Cake Is the Latest Wedding Tradition to Go

Couples are turning to pies, ice cream, and doughnuts to give their receptions a sweet personal touch.

When you think about a traditional wedding reception, the cake is often the first thing that comes to mind. That image of layers of vanilla cake adorned with crisp corners and swirls of Swiss buttercream and topped with a bride and groom not unlike Barbie and Ken once felt synonymous with the event itself. But these days, many couples are rethinking that tradition, swapping the traditional cake for desserts that feel more meaningful and tell the story of their relationship — one sweet bite at a time.

Trisha Brand and her husband met when they were in their thirties, and they had witnessed many weddings that featured elaborate multi-tier cakes. But when they were planning their Indianapolis wedding, they eschewed the “one-dimensional flavor” wedding cake that didn't resonate with them and decided to instead feature a display of 30 pies. “We both appreciated pie because it is multi-dimensional," Brand says. "You've got flaky crust and crumbles and then you've got that gooey or silky filling." She hit local antique shops to find funky cake stands that added as much drama and depth to the display as the pies themselves, which included a salty-sweet bourbon chocolate pecan pie and cherry pie topped with a vanilla streusel.

"Oftentimes, brides prefer desserts that are more personal and intimate, reflecting their tastes rather than conforming to the norm," notes Hyun Jung Jun of Dream Cake Test Kitchen in Chicago. She says that during the pandemic, she saw a surge in demand for pavlovas and even cookie towers for the smaller weddings that took place at that time. “Mounds of meringue with cream and fruit plus almond cookies are less traditional but still spectacular, and the dessert has a character to it,” she notes, adding that this trend has persisted, driven by a growing desire for both visually distinctive and nostalgic wedding desserts.

I've seen it myself while working as a culinary assistant at weddings. While assisting Laila Gohar at Mirabelle Zahara's wedding, I witnessed a mille feuille so big it felt surreal. It was the size of a table that could comfortably sit six people, and filled with orange blossom buttercream. My Instagram feed echoed this trend, featuring weddings with croquembouches, pies, Pavlovas, and stacks of doughnuts. Emily Warfield, an event planner based in New York, says she's noticed her clients are stepping away from the wedding traditions of the past thirty years as they try to personalize their wedding celebrations, “either wanting something really over the top, like a giant Pavlova, or completely omitting the cake,” she says.

When Alison Roman was planning her fall 2023 wedding reception at New York’s Keens Steakhouse, the cookbook author worked with Fabian Von Hauske and Sofie Swanson of Wildair to create a dessert that felt more personal than cake. She wanted something  “more shareable than a cake, something people could just have a little bit of,” says Swanson.

After a bit of deliberation, they decided to go with one of Roman’s favorite Italian desserts: tiramisu. Swanson lined large bowls with ladyfingers, then filled them with mascarpone cream custard and sponge cake soaked with coffee amaro. “People in general, especially in big metropolitan areas, are moving away from traditional expressions of things," Swanson says. "One of the easiest ways to do this is with dessert.”

Couples still are longing for the dessert to be a standout moment, especially for their friends and family. Bianca Padavick knew she wanted something other than cake for her Austin, Texas, wedding. (“Every wedding that we went to had a fancy three-tier or four-tier cake... but you never actually got any," she laments.)

Padavick chose to spend her dessert budget on an ice cream truck instead, turning the familiar summertime treat into a playful moment that became a memorable part of the day. Friends and family took a break from dancing to grab a scoop of coconut Hawaiian crunch, or her personal favorite, cinnamony “French toast” ice cream. The untraditional dessert set-up matched the relaxed feeling she wanted for her reception.

“I didn't feel like we needed to have this big cake, where everybody gathers around," she says. "I just wanted it to be more free-flowing. People were already looking at us, so I didn't think it was necessary to have another moment where we were the center of attention.”

The dessert also gave her an opportunity to put her guests in charge as they selected scoops from dairy and vegan ice creams and topped them with cookies, brownies, and fruit dipped in chocolate. “There was a little bit more wiggle room for everybody,” Padavick says of the display, which included gluten-free options. Warfield notes that this trend towards dessert platters makes it easy to accommodate guest health concerns and preferences. “Dessert platters allow couples to cater to all the dietary restrictions their guests have," she says, adding, "At a wedding, I may be dealing with up to 15 different allergies or dietary restrictions.”

Paris Starn, a conceptual food designer and pastry chef based in New York, designed an interactive strawberry shortcake piece for Zoe Cohen and Levi Shaw-Faber’s wedding in the Hamptons last August. After sorting through more than eight different options, they decided on a piece that wouldn’t require a a cutting ceremony: olive oil lemon, vanilla, and pistachio-flavored mini sponge cakes. The cakes were placed on meringue bow-adorned towers, and guests could personalize their strawberry shortcake from platters of whipped cream, pearly pastry cream, and ripe strawberries throughout the night

Much like Padavick, Cohen and Shaw-Farber valued a playful approach, reinventing a tired tradition; “We wanted this to be interactive and fun," shares Starn. "We wanted this to feel unique, and it was. It was great watching people being able to mix and match, picking their own cake flavor.”

Starn says that she also sees more brides looking for desserts that have deeper cultural significance, like a request she recently received from a Ukrainian-American bride for korovai, a bread traditionally adorned with ornate flowers and seasonal fruit and served at Eastern European weddings.

And some couples just want to end the event on a personal note. Davina Victor, a former wedding designer in Los Angeles, featured doughnuts as the dessert at her wedding. They were a subtle nod to her and her husband’s first date at a Dunkin' Donuts in the New Jersey suburbs.  Her venue, the Japanese-American restaurant, Hinoki and the Bird, offered strawberry yuzu and matcha doughnuts that her guests still talk about today. Moments like these reflect a shifting cultural attitude towards weddings, a desire to express personal style, and a way to provide guests with an unforgettable experience.

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