20 Naked Cakes for an Autumn Wedding

One of the things I love most about wedding world in the internet age is that when a gorgeous new trend comes along, all the amazing creative hands and minds across the globe take it as a challenge to create their own spin, and sometimes I look around and just think wow, this is amazing. That’s how I feel every time a beautiful naked cake pops up on Pinterest that I haven’t seen before, and gives me that little thrill of OMG. So when we chose Autumn as our theme for May, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to round up some of those sweet confections, which just happen to be perfect for a rustic, seasonal theme. Let’s go! (PS See our previous roundup of naked cakes here.)Read More

Autumn Fruits Wedding Inspiration by Ecozest & Riaan Lourens

We started off the week with some autumn inspiration, and we’re ending it the same way, with a styled shoot in a rich harvest palette from the team at Ecozest (a floral design studio based in the Garden Route). The colours and decor in this shoot are absolutely gorgeous, with touches I love like pear plates grey strips and oh my goodness, the most gorgeous naked cake. In fact, all the food looks amazing, from cupcakes topped with pomegranate seeds to little apple & walnut loaves wrapped up in lace, to tiny pumpkin pies. This is a great example of how your food can really be used not just to complement but to enhance your chosen theme – it’s pretty much decor in its own right (and delicious too). I love the idea of a loose bouquet made up of nature’s bounty, and the young lovers’ boho, organic chic outfits totally work with the general feel. There are loads of ideas to inspire, so be sure to read the background that Ecozest sent over to find out more!Read More

Naked {Un-iced} Cakes

Let’s get naked, people. If you’ve been following my inspiration boards you will already know that I have a style crush on the biggest trend to hit wedding cakes since pies and donuts, and if you follow any other international blogs you probably will have seen a good few of these already, but I thought it was high time we had some naked cake roundup goodness here on SouthBound Bride. So what is a naked cake? In short, it’s a sponge cake that remains un-iced. It might have icing in between layers (although cream cheese frosting, cream and fruit are also common) and it might be beautifully dusted with icing sugar or dribbled with caramel, but the sides are generally left au naturel. And unlike Britney getting in a cab without her undercrackers, it’s a beautiful sight to behold, especially if you’re having a rustic wedding. Decorate with fruit, flowers or both, and stick to a series of smaller cakes or follow the traditional tiered round or square cake. You can go for a classic deconstructed Victoria sponge, or have different layers in different flavours and colours, which also looks pretty amazing! Of course, not everyone is a fan – some cake pros I know feel it looks unfinished and worry about the cake drying out – and, of course, there’s no hiding any cake mishaps under fondant here. Despite this, I think we’ll be seeing lots of these in the upcoming season.

**UPDATE** See our latest roundup of naked cakes (especially for autumn weddings!) hereRead More