It has long been known that fashion designers must use various color cycles and styles to promote sales and keep us in constant need of new items for our “must have” wardrobe. Current shades of champagne into brown tones and various tones of turquoise are very hot for fall. Change is good. New ideas, styles and colors can be uplifting and open
our eyes and minds to design opportunities that are exciting possibilities for something unique and different to individualize that special cake.

For numerous years, the wedding cake was under fire as an outdated,
Expensive, and unnecessary accessory to the wedding reception. Currently, the cake takes second place only to the bridal gown, and is the central most important item at the reception. Whether or not the guests sit down to eat or drink, if they take time to look at the flowers or hear the music, they MUST see the cake. It carries a romantic significance that seems to memorize all of the ladies as they ooh and swoon over the drapes and ribbons and other special sugar specialties.

Many of our fashion clothing as well as trends in cakes are established in New York by well known decorators. One such decorator is Colette Peters of New York, who has been featured numerous times on the Food Network and is renown for her topsy turvy cakes with wild colors and shapes. Brides all over the country see these admirable creations and search for someone who can reproduce them. Sylvia Weinstock, also of New York, makes absolutely fabulous sugar paste blossoms that rival fresh flowers with only the fragrance missing. She has been featured in numerous bridal magazines and produces many celebrity cakes for television. So once again, her work is very visible for brides to see, admire and want to reproduce.

These, as well as other celebrity confectionary artists, establish our
current trends.

The fifties wedding cakes in my area were like three tiers of cement, definitely with no columns and only buttercream roses for decoration. White was the only variety of flavor, so that choice was a simple one. This is definitely NOT hot today. During the seventies, the cakes with electric fountains that reticulated water, tall columns, bridges to satellite cake and miniature bridal parties dressed in corresponding colors were the premier line of cake designs. Often silk flowers or buttercream roses adorned these cakes, and they were always topped with a miniature bride and groom. On today’s market - NOT hot.

Over the next thirty years, the international influence of fondant and sugar paste flowers of all varieties made its appearance on American style cakes. Columns were still used but were shorter and often hidden with fresh flowers. Cakes remained primarily round and white in flavor.

The HOT style of current wedding cakes seems to be an off set square
cake that is stack on stack with no columns. There is an absence of the little bride and groom, and definitely no plastic bridesmaids. Either fresh flowers or hand molded sugar paste blossoms are scattered in strategically placed arrangements. The look is very sophisticated and has understated beauty.

Another HOT design is the whimsical, sculpted, topsy turvy cake with the New York influence, or even the Mad Hatter design. Colors are bright oranges, hot pinks and even blacks - whatever catches the eye of the adventurous bride.

Today’s bride is more sophisticated, worldly and independent than years
ago. If she dreams of a big traditional wedding, that is available. If she visualizes individual cakes or something whimsical, she can also be accommodated. The bride’s opinion is definitely - WHAT’S HOT!!