Tasting a wedding cake that’s been in the freezer for 20 years: gross. Looking back at the wedding cake flavors that were popular 20 years ago: informative.
Engaged couples spend an average of 13-18 months planning their weddings, and parts of that planning process can be very stressful. Securing the band you’ve always dreamed of, finalizing the budget that will allow you to bring wedding dreams to life in a (somewhat) sensible way, and selecting a venue are all potentially stress-inducing details that need to be nailed down early in the process. But there is one detail that should not be stressful and is perhaps the best part of all of wedding planning—the cake! Spending an afternoon sampling cakes and sipping on champagne is an event all engaged couples can look forward to leading up to the big day.
Selecting a cake flavor seems like it would be one of the easier decisions you’ll make throughout the wedding planning process. Like decor trends, different cake flavors have come in and out of favor with couples through the years. We recently decided to explore the trends around wedding cakes through the years to determine what most couples are serving up to their guests today, and how it’s changed over time.
To do so, we surveyed 600 couples married between 1960 and 2019 about the cake served at their wedding. We used the survey data to determine the most popular wedding cake flavor in each decade along with other details about the cake, such as the number of tiers, the price, and whether it was purchased from a local bakery or national chain. Read on for all of the delectable results, but warning, you may need a slice of the good stuff before the wrap up.
Table of Contents
i. The Most Popular Wedding Cake Flavor by Decade
ii. Local vs. National Chains: Where Are Couples Buying Their Wedding Cakes?
iii. How Much Couples Spend on Their Wedding Cake
iv. The Most Popular Non-Cake Wedding Desserts
v. Wrap Up
i. The Most Popular Wedding Cake Flavor by Decade
Despite the endless flavor options available, couples consistently stick to the cake flavor basics regardless of the decade in question. Vanilla cake has remained the most common cake flavor at weddings since the 1960s, though its popularity has dipped from 48% of couples married in the 1980s surveyed, to just 26% of couples married in the 2010s surveyed.
Chocolate and red velvet have each gained popularity over the years. Chocolate went from the featured flavor at just 9% of weddings in the 1960s to 20% in the 2010s, and for red velvet those figures are 6% to 14%. While basic flavors dominated the top results for each decade, a small percentage of couples enjoyed more unique flavors like almond, angel food, strawberry, and coconut at their weddings.
In addition to the flavor of cake, we also asked couples about the number of tiers in their wedding cake. More than 50% of couples in each decade had a 3-tier wedding cake. There does appear to be a slow trend towards non-tiered cakes in general though. Only 19% of couples married in the 1980s had a non-tiered wedding. That number has grown to 42% of couples in the 2010s.
Not surprisingly, 100% of couples who cried (for both happy and sad reasons) had teared cakes. We promise to never tell this joke again. Moving along.
ii. Local Bakeries vs. National Chains: Where Are Couples Buying Their Wedding Cakes?
No matter which decade you got married, the chances are strong that you purchased your cake from a local bakery based on our survey results. Over 80% of couples in all of the decades included in the survey purchased their cakes from local bakeries rather than national chains like Publix.
However, it’s becoming somewhat more common to opt for a store-bought cake. In the 1960s around 6% of couples did so, but this number has climbed to 17% in the 2010s. This aligns with the fact that fewer people are choosing a tiered cake — store-bought versions are often a 1-layer sheet cake. It’s important to keep in mind that the survey didn’t take inflation into consideration, so $100 in 1960 would buy you an entirely different cake than it would in 2019 indicating that cakes may be getting more conservative over time.
iii. How Much Couples Spend on Their Wedding Cake
It’s no secret that weddings have become increasingly more expensive through the years. The average cost of a wedding rose to $33,931 in 2018 from $28,427 in 2013, a 20% increase in overall cost in just 5 years. The reception venue, photographer and band often come in highest on the list of expenses. Based on our results, it seems the wedding cake is one area that couples are willing to spend less.
The most common amount spent for couples in each decade clocked in at $100 or less. Though that was the highest percentage response for the current decade, couples do appear to be spending more—16% of couples married in the 2010s spent $301-400 as compared to only 6% of couples married in the 1960s.
iv. The Most Popular Non-Cake Wedding Desserts
Along with welcome bags for guests and custom illustrated programs and invitations, non-cake desserts are a growing trend in weddings today. These non-traditional desserts are served either in addition to or in place of the wedding cake.
With that in mind, we asked married couples if they served a non-cake dessert and, if so, what it was. Cookies were the most popular non-cake dessert from 1970-2009. The most common one today? Cupcakes! When you think about it, cupcakes are really just tiny, individual wedding cakes. But we don’t think about it—we just eat them.
v. Wrap Up
While it’s easy to get caught up trying to incorporate the most popular trends into your big day, your wedding should ultimately be a reflection of you and your partner—and that includes your desserts. Whether that means a traditional 3-tier vanilla wedding cake or chocolate chip cookies served alongside a glass of milk, your guests are there to celebrate your union and will enjoy whatever you provide.
And while we can’t choose your wedding cake for you, we can take some of the guesswork out of what the groom should be wearing while he’s enjoying the said cake—check out our ideas for groom suits to gain some inspiration for your big day.