat edible gold leaf, a delicate illustration in a twisty, gilded frame and wonderfully blousy statement peony blossoms on top!

 

6. Go for height with extra tiers!

If cake is your thing, then go all out. This 5 tier wedding cake is sweet and simple in baby pink with only a handful of delicate real flowers – but its statement is the frame which covers three of those glorious tiers. Elegance, romance and as sweet as can be!

7. Make it seasonal!

This is a sneak peek from an editorial shoot we’ll be publishing in a couple of weeks’ time. The simplest of cakes can look the most delicious, and especially so when layers are peeking out from the frosting!

We do love a semi-naked cake here at English Wedding Blog HQ, and the delicate gold leaf accents on this one are just wonderful. Top with seasonal fruits, flowers and foliage for an unforgettable statement cake!

 

Alternative, eclectic, beautifully relaxed wedding by Inbetween Days Photography (31)

Cake: Rushia’s auntie! | Photo credit: Inbetween Days

8. Relax and get creative!

I honestly think the more relaxed a wedding day is, the more creative those little details can be. Throw out the rule book and you can do whatever you like with your stationery, dress and suit, and venue styling. Step away from the polished designer cakes with immaculate royal icing, and have yourselves a delicious-looking cake smothered in pretty butter cream with the prettiest of rosebuds to decorate.

Rushia’s auntie made this beauty, and you can see the bride and groom cut it – as well as their full wedding on the blog – in early January.

Copper metallic and succulent wedding style ideas, images by Amanda Karen Photography (28)

Cake: MonAnnie | Photo credit: Amanda Karen Photography

9. Do the maths!

Geometry and design go hand in hand with this ultra modern cake combining copper, marbling, calligraphy and even succulents! Your tiers don’t have to be all matchy-matchy: in this case, a little variation makes for an amazing talking point! Amanda Karen ywyw

 

Classic elegance for a Royal Holloway wedding with Dale Stephens Photography (17)

Cake: Louise’s friend! | Photo credit Dale Stephens Photography

10. Go for bold – and try a little DIY too!

Contrasting colours makes for a real statement cake. This stunning little number from Louise and David’s Royal Holloway wedding will be making an appearance on the English Wedding Blog in March.

The key to its success is in those fabulously rich blue tiers, and the adorable laser cut cake topper!

We don’t recommend DIY-ing your wedding cake if you’ve never worked with tiers or sugarpaste – or even buttercream, for that matter! Find a cake crafting and decorating workshop or course, and make learning from the experts part of your wedding journey.

Cake: Trevenna Barns | Photo credit: Tracey Warbey

11. Rustic still rules – with a contemporary twist!

Barn weddings are riding a wave of popularity and set to be big in 2018 – so if you’re marrying in a cosy barn you’ll want a cake which reflects the ambiance… Think countryside elegance with a modern twist and go for rustic buttercream with handfuls of foliage around your cake!

We love how Trevenna Barns used textures to make Helen and Mike’s rustic country wedding cake look so amazing! See their full wedding here

12. Get a little fruity with it!

Figs and eucalyptus? Yes please! This gorgeous creation is perfectly summery, simple and so on trend for 2018. Ben and Aimee’s barn wedding was relaxed and pretty, with wild florals and foliage and elegant styling.

I’m a huge fan of tall tiers on wedding cakes, and they work so wonderfully well with the semi-naked cake look. A sprinkling of figs and a dash of eucalyptus, and this is really very close to perfection!

See more from Ben and Aimee’s wedding on the blog

13. Sculpt something beautiful

Cakes can be soft with smooth curves, or dramatic and structured, with real impact and eye-catching shapes! This striking two tier cake by Yellow Chimney combines the best of both worlds with white chocolate and a soft rose for contrast.

Don’t forget your cake stand – this one’s simply perfect for such a strikingly sweet number!

We’ll be featuring this cake as part of one of our best ever editorial shoots on the blog in February – follow our Facebook and Instagram to be sure you don’t miss it!

Greenery and gorgeous urban chic styling at Manchester Victoria Warehouse with Kate McCarthy Photography (15)

Cake: Jenna’s mum | Photo: Kate McCarthy

14. Variety and adventurous flavours!

Gone are the days of single layer, single flavour cakes. Experiment with chocolate and orange, lemon and cherry layers in your wedding cake! If your favourite is red velvet and hers is rainbow cake, what’s stopping you from having an exciting and unusual wedding cake?

The cake pictured is from Jenna and Kris’s gorgeous Manchester warehouse wedding: “My lovely Mum made our cake, she is a very talented baker so we had utter faith in her making something perfect for us. We asked for naked cake and left the rest to her. She decorated it with a ‘Yay’ sign she had made for it, as it is something I say a lot. Alongside the naked cake, which was vanilla and chocolate sponge she also made a fruit cake and a tower of cheese cake. Mum goes over and above with everything she does, we are very lucky to have her.

Most cake designers will offer a wider variety of creative flavours – all you need to is ask!

Cake: Torte Cakes | Photo credit: Squib Photography

15. Theme it!

We love a wedding cake which can be a real talking point at your wedding – so often guests don’t even notice the wedding cake until you cut it, but with a statement design they’ll be wowed by it from the start!

This woodland inspired cake by Torte Cakes in Sheffield shows how it’s done – with oodles of creativity, elegance and a sense of playfulness with the bride and groom’s initials ‘carved’ into the third tier!

 

Stunning vibrant florals for a Welsh wedding with Jake Morley Photography (47)

Cake: Donna’s friend (with flowers by Donna) | Photo credit: Jake Morley

16. Blooming gorgeous cake inspo…

English Wedding bride Donna is a florist, so naturally flowers were a huge part of Donna and Nick’s wedding. The sugarpaste peonies on this cake are the frilliest and most beautiful complement to that gorgeous copper tier – and Donna topped the cake with real peonies and colourful flowers to match her bouquet and table decorations.

This is a brilliant option for couples on a budget: make a simple white cake and go to town with real flowers to match your bouquet. For real impact consider colouring your icing: navy blues, rich violet or vibrant pink can transform a cake, and contrasting, colourful blooms turn it into something truly magical.

Donna and Nick’s wedding is here

 

 

Woodland fairytale wedding with butterflies on the English Wedding Blog. Photo credit: Nina Pang (26)

Cake: Pink Cocoa | Photo credit: Nina Pang

17. Tantalising toppers!

Pop something beautiful on top of your wedding cake! These laser cut calligraphy cake toppers always look lovely – they’re by Emma Jo and we fell in love with them in our woodland bridal shoot from the summer.

Ask Emma for a personalised cake topper with your names, or opt for the classic ‘Mr & Mrs’ or ‘happily ever after’ – or if words aren’t your thing, browse Etsy for sweet handcrafted wedding cake toppers. We’ve seen felted mice, adorable clothes peg figures and much more to inspire you!

Styling your 2018 wedding, expert advice by Jenna Hewitt. Photo credit Kitty Wheeler Shaw (15)

Cake: Yolk | Photo: Kitty Wheeler Shaw | Styling: Jenna Hewitt

See the full shoot

18. Edible gold leaf for understated elegance and shine

There are two ways to use gold leaf beautifully to decorate a wedding cake: either cover a tier completely (which will cost! – be warned – 24 carat gold isn’t cheap) or use gold as an accent in tiny pieces.

This cake by Yolk is stunning – the delicate gold flecks trail along the cake in the loveliest way and the tiers are prettily imperfect, giving texture which I adore.

Featured on Rock My Wedding

 

The Creative Boutique Wedding Fair, County Hall in Kingston 2018. Images by Sofia Plana (20)

Macaron towers: BakerBaker | Photo credit: Sofia Plana (for the Creative Boutique Wedding Fair)

19. Add a little ‘je ne sais quoi’

French wedding style is all about elegance, with a dash of art – and these macaron towers are the perfect example!

The idea comes from the French croquembouche – a cone-shaped tower of profiteroles ‘glued’ together with caramelised sugar. These macarons are arranged in a similar but slightly more perfect way, and flecked with gold leaf or decorated with flowers – just as you would a wedding cake!

If you’re making your own macarons you’ll need a LOT of practice to get them looking smooth enough for one of these (but your friends, neighbours and family will love you for it!) – all you need is a polystyrene cone and cocktail sticks to ‘pin’ the macarons to it!

White florals and green foliage for a fine art wedding in Leicestershire. Image by Helen Warner Photography (38)

Cake: Emily Jane Cakes | Photo credit Helen Warner

20. Grandma knows best

People have been getting married and buying beautiful tiered cakes for decades… and we’re not saying anyone’s ever done the whole cake thing wrong! Pretty, romantic, feminine tiered cakes in whites and delicate pastels are as beautiful today as they ever were.

Emily and Jonathan’s wedding cake was perfectly traditional and in keeping with their elegant wedding style. We featured their day on the blog back in the summer – see more cake pics here. I love the detail of this exquisite, classic luxury cake, and the pretty peonies peeking out from below the cake stand are just so lovely.

De Vere Tortworth Court autumn wedding style ideas, image credit Love In Focus Bristol (26)

Pork pie wedding cake | Photo credit: Love In Focus

21. Man-cake

I don’t like to be sexist, but in our house this one would definitely be man-food… it’s one of three wedding cakes Hannah and Ian chose for their wedding day (and only one was particularly sweet and cakey!)

I love all three, but to be honest this pork pie cake is the one I remember because it’s different, fun and went down a treat!

 

De Vere Tortworth Court autumn wedding style ideas, image credit Love In Focus Bristol (25)

Cheese wedding cake | Image credit: Love In Focus

22. Cheese cake

Hannah and Ian’s second cake is a modern classic: the cheese tower. These are often topped with the little cheese heart which is the sweetest touch – and ideal for guests to enjoy at your evening reception.

The decoration is pretty too (something about a cheese tower suits autumnal weddings so well!) – wrap your cheeses with hessian and tie with twine, then scatter with autumn leaves and acorns!

De Vere Tortworth Court autumn wedding style ideas, image credit Love In Focus Bristol (23)

Cake: Ian’s mum | Photo credit: Love In Focus

 

23. Chocolate brownie bliss!

So many of us don’t like fruit cake, and wouldn’t list victoria sponge as our favourite cake. It’s fine to think outside the box – start with your favourite cake flavour and work from there! Ian’s mum made this chocolate brownie wedding cake, and it looks fantastic (and sooooo tempting, don’t you think?!)

If you’re trying this at home please remember your cake will need supports through it for the 2nd-4th tiers. Brownie is even more likely to collapse than a sponge cake because of all that lovely goo! So internal supports are essential. You can buy them from online cake shops 🙂

English summer wedding inspo, photo credit Evoke Pictures Bristol (3)

Cake: Bake My Cake | Photo credit: Evoke Pictures | Styling: The Little Wedding Helper

24. Prettiest in pink!

Soft pastels run through so many wedding colour palettes, so why not turn your whole wedding cake pink? This beautiful creation from Bake my Cake will turn heads – the buttercream is soft, rustic and ever so pretty: it works because of the sharp corners at the top of each tier, the different depths of tiers, and those pretty flowers which really perfect the look.

We’d love to see a version of this in a vibrant pink with ultra violet florals…

See the full shoot on the English Wedding Blog

 

Cake: Amy Swann | Photo credit: Jess Petrie

25. Enchanting country garden

I’ve saved my favourite wedding cake of all until last. Have you ever seen sugarpaste flowers which look so alive?

Welsh designer Amy Swann (whose name you’ll recognise from our favourite wedding stationers list) creates the most incredible cakes inspired by nature. They’re pretty and perfect in the way an English country garden is perfect after years of being tended by loving hands. Amy’s flowers work together beautifully; she mixes colours and textures with an instinct and talent which really is second to none.

Recreating this look at home would be impossible; for a statement cake like this it’s really important to discover the original designer and get in touch. Cake lovers like me will be happy to know most cake designers will travel much further than you might expect… so never limit yourselves to suppliers in your town or county!


We’ve been working hard to bring you handy guides to some of our favourite UK wedding brands ready for the 2018 wedding season, and we hope you love these features – do save them to your home screen or keep a note of all your favourites to refer back to throughout the year! Check out our favourite wedding planners and stylists, discover the best UK dress designers and find your invitations via our fave wedding stationers on the English Wedding Blog too!

If you haven’t yet found your wedding photographer for 2018 or even 2019, then we can help you with our recommended photographers in the top menu of the blog. Find all of our favourite wedding suppliers and photographers by area in the English Wedding Directory – and when you get in touch, tell them you found them on the English Wedding Blog!

 

Categories: Cakeswedding blog

Claire Gould

Claire spends her days writing - either in beautiful calligraphy or online. She lives on the edge of the English Lake District only minutes away from the beach, where she loves to escape and unwind. Claire's calligraphy can be found at www.byMoonandTide.com. Claire launched the English Wedding Blog in November 2009 - it's been a top 10 UK wedding blog ever since, with a regional focus we hope you LOVE.

1 Comment

Joanna · May 13, 2018 at 6:48 pm

Love your cake ideas! Imagination is our only limit 🙂

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read previous post:
Introducing… 19 of our favourite UK wedding dress designers for 2018

Hey lovelies! I suspect some of you may be discovering the English Wedding Blog for the first time, after all,...

Close