How to Compose & Arrange Your Dessert Bar Table

A thoughtfully curated dessert bar is more than just a sweet treat—it’s a visual centerpiece, a guest-favorite experience, and a fun reflection of your wedding style. Whether you're going for romantic elegance or whimsical charm, composing and arranging your dessert table with intention can make a big impact. We are excited to explore how to create a dessert bar that delights both the eyes and the taste buds.

Choose a variety of treats & flavors

Offering several different dessert and flavor options on your dessert table will create a nice variety for your guests to choose from and will ensure that everyone finds something that they love. We suggest starting with your and your partner’s favorite desserts, so that the dessert table is a good reflection of you as a couple. Do you love cake? Then make sure to order a wedding cake in your favorite flavor! Do you prefer pie or cookies as a less traditional option? Then offer a cookie bar with several flavor options, or include individual mini pies for your guests to enjoy!

Once you have your favorite desserts picked out, you can start adding more flavors and dessert options that you think your guests will like. Cupcakes, French macarons, and dessert shooters are some of our favorite things to include, as they can easily be customized to match the colors and aesthetics of your wedding. No matter what you order, we suggest having four or five dessert options in total, as this is enough to give plenty of variety without becoming an overwhelming choice for your guests. Consider starting with traditional flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and salted caramel, and then add a more unique option, like a seasonal fruit flavor.

Decide how many desserts to order

Once you know what desserts you would like to include on your dessert table, you can start considering how many desserts you will need to order. We always suggest ordering more desserts than you think you will need, as guests will often grab more than one dessert from the table and love going back for seconds when they are available. Creating a bountiful dessert bar is a great way to thank your guests for being part of your special day, and ensures that everyone will be able to have a sweet treat at the end of the meal.

As a general rule, we recommend ordering two dessert bar items per guest. So, if you have an estimated guest count of 150 people, we would suggest ordering around 300 servings of dessert in total. As an example, this could be composed of a cake that serves 120 people, along with 60 French macarons, 60 cupcakes, and 60 dessert shooters (all in a variety of flavors). This is a perfect way to create a lot of variety on the dessert table, and ensure that you have enough desserts for the night.

Think through your display items

Several months before the wedding, you will want to start thinking about how to display your dessert bar on the table and what platters and stands you will need to rent or purchase for the reception. Ask your baker how many stands or platters you will need for all of your desserts, and what sizes you should be looking for. From there, you can start thinking about the wedding theme, and what display items might best fit the overall aesthetic.

If the wedding design is really clean and modern, you might want to rent or purchase stands and platters that are clear glass or clean white. If your aesthetic is more mountain-chic, display items that are polished wood or metal might be a better fit. Wooden crates or unfinished wood rounds make unusual displays that are perfect for rustic barn weddings. If you have a more whimsical theme, you might choose colored glass stands or platters with a light pattern on them. You can also mix some of these materials for a display that is a bit eclectic and unique to you!

Incorporate height and layers into the design

One of the best ways to make your dessert bar visually appealing is to add depth and dimension by incorporating different heights in the display. Including dessert stands of differing heights not only makes the dessert table look more dynamic, it will also make it easier for guests to see all of the dessert options and serve themselves. So, as you think through what materials your display items should be, also consider unique pieces that can add height and visual interest to your dessert bar assembly.

There are several ways to incorporate height into your dessert table design. If you plan to include a tiered wedding cake on the dessert table, this will automatically add some height, as well as a design focus. Raised pedestal cake stands can be used to display other desserts, like bars and cookies, and add height in their own right. Tall, tiered stands often feature three or four levels on which desserts can be displayed, and these are perfect for adding dramatic height to the table. Stair-step stands add multiple layers of height and are a fun addition to any dessert table! Ideally, we like to incorporate three or four height levels on a dessert table, as we find that this creates the best visual dimension.

Arrange your dessert displays

Once you have rented or purchased display stands and platters in a variety of heights that match your wedding theme, it is time to arrange everything on your dessert table. It can be fun to just play around with the display items and find positions that look good to you, but we have compiled a few guidelines that we like to use. These guidelines keep the dessert table looking balanced and organized.

If you plan to include a wedding cake in your dessert spread, we love to place the cake in the middle of the table. This is a great way to showcase the cake as the centerpiece of the dessert table, and hold focus during the cake cutting. If you do not include a cake in the dessert bar, putting a unique display item that has some height in the middle of the table adds balance and focus. This could be a stair-step stand or a wrought iron tiered stand, anything that will pull focus and enhance the design! Next, we like to add height to the ends of the table with tall tiered stands. Placing a tiered stand about one-third of the way in from each table end will add harmony and visual interest to the table. Pedestal stands and flat platters can then be arranged throughout the dessert table to add other layers of height, creating a dessert table that is not only delicious but also beautiful to look at.

Don’t forget about signage!

Creating a dessert menu to display on the table, or adding small labels for each dessert is the perfect way to provide clarity for your guests and add a polished touch. Noting which desserts might be gluten-free or vegan, and distinguishing which desserts contain nuts, will also help any guests with dietary restrictions or allergies know which treats are safe for them. Listing what flavors are available will also help everyone choose desserts they know they will love! You can even include cute names for each dessert, like “His Favorite Brownies” or “Grandma’s Lemon Bars”. This adds a playful joy to the dessert table and makes the celebration more unique and personal.

Get some extra flowers and greenery

If you like a really clean look for the dessert table, you can definitely skip this step, but we love how adding some flowers or greenery to the dessert table ties the decor in with the rest of the wedding! Ask your florist to bring some extra flowers and greenery that can be used alongside the dessert bar to bring the table to life. Place larger boughs of greenery under and around stands and platters to add a splash of color and a boho feel, or include a large bouquet as the centerpiece of the dessert table instead of ordering a cake. However you choose to use them, adding flowers and greenery to your wedding cake will make it feel fresh and vibrant, and will blend with the rest of the wedding design!

Creating a wedding dessert bar is about more than desserts—it’s about creating an experience. With a bit of planning, balance, and creativity, your table will be a showstopper that guests talk about long after the last bite.