Top 10 Wedding Cake Trends for 2019 by Elizabeth Solaru
Elizabeth's Cake Emporium is home to the best luxury wedding cakes and party cakes. Founded by Elizabeth Solaru, a world renowned sugarcraft teacher and judge over 10 years ago, the company has an international reputation for producing beautiful bespoke wedding cakes, party cakes, cupcakes and decadent dessert tables that taste as gorgeous as they look.
After meeting Elizabeth in London at BrideLux Symposium, we asked her a few questions on some wedding cake trends and tips, and here is what she had to say:
What is your favorite part about creating these wonderful cakes?
The creative process of making a luxury wedding cake is always my favorite part. I research the client thoroughly, ask lots of questions and begin to pull together shapes, colors and textures. Inspiration comes from a variety of sources, including the most unusual and unexpected. For some cakes, the process can be easy and for some it can be a little tricky, but it always results in something unique and special.
What are the top wedding cake trends in terms of theme, color and design for 2019?
We get asked this question every year and as it happens, the top ten wedding cake trends for 2019 are:
#1 Statement Wedding Cakes
The last few years has seen the emergence of statement wedding cakes which are usually tall, grand and impressive in size and scale. These cakes command attention and although usually requested by brides getting married in a palace or grand country house, we have seen brides getting married on beaches make similar requests.
#2 Multiple Wedding Cakes
Why have one wedding cake when 3, 4 or even 5 will do? A step up from the luxury dessert table, cakescapes provide a way of having multiple complimentary wedding cake designs incorporating brides’ favorite design details and cake flavors. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a deconstructed wedding cake at their wedding and we think this trend is here to stay.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a deconstructed wedding cake at their wedding and we think this trend is here to stay
#3 Monogram Magic Wedding Cakes
Monogrammed cakes are the ultimate in personalisation. Although monograms have been used on luxury wedding cakes for a while, it’s repeated use on Princess Eugenie and Jack Broksbank’s wedding cake brought it to the mainstream.
#4 Sophisticated Donut Towers
The humble donut had always felt like a poor relative next to its more sophisticated and chic sister, the macaron. However, as we hark back to our favorite childhood flavors, there is a wish to incorporate them into our celebrations. The donut has now been transformed from an ugly duckling into an elegant swan, with an increasing number of brides requesting them.
The donut has now been transformed from an ugly duckling into an elegant swan
#5 Bold and Colourful Wedding Cakes
At Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, we are known for making bright and colorful wedding cakes for couples who are looking for something off the beaten track. Color is a fabulous way to add character to your wedding cake. The color of your wedding cake is also influenced by your reception theme and venue and the time of year you are getting married. As the rule book has been torn up in 2019, a rich cake color is also a way to push boundaries and add an element of non conformity.
#6 Living Coral Wedding Cakes
Pantone recently declared Living Coral as the color of the year 2019. With its hues of deep peach and pink, we will see this color used in product development, in the fashion industry, home furnishings, graphic design and we dare say, in the wedding industry too. Once again, we seem to be ahead of the curve and featured this color in our book OPULENCIA – Artisan Baking and Sugarcraft.
#7 Floral Fantasy Wedding Cakes
It was lovely to see the art of sugar flowers being revived in luxury wedding cakes and a great example was Princess Eugenie’s autumnal floral fantasy. Sugar flowers have always been a firm favorite with us, and while the most popular sugar flowers we use on wedding cakes include the rose, peony, dahlia and the hydrangea, we also create more exotic ones such as parrot tulips, ranunculi and Chinese lanterns.
It was lovely to see the art of sugar flowers being revived in luxury wedding cakes and a great example was Princess Eugenie’s autumnal floral fantasy
#8 Wondrous White Textured Wedding Cakes
Traditionally, luxury wedding cakes as popularised by Queen Victoria had always been white as it denoted purity and was also a status symbol as only wealthy families could afford pure white sugar. While still a popular cake color, it can look rather flat in photographs. In 2019, brides love the fact that adding texture in various forms can elevate a cake and add dimension. Textures can be in the form of sugar ruffles, frills, geodes, torn edible wafer, pearls, or even edible sequins.
#9 Painted Wedding Cakes
Hand painted cakes are such a delight to behold. From water color washes, painted flowers, scripted prints and contemporary graphics painted cakes are literarily edible works of art that delight and astonish and they will continue to grow in popularity in 2019.
#10 Unconventional Shaped Wedding Cakes
Wedding cake shapes can range from round, oblongs, heart and petal shaped to the more geometric square, hexagons and octagons. Round is the much preferred shape by many brides as it the shape of a wedding ring and it denotes a continuous circle of unbroken love. However, some brides are brave enough to opt for unique, unconventional cake shapes as they break away from the norm.
What are the top wedding cake flavors in 2019?
Luxury wedding cake flavors have changed considerably over the years as palates have become more sophisticated and couples more open to experimentation. Flavors we are seeing more of include Lemon and Elderflower, made popular by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Rose pistachio, White chocolate and Blackberry, Chocolate Praline, Chocolate Cappucino and Chocolate Orange Marmalade.
What was the fanciest and over the top wedding cake you have created?
We have created quite a few incredible statement luxury wedding cakes but the one I can share with you is one we created for one of the most expensive weddings in the world a few years ago. It stood over 9 feet tall and featured over 5,000 sugar flowers. We worked very closely with the production company who also did some projection mapping on the cake.
Any other desert trends taking over in 2019?
With desserts, small and perfectly formed seems to be the trend for desserts in 2019. Beautifully decorated eclairs, painted macarons, perfectly piped cookies and donuts are some of the staples for a trendy 2019 dessert table.
