How Has COVID Changed Wedding Cakes? Will New Choices Remain Popular?

Wedding cakes with multiple tiers are a lovely tradition of which many brides have dreamed since childhood. The design and display of the cake are important means of personalizing the event. Tradition is something we are all craving following a year of necessary restrictions on social gatherings.

As conditions improve, wedding planners and betrothed couples are poised to dispense with masks and distancing. We hope restrictions on the number of guests who may attend will never again be a necessity.

But some choices designed for unprecedented times have become new traditions that may continue. How has COVID changed wedding cakes? Will the new options remain popular? Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective cake designers take a look at the topic.

Is the pandemic a thing of the past?

Case numbers are now minimal, in most areas. Weddings are being planned, in abundance. But is COVID-19 truly disappearing? Can we plan weddings freely – the way we used to?

It seems so, but reasonable precautions may continue to be appreciated, if not required. Here is the latest update of CDC guidelines for events. Some factors must still be considered, to be certain of requirements.

• Local conditions
• Setting
• Number of guests attending

These and other current statistics will determine the level of precautions that should be taken. Some new practices that originated during the pandemic will likely continue, thanks to their popularity. Could unique wedding cake options be one of them?

COVID’s effect on wedding cakes  

The pandemic altered many ways we live, work and celebrate. Weddings were no exception. Holding a large gathering required many modifications. The safety and security of guests attending had to be ensured through careful planning.

Serving multiple guests from a single cake didn’t seem appropriate during a pandemic. Large wedding cakes were rarely ordered by brides last year and early in 2021, according to reports from designers..

What were some alternate solutions? Were they popular? What about the future?  Are people ordering traditional 4-tier cakes once more? What other options remain popular?

A cake for cutting – cupcakes and other sweets for serving

Brides had to get creative in order to plan safe yet festive weddings in 2020 and early 2021. A cutting cake and individual treats, already prepared for serving as a popular solution. Here’s what Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective’s Fox Den Baking Company experienced:

“Most of our brides last year and early this year have had us design a smaller cake for the cutting ceremony and have had supplemental cupcakes and other assorted treats. It’s definitely changed how clients think through serving their guests. Cupcakes or individual assorted treats are seen as Covid-friendly and most brides go with those options.” 

– Fox Den Baking Company, locally owned and operated by Blount County native Melissa L. Brinley

Petite cakes or cookies can be an enchanting choice

As an alternative to traditional large wedding cakes, a modestly sized cutting cake and an assortment of non-traditional sweets continue to be a popular compromise.

Petite treats work just as well at weddings as a towering, tiered traditional cake. In fact, some brides are delighted with the unique whimsical or avant gard displays created with thoughtful arrangements of these petite treats. 

There is no need to worry that cupcakes and small offerings of sweetness will resemble fare for a children’s birthday affair. The artistic design talents of Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective cake vendors assure these single-serving wedding options create a sophisticated impression.

Cupcakes have been done for weddings before, though they’re certainly not the norm. Today, everyone is talking about them.

Small or single-serving wedding cakes with a big presence received comments and photographs in this recent Martha Stewart Weddings blog post. Individualized desserts were named a top wedding cake trend of 2021 by The Knot, a wedding-focused website. 

Petite in size, not always in price

It seems that when the price is a prime consideration, mini cakes lose favor with some brides, grooms, partners, wedding planners.  Here’s a comment from the proprietor of Catie’s Cakes, a Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective associate.

“I am seeing a lot of interest in mini cakes currently. These are a great way to keep everything Covid friendly, but mini in size doesn’t mean mini in price. A lot of my brides are surprised when they receive their quote for mini cakes, as it comes out to roughly 50% more than a standard wedding cake due to the time involved. Overall, I am still seeing traditionally sized wedding cakes the most, as far as actually completed orders.”

– Caitlin “Catie” Whitted, of Catie Cakes an experienced cake designer of the Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective. Catie Cakes has been in business since 1995.

Budgets are important – but single-serving cakes may be worth the cost

Mini cakes seem the best option for many but are often declined due to budget considerations. One point to think about if you’re trying to make a choice is whether your guest list is shorter than it would have been if not for the pandemic experience.

Perhaps you limited your invitation list due to lingering concerns about large gatherings. If so, perhaps there may be room in your budget for those pretty little individual serving cakes after all. – If you have your heart set on them, or believe the serving option is a safer choice. 

Time to consider new ways of creating memorable weddings

Members of Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective are trusted advisors regarding the latest trends for weddings, including cake design. COVID has changed wedding cake options – offering us permission to make new choices. 

Today you have the choice of either:

• Selecting an elegant four-tier cake design.
• Or going with an assortment of attractively wrapped, single-serving treats.

Either option can be designed with your wedding theme in mind. No one will raise an eyebrow if you choose the latter, at least for the near future.

Whichever option you select, the cake vendors of the Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective can help make your event, set in the lovely region of the Smoky Mountains, something guests will never forget.

Couples are re-thinking the concepts involved in wedding plans. The pandemic has definitely changed the way we structure events. But, couples are STILL choosing traditional wedding cakes as well as individual treats for guests. Personalization is still THE thing that will never fade from wedding plans.

Smoky Mountain Wedding Collective specifically caters to weddings in and around The Great Smoky Mountains. We definitely want to highlight our cake vendors. The talented artists create the culinary focal point of every wedding.