Michael Caswell Photography

New Orleans Wedding Cakes

Like my page of groom's cakes, this is not directly related to my work as wedding photographer, but rather is a fun and inspirational showcase of some of my favorite wedding cakes that I've photographed in recent years. Cakes are very often featured as the central decorative focal point of a wedding, and they can vary in style dramatically!


Traditional Wedding Cakes

Let's start with a selection of traditional wedding cakes. Candles around the cake table look great, and I always love when the cake is positioned where there are warm-looking string lights in the background, such as this Zoe's Bakery cake from a wedding at The Greystone in Mandeville. This venue has a separate room where the cake can be located, or it can be placed in the main reception space as this one was.

Zoe's Wedding Cake at The Greystone in Mandeville



Intricate details accent the side of this La Louisiane creation for a Southern Oaks wedding in New Orleans. After the ceremony and formal group photographs are complete, this venue typically places the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets (in this case, crafted by Nola Flora) on the table surrounding the cake, which nicely frames it.

La Louisiane Wedding Cake at Southern Oaks



Some venues can create their couples' wedding cakes in-house, such as this example from the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street.

Roosevelt Hotel Wedding Cake



Rosy's Jazz Hall has a nice little nook in their reception space with a semi-circular table that is perfect for placement of the wedding cake. This cake was crafted by Gambino's, one of several well-known bakeries in the New Orleans area that has been around for decades.

Gambino's Wedding Cake at Rosy's Jazz Hall



Bright red roses from Nola Flora accent and contrast nicely with the white icing of this Marguerites Cake at Southern Oaks.

Marguerite's Wedding Cake at Southern Oaks



This was another in-house cake created by the Royal Sonesta Hotel's pastry chef, with the floral decorations by Beth's Florist.

Royal Sonesta Wedding Cake



Swiss Confectionary created this lovely cake for a Hotel Mazarin Wedding.

Swiss Confectionary Wedding Cake at Hotel Mazarin



Frosted Fantasies by Nikki created this lovely naked cake, accented by flowers from Arbor House. A naked cake is one where a thin layer of icing is applied, and then partially scraped off, revealing some of the cake underneath. I love how these unique wedding cakes look in photographs!

Frosted Fantasies by Nikki Naked Wedding Cake



For this Latrobe's on Royal wedding, Chasing Wang created this tall, slender cake, perfectly smooth, and accented with beautiful white and pastel-shade flowers from The Plant Gallery running up the side.

Chasing Wang Wedding Cake at Latrobes on Royal



Another Latrobe's on Royal wedding, this one with a flower-adorned cake created by La Louisiane and further decorated by florist Leaf and Petal.

La Louisiane Wedding Cake at Latrobes on Royal



This Swiss Confectionary cake at a Hotel Mazarin wedding features a topper that reads, "and so the adventure begins," and is further accented by flowers from Fat Cat. At this venue, the cake is usually placed here, in the main reception room in front of this antique door and shutters with wonderful patina, though they'll also sometimes locate it in a brick nook near the entrance of the space.

Swiss Confectionery Wedding Cake at Hotel Mazarin



This Broussard's couple topped their cake with a Mardi Gras mask. This cake was created by Royal Cakery, which is among my favorite wedding cake bakeries in New Orleans, and the beautiful flowers were by Herbivore.

Royal Cakery Wedding Cake at Broussard's



A monogram cake topper finishes off this simple but elegant La Louisiane cake at Southern Oaks, with the flowers by Beth's Florist in Metairie.

La Louisianne Wedding Cake at Southern Oaks



Cake toppers don't necessarily have to be too serious. This Swiss Confectionary cake at a Court of Two Sisters wedding comically features a couple of dinosaurs dressed in wedding attire.

Swiss Confectionery Wedding Cake Court of Two Sisters



Vividly colored flowers by Nola Flora and beautiful daylight streaming in through the adjacent large windows highlight this Haydel's cake at Southern Oaks. This bakery is also famous for its delicious king cakes.

Haydel's Wedding Cake and flowers at Southern Oaks



Zoe's Bakery created this classic cake for a wedding at The Greystone in Mandeville.

Zoe's Wedding Cake at The Greystone



This Sugar Love wedding cake at Southern Oaks features a cake topper that depicts the bride and groom with their little boy, and is surrounded by flowers from Petals & Stems.

Sugar Love Wedding Cake at Southern Oaks



Marguerite's Bakery in Slidell created this elegant cake, accented with flowers by Distinctive Florist and dark teal ribbons, for this couple's wedding at Trinity Banquets & Receptions, also in Slidell.

Marguerite's Wedding Cake at Trinity in Slidell



Colors

Does a wedding cake need to have white icing? Of course not! Here are a few cakes that feature different colors, either completely or as an accent to a mostly white cake. This amazing looking Frosted Fantasies by Nikky cake was for a wedding at Marché in New Orleans, and matched the wedding's color theme.

Frosted Fantasies by Nikki Wedding Cake at Marché



Who says you can't have a chocolate wedding cake! Haydel's created this cake for a wedding at The Cabildo, and Jardin D'eden Florist did the flowers.

Haydel's Chocolate Wedding Cake at The Cabildo



This Haydel's cake features the middle layer in a different color, further accented with flowers from Kim Starr Wise. The Fleur de Lis symbols around the top layer are a common sight on New Orleans wedding cakes!

Haydel's Wedding Cake at Bevolo



Gold leaf accents the side of this elegant cake at a wedding at Brennan's Restaurant in the French Quarter, crafted by the restaurant's pastry chef, with the flowers by Greaux.

Brennan's Restaurant Wedding Cake


This beautiful cake's woodgrain color accents add an elegant touch, and the couple added a pair of stylized golden snitches from Harry Potter.

Wedding Cake with Harry Potter Snitch



Brushed-on gold coloring accents this Frosted Fantasies by Nikki cake at Latrobe's, topped off with flowers from Arbor House.

Frosted Fantasies by Nikki Wedding Cake at Latrobe's



Petite Wedding Cakes

An intimate wedding doesn't usually need a full-size wedding cake, but there are plenty of options for small cakes as well. And there's just something about a cute little wedding cake... they are just adorable! This Gambino's naked cake was for a wedding at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel's St. Ann Cottage, and was decorated with flowers from Fat Cat.

Gambinos Wedding Cake at St. Ann Cottage



This gold-colored cake was for a small wedding taking place at Le Museé de f.p.c. in New Orleans.

Petite Wedding Cake at Le Museé de FPC



Marguerite's created this cute cake for a wedding at Palmettos on the Bayou in Slidell, accented with flowers from Distinctive Floral Designs.

Marguerite's Wedding Cake at Palmettos on the Bayou



This naked cake, beautifully accented with flowers and succulents from Flora Savage, was created by Sucre for an intimate wedding celebration at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans.

Sucre Naked Wedding Cake at The Roosevelt



Wedding Cake Alternatives

Some couples want something completely different than a single wedding cake. For example, this lovely arrangement by B.Markova Cake at the Pharmacy Museum features two small cakes on pedestals for each of the brides, surrounded by an assortment of cupcakes of various flavors, and accented with flowers from Palate New Orleans. Cupcakes are a great idea, as they simplify serving of the cake (no cutting required!), and guests appreciate the variety of flavors offered.

B.Markova Wedding Cake and Cupcakes at Pharmacy Museum



Wedding cakes can be fairly expensive, which is understandable given how much work can go into creating them. But every couple has their own set of budgetary priorities, and some my opt to save some money here. This couple at the Audubon Tea Room chose to have a simple cake with a cute topper, along with a three-tiered display of individual pecan pies.

Wedding Cake with Pecan Pies at Audubon Tea Room



This couple went with an assortment of individual bundt cakes from Nothing but Bundt, surrounding one larger bundt cake as the centerpiece. Each grouping of these individual cakes had a small sign to indicate what the flavor was, which is a good idea since this is not always readily apparent just based on the color.

Nothing Bundt Cake at New Orleans Wedding



Themed Wedding Cakes

You shouldn't feel constrained by traditional norms that set expectations of what a wedding cake should look like. Sometimes couples will want a cake that more strongly reflects the theme of their wedding, such as this stylish Gambino's Bakery cake that coordinated perfectly with their art deco wedding at Messiana's at the Terminal (which is located in the Lakefront Airport Terminal Building).

Gambino's Wedding Cake at Messinas at the Terminal



This Sucre cake is more along the lines of a groom's cake, with the couples' favorite sports teams featured, along with a cake topper that depicts them surrounded by bunnies (this bride loved rabbits!). They actually had several desserts on the cake table, but this was the main cake.

Sucre Wedding Cake at Chateau Lemoyne



This Zoe's Bakery cake also was reflective of the couples' personalities and interests like a groom's cake often is, and featured a LEGO cake topper (that was put together by their adorable son).

Zoe's Wedding Cake at The Crossing in Kenner



Because this Maison Dupuy couple's dogs were not able to be present at the wedding, they included miniature representations of them sitting around and poking out of their Haydel's wedding cake, decorated with flowers by Fat Cat.

Haydel's Wedding Cake at Maison Dupuy Hotel