The Perfect Autumn Wedding

Autumn weddings are getting more and more popular, with the trend for beautifully moody, sepia toned photos and rustic, twiggy floral displays, this season is all about cosy candle light and fluffy blankets to keep guests warm on foggy autumn nights. What’s the perfect accompaniment to warm spiced drinks…well sticky richly flavoured wedding cakes of course.

beautiful autumn tones two tier wedding cake.

There’s no deigning that the rich colours of autumn look absolutely stunning at a wedding, they sit so elegantly alongside the traditional white wedding dress, and lend themselves to accents in the styling so well. Pocket handkerchiefs, bridesmaid dress and table linen can look so attractive in a combination of deep reds, rusts, dusky pinks and the palest peachy tones.

photo by Elinadavis.photography

Autumn/ Winter wedding favours

Edible favours are a hit all year round but never more-so than at an Autumn/Winter wedding. I don’t know any guest that wouldn’t be pleased to see a perfect slice of chocolate brownies, a gorgeous stamped gingerbread cookie or a richly flavoured caramel macaron on their place setting. Or go one better and create a decadent over flowing dessert table with a selection of my wedding favour options?

Rich fudgy yet light chocolate fudge cake

Autumn/Winter Wedding Cake Flavours

I often see a change in couples flavour choices as soon as the cooler weather draws in. With choices of Sticky Biscoff - a take on a classic sticky pudding, but with a little crunch from my homemade chocolate crumble, and the addition of the ever so popular Biscoff this is possibly my most popular autumn/winter wedding cake flavour. A close second has to be Chocolate Fudge or Chocolate and Caramel, this deeply decadent chocolate cake gets swathed in homemade salted caramel sauce and is a real crowd pleaser. Those that love a bit of extra spice like to indulge their guests with my Spiced Orange and Pistachio cake. If you’re a lover of a traditional carrot cake then this is the choice for you, warmly spiced and delicately fragranced with orange, this sponge is soft and fluffy and pairs so well with my smooth pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream.

Photo by Emmy Shoots

Clinking glasses and candle lit suppers

I can’t think of anything better than an evening with my closest friends and family around a table filled with beautiful candle light, warming hearty food and cake. Maybe it’s because I’m a November baby, but I always think when the nights draw in something special happens, we share stories, food and love. We like to snuggle under a soft blanket, grab a cold whisky or a warm spiced mulled wine and party the night away. Wedding in the autumn are full of warmth and laughter, offer guests old fashioned parlour games to play, hire a cocktail specialist, a magician…go all out and have fireworks, toffee apples and hot dogs. Finished off with a candle lit dessert table or cake cutting, and get everyone to have a slice with a hot toddy before kicking their heels off and dancing until dawn.

Photo by - Rebecca Emily Photography

Autumn Flowers

I am a huge fan of flowers at a wedding, but I have to say I love twigs and foliage almost as much. These robust branches can change to whole vibe of a floral display and it’s no different when we’re designing sugar flowers/foliage for a luxury wedding cake. I love to mix up textures and techniques with my handmade sugar or wafer flowers, I also like to add in dried flowers to bring a more rounded floral display. When paired with lux velvet ribbon or a tumble of silk that’s when the magic happens for me.

I like to work with your florist when I’m making my flowers, and will always try to recreate your beautiful fresh flower displays as best I can.

Floral arch made for me by Sweetpeas and Peonies Floristry

Texture and statement styling

I can’t put it better than this quote from the wonderful Claudia Winkleman

‘Weddings happen once. That's the point. They're a bluster of confetti and hope all wrapped up in sticky wedding cake and four-year-old girls in big dresses with massive bows.’

It’s your big day, so really go for it. Many wedding suppliers start to quieten down from a very exhausting summer, and we love to get our teeth into something different, something more special and out of the box. Think long table displays, low statement table centre pieces, tall tapered candles and low tea lights, swathes of linen and velvet, and soft fluffy blankets on rustic wooden chairs.

I love to add textures, colours and rustic charm to my autumn wedding cakes. I love it when couples use props and styling to enhance the cake display. This can be from the cake stand itself or in simply adding flowers and candles to the cake table. Always speak with your stylist or cake designer about how to get the most from the cake display.

It’s a party and a day to celebrate, eat the sticky cake, drink the house down and party like you’re a four-year-old in a dress with a huge bow. Have all the foraged twigs, pumpkins and party poppers because autumn and winter is a time when we should celebrate the wonderful year we’ve had and the extra wonderful festive season to come.

I think there’s no better season to throw a party in.

Heather xx