Here’s a wild idea: Why not have your wedding cake coordinate with your dress? The confluence of food and fashion actually makes a lot of sense: wedding cakes are adorned with embellishments—from lambeth piping to light-catching sanding sugar to edible flowers crafted from paper, sugar, or fondant—in the same way wedding dresses are. Having one mimic or inspire the other isn’t some whimsical eccentricity … it actually brings your design full-circle, creating cohesion in the chicest (and most delicious) of ways.
Whether you want a simple, two-tier wedding cake or an extravagant 13-foot-high one (yes, we’ve seen them), you can direct your bakery to take cues from fashion for the concept. Erin Martin, founder and owner of Chicago’s cool-girl cake studio, ECBG, has done this countless times. “We love when brides want to match their cake to their dress,” Martin says. “They can bring in a photo so we can reference it. We can use lace, sequin, or pearl deco items so get as close to the dress vibe as possible.” (The only tricky part? “Not giving any clues to the fiancé if the dress is a surprise!”)
Today, however, we worked backward, looking at some of Martin’s favorite cakes of late and pairing them with a Grace + Ivory wedding dress that matched the vibe. Take a look, then scroll to the bottom for a quick take on what else is trending in the delicious world of wedding cakes.
Layers of edible wafer paper, placed in a waving formation around the middle tier of this ECBG cake, made us immediately think of Liana, whose ruched and pleated silk tulle waves and moves in the most beautifully organic way. The cake has even more embellishment—hand-piped details, hand-placed edible beads, and real oyster shells—that a bride could customize to match the accessories or jewelry she plans to accent her dress with.
Each of the rosettes sprinkled across our Rosalind dress is made completely by hand—hand-cut, hand-sewn and -beaded, and hand-placed. Likewise, each of the orchids on this ECBG cake is made by hand (from sugar!). Behind them, cascading ruffles hand-constructed from fondant waterfall down the cake, mimicking the cascading skirt of the ivory gown.
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(in-store exclusive)
Wedding Cake Trends Q&A
Grace + Ivory: What is trending in wedding cake design right now?
ECBG: This year we have done a lot of lambeth cake designs, a lot of fondant petaling cakes, and a lot of wacky cakes. There are still lots of people who want the traditional wedding cake, but at least half of our clients are now opting for something unique and different.
GI: What’s your most popular cake flavor combo?
ECBG: Our most popular flavors for cake are vanilla, chocolate, lemon, almond, and marble. We find that most people want to appease a large group of people, so something a little more neutral or crowd-pleasing is what they gravitate toward.
GI: What are you loving in weddings right now, outside of cake?
ECBG: I love that people are doing so many unique things. They are using fruits and other foods in centerpieces, lots of draping, sculptural accents, and lots of personalization. I love that!
ABOUT THE EXPERT
ECBG is a specialty cake studio specializing in extravagant wedding cakes that are not only works of art, but also beyond delicious. Its team works with the top venues, planners, and vendors in the industry to bring the best customer service, tastings, and overall experience to its couples and clients. Erin Martin is the founder, owner, and head baker.
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