15 Pretty and Inspiring Wedding Cakes of 2016

Looking for some inspiring wedding cake ideas? One thing that always stands out at any wedding, in terms of the detail or decorations it is the wedding cake.  I love to see how it fits the theme of the wedding, or how it show's the personality of the couple.  I'm no expert in making or designing cakes, however I am quite expert at eating them and I certainly get to see a lot of cakes at weddings that I am photographing.

This year has been really big on nude cakes,cakes decorated with fruit or fresh flowers and cakes built out of cheese, I love all of them.  These cakes are in no particular order of preference I wanted to share these images as inspiration for couples who have got cake on the mind and are trying to decide on what cake or alternative to cake they would like for their wedding.

Not everyone loves cake, I totally get that (although I do love cake!) but it fascinates me to see what shape, size, colour, flavour, type of icing is chosen or even what alternative there is to a wedding cake (See the below cookie stack from my friend Lucy's  wedding back in May)

Here are my favourite 15 wedding cake ideas of 2016 that I have photographed to get you started and the inspiration flowing...

The location for cake cutting is REALLY important, many venues position the cake on the dance floor, the cake is cut just before the bride and groom do their first dance and it then gets whisked away to be cut up for guests, this works and can be fab.  If you have a say on the location of your cake, remember it is a feature of your wedding and think about the following few points

  • Ask for the cake NOT to be positioned in a dark corner of the room where guests are unlikely to walk past and see it. You want people to see it when it is whole and uncut, not just when it is a slice on a place or napkin. Towards the front of the room with window light is much nicer than a dark corner!

  • Spotlights on cakes look awful (my opinion) and again next to a window with natural light falling on it will look better than a yellow spotlight

  • Ask the venue not to position your cake right next to an ugly health and safety sign or fire extinguisher, photoshop can remove unsightly objects, however your guests are still going to see them when they look at your cake

  • Invite guests to come and photograph you cutting your cake, it's a great moment for your photographer to include the reactions and faces of your guests whilst you are cutting your cake and your reactions will be more spontaneous if you are responding to your family and friends in this moment

  • If there is an amazing location, perhaps outdoors, where you could cut the cake, ask your venue if this is possible, a beautifully lit courtyard perhaps? (see below image from Jon and Melanie's wedding at Upper House, Hayfield). The venue may be able to move the cake specifically for the cake cutting.

  • Lastly, whilst traditional wedding cakes do still have a place in modern day weddings there is no obligation to follow tradition on this at all, you can have a cake that speaks volumes about your very own love story, so my advice is to follow your heart and taste buds on this one!

The courtyard was the stunningly perfect and romantic location for cutting the cake and having their first dance...