Until this year, Ross Gellar pretty much owned the word. Now everyone, everywhere in mostly every walk of life, is learning to pivot.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a kid in pre-school, a banker on Wall Street or yes, even an engaged couple planning a wedding – COVID-19 has affected your best laid plans in some way. While we can only offer cookies to console the kids and maybe some mini cupcakes for the bankers; if you’re planning a wedding, read on to learn more about the post-COVID wedding cake trends making the rounds.
Couples are pivoting wedding plans, changing everything from their guest list, to finding a new venue, to postponing wedding dates and more often than ever foregoing the big wedding altogether and opting for an intimate elopement with family. Whichever option they choose though, there must be cake. There should always be cake. So, how do wedding cakes look different in this new normal we’re all finding ourselves?
For one, less people equals smaller cake. Weddings that were once 100 guests are now 30 or fewer. We’re used to building four and five tier cakes for weddings, the kind you can see across a grand ballroom or reception hall. These days smaller, two-tier cakes are more popular. These more simply designed cakes with accompanying mini desserts, still catch guests’ eyes from across the room. But they have the added bonus of not leaving the bride and groom with a freezer full of wedding cake until their 5th anniversary. Another advantage of this pivot is the ability to cater to dietary restrictions. It makes a lot more sense to make a gluten-free or dairy-free cake for a few people than one for 100+ guests, with which someone is bound to be unhappy.
Along with the trend of smaller wedding cakes, come more simply designed cakes. Bakers report that requests for fondant cakes have decreased drastically, while brides have been increasingly keen on the simpler buttercream frosting designs, like those from Silver Rose Bakery. The explanation for this particular pivot is unclear. It could have to do with the fact that buttercream is less costly than fondant. Or maybe it’s because couples are opting for more outdoor weddings and fondant doesn’t do great in variable temperatures. We can only assume though, that the real reason is because buttercream makes for better face smashing.
With these simpler designs, fresh floral is making a huge comeback, especially for DIY weddings. Brides, bridal parties or families are able to order their cakes from a bakery like Silver Rose, then add their own twist to it with beautiful, fresh floral to match their other wedding décor. This simple touch goes a long way to add elegance to those backyard weddings that are becoming more popular.
You might have guessed; we love cake here at Silver Rose Bakery. So, we saved our favorite post-COVID wedding cake trend for last. Cake comes earlier! The cake cutting comes sooner in the evening than it did before. With smaller weddings, come shorter timelines. We’ve all been there, waiting over an hour for each guest to finish their dinner. Then, another hour for all of the speeches. We love those stories about the groom’s college days, but we want cake! With this new trend, couples all over are opting to cut the cake shortly after dinner concludes, rather than late in the evening. This is definitely a trend of which we whole-heartedly approve!
We’re all pivoting. Pivoting at work, at home and at weddings. Smaller cakes, simplicity of design with some fresh floral added, ease to accommodating dietary restrictions and cutting the cake earlier in the evening...these pivots are just a few of the most popular post-COVID wedding cake trends. Which is your favorite? Have you adopted any for your post-COVID wedding? Tell us about it!
Credit couple cake smash: April Barker, AZ Wed Pics