The Growing Popularity of the Naked Wedding Cake
Many couples think less is more when it comes to the marquee dessert.
PHOTOS BY STEVEN DRAY PHOTOGRAPHY (KELLY-GIELAROWSKI AND OAKMONT BAKERY)
Weddings are typically associated with glitter and glam, but many couples are embracing simplicity in their big day’s aesthetic.
One of the biggest ways is through the cake. Couples are no longer smashing colorful and hyper-decorated cake in each other’s faces, but rather “naked” cakes with a bare and elegant design.
In planning her July 9, 2022 wedding to Mike Gielarowski, Lauren Kelly wanted to keep things classic with all white linens, flowers and centerpieces. Completing the ambience for her reception at the Longue Vue Club in Penn Hills was her cake from Oakmont Bakery — clean with only orchids adorning the side.
“You don’t have to feel pressured to do this crazy intricate cake,” Lauren says. “Anything that just has a classic look and simple look can be equally as beautiful.”
PHOTO BY ABBIE TYLER PHOTOGRAPHY (KUCHTA)
With extravagant decorative elements less popular, some couples have begun using color tinted buttercream instead to add the “wow” factor. Jaclynn Stankus, who married Zac Kuchta on Aug. 27, 2022, says she knew she wanted a standout cake. She worked with Tasty Bakery in Murrysville to keep the design simple and classic with a pale pink tint as she’d always imagined.
Small details can also add individuality; simple toppers and fresh-cut flowers have replaced the statuesque bride and groom toppers and intricate gumpaste flowers.
“It’s like smooth iced buttercream or textured buttercream,” says Courtney Daniels, wedding cake coordinator for Oakmont Bakery. “We’ve totally trended away from the big, elegant, gigantic, ornate wedding cakes.”
Over the past six months, a majority of all wedding cake sales have been their “classic” style, which is plain icing with no design or detail, according to Daniels. She credits the transition to the shift in types of wedding venues; more and more couples are getting married in barns and other rustic venues as opposed to grand halls.
“Now it’s all the smaller, simpler, more natural looking weddings,” she says.
