The cake is a staple wedding decoration and tradition. It originates from medieval times, though its meaning has changed over the centuries. Back then, the wedding cake represented fertility and prosperity. As part of the bride’s rite of passage, someone would throw the cake at her so that she would realize both virtues.

Medieval wedding cakes were far less lavish and messy. Even today, wedding cakes change forms regularly, adopting new trends to meet new fashion and décor standards. So, let’s investigate a few of these emerging (and some surviving) wedding cake trends.

Dirty-Iced Cakes

Adapted from the naked style—simple and unfrosted—the dirty-iced cake brings back a small amount of frosting to make a sparse crumb coating. The result looks quite pretty, similar to what a lawn might look like after a gentle snowfall.

White-on-White versus Watercolour

White-on-white cakes are minimalistic and elegant. They suit traditional weddings that hint at a modern touch. Contrarily, watercolour cakes are picking up popularity, creating extravagant displays of bright colors that stain the frosting and cake.

Floral and Woodland Cakes

Nothing says fairy-tale wedding like a charmingly rustic woodland cake. Such cakes come in many forms. For example, some woodland cakes look like tree stumps or appear covered in moss. The latter borders on the floral style, which adorns the cake with flower-shaped frosting (sometimes real flowers).

Drippy Cakes

There’s a difference between dripping and drippy cakes. Dripping cakes are made from ice cream and left (accidentally) out in the heat. On the other hand, a drippy cake is topped with a syrup or fondant that trickles down the sides.

Geode (Rocks and Gems) Cakes

Geode cakes are simple cakes topped with editable rocks and gems. Marble cakes, which sport a glossy exterior, and crystal cupcakes fall under this trend.

Ruffled Cakes

Ruffled cakes are often combined with floral cakes, wrapping the bottom layers with a petal-like texture.

Whimsical Wedding Cakes

More weddings seek to defy conventions—and this act itself has become a trend. When a wedding cake adopts an unusual architecture and uses eclectic embellishments, it falls under the whimsical category. And why not? Weddings are supposed to be fun!