Trend #1: Letterpress Patterns
Why
should invites have all the fun? A letterpress-style design is a trendy
way to show off your gown's ornate embroidery, your invitation's floral
design, or even your chosen china pattern. Using baker's tools, or a
custom-made rubber stamp, the design is actually impressed onto
rolled-out fondant. It works best with detailed designs, adding an
elegant dimension.
Trend #2: Believable Colors
Opt
for organic, sophisticated, and edible cake colors -- not a Crayola
kaleidoscope. Think peachy pink, not Barbie pink; go lime green, not
dark green; do robin's egg blue, not bright blue. If you want a bold
hit of color, focus on the details and do a monochromatic look in
varying shades. For example, your bottom-tiered sugar paste floral
accents could appear in a deep eggplant purple. The flowers can move
into lighter shades of purple as they wrap around the cake -- leading
to the top tier, which would be covered with sweet, pale lavender
flowers.
Trend #3: Signature Silhouettes
Reflect your
wedding theme in a fresh way by adorning the cake with sophisticated
silhouettes. Created with any color fondant, cutouts of your wedding
motif, or a bloom from your bouquet could appear on your cake. The
archetypal boy and girl silhouette in brown and ivory could work for a
modern wedding. Or, bring in a sense of your surroundings, and do
starfish silhouettes for a beach wedding or butterflies for a spring
wedding -- it's a very translatable trend.
Trend #4: Oversized Flowers
Exaggerated
sugar paste flowers are the perfect way to get an elegant look without
paying a fortune for a floral-covered cake. The key is contrast: Choose
a flower type that is normally small and dainty, such as daisies or
stephanotis -- giving sweet and simple a bold new take.
Trend #5: Mixing Shapes
Tiers
in contrasting shapes add intrigue to a basic cake. You could top a
hexagon-shaped bottom with two rounds. Or, use a different shape for
every tier. Let your reception room be your guide. For a ballroom bash,
do a tall and traditional square bottom tier and several rounds to top
it off. For a casual loft wedding, play with a combo of hexagon, round,
and square-shaped tiers.
