Rustic Wedding Cakes

Do you prefer blue jeans to chiffon, and open air to a fancy ballroom? Then a rustic wedding cake may be a good fit for your special day. If you favor a more natural or casual feel, then this type of cake may suit the mood and tone of your party more than something over the top or fancy.

Rustic can imply many things. It may refer to a type of flower or trim that isn’t normally used for something as refined as a wedding cake. Sunflowers, daisies, herbs such as lavender, or wild field flowers are good examples of flora that might trim a rustic cake. A bride or baker might use strips of raffia to trim the layers, rather than shiny satin ribbon. Or rolled chocolate cigarettes and other chocolate decorations, fashioned to resemble natural materials such as leaves, feathers, or twigs, can be very evocative of the natural and rustic. Sometimes, rustic can refer to the finish of the cake. Either a baker may choose to make a very simple background, using a single, natural color of fondant, or he or she may instead choose to use buttercream, and to give the finish a swirly, home-style look that is very pleasing and comforting. To be sure, a rustic cake will most likely utilize earth tones and natural materials, and would normally skip some of the stylish touches that are so popular today. The tendency toward rhinestones would not be appropriate; however, the trendy use of birds and owls would provide the perfect finish to such a cake.

So if you and your groom favor a more relaxed style, or if your nuptials will take place in a country setting – a field, a barn, near the shore, or under the wide open sky – you may consider dressing your cake down for the occasion as well, and going rustic.