The ceremony is done, your guests have had dinner, and now everyone is eyeing the table in the corner filled with a sugary delicacy that is waiting to be served. So, what is on your dessert table?

There is no shortage of decisions to be made with wedding planning, but one of the most fun (in my opinion) is choosing what will be served for dessert. Who doesn’t want to go visit a sweet-smelling bakery only to be served up several treats that you have to eat to decide what tingles your taste buds the most? We have some truly amazing bakers in the Roanoke, VA area and I’m not ashamed to say I enjoy sampling every one of their creations. There are so many options now that people are opting to give to their guests. Today on the blog we are going to look at some different options for the after-dinner delight.

1. Cupcakes – I see more and more people opting for a spread of cupcakes with a small cake for the couple to cut for pictures. The great thing about this is that you can have a favorite flavor for almost everyone attending your wedding. Then getting a small one or two-tier cake for you to cut allows you to have that photo-op you still want. It also makes it easy for your guests to grab their favorite without having to wait for your favorite flavor on a multi-tier cake to be cut.
2. Dessert Variety – This has such a large range of possibilities. You can offer up a donut wall, cake pops, macaroons, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, candy, chocolate-covered fruit, etc. One of my favorite dessert tables was from a wedding in 2019 where they did multiple cookie trays. It was a wedding tradition the Bride’s family wanted to include where they had a huge table full of different cookies. Some were made by professionals and others were made by their own family. The idea was that people would take a bag full of these home as a favor and enjoy at the wedding and it was a huge hit! You can really get creative and throw in your own personal touch with this option.
3. Traditional Multi-tier Cake – While there are a lot of options for desserts there is still an unbeatable beauty in the multi-tier wedding cake. I am always amazed at some of the creations I see set up by the baker on the wedding day. The attention to detail is incredible and a lot of times it is hard to cut into something that is so beautiful. And the combinations of flavors that can be done on each tier still offers your guests a variety.

No matter what you decide for your desserts be sure to talk to your baker about the proper amount needed to ensure you do not run out or have a lot of leftovers. A good rule of thumb is if you are having a dessert table and/or mini desserts you will want to allocate about 3-4 pieces per guest. If you are also having a cake then you can take that down to about 2 pieces per person. If a cake is all you are serving then you will want to talk with your baker about how large each tier should be to ensure each guest will get a piece. Also, you will want to make sure that your catering company will be cutting the cake. They are experienced and know how to cut a cake to ensure there are enough slices for each guest.

Bonus Tips: To really make your dessert table stand out, no matter what you choose to have on it, be sure to include things that tie in your wedding theme. Talk with your florist about added a few extra vases to have some arrangements on the table or repurpose wedding party bouquets to add cost savings. Also having your florist throw in extra flowers for the baker to put on the cake is a great idea. Lastly, be sure to add height to your table. If you want to showcase your cake then make sure it can really stand out by raising it up and have varying heights surrounding it to add dimension to the table.

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