Winter wedding cakes are fast coming into a league of their own. If you thought your only choices were stark, white cakes with fondant flowers, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Bakers and trendsetters are creating works of art for weddings -- and brides across the country are jumping onto the trends for winter wedding cakes. Your imagination and some research time are all you need to create the wedding confection of your dreams.

Highlight Winter Holidays

Winter weddings fall among some of the biggest holidays of the year. Tap into all that festive spirit with your cake designs. December weddings can highlight the sparkle and magic of Christmas with cakes designed to look like daintily wrapped presents with poinsettia, holly or evergreen decorations. Accents can include pine cones, theme-shaped glass ornaments and cranberries. January's chill brings with it New Year's Day and all the glamour and glitz of the holiday. Highlight the crisp snow flakes, icicles and sparkling lights of winter nights with edible glitters, gold and silver cake toppers and layers of snowy icing. Valentine's Day gives February a warm and sensitive side. Heart-shaped cakes covered in pink or red roses can be stacked to create elegant wedding cakes and pomegranates and mandarin oranges can add to the holiday spirit. Consider a chocolate cake, instead of the traditional white, for a delicious alternative to the expected.

Design Your Own Cake

Wedding Cake Design Pro has software you can order or download to design any type of cake you can imagine. Play around with different base colors, layouts and props and you will see the same cake as a horizontal winter spectacular and as a vertical base for cascading roses and ivies. Take all the ideas you have gathered from browsing through bridal magazines and create a unique combination of your favorite elements. Bake this masterpiece yourself or take it to a reputable baker who can add to your creation or bake your design.

Hints For Your Winter Wedding Cake

Forget stacking the cake straight up in the air and go horizontal. Use the space between layers to uplift your theme by adding pinecones and tinsel for a holiday wedding. Use the additional space under pedestals and columns to anchor trailing icing flowers and greenery. Forgo the all white icing and use jewel tone colors for a base to add some glamour to the traditional white cake. Accents such as snowflakes and white roses will have much greater impact on a colored background. Use gray or silver tones for accents to highlight the winter theme. Another option is to skip the cake entirely and offer a cupcake tree in its place, a trend that is rapidly becoming the choice of celebrities and wedding experts across the country. This fashion option will offer high style and unlimited decorating options as each cupcake becomes a decorator's blank canvas.

Inspiration for Winter Wedding Cakes

Browse the Internet before heading off to the bakery for some inspiration. Wedding Cake Creations has 86 pages of wedding cakes to show you the broad range of possibilities. Every conceivable color and shape combination is available to spark your imagination and you can jot down the ideas which appeal to you. Print out pictures and take them to the bakery of your choice. Most bakers are now truly artists and can recreate wedding cakes from your designs while adding the personal embellishments you desire. Just make sure you choose a reputable bakery who can supply references and your dream wedding cake is yours.

Winter wedding cakes don't have to be predictable and boring. With the wide range of colors and themes available to the winter bride and groom, let your imaginations run. Celebrate winter and all it has to offer with a sparkling confection which highlights the magic of the season. Color and imaginative design will never be more appropriate than in the center of the cake table at a winter wedding.