Wedding cake trends
Wedding cake trends – to follow or not to follow? It’s your wedding, so it’s entirely up to you! If the trend speaks to who you truly are, and what you really like, then it could be an ideal fit for your wedding. We’re all influenced by trends and are often unaware of how they trickle into our decision-making.
I’m not against trends, almost 17 years ago I started my business with one – hello cupcakes! I just don’t think we should be ruled by them.
Wedding cake trends come and go. Some faster than others… whoopie pies! Need I say more? So, I thought I’d share my thoughts on some of the wedding cake trends around in 2026…
Wedding cake trends – fresh cream and fruit
One wedding cake trend is the shallow single tier, huge, table-filling, round cake topped with fresh cream and fresh fruit. I follow my EHO’s and Food Standards Agency’s guidelines regarding unstable foods. So I don’t provide these. Fresh cream can only be stored at room temperature for a maximum of 4 hours, and only for 2 hours on hot summer days. That’s a very short display time for probably the most important cake purchase of your life. So, if this is your choice, do check that your cake supplier is storing your cake in line with food safety regulations to avoid poorly guests.
Wedding cake trends – long sheet cakes…
are everywhere! But, to have an impact, long sheet cakes need to be long – and that’s a lot of portions! If your guest list isn’t over 120 then this wedding cake trend is too big for your day. Scaled down, it will not have the same impact. Often iced in buttercream, which is susceptible to heat, this cake needs to be kept in the fridge and, again, only displayed for a limited time.
Many long sheet cakes are decorated with fresh flowers – often poisonous ones. There are strict regulations regarding fresh flowers as cake decorations. If you like this look, be sure your cake supplier is aware of these rules and has expert knowledge of flowers and their toxicity. And the importance of having a barrier between stem and cake!
Also, it’s worth considering how you decorate the cake table and surrounding area. Displaying with a mulitude of flickering candles in candlesticks and candelabras and fresh flowers may seem like a nice idea. But go too far, given the proportions of long sheet cakes, this can sometimes give the appearance of an entirely different sombre event. You don’t want a funereal feel on one of the happiest days of your life.
Lambeth cakes
At last! A trend I can get on board with, though it’s really a resurgence rather than a trend. The Lambeth technique, originating in 1930 using royal icing, became a popular buttercream cake trend in 2022.
I love to pipe! I’ve done it since my early days back in 2009. Always a lover of intricate detail, I think its fanciness really elevates your cake to something special.
Rather than buttercream, I offer this style as a fondant cake. Firstly, I coat the cake in a layer of Belgian white chocolate ganache. Ganache has a higher melting point than buttercream. Secondly, I ice in a 3mm layer of delicious premium fondant. Finally, piping bag in hand and a head full of creativity, I add all those wonderful swags, scrolls, frills and flourishes!
If you do decide to choose a Lambeth cake in buttercream, make sure your cake supplier has checked there are sufficient refrigeration facilities at your venue. Then, as close to the start of your wedding reception as possible, puts it on display out of sunlight. When I arrived at a venue last year to deliver a wedding cake, the wedding coordinator greeted me with relief that it didn’t have a buttercream finish as they’d had so many melt and collapse last year.
Bespoke wedding cakes
Within two or three of years of starting my business, the wedding cupcake trend was waning. So, I progressed to the elegance and stature of sugar floral and intricately hand piped tiered cakes.
And I’ve been here ever since. During this time various wedding cake trends have come and gone but, as a classic, tiered cakes have endured, and always will.
As a creative soul who thrives on putting her own work out there in all its intricate detail, when it comes to wedding cake trends, I prefer not to follow them. 
I like my work and your cake to be personal to you, your story and your wedding day, rather than what’s filling Pinterest that year or some trend forecaster insists will be the latest must-have. Rather than copying what everyone else is having, I want your cake to be individual, totally yours, down to the tiniest detail.
If you want that too, take a look at my portfolio for inspiration and get in touch!
With love, Amanda x
