The cakes here run the full range. Smooth white buttercream and scraped-back semi-naked tiers. Sunflowers, dahlias, and native proteas. One all-out ombré, and one traditional Norwegian tower we did not see coming.
Maybe you’re picturing a moody burgundy stunner, or a caramel drip, or a sunflower cake that keeps things bright. We’ve gathered our favorite fall wedding cakes from real couples to get you started. Fall for one? Click through to see the whole wedding. And for more, browse our Real Weddings directory.
Our Favorite Fall Wedding Cakes
First up: fall cakes spotted at real L&L weddings, from smooth white buttercream to semi-naked caramel drips. Click any link to see the full day. Scroll further for shoppable options.
Tiered Buttercream With Burnt Orange Dahlias
Three smooth white tiers, and the florals are pure autumn: fat burnt-orange dahlias, coral garden roses, and a few wisps of dried grass reaching off the top.
It sits on a wine barrel inside the barn, which is about as fall as a cake setup gets.
Proof that plain buttercream plus the right flowers can carry a whole seasonal palette.
See Macie and Eddie’s Elegant Barn Wedding →
Textured Buttercream With Orange Garden Roses
This one keeps the cake simple: three tiers of combed white buttercream on a raw wood slab, with clusters of orange roses and green hypericum berries tucked into the seams.
The little bride-and-groom topper and the stacked-stone wall behind it lean rustic, but those orange blooms are what make it read October.
See Sarah and Jonathan’s Autumn Labor of Love Wedding →
Two-Tier Cake With Burnt Orange Proteas
Semi-naked buttercream with the frosting scraped back to the crumb, dressed in native blooms: rust proteas, dried seed heads, and pops of burnt orange.
It’s perched on a tall reclaimed-wood plinth with a wine barrel alongside, very rustic country.
If you want fall without a single pumpkin in sight, this is the palette.
See Nicola and Anthony’s Rustic Country Wedding →
White Cake With Deep Burgundy Blooms
Two tiers of clean white icing, then a moody cluster of burgundy dahlias, dusty mauve roses, and trailing eucalyptus down one side.
Shot in low, warm light on a whitewashed pedestal, it lands on the cozy end of fall rather than the bright-orange end.
Romantic, a little dramatic, and an easy call if orange isn’t your color.
See Morgan and Clayton’s Romantic Rustic Wedding →
Burgundy Ombre Buttercream Cake
The paint job is the whole point here: white at the crown melting down through rust into a deep burgundy base, an ombré pulled straight from the day’s stationery.
Twig balls and sprigs of pine stand in for flowers, and the whole thing balances on a barrel in the last of the afternoon light.
A Thanksgiving cake that goes all-in on burgundy without a single leaf-shaped sprinkle.
See the Styled Thanksgiving Wedding Shoot →
Salted Caramel Drip Cake
A single semi-naked tier with caramel poured over the top and left to run down the sides in slow drips, finished with a small posy of rust flowers and greenery.
It was the gluten-free option from Spilled Butter Desserts, sharing the table with homemade Twinkies and Ding Dongs, because this was a light-hearted kind of fall wedding.
Caramel might be the most autumn flavor there is, so letting it drip down the sides is just honest advertising.
See Laurel and Stephen’s Light-Hearted Fall Wedding →
Semi-Naked Cake With a Fall Date Sign
Bare-sided buttercream topped with white and wine-red dahlias, plus a little wooden plaque that reads So the adventure begins, Emily and Chris, October 18, 2019.
That October date tells you the season, and the couple’s National Parks theme carried through to a s’mores station at the reception.
Small, unfussy, and sitting on a crate next to a tray of cookies. Exactly the kind of cake table you want to raid.
See Emily and Chris’s Eco-Friendly Manor House Wedding →
White Cake Crowned With Fresh Sunflowers
One tier, pearl piping around the base, and a crown of real sunflowers spilling across the top.
Sunflowers are the easiest shortcut to a fall cake when you don’t want dark and moody, all crimson-and-gold cheer instead.
Red velvet cupcakes sit in the background for anyone who wants a slice-free option.
See Chelsey and Taylor’s Sunflower-Filled Maryland Wedding →
A Norwegian Kransekake Tower
And now for something completely different: a kransekake, the traditional Norwegian wedding cake, built from stacked rings of almond cake iced with white zigzags into a tall cone.
It’s spiked with tiny American and Norwegian flags and labeled with a hand-lettered card, in case guests hadn’t met one before.
From the same autumn wedding as the tiered buttercream above, and proof that a fall cake doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.
See Sarah and Jonathan’s Autumn Labor of Love Wedding →
FAQs
What flavors work best for a fall wedding cake?
This is where you get to lean into the season. Spiced apple, pumpkin, chai, brown butter, salted caramel, and maple all taste like fall on a fork. If you want a crowd-pleaser that still nods to autumn, a classic vanilla or chocolate with a caramel filling does the job.
What flowers go on a fall wedding cake?
Dahlias are the workhorse of fall cake florals, especially in burnt orange and deep burgundy. Add garden roses, native proteas, dried grasses, seed heads, or a few sunflowers depending on how bright or moody you want to go. Eucalyptus and hypericum berries fill in the gaps.
Do fall wedding cakes have to be orange?
Not even a little. Plenty of the cakes here skip orange entirely for deep burgundy, cream, and caramel. Burgundy ombré and wine-red blooms read just as autumnal as pumpkin tones, and they photograph beautifully in low fall light.
Should I do a naked semi-naked or fully frosted cake for a fall wedding?
All three work in cooler weather, when heat is less likely to trouble exposed buttercream. Semi-naked cakes suit rustic barns and outdoor receptions. Fully frosted white tiers give florals a clean backdrop, and a caramel or ganache drip adds instant fall without much effort.
What if we don’t want a traditional tiered cake?
You have options. A single-tier statement cake, a dessert table stacked with pies and cupcakes, or a showpiece like a Norwegian kransekake all count. A smaller cutting cake plus a spread of other desserts is a popular, budget-friendly move for fall receptions.
