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Updated Oct 14, 202436 Fall Wedding Cakes for an Autumn Reception
From feathers to flowers, these designs capture the spirit of the season.
The season of pumpkin spice lattes, cozy sweaters and apple picking also brings plenty of inspiration for your wedding dessert table. These fall wedding cakes will convince you to add a bit of autumnal charm to your reception, especially if you're planning an October wedding at the height of the season. Not only does fall provide plenty of gorgeous inspiration for your wedding cake design, but it's also known for having some of the best wedding cake flavors (especially if you love rich, savory combinations). Use these fall wedding cake ideas to see what catches your eye, then check out The Knot Vendor Marketplace to find an expert cake baker in your area to bring everything to life.
In this article:
Our favorite fall wedding cake ideas by style:
Fall Wedding Cake Flavors
One of the best ways to ensure that guests love (and remember) your cake is with unique wedding cake flavors, since taste and smell are the two senses that play the largest role in crafting a memorable dining experience. Delight your guests with fall wedding cake flavors like pumpkin spice and cream cheese cake, maple icing glazes, spiced apple or salted caramel drizzles inspired by popular foods of the season.
If you're a classic dessert person who prefers a good, old-fashioned vanilla or chocolate cake, that's okay too. During your wedding cake tasting, your baker can share ways to incorporate seasonal elements, whether it's through a fall-themed wedding cake design, fall fruits or a separate autumn-inspired dessert, like cupcakes or pies.
Simple Fall Wedding Cakes
Incorporate little details, like subtle fall colors or foliage, into your cake design to tie in the season without going full-on fall. Browse these simple fall wedding cakes to get started.
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1. Pampas Grass Fall Wedding Cake
Photo: Kaley From Kansas
For a boho fall aesthetic, add a couple branches of pampas grass to the center of the cake. Keep the rest of the design streamlined with classic white buttercream or fondant, and finish with terracotta-hued florals.
2. One-Tier Chocolate Fall Wedding Cake
This one-tier cake might not immediately scream fall, but the rich dark chocolate frosting is a reflection of the season. Garnish with brown sugar cinnamon, apple slices or chocolate-covered berries for a bit of pizzazz.
3. Fall Wedding Cake with Foliage and Pomegranate Slices
As a fall fruit, pomegranates are a gorgeous (and easy) way to spruce up a simple cake. Pair the slices with autumnal foliage and flowers in yellow, orange and red tones.
4. Buttercream Fall Wedding Cake with Fresh Fruit
Getting married at a vineyard or winery? Adding grapes to your cake is a no-brainer. Similarly, you can use seasonal fruits like pears or apples if you're getting married at a local orchard.
5. Chocolate Fall Wedding Cake with Drip Icing
Finish a small two-tier cake with chocolate drip icing and a few well-placed flowers for a simple, stylish look.
6. Minimalist White Fondant Fall Wedding Cake
This minimalistic fall wedding cake is basic, but not boring. The smooth white fondant provides a sleek base for the blush and burnt orange flowers, while the taper candles and soft pink cake stand add more subtle hints of color.
7. One-Tier Fall Wedding Cake with Roses
Perfectly sized for a microwedding or elopement, this one-tier cake is decorated with roses, alstroemeria and baby's breath in a range of fall-themed coral and blush tones.
8. Olive Branch Fall Wedding Cake
Photo: Fondly Forever Photography
Greenery is an easy way to finish your cake without resorting to an overly complicated design or elaborate adornments. Fresh olive branches can quickly dress up white buttercream frosting, with the option to add a statement flower, either real or sugar.
9. Chocolate Ganache Fall Wedding Cake
If you're not sold on using flowers or greenery for your fall wedding cake, turn to edible garnishes instead. A chocolate ganache glaze decorates the top and sides of this one-tier confection.
10. Simple One-Tier Buttercream Fall Wedding Cake
Leaving the buttercream intentionally textured and imperfect, like this semi-naked cake, is great if you're going for a relaxed vibe or having a low-key reception.
11. Fall Wedding Cake with Rose Gold Details
Along with fresh flowers, you can use edible foils (they come in silver leaf, gold leaf or rose gold leaf) or petal dust to add color and shimmer to a simple fall wedding cake.
Rustic Fall Wedding Cakes
Whether you're tying the knot at a barn venue or accenting your wedding with pumpkin decor, these rustic wedding cake ideas for fall were made for a country-chic aesthetic.
12. Ruffled Fall Wedding Cake
Add ruffled fonant to your wedding cake to match a rustic glam theme. This design featured a bottom tier with textured icing made to look like tree bark—you can balance out the rugged look with colorful flowers and hints of edible gold leaf.
13. Fall Wedding Cake with Dried Orange Slices
Photo: Jessica Oh Photography,
Cake design: Hopscotch Bakery + Market
Dried oranges will add a unique look to your autumn wedding cake, but they'll also smell amazing. Use slices in varying sizes and finish with other fall fruits, like figs or cranberries.
14. Boho Fall Wedding Cake with Rattan Stand
Turn your fall wedding cake into an even more impressive display by putting it on top of a rattan stand or stool.
15. Cowhide-Inspired Fall Wedding Cake
It might sound like an unusual source of inspiration for your wedding cake, but the brown and white tones of cowhide actually serve as the perfect neutral base for a rustic confection. This modern design is fun and adorably country chic, with sleek cowhide-painted fondant tiers accented by fresh flowers (no animals harmed!).
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16. Naked Chocolate Fall Wedding Cake
Buttercream filling was made to be seen on this naked cake. The fall flowers—dahlias, roses, amaranthus and greenery—pop even more against the dark chocolate background.
17. Two-Tier Fall Wedding Cake with Apple Slices
Photo: Awake Photography,
Cake design: Root Cellar Catering Co.
Fresh fruit is always a go-to option for decorating your cake, and you can switch up the toppings based on the season. For a fall wedding cake, try sliced red apples and caramel drip glaze.
18. Dark Green Fall Wedding Cake
Hunter green is a popular wedding color for rustic and country wedding themes, but it's not every day that you see a green cake. Here's proof that it can be done—just keep the rest of the embellishments simple to avoid overpowering the bold color.
19. Faux Bois Fall Wedding Cake
Going for rustic elegance? The bottom tier on this cake is painted with a wood-inspired pattern, adding a hint of country style to an otherwise classic design.
20. Terracotta Orange Fall Wedding Cake
Give your rustic fall wedding cake a Western-meets-boho look with an earthy terracotta hue. The elongated tiers with deckled edges are modern and trendy.
21. Semi-Naked Fall Wedding Cake
Feathers will add a unique finish to your cake, but for a more ethereal vibe, swap the brown quail or pheasant feathers for white ostrich feathers instead (you can find artificial options online). Use them to incorporate texture into an all-white design.
22. Buttercream Fall Wedding Cake with Moody Florals
Flowers in a seasonal color palette, like burgundy, mauve and green, are a perfect way to top off a simple fall wedding cake. Arrange them in a cascading pattern down the side of the design.
23. Hand-Painted Rustic Fall Wedding Cake
Inspired by the Carolinas, this rustic fall wedding cake featured dried wheat stalks, pheasant feathers and hand-painted bird motifs.
24. White Fall Wedding Cake with Dried Flowers
Dried accents, like the orange leaves and bunny tail grass on this cake, are both autumnal and rustic. Use them to highlight the center tier of a buttercream cake.
Elegant Fall Wedding Cakes
It's okay to skip the latest wedding cake trends in favor of something more timeless and traditional. These elegant fall wedding cake ideas prove that you don't have to choose between style and statement—you can do both.
25. Gold Piped Fall Wedding Cake
Photo: Kurtis Kronk
,Cake design: Cakes by Cynthia
Hand-piped icing is one way to instantly elevate the look of your wedding cake. You can choose a contrasting color, like metallic gold, for a little bit of glamour or stick to a white-on-white design if your style is a little more understated.
26. Intricate Sugar Flower Fall Wedding Cake
Adorn a five-tier cake with gold filigrees and sugar flowers for a look that's truly luxe. The ornate details are fitting for a formal wedding theme or venue, like a ballroom or country estate.
27. Orchid Fall Wedding Cake
Bridge the gap between traditional and modern by picking just one trendy element to incorporate. Semi-naked frosting gives this two-tier cake a slight edge, while the classic fall flowers (orchids and roses) are a little more conventional.
28. Fall Leaves Wedding Cake with Roses
It feels magical when the leaves start to change color each year, and this cake is a beautiful example of how you can use autumn foliage to inspire your dessert table. The three-tier fall leaves wedding cake combines dark red foliage with mauve garden roses for a dreamy, romantic look.
29. Four-Tier Fall Wedding Cake with Painted Leaves
Painted leaves are another way to add seasonal flair to your cake, with the added bonus of customizing them to match your fall color scheme perfectly. This elegant fondant cake feels regal and luxurious with gilded leaves and miniature fruits.
30. Brushstroke-Inspired Fall Wedding Cake
Turn your wedding cake into a guaranteed statement piece by adding "brushstrokes" down the front of the design. The technique is done by painting chocolate sauce onto wax paper using a paintbrush, then freezing the chocolate so that it hardens into 3D pieces.
31. Buttercream and Greenery Fall Wedding Cake
Wrap a single, leafy vine around each tier for an elegant rustic finish to your cake, then use a mirrored tray or stand to display it at the wedding.
32. Three-Tier Fall Wedding Cake with Blackberries
Photo: Alicia White Photography,
Cake design: Sugar Cloud Baking Company
If you're choosing to share a last name with your partner, celebrate on the big day with a personalized wedding cake topper. Place it on the middle tier (instead of on top of the cake) for a more unique look.
33. Elegant White Fall Wedding Cake with Swiss Dots
Look closely and you'll see that this three-tier cake is decorated with tiny Swiss dots in triangular clusters. The dots add texture in a subtle, sophisticated way, while spray roses and greenery tie into the backdrop of flowers behind the cake.
34. Sculptural Green Fall Wedding Cake
Decorated with sugar flowers and handmade vines, this stunning fall-themed wedding cake is like an edible sculpture. Showcase a cake like this atop an equally luxe table accented with candles, a gauzy runner and lush greenery.
35. Monogrammed Fondant Fall Wedding Cake
We love monograms for formal wedding themes and timeless aesthetics. A square-shaped cake wrapped in gold filigrees is simple and oh-so classy.
36. Fall Wedding Cake with Hand-Piped Flowers
Combine seasonal wedding flowers with hand-piped floral designs for an autumn wedding cake that's romantic and classic. With a color palette of burgundy, blush and butterscotch yellow, this fondant cake is a lovely pick for a late summer or fall wedding.
