36 Simple Wedding Cakes That Are Gorgeously Understated

Bow down to sweet, sugary simplicity.

Fig Wedding Cake
Photo: Jose Villa

There are plenty of wedding-day "wow" factor opportunities, if you're into that sort of thing. Between the venue, the dress(es), and the floral arrangements, to name a few, adding drama through jaw-dropping details can be appealing. But some couples choose a more subtle route, making quiet statements that better suit their tastes. Or, soon-to-be-weds play a balancing act, walking the line between bold and simple. While there's nothing wrong with elaborate wedding cake designs (think: towering or colorful), a less intricate option might be more of what you're searching for.

Are you set on preventing your confection from clashing or competing with other aspects of your big day? Or, are you a "less is more" kind of couple, with an affinity for minimalist and more organic designs? Perhaps your celebration is just casual and unfussy, and you need something fitting for your theme. Regardless, there's a cake out there for you, be it modest and reserved, beautifully understated, or short and sweet.

There's something to be said about these simple cakes from real weddings—take a peek for some effortless inspiration.

01 of 35

Flavorful Cake Trio

dessert table cakes
Mademoiselle Fiona Wedding Photography

The complexions on these Lael Cake confections are undoubtedly understated, but the same can't be said for the flavors they contain. Each decadent cake (pear plus salted-caramel, chocolate plus rosewater-raspberry, and ginger plus lavender-rosemary) was topped with a handful of fruity add-ons.

02 of 35

Cookies and Cream Cake

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Laura Murray Photography

This couple chose a single, tried-and-true flavor, which Tee and Cakes made into a short, one-tiered dessert. The display was finished off with an illustrated topper and blackberry rim.

03 of 35

Cake with Parisian Topper

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Jose Villa

Favorite Cakes made this modest carrot-cake groom's cake. The main attraction was the Eiffel Tower on top.

04 of 35

Coconut Cake

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Kate Osborne

A focus on texture made this minimalist Sundance Resort-baked cake anything but lackluster.

05 of 35

Gold-Coated Cake

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Holland Photo Arts

The couple who ordered this cake initially wanted to skip the dessert altogether. They were won over, however, after spotting this cheeky Etsy topper. To stick with their vision (no-nonsense desserts), Erica Fredericks of Design Cuisine put this metallic cake together.

06 of 35

Naked Cake

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Heather Payne

What's more simple than an icing-free cake? The missing step means less fuss (and sticky mouths!), but actually makes the design more intriguing. This pretty confection was lemon-flavored and adorned with spray roses.

07 of 35

Rustic Cake

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Max & Friends

This mini dairy- and gluten-free cake was dreamt up by Erin McKenna's Bakery. The flavor may have been vanilla, but the woodsy design was anything but.

08 of 35

Four-Tiered Cake

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Annabella Charles Photography

Dessert Designs concocted a cake with height for this wedding, but kept the cream cheese frosting beautifully simple. Inside hid vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry flavors.

09 of 35

S'mores Cake

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Jennifer Emerling

This little Heirloom LA cutie had a nostalgic taste—s'mores—that was achieved using chocolate cake, marshmallow crème, graham cracker crust, and toasted marshmallow icing. Atop was strung a simple initialed banner.

10 of 35

Figgy Carrot Cake

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The layers on this Cheryl Kleinman Cakes carrot cake are stark and short, but get a bump from beautiful figs.

11 of 35

Brunch Cake

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Liz Banfield

This couple wanted something simple for their post-wedding farewell brunch. Their friend, Zoë François, made this orange-blossom-honey sponge cake—layered with kumquat-Champagne confit and topped with vanilla-bean Swiss-meringue buttercream—to suit their needs.

12 of 35

Marbled Cake

Fig Wedding Cake
Patricia Heal

Who needs frills when the frosting speaks for itself? Or, in this case, the Chocolate Editions chocolate bars, which were what lined the outside of this cake.

13 of 35

Talking Cake Trio

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Kate Headley

Fluffy Thoughts Cakes made this trio of white minis, which were chosen due to the number three symbolizing good luck in the bride's culture. Each dessert (white cake with passion-fruit curd, cake with blackberry-meringue buttercream, and almond cake with salted-caramel filling) hosted a charming (and on-theme) topper, too.

14 of 35

Blue Rose-Swirled Cake

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Dana Fernandez

A uniform color and icing design is a great way to keep things clean and pretty. This mint chocolate creation was made by Buttercup Bakery and stood in as the "something blue."

15 of 35

Cake with Purple Flowers

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Tonhya Kae Photography

This Billy's Bakery vanilla buttercream cake stayed simple to let the gorgeous custom background shine behind it. The "I told you there'd be cake" backdrop was created by KT Smail and was inspired by a favorite book of the bride: I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

16 of 35

Petaled Chocolate Cake

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Minimalists love using as little as possible, and in that vein, this dessert did well. The basic chocolate icing on the Perfect Endings cake was spruced up using petals plucked straight from the wedding flowers.

17 of 35

Floral Cake

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Leila Brewster Photography

Simple buckwheat was spiced up with pickled blueberry and lemon cream at this wedding, and decorated with just a small sprucing of flowers.

18 of 35

"LOVE" Cake

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Emily Steffen

Keep things minimal, like this couple did, and you'll make room for a statement topper. The decoration is an iconic design by artist Robert Indiana while Sazama's Catering made the cake.

19 of 35

Garland Cake

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Echard Wheeler Photography

This classic confection was the bride's favorite part of her wedding. Almond cake with buttercream icing was wrapped in a garland of stephanotis vine.

20 of 35

Macaron-Topped Cake

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Gary Ashley for Les Loups

This single-tiered olive oil cake was made by Beach Plum Bakery Café and topped with strawberries, macarons, and wildflowers.

21 of 35

Buttercream Cake

A two-tier vanilla cake covered with buttercream frosting and garden roses.
Natalie Shelton

Lisa Copeland of Austin Street Café made this two-tiered buttercream-frosted vanilla confection, which sat atop an antique pedestal purchased from Etsy.

22 of 35

Silver and White Cake

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Lucy Schaeffer

This sleek silver-bottomed cake was made by Martine's Pastries and adorned with a single, big sugar magnolia.

23 of 35

Semi-Naked Cake

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Shannon Von Eschen

Just the lightest coating of icing frosted this violet-lavender cake, which was made by Colorado Rose Cake Company and topped with a small sprinkling of fresh flowers.

24 of 35

Seashell Cake

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Meghan McGovern Hamilton

Subtly celebrate your seashore wedding with a tiny, thematic cake like this buttercream-frosted one, confected by The Casual Gourmet.

25 of 35

Cake with Olive Branches

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Jose Villa

A sprucing of olive branches helped this clean-cut cake steer clear of boring. That, and the flavors (vanilla with chocolate ganache, peanut butter, and salted caramel filling) were dreamed up by Sweet and Saucy Shop.

26 of 35

Unique-Flavored Cake

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Love Me Do Photography

Cake Life Bake Shop took "wine and cheese" to a whole new level with this honey-lavender white wine-soaked vanilla cake with honey-goat cheese frosting. The naked styling kept the design simple to let the flavors speak for themselves.

27 of 35

Mini Cake

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3 deseos y medio

Everything about this Cup & Cake Barcelona dessert was minimalist, from the small shape to the single flavor (red velvet).

28 of 35

Cake with Trees

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Corbin Gurkin

Two stark fondant cyprus trees sat on this Rose Cakes lemon cake with lemon ganache and wild strawberries.

29 of 35

Chocolate Cube Cake

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Traditional? No. Simple? Yes. This large chocolate cube was just that—a large cube!

30 of 35

Initial-Topper Cake

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Katie Robertson Photography

The smooth white finish on this Italian-buttercream, vanilla-cake-and-lemon-curd, and chocolate-cake-with-Bavarian-cream Juliette's Bakery cake kept things clean and unfussy. The monogram topper? A small, stylish touch.

31 of 35

Fall Cake

Initialed Pumpkin
Love Me Do Photography

Bare pumpkin layers were doused in maple syrup and topped with maple-cream cheese frosting on this little dessert.

32 of 35

Cake with Falling Petals

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Jose Villa

Sweet on Cake gave each tier of this simple cake a different flavor: strawberries and cream with lemon curd, caramel-toffee fudge, and red velvet.

33 of 35

Striped Cake

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Kate Headley

The sleek design on this four-tiered coconut and carrot Kendall's Cakes cake was very modern.

34 of 35

Succulent Cake

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Max & Friends

Succulents were the main attraction on this small chocolate confection from BabyCakes.

35 of 35

Blossom Cake

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Jose Villa

The ring around this simple candy bar-flavored Sweet and Saucy Shop cake was made from green helleborus blossoms, while the rest of the exterior was coated in smooth fondant.

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