Summer Wedding Cake Ideas

Summer wedding cake ideas should be creative and colorful, but there are a few important factors to consider before ordering your dream cake. More than any other season, the elements play an important factor in a summer wedding. Also remember that wedding guests may not want a rich and heavy cake if it's hot outside. Planning an indoor wedding may alleviate a lot of these issues. Be sure to order your cake in plenty of time as well. The summer is wedding season and bakers will be busy.

1. Sand Castle Cake. This summer wedding cake concept is perfect for a beach wedding. Find a picture of a sand castle that you and your bride think is perfect and take it to a cake designer. They will carve out the shapes of the castle, the towers, gates and windows. The cake can be made out of any flavor you choose and iced with any light chocolate or even cream icings. Finely crushed cookies crumbled over the cake will create the effect of sand, and adoring the castle with seashells, starfish, or even a shovel and bucket with add to the magic of this unique and beautiful cake.
2. Tropical Flowers Cake. Any type of flowers that you might see at a luau in Hawaii are the perfect flowers for this tropical wedding cake. Pick bright colors for this cake, just a shade or two lighter than the actual flowers you will be using. Decorate the cake with edible paste flowers cascading down the side of the tiers, and also surround it with real flowers. Plumerias are the perfect flower for this cake because they hold up well to heat, being the popular choice for Hawaiian leis. For even more of a tropical flair, add pineapple or coconut and decorate with seashells.
3. Fruit Cake. When your outdoors in the heat, some of the richer and more decadent desserts tend to lose their appeal. If you want a wedding cake that is lighter and better suited to the heat, try a fruit cake. A lighter cake like an angel food, or a simple white cake will serve as a good base. Popular fruits to include on the cake are strawberries, blueberries, and cherries. To make that cake really say summer, also consider the use of kiwi, apricots, citrus fruits, and even coconut or pineapple. The possibilities are endless. Pick the flavors that cater to the tastes of you and your bride, and use a colored icing to accent the flavors of your choice. A citrus cake will pop with hues of orange or yellow, and a berry cake would be perfect in light shades of lavender or even a cool blue.
4. Sunflower Cake. Design this cheerful wedding cake using lots of yellow, in various shades. Start with a pale yellow as icing for the entire cake, and accent with brighter bands of yellow wrapped around each tier of the cake. Be sure to set the cake on a bed of fresh cut sunflowers, or use them as a cake topper if you are going to abandon the traditional use of the little bride and groom.
5. Fun With Fondant Cake Ideas. A rich butter cream cake may be what you and your bride have always wanted, but remember that summer cakes have the added pressures of holding up to the elements. Fondant stands up to heat far better than a traditional frosting, and can actual give you far more flexibility in the cake design process. If your wedding is going to be outside in the heat, take the opportunity to use fondant to create a really unique or magical cake. For an abstract cake, wrap each tier of the cake in a different color fondant and adorn with spirals, polka a dots, and abstract flowers. Think "Alice in Wonderland" for this cake. Not necessarily as the theme, but it will point you in the right direction. If abstract isn't your thing, fondant can also be used to create beautiful, or even vintage looking cakes. Picking colors that match your wedding, and design ideas that suit your personality, any cake designer can create a unique fondant cake that will be a decoration in it's self.