Traditional wedding cake is… traditional. If you’re looking to make your dessert table a little more fun, then read on for the best alternative wedding desserts you can swap out that tiered cake for!
Choosing what kind of cake to have at your wedding can be an unexpectedly stressful part of wedding planning. If you’re anything like me and my husband, it can be exhausting to try to not only figure out all the logistics, but find something you both agree on AND are happy with. That’s why I’m a huge fan of alternative wedding desserts in lieu of a traditional cake.
Below are some unique wedding dessert options, dessert tower ideas, and cheaper alternatives to wedding cake that you can use to make sure your dessert table is as full of personality as you are!
By the end of this list, you’re going to have all the ideas you’ll need to be able to choose the most fitting wedding dessert for you, your venue, and your guests.
This guide is bringing you the best alternative wedding desserts ideas for couples who just don’t want a big ol’ cake.
Best Alternative Wedding Desserts
Mini Wedding Desserts
Awww yeah – who doesn’t love a mini dessert? First of all, mini desserts are adorable in their own right, but mini wedding desserts? Stop it.
There are a number of “normal” desserts you can make as a miniature and there are a number of positives that come with having these tiny treats instead of cake:
- Easy for guests to take at their leisure (no one has to be in charge of cutting and serving!)
- Easy for guests to continue partying while eating (good if you’re not doing formal tables!)
- Easy to appease to a variety of tastes and dietary restrictions (someone’s gluten-free? No problem!)
Spoon-able Desserts
Another easy mini desserts for wedding option. You see this done with appetizers all the time, but even if you aren’t doing any catering, you can easily recreate this tried-and-true option (and probably save a few bucks too!) using spoons like this
Some ideas for what to put on that spoon:
- Truffles!
- A dollop of Fluffer Nutter with a tiny graham cracker and drizzle of chocolate sauce for a S’mores bite
- A strawberry with whipped cream (or chocolate drizzle)!
Remember too: A garnish goes a long way! You can have the most basic base of a dessert, but if you dress it up the right way, it might as well be Michelin-worthy.
Candy
Who doesn’t love candy? If you have kids at your wedding, they’ll love it. And the adults that are still kids at heart, they’ll love it too. There are so many options with candy that it can really be a fun, unique wedding dessert option to have on your big day.
The wedding dessert table ideas are aplenty with candy. Here are some ideas to consider to really amp it up:
- Candy in the same color scheme as your wedding colors
- Candy in a range of vintage candy dishes/jars
- Candy arranged on bakery-style trays (this one is especially good for something like a Taffy)
Also, if you’re a DIY queen, you could pre-pack a handful of candy pieces in cellophane so the dessert can double as the take-home gift. And remember: it’s all about the garnish: don’t be afraid to really go over-the-top on dressing up the bags. Even if you have just 5 piece of candy per bag, you can make it feel really special in the way you tie them up.
Childhood Favorites
Speaking of being a kid at heart… another affordable wedding desserts idea is to bring back all your childhood favorites. Not only are these a cheaper alternative to wedding cake, they have the nostalgia factor built in which will have your guests smiling.
These are also a great alternative to the usual macaron dessert towers. Imagine a tower of Twinkies and Ding-Dongs? Yes please. If you go this route, I would encourage you to really lean into the comedy factor by make the table dressed up really nicely. I’m talking lots of flowers (real or fake) incorporated into the tower, maybe some twinkle lights. The contrast of high-brow and low-brow is really going to work in your favor for this one.
Vintage Dream
Oh yes, I’m talking: JELLO MOLDS. The novelty of the long-lost art of the jello mold would be enough of a showstopper that you could really go bare-bones on the rest of your dessert table. If you are a Vintage Bride looking for a quirky and non traditional wedding dessert, this one is for you.
This one would be great for a backyard wedding or something that’s smaller in scale. Bonus idea: gather up your bridal party and make a night of making one of these. While not for the faint of heart, actually making a successful jello mold is bragging rights for life!
Savory
And you know what? If you’re not inclined to have something sweet at your wedding, then don’t! There are no rules that you have to have (or serve) dessert. There are a bunch of savory options you could do for an after-dinner treat that will still be a crowd-pleaser:
- Popcorn bar (another easy one to allow guests to customize by offering an assortment of toppings. You could also have Kettle Corn as an option for that guest you know will have to scratch their dessert itch).
- French fry bar (I went to a wedding that had this and honestly, it was amazing. If you and your guests are big drinkers, something sweet at the end of the night might not be the best choice. But a french fry bar? Pro-tip: Have cardboard takeout boxes so guests can take fries home with them for a late-night snake attack (or something to quell the hangover the next morning, speaking from experience).
Breakfast for Dessert
(Photo taken at Sherman’s in Palm Springs. Look at the size of that thing! A couple of those cinnamon rolls on some nice cake pedestal and you’re all set!)
Popular wedding desserts in recent years is to not have dessert at all, but breakfast:
- Pancake layer cake (also beautiful with crepes)
- Waffles with ice cream
- Cinnamon rolls (either as a cake or as a tower)
- Berry bar (all the berries with whipped cream, chocolate, sprinkles for fixin’s)
- Melon balls (as a tower or individual servings)
Breakfast for dessert is a great option because it allows guests to choose how sweet (or not!) they want to go with it. For anyone without a sweet tooth, it’s a nice and fresh pallet cleanse.
Having fruit as dessert is also a perfect summer wedding desserts or the perfect choice for backyard or picnic-style wedding reception.
Photo Credit: Alysha Yoder
Aside from the above, there are loads more alternatives to wedding cake ideas out there. These include:
Donuts
I’ve seen donuts both as a wall and as a tower, but if I’m being honest, I would use my favorite donut shop and keep them in their own boxes right on the table. If you are going Krispie Kreme, the branded boxes bring a touch of nostalgia. If you’re going local, I would see if you could incorporate the baker’s string in some way for a classic, old-school touch. If you’re going Dunkin’, a variety of large donuts and donut holes would look ace.
Churros
A churro bar is also always going to be a good time. I know Taco Bell is trendy and hip these days, so if that’s your style, I would do the take the same low-brow/high-brow approach I talked about before.
If you want something more authentic, I would see if you can find someone (or a restaurant) local who can make them for you. If you go this route, it shouldn’t have to be said, but don’t be a dick. Pay them right and in cash.
Cookies
As a self-proclaimed cookie monster myself, I love a nice cookie variety. There are endless options and I have yet to find someone who is bummed out by a cookie.
If your event is more on the DIY end of the spectrum, it would be cute to have the dessert be potluck-style and have your bridal party (or your guests too) make a batch of their favorite cookie.
Plate them, tower them, place them in varied photo boxes for a DIY effect. The possibilities are endless!
Pie
Perhaps my personal favorite because this is what we had at my wedding. We did a couple different flavors of mini pies and then had one (normal-sized) lemon meringue as the centerpiece. We wanted a “special” pie for the two of us and one that our cake topper could stand out on.
Macarons
Similar to cookies in that it’s easy to have a wide variety of flavors, macarons may be in the Top 10 Wedding Desserts category (don’t quote me on that, but I’m willing to bet).
Again, they look great and you don’t need a lot to display nicely in a tower. If I had my choice though, I’d turn my dessert table into a tiny Christmas-esque village and scatter them through, a lá:
That’s all of my favorite alternative wedding desserts to give your dessert table the unique spin you’re looking for.