Single-Tier Wedding Cake Designs

There’s something incredibly charming about a single-tier wedding cake. While multi-tiered designs often steal the spotlight, single-tier cakes have been quietly gaining popularity—and for good reason. They’re elegant, intentional, and just as beautiful (and delicious!) as their towering counterparts.

Whether you’re planning an intimate elopement, a cozy mountaintop ceremony, or want a smaller cutting cake alongside a larger dessert spread, single-tier cakes offer a world of design possibilities. Here are a few fun single-tier wedding cake designs that we have made over the years to inspire you as you think through your own cake design!

Get Creative, and a Little Wild

This stunning cake was created for a destination wedding in the Rocky Mountains and served as the perfect centerpiece for a dessert table featuring macarons and dessert bars. Abstract mountains were textured into the white buttercream frosting to reflect the venue's setting and add creative visual interest. An explosion of fresh and dried florals was then arranged on top of the cake to tie in the wedding theme and colors, and add to the wild, natural look of the cake. This design is perfect for any wedding in a natural, mountain setting with an elevated rustic aesthetic.

Add Sweet Elegance

This single-tier wedding cake showcases one of our all-time favorite designs. This cake was created for a Montana wedding celebrated at a barn venue, and we love how the design melds rustic elements with timeless elegance to craft a look that is sweet and romantic. White buttercream frosting has been applied to the cake and then scraped off to reveal bits of the cake underneath. A glossy caramel sauce is allowed to drip down the sides of the cake, acting as another delicious layer to the sweet design. Simple white flowers and spun sugar decorations complete this stunning cake, making it perfect for any classically rustic wedding celebration.

Think About Natural Color

While we will always love an all-white wedding cake design, we also have fun coming up with unique ways to add pops of color. This fun cake was crafted for an outdoor wedding celebration that utilized natural elements in the decor. In order to carry this theme and keep nature at the center of the cake design, apple slices were dried and dyed in vibrant hues, then arranged on a simple white frosting background. The apple slices add not only bold color, but also unique texture and visual interest. This design is ideal for any outdoor wedding that celebrates nature and color!

Keep it Beautifully Simple

Classic white wedding cakes will always be a timeless favorite. This elegant, sweet wedding cake is perfect in its simplicity. White buttercream frosting has been applied to the single tier so that it is completely smooth with no texture, while the top edge of the cake has been left raised and raw, looking almost like torn paper. This adds a little rustic flair to the design and keeps the cake looking unique and not too traditional. Beautiful fresh flowers arranged along the base of the cake add a classic element, and tie the cake design in with the wedding bouquet. This design is versatile and is perfect for any wedding- from an elegant reception to a rustic barn celebration!

Try a Unique Shape

We love adding an unexpected design element to wedding cakes, and picking a non-traditional shape is a great way to do this! This single-tier square cake was created for a styled shoot in Manhattan, Montana, with a unique, tropical theme. White frosting has been applied to the cake, leaving a slightly rough texture. Edible gold paint has been lightly brushed along one corner to add a little glamor and highlight the vibrant tropical florals that act as the design focus. This cake is perfect for any spring or summer wedding that embraces bold colors and non-traditional design elements.

Incorporate Bold Colors

Just because single-tier cakes are small does not mean they cannot include bold design elements. This cutting cake was created for a summer wedding with a vibrant pink color palette. Buttercream frosting in varying hues of pink was layered to create a rough ombre effect, the jagged edges between each color creating beautiful visual interest. Candy pearls were then arranged along the top and bottom of the cake to add a more traditional element, as well unique texture. With the bold frosting colors and candy pearl additions, no flowers are needed for this design!

Not so Traditional

This uniquely fun cake was crafted for a micro wedding in Downtown Bozeman. The celebration was held in an art gallery, and the wedding design incorporated lots of unique, vintage elements. The cake fit right into this theme, with a retro pink and white checkered background, vintage piping, and bright maraschino cherry accents. Weddings are celebrations of your love story, and finding fun ways to add your personality to the cake will make the dessert table just as memorable as the day itself!

Whether your single-tier wedding cake is for an intimate elopement, a celebration for just close family and friends, or is part of a larger dessert table, the design can be anything that you want it to be. It can be simple and traditional or bold and unique, whatever fits the style and personality of the wedding itself. We hope that these cakes show you the wide range of small cake designs and help inspire you to dream up your own wedding cake design!