Top 10 Summer Wedding Cake Styles

Wedding season has now arrived, so we thought we’d put together a selection of our favourite summery wedding cake styles to provide you with some inspiration ahead of your big day. Whether you are on the lookout for a traditional wedding cake design or something a little bit unusual, we have it all covered here. So, if you haven’t ordered or made your cake yet or are still on the hunt for those cute finishing touches, look no further! Read on to find out what amazing wedding cake you could have for your summer wedding…

1. Floral

We start with a traditional favourite for summer wedding cakes, a floral style. This remains the most popular choice for weddings throughout the year but particularly during the warmer months, after all, nothing says summer like a collection of vibrant and elegant hydrangeas, peonies and sunflowers.

Flowers play a prominent role in most wedding day celebrations, from bridesmaids carrying bouquets to floral confetti being thrown in the air to greet the newlyweds following the service. If you are planning a wedding which is going to feature floral arrangements, then continuing this trend by including a floral style wedding cake is an obvious choice. Selecting colours which correlate with your overall theme is also something you might want to do.

While sugar flowers are traditionally the chosen centrepiece for floral cakes, there’s an endless amount of different flower styles and colours you can choose for your cake to make it really stand out in the crowd. In addition to edible wedding cake flowers there are also non-edible options available in the form of flower sprays which can provide a decorative feature.

Photo by: Wedding Wire // Magnolia Rouge

2. Tall

Tall cakes with tier after tier of gorgeousness are the perfect way to make an impression at any wedding. This towering cake style is perfect for brides looking to create something with a real wow factor, and they look great on those all-important wedding photos! If your guest list is on the large side, then tall wedding cakes are also fantastic for making sure everybody gets a slice. Yum!

If you are thinking of choosing a stacked wedding cake, then you have a range of options. Most tall wedding cakes have three or four tiers, but that doesn’t mean to say that yours can’t have more! The cake tiers are either placed on top of each-other or a tiered cake stand is used to separate them. Summery tiered cakes may feature different elements like edible flowers and fruit.

In terms of colours and styles, a tall wedding cake will traditionally feature a uniformed style with the same-coloured icing surrounding each tier. For something quirky, you could opt for a tall wedding cake with tiers which each feature a different colour. A brightly coloured, tall wedding cake would certainly be in-keeping with the summer season!

Photo by: MODWedding

3. Naked

The cake style you either love or hate. Fresh fruit, bright flowers, and seasonal colours make naked cakes one of the most desired choices for summer weddings. They’ve only become popular in the last few years but are sure to be showcased at weddings around the country. If you want something that fits the theme, aren’t a fan of icing/buttercream and love fresh fruit and ingredients, naked cakes make an excellent choice.

If a naked cake with the sponge completely on show is not really your thing, then a good compromise might be found in the shape of a semi-naked wedding cake. A semi-naked cake has a thin layer of frosting which enables you to just make out the sponge underneath. This is a great technique for creating a summer wedding cake with a rustic style.

A naked cake, or a variant of this style, will prove to be a real talking point among your guests. The secret to a great naked cake is making the layers which separate the cake tiers as tasty and as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Layers of chocolate glaze, buttercream and fresh fruit are just a few things which your naked wedding cake could include.

Photo by: Wedding Sparrow // Whimsical Wonderland Weddings

4. Painted

Hand painted cakes are quite difficult to create but are perfect for personalising your cake, emphasising the talent of the cake decorator and adding a work of art to your wedding table. If you’re a talented artist yourself or know an artistic cake decorator, take your wedding cake to the next level with a hand-painted edible paint design. A beautiful floral scene or images of vibrant fresh fruit can be hand-painted on wedding cakes to provide a summery theme.

The great thing about hand-painted cakes is that you can create something completely unique and original which has a specific meaning to you and your partner. After all, it is your special day! A particular image or hand-painted message which resonates with you both can provide a real personal touch, making your wedding cake an even bigger part of the day.

The edible paint you choose to decorate your wedding cake with very much depends upon the style of the cake itself. You have an array of different edible paints to choose from, which will help you to create the perfect summer wedding cake, including metallic and chocolate varieties.  

Photo by: My Hotel Wedding // Ever After Guide

5. Chalkboard

We just can’t get enough of the trendy chalkboard cake design. This cake style resembles something straight out of a craft magazine, looks surprisingly realistic and allows you to add a cute, personalised message for the newlyweds. If you’ve never seen a chalkboard cake before or you’re eager to try this new trend out for yourself,  it’s created using black sugar paste dusted in icing sugar and finished with a hand-painted message using white edible paint and a thin brush.

If you do not wish for your entire wedding cake to be made in a chalkboard style, then you could just opt for one chalkboard themed tier with the accompanying tiers created in a contrasting design. This will enable the chalkboard tier and featured message to really stand out.

To give your chalkboard wedding cake a summery look, you can decorate it with flowers or a leaf design. Decorations which feature bright colours will provide a stunning contrast to a monochrome chalkboard styled wedding cake. If this was a style which you hadn’t previously considered for your wedding, then we hope this has given you some food for thought.  

Photo by: MODWedding // Wedding Forward

6. Metallic

Metallic cakes undeniably ooze class and sophistication. Their shimmering finish of gold, bronze or silver looks almost inedible yet incredible. The metallic finish can be created by using an edible paint/airbrush coating, or a lustre effect modelling paste for small models. Although they are popular all year round, metallic cakes can be incorporated within a summer theme by combining the edgy and shimmering lustre of silver, gold or bronze with bright summer colours.

To ensure your metallic cake has a summery look, there are a number of different options available to you. Floral inclusions are an obvious choice as they can brighten a metallic cake design, creating a real statement. The contrast between a metallic style and vibrant, bright colours produces a standout appearance which is sure to prove to be a real showstopper on your wedding day.

The metallic wedding cake trend looks like it is here to stay. One of the benefits of this style is that you can customise the features which complement the metallic cake to suit your style taste. This is also the reason a metallic cake is seen as a great choice for weddings throughout the year as the accompanying elements can be adapted to suit the season in question.

Photo by: Wedding Forward // Faye Cahill

7. Lace

It wasn’t all that long ago that edible cake lace emerged on the shelves but it’s safe to say it’s quickly taken the cake decorating world by storm! Cake lace can take any cake from plain to rustic chic or vintage glamour in quite literally seconds. It can be draped or wrapped around a cake to give depth to its design, or simply used to add an elegant finishing touch to cakes of all shapes and sizes.

Edible wedding cake lace helps to produce a cake design with a timeless quality. Cake lace is available in different styles and colours and therefore provides you with plenty of scope when it comes to creating your perfect wedding cake design. Using the same-coloured lace as the cake icing itself can result in a classy and understated appearance. Alternatively, cake lace with a contrasting colour to the cake icing will really help to emphasise the intricate lace design.

On wedding cakes, edible lace can be used alongside other decorative elements including edible cake flowers. Using two or maybe three decorative elements together on your wedding cake can really create a memorable design. Ensuring different wedding cake features work together in harmony and don’t overcomplicate the design is the key to success.  

Photo by: La Dolce Dough // MODWedding

8. Chocolate

Who says a wedding cake needs be either fruit or vanilla? With so many chocolate cake recipes ranging from dark to white, there are mounds of melt-in-your-mouth possibilities for serving this decadent flavour on your big day. There are bound to be a few chocoholics on the guest list so chocolate wedding cakes are perfect for doubling-up as the perfect pudding for your wedding breakfast.

When it comes to chocolate wedding cakes, the possibilities are endless. A cake which comprises of contrasting chocolatey tiers in white, milk and dark varieties will certainly offer all your chocolate-loving guests something they are sure to enjoy. Incorporating some of the styles we have already mentioned within your chocolate wedding cake are also worth considering. Naked, semi-naked and floral chocolate cakes are all popular wedding day choices.

To ensure your chocolate wedding cake has a summery look and taste, fresh fruit can be the perfect accompaniment, with the likes of strawberries and raspberries adding a vibrancy of red colours which will contrast superbly with the cake itself. The versatility of chocolate cake is another attractive factor as your guests, who are lucky enough to take a piece of cake home, can enjoy it as a dessert too.

Photo by: Trivandrum Cake House // BBC Food Recipes

9. Themed

If your wedding day is following a specific theme, why stop at the cake? Whether your decor is covered head to toe in metallics or your venue is more art deco-inspired, your cake should always be a reflection of your chosen theme. A completely original and unique cake is guaranteed to be a talking point at any wedding.

When it comes to a wedding theme, this can relate to something general such as a particular colour or style. It can also be more specific like a film, TV series, sports’ team or band you’re both a fan of. Themed wedding cakes are therefore a great way of further showcasing your personality and highlighting a common interest shared by yourself and your partner.

A fair amount of planning will be required when it comes to designing and making a themed wedding cake, but the finished product can be spectacular. Ensuring it fits seamlessly within the intended wedding theme of the day, and doesn’t look out of place, is obviously the most important aspect.  

Photo by: Pinterest // Lily by Gilly

10. Novelty                                                                                      

Who says your wedding cake actually has to be cake?! In recent years, many couples have been straying from the traditional cake, instead opting for distinctive creations to reflect their tastes and personalities. Novelty wedding cakes can be a unique, fun and intriguing aspect of your wedding day.

In a similar way to themed wedding cakes, novelty varieties provide you with a great excuse to get your creative juices flowing and come up with something quirky and original. A non-traditional, unusual wedding cake is sure to be memorable and a talking point among yourselves and your guests for years to come.

Whether you’re serving up stacks of cupcakes, macarons or doughnuts in place of cake, you can still decorate them with the more traditional fresh sugar flowers and colourful frosting that wedding cakes usually boast. After all, when it comes to your wedding, the world is your oyster cake!

Photo by: Cupcake Elegance // You And Your Wedding

Have a wonderful wedding season and don’t forget to share your finished wedding cake with us on Facebook and Instagram 🙂