4 Best Wedding Cakes to Photograph

The Best Wedding Cake Styles to Photograph and a Little Bit About Each

Written and Shot by NYC Wedding Photographer Angela Cappetta, who is Serving up delicious cake details for your wedding photography

4 Best Wedding Cakes to Photograph is the theme of this post. You might not know much about wedding cakes besides the obvious fact that they're delicious and we would live on them if we could, but the more you know about cake, the better your cake related decision will be. Hopefully, this post will help you pick your ideal cake with our top tips, below.

Wedding cake display shot in front of Hudson River

It has to be tiered, after all, my friend's cake was tiered

At tastings, clients are invited into the bakery to sample exemplary cakes, ask questions and review portfolios. This is an excellent opportunity to meet bakers, bond with them and fully understand the range of their abilities. Picking your baker is a big deal—you'll want to get to know their personality and make sure they're genuinely excited about your wedding day too.

A wedding cake display at Alberto and Jeff's wedding reception in Brooklyn. A classic moment candidly captured by Angela Cappetta, fine art wedding photographer NYC

It has to be yellow wedding cake, after all, isn’t that what everyone likes?

You may love a rustic semi-naked cake, but if you're hosting a black-tie ballroom wedding, that style may not jive. Deal with the cake after all decisions about dress style and reception décor have been made. These elements can serve as a blueprint for the design and structure of your wedding cake. Choose a cake that's compatible with the style of the venue, the season, your gown, the flower arrangements or the menu. If you want colorful accents (such as sugar flowers or icing ribbons), give your baker fabric swatches. The cake should be part of the wedding, not a glaring sideshow.

How many people does this thing need to feed?

When deciding what size cake to order, first look to your guest count. Generally, three tiers will serve 50 to 100 guests; you'll likely need five layers for 200 guests or more. If the reception is in a grand room with high ceilings, consider increasing the cake's stature with columns between the tiers. (A "stacked" cake is one with its layers stacked directly atop each other, with no separators.)

I love chocolate. But, a dark cake won’t be pretty for my wedding photography.

The cost varies, but generally ranges from $1.50 to $15 per slice (though this is a very general and loose estimate). The more complicated the cake (based on intricate decorations or hard-to-find fillings), the higher the price tag. Fondant icing is more expensive than buttercream, and if you want elaborate molded shapes, vibrant colors, or handmade sugar-flower detailing, you'll pay for the cake designer's labor. (For the record, the average amount couples spend on their wedding cake, according to our Real Weddings Study, is $540.)

Wedding cake set for coffee service after dinner shot by NYC wedding photographer Angela Cappetta

How much do I need so spend for it to be beautiful?

Here is a fun idea! It is a bit of a cheat but we won't tell. Order a small cake that's decorated to perfection but can only feed a handful plus several sheet cakes of the same flavor to actually feed all of your guests. Stay away from tiers, handmade sugar-flowers and specially molded shapes. Feel free to garnish or decorate the display with seasonal flowers and/or pretty fruit for an elegant and lower budget effect. If you are going to have a dessert table, in addition to the cake, consider a cake sized for half your guests. So everyone gets a smaller slice but it's still a fun and delicious cake experience. Servings will be smaller, but the fee will also be smaller. And your wallet will be happy as well as your belly.

Wedding cake of the Coney Island Cyclone shot by NYC wedding photographer Angela Cappetta with real film.

Choose the right frosting.

So, there are many types of frostings, and they are all delicious. Buttercream is often the most delicious. Let’s face it, the word butter is in the name. But if you love the smooth, glossy look of fondant, consider asking your baker to fill the cake layers with buttercream on the inside, and then adding a layer of fondant over top. You can also go for ganache—a decadently rich frosting with a fudgy texture made from chocolate and cream.

Even though it's dark brown in color, you can ask your baker to make it wedding worthy with colorful fruit. (A white chocolate version, however, can be dyed practically any shade.) Don't count out swiss meringue either—it's icing made by whipping egg whites together with sugar. Even though it's less popular for wedding cakes, it has a light and fuzzy appearance that make it look instantly whimsical and romantic. (And your guests will love the airy mashmallow flavor, which pairs perfectly with fruit-based cakes and fillings like lemon, raspberry or strawberry.)

Always consider the weather.

If you're having an outdoor wedding in a hot climate, stay away from whipped cream, ice cream and buttercream: They melt. Fast. Ask your baker about summer icing options; you might want to go for a fondant-covered cake—it doesn't even need to be refrigerated. If powdered sugar is part of your look don’t apply it until the very last second. Or, even better, for a fun photo, show the two of you sprinkling it on right before you go in to cut it together. There will be no other cake cutting photo like it anywhere!

It's all in the details.

The most obvious decor options we can think of for displaying a cake would be fresh fruit and flowers that can be artfully applied. However, on the high end awould be masterful sugar formations, which are made by hand.

Think about adding a second cake to your reception.

We once shot a British wedding that featured a “groom’s chocolate cake”. Dumbfounded as to why it was called this, and why it was chocolate, we asked the wedding planner. Here is what they said:

Best Wedding Cake Styles to Photograph. Nurse cake toppers at New York Botanical Garden wedding. Shot with DSLR by Angela Cappetta.

You need to think about display.

Don’t let your cake look lonely. Try putting the bridesmaids’ bouquets around it. Furthermore, get people talking about your topper? Does it have a fun story? One of our couples met in nursing school, and well, their topper told the story. Down to the spilled hypodermic needle and meds on the “floor” surrounding the figurines. It was an absolutely hoot for everyone to get in on the joke about working in a hospital.

Best Wedding Cake Styles to Photograph