36 Simple Wedding Cakes That Are Gorgeously Understated (2024)

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.

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Flavorful Cake Trio

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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.

Get Inspired by More Fruity, Flavorful Wedding Cakes

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Cookies and Cream Cake

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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.

See More Unique Wedding Cake Toppers

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Cake with Parisian Topper

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

Check Out More Small Wedding Cakes with a Big Presence

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Coconut Cake

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

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Gold-Coated Cake

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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.

Get Inspired by More Metallic Wedding Ideas

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Naked Cake

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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.

See More Naked Cakes for Your Wedding

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Rustic Cake

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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.

Check Out More Rustic Wedding Cakes We Love

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Four-Tiered Cake

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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.

Learn How to Preserve the Top Tier of Your Wedding Cake

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S'mores Cake

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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.

Get More Wedding S'mores Dessert Ideas

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.

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Brunch Cake

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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.

Get Fun and Trendy Wedding Brunch Ideas

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Marbled Cake

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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.

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Talking Cake Trio

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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.

Make Lucky DIY Cake Pulls for Your Wedding

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Blue Rose-Swirled Cake

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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."

Get Unique Ideas for Your "Something Blue"

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Cake with Purple Flowers

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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.

See More Creative Wedding Backdrop Ideas

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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.

Get Inspired By Our Favorite Chocolate Wedding Cake Ideas

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Floral Cake

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

See More Fresh Floral Wedding Cakes

"LOVE" Cake

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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.

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Garland Cake

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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.

Check Out More Wreathed Wedding Ideas

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Macaron-Topped Cake

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

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Buttercream Cake

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

Find the Right Cake Stand for Your Wedding

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Silver and White Cake

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

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Semi-Naked Cake

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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.

See More White Wedding Cakes We Love

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Seashell Cake

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

Get Amazing Beach Wedding Cake Ideas

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Cake with Olive Branches

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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.

The 7 Best Wedding Cake Flavors, According to Professional Bakers

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Unique-Flavored Cake

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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.

We Bet You Haven't Tried These Wedding Cake Flavors

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Mini Cake

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

Get More Red Velvet Wedding Cake Ideas

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Cake with Trees

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

See Our Favorite Modern Wedding Cakes

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Chocolate Cube Cake

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

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Initial-Topper Cake

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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.

See More Monogrammed Wedding Cake Ideas

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Fall Cake

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

See More Fall Wedding Cakes We Love

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Cake with Falling Petals

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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.

Check Out Our Favorite Spring Wedding Cakes

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Striped Cake

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

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Succulent Cake

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

Get More Succulent Ideas for Your Wedding

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Blossom Cake

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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.

See Our List of Great Wedding Cakes