Choosing the Perfect Wedding Cake: Flavours, Styles & Trends for 2025
Your wedding cake is more than just a dessert or traditional 'thing' you should have at a wedding. It’s a centrepiece, a reflection of your style and a delicious treat for you and your guests to enjoy. 2025 is bringing us fresh trends and creative designs. It's challenging traditional cake designs and giving couples far more options. Choosing the perfect wedding cake should be an exciting part of your wedding planning journey, so I'm here to get you raring to go for the process.
Whether you're drawn to hand-painted artistry, modern and out there designs, unique textures, seasonal flavours, or locally sourced ingredients, this guide will help you make the right choice for your special day.
2025’s Trending Wedding Cake Flavours
One question which gets asked a lot is "what is a popular flavour?"
Obviously I am always happy to say which flavours my couples always love the most (It's the white chocolate and raspberry mud cake by the way) but here are a couple of factors to help you decide.
It's your wedding. Its likely the most expensive cake you are likely to buy, so the first piece of advice is, chose your favourites! If you are having 2 or more tiers, hey presto, you can pick a flavour each.
What are you having for your dessert? If you cake is being served in the evening, choose a flavour different from your dessert. For instance, if you are having a summer fruit creme brulee (I now want a brulee, dang) then opt for maybe a rich chocolate and salted caramel or coconut and passionfruit cake for something a little different.
If you are serving your cake as dessert, why not choose two flavours again so that your guests get to try a little bit of each. Wouldn't it be lovely if they reflected something about yourselves. Like maybe flavours you grew up with, or one that reminds you of something special. Like the first cake you shared on a coffee date.
Couples are increasingly opting for cakes that celebrate local ingredients and flavours that reflect the seasons.
Classic with a Twist: Think lemon drizzle and summer raspberries, vanilla bean cake with sweet strawberries, all made with locally grown ingredients.
English Puddings: Spice cake with apple and blackberries foraged from the local area or indulgent cherry bakewell.
Fruity: Blueberry muffin cake with local blueberries
Rich & Indulgent: Rich chocolate cake with Dorset sea salt or white chocolate mud cake packed full of tart raspberry jam.
Tip: When choosing your cake, consider the seasons! light, fruity options for summer and warming spices for autumn and winter weddings.
The Art of Hand-Painted Cakes
A trend increasing in popularity for 2025 is hand-painted cakes, where edible artistry meets delicious sweet treat. There is a misconception that having something quite so bespoke means the price is going to be vastly out of reach, however opting to have even the smallest amount of painted detail on your cake can make your wedding cake truly unique.
Starting from details with the smallest price tags -
Watercolour washes for a soft, romantic feel: A beautiful way to tie in your colour scheme or mimic details from your wedding stationary etc
Painted initials: A painted monogram or a quote that holds sentimental value.
Floral illustrations that match your bouquet: Even a couple of painted flowers or some foliage add a real depth to a cake design.
Pet portraits: A gorgeous way to add character to your cake and give your sweet fluffy pals a spot in the limelight. I have painted some adorable pets over the years!
Personalised painted scenes from your love story: Where you first kissed, where you had your holiday, your home or where you got engaged.
Tip: The best way to know how much detail you are going to be able to afford is to tell your cake maker what your budget is for the cake. They can guide you as to what painted detail can be included within your budget.
Flowers: Edible, Seasonal & Decorative
Using fresh, pressed or dried seasonal flowers is a trend that is here to stay and couples are loving the diversity of what is available throughout the seasons.
Whimsical meadow flower designs, beautiful colour explosions or muted dried flowers with tonnes of texture.
Here are some gorgeous floral designs to consider.
Edible Flowers: Pansies, violets and daisies are just some of the beautiful flowers that can be used. They create a lovely rustic or garden effect
Pressed Flower Designs: Perfect for an English country side/meadow theme. A beautiful way to incorporate British flowers outside of the growing season.
Wild & Whimsical Arrangements: Incorporating herbs like rosemary or thyme for a fragrant, countryside feel, grasses for extra texture and pretty uk grown flowers like roses and dahlias for something truly special.
Dried Flower Arrangments: A great choice for late autumn, winter and early spring weddings. There is something so romantic about a dried flower cake.
Tip: Always ensure flowers are food-safe and organically grown when being eaten, especially when placed directly on the cake. Your cake maker will be able to advise on this and work with your florist to use the best varieties.
Cake Sizes & Styles: Whats Right for Your Wedding?
Wedding cake makers have seen a change in recent years from towering 5 tier cakes to much smaller intimate cakes (largely due to the pandemic)
Choosing the right size and shape depends on your guest list and how you wish to display your cake.
Here are some popular options and trends when it comes to the size and layout.
The Classic Three Tier : Still the most popular, catering for 80 -110 guests with a wedding sized portion (1x1x6" or 1x2x3" slices)
The Rise of the Two Tier Design: Catering for 50 guests, this is a great option for more intimate weddings and some couples opt to then have some delicious treats like macarons to surround it.
The Dissasembled: Three cakes, but instead of stacked, they have their own stands in a staggered formation. A great way to cater for additonal intolorances as cakes can be kept seperate, but also allows for additional cake table styling.
Tall & Slim Designs: Elegant, modern, and perfect for intimate weddings, the one tier design is here to stay. Great if you would like a cutting cake, but also love the idea of extras like cupcakes to offer your guests choice.
Cupcakes & Dessert Tables: A rising trend for couples who want variety or a more informal approach. Cupcake and dessert walls are making a comeback as a great option to have in the evening for guests to help themselves.
Tip: Try not to get overwhelmed with all the options. Your cake maker can help tailor the design to fit your wedding theme and atmosphere. Once they know your theme and number of guests they can let their creative minds wander.
Textures and Finishes
The finish and texture is a big factor when it comes to the overall look of your wedding cake. From smooth, clean lined white fondant, stone effect fondant, palette knife flowers, textured and rustic buttercream/ganache to modern and artistic finishes, there is a wide range to choose from depending on a few key factors.
Some things to consider are -
The time of year you are getting married - Nothing brings a sweat on more than when a couple want a buttercream wedding cake in a marquee in August.
Your venue - Do they have air con, is it easy for your cake maker to get to for delivery i.e a bumpy farm track is never great for a stacked wedding cake.
The type of texure you like the look of - Do you prefer a classic smooth finish or a modern textured finish?
The colours you would like to incorporate - Do you like a traditional white cake or would you like to explore a cake with colour?
Tips: Here is a blog all about the different cake finish terms and wedding cake lingo
Sustainable & Ethical Cake Choices
Luckily for me, eco-conscious weddings are on the rise and your cake can be part of the movement. In a world where waste is a huge issue, it makes sense to order your cake with someone who has taken steps to minimise their own. To know that you are also supporting other artisan businesses as well as your cake makers is pretty special, so with that being said here are some little bonus points if your cake maker has a sustainability policy in place.
I won't beat around the bush, this is a little plug at my own business, but you can also check with your own cake maker to see where they source their ingredients.
Locally Sourced Ingredients: Flour, butter, jams and eggs. I love using Dorset or South West suppliers from the base ingredients, right down to the Dorset salt.
Fair Trade Chocolate & Sugar: Supporting ethical farming practices should be an absolute must these days.
Dairy & Eggs: Literally no one should be using naff eggs. Free range as a minimum, local as a bonus and organic local as the goal. British dairy is a must and I personally try and use organic when possible.
Minimal Waste Designs: As a general rule, I don't use cake dummies in my designs (unless they are being returned) I can't bring myself to use fake flowers on my cakes, with the small exception that they will be used after the big day.
Reusable or Biodegradable Cake Stands & Decor: Cake makers should have stands and decor to hire which not only saves you a job but is a great way to reuse items and save them from landfill.
Order Enough: But don't order too much. A cake designer is there to ensure you don't over or under order. You don't want to be left with tonnes of cake at the end of your wedding, although you can freeze for upto 6 months. The cake that keeps giving!
Tip: If your cake maker has sustainable and eco friendly systems in place, the chances are they are both passionate and proud about it. It will be on their website and social media (if they use it) so go have a little nosey! Or im sure they will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Final Thoughts
Choosing your cake is an exciting part of the wedding planning process and the trends of 2025 are offering plenty of inspiration. From hand-painted masterpieces to delicious flavours using locally sourced ingredients they are all leaning towards cakes with more personal meaning and no longer something that is just a tick box exercise.
Work with a cake designer who understands your vision and enjoy the process of bringing your dream cake to life!
Would you like to explore more about cake trends or book a consultation?
If you are getting married in Dorset or the surrounding areas I would love to hear from you!
Much love
Tash x
Final Tip: It's likely not a very clever thing for a cake maker to say, but if you are not excited about the cake planning process, feel it is just something traditional that holds no real joy for you or you simply don't like cake, I would strongly suggest picking something different like a cheese cake, donut wall or brownie stack.
Remember, its your wedding. Choose things you love and are excitied about having on your special day x
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