What's seems to be in/out these days?

I'm thinking about doing my first bridal show. I want to make some display cakes and really be on target with what's popular at the moment.

Any unique flavors/ combinations?

I'm really looking to set myself apart from the next cake vendor. Trying to compete with someone that's been doing this for over 20 years and has an impressive display (close to 15 dummies) is quite intimidating! Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!

The ombre cakes are really trendy right now. I've had a few requests for those in the last couple of weeks. Also ruffles and fabric-style details like fondant pleating and ruffles. Check out my pinterest board, there's a section on the ombre cakes on there if you don't know what I'm talking about http://pinterest.com/acaketoremember/

WOW! I googled it because I couldn't get your link to open, and I love that look, I always called it variegated, never heard of ombre. Wonder who cam up with it? Let me say that if someone wants the inside done like that too, it is going to cost them!

Pinterest is super slow. I got the link to open but I had to go to pinterest.com first, then go to my boards by adding acaketoremember on the end. Don't know why that worked and the link didn't.

Anwyay, I wouldn't do the ombre on the inside, just on the outside. I have a ruffle cake that's all white coming up on Friday, and i'm going to time how long that takes to do. I think that an ombre ruffle cake done in fondant will take FOR-EV-ER. It's easy to do in buttercream, though.

You can also look up wedding cakes on The Knot website. They always seem to keep track of the latest trends and LOTS of brides go there for ideas...

definitely that ombre style, although I haven't heard the name before either! Made that pink one with buttercream this June. (well, sort of the same thing)

lots of texture, fabric looks.

I'm seeing a lot of metals: pewter, silver, gold

Seeing more separators, like the smaller fabric wrapped dummies.

Lots of stripes. Lots of sparkle still (although not usually with stripes!)

I'm not seeing anyone choosing the ribbon around the bottom with the pearls
thing! Yay!

Damask is still really really in around here. Getting more and more requests for sugar flowers.

Seeing a trend toward more "warm" colors- champagne, gold, red, brown. I think the "pool blue" trend is heading on out.

Still seeing purple.... arg.

I am doing an all white ruffle cake á la Maggie Austin for this weekend, and am really looking forward to it! I just have no idea how long it's going to take to make all the little ruffles. Luckily it is not a very structured ruffle so it won't matter too much if they are not all exactly the same.

According to this article, vintage style weddings are sooooo overdone, and formal weddings will make a comeback: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harmony-walton/the-end-of-the-vintage-we_b_1063926.html#s450854&title=Formal_Wedding_Trend

Well, thank God, I'm so sick of mason jars and photos of people's shoes it drives me crazy!

Just FYI:

Ombre (with an acute accent on the e) is French, meaning shade or shadow. It is used in this country (USA), often with dip-dyed fabric, to mean color gradation.

I use the term ombre a lot when I sew and it seems like the baking world is now embracing it as well. What ever we call it ~ it is a very pretty effect on a cake!

A few seasons ago Prada bought out a lovely range of bags with colour gradients and called them ombre (I have one ) (And I ought to sell it to buy cake stuff ). Anyway, that was the first time I really saw the effect, guess it's still around in the caking world.

I just had a planner ask me to do an ombre cake for a photo shoot in December. I don't like photo shoots much, but since I've already booked several ombre cakes for next year I figure that it's not something unrealistic, so why not?

I don't like the photo shoots that show totally unrealistic things that work well on a small scale, but would be logisitcally impossible to set up for a real reception. I think that it gives people unrealistic expectations and sets them up for disappointment.