Wedding Dessert Table Display Ideas for Your Cake & Sweets

While a traditional wedding cake is still a popular dessert option, what about other wedding desserts? From unique decor to towering displays, there are plenty of wedding dessert table ideas to choose from. 

You can create a unique dessert table that matches your wedding theme, colors, and your sweet tooth! Check out our wedding dessert bar ideas to make your big day that much sweeter. 

Whether you love chocolate or vanilla, cakes or cookies, and ice cream or donuts, we have plenty of wedding dessert bar ideas to sweeten up your wedding. Mix and match your favorite desserts with creative decoration ideas to make a dessert bar that stands out from the norm. 

Check out our favorite wedding dessert table ideas below!

Make Your Cake the Centerpiece

If you planned on a big, classic wedding cake, you can still have a unique dessert table. Simply make your cake the centerpiece, and choose your other desserts to match or better accentuate your dream cake!

Your cake should be the focal point of your wedding dessert table, with secondary desserts artfully surrounding the main attraction. Two tier stylish wedding cakes don’t need much else, so keep the other desserts simple and avoid bright colors. This dessert bar would make a lovely backdrop for the cake cutting!

Display a Donut Wall

A popular new wedding trend is a donut wall – picture a peg board with donuts hanging from each peg! This is an easy DIY project, or you can find donut wall options and even rentals online. A donut wall acts as a cool backdrop to the rest of your dessert table, so you have room to add more or keep it simple. 

Some couples even use donuts as their main wedding cake!

Create Dessert Towers

Another way to add some height to your wedding dessert table is by creating towers of desserts. These towers look amazing, but they’re actually not too hard to make at home. This is one of our favorite dessert bar ideas that you can DIY!

You can use a styrofoam cone and toothpicks to create a DIY dessert tower that looks professional. Cover your tower with cake pops, donut holes, cream puffs, macarons, or any small dessert that you love!

Serve Mini Desserts

Miniature desserts are a great way to let guests try a taste of everything you have to offer at your wedding! Some of the best wedding dessert tables feature mini desserts because guests will be more comfortable grabbing one, plus they can try more!

A small, pop-able dessert is easier to eat, so guests can stop by the dessert table as they please and try everything from mini cupcakes, mini donuts, small cookies, tarts, and more.

If you love fruity desserts, add in chocolate covered strawberries or even mini pies for your wedding reception! 

Incorporate your Wedding Colors

To match your dessert table to your wedding theme, tie in your wedding color palette! You could ask your bakery to use icing that matches your bridesmaids’ dresses, or stick with a white cake and add colorful accent desserts.

Wedding cakes can come in any style, so don’t be afraid to incorporate a color palette in your main attraction. While some prefer white wedding cakes for tradition’s sake, there are no rules here! No one will be offended by wedding dessert tables with lots of color.

Most desserts can add a splash of color with a little bit of food dye, so you can add macarons, cupcakes, or really any dessert in for a colorful display. You can also use cake stands and other displays to add color to your dessert tables if the sweets are neutral-toned. 

Use Wooden Decor

For a rustic or outdoor wedding, use natural wood decor to decorate your wedding dessert table. Wooden cake stands, dessert displays, and other wooden fixtures are a great way to decorate your table, and you can even make some yourself with some basic woodworking skills.

White desserts and other pastels will pop against the wood for a lovely contrast. This is one of the most popular dessert bar ideas for country or barn weddings! Create a rustic dessert table with wooden accents.

Add Metallic Accents

If natural wood doesn’t fit with your wedding’s style, consider metallic accents instead for your dessert bar. Whether you prefer gold, silver, brass, or copper metals, there are plenty of options when it comes to metallic decor.

Cake stands and dessert displays are a great start, but get creative to find cool, even antique gems. Some couples have used antique bird cages, candelabras, and more to create a memorable sweets table.

Decorate with Flowers

Many couples deck their wedding out with flowers in full bloom. If this is your plan, don’t skip the dessert display table! Add floral accents to the desserts themselves, or simply surround your dessert displays with wedding flowers that fit with your colors and theme. 

You can even add florals to your cake and other desserts directly, so this is not only a dessert table idea but an idea for the desserts themselves! Wow guests at your wedding reception with a gorgeous floral display at the sweets table.

Consider buying wholesale flowers so that the cost of wedding flowers doesn’t limit you, or decorate desserts with these edible flowers!

Use a Statement Table

For a unique wedding dessert display, use a statement table to hold the desserts! You can search in thrift or antique stores for vintage tables, desks, hutches, or other old furniture to add a special touch to your dessert table!

You could also choose a modern piece or any style that fits with your wedding decor. 

Serve Desserts in Decorative Glasses

Get creative with your desserts! If you’re serving treats like mousse or ice cream, consider using unique containers like glass jars, shot glasses, martini glasses, coupe glassware, or a mixture of glasses for a mismatched look. 

Feature the Couple’s Favorite Desserts 

A cute idea for your sweet desserts is to feature the bride’s and the groom’s favorite sweet treats. Label each couple’s favorite dessert as such, especially if it’s an old family recipe!

Frame your wedding cake with the groom’s favorite donuts on one side and the bride’s favorite cookies on the other. 

Offer Desserts as Wedding Favors

If you have a sweet tooth, you could double down on desserts by offering sweet treats as a wedding favor as well! Incorporate other ideas from our list, like a donut wall or candy bar, but add in to-go bags so that guests can pack themselves a sweet snack for the ride home or the after party. 

Serve Brunch Sweets

For those planning on a daytime wedding, or even a brunch wedding featuring breakfast and lunch favorites, consider using brunch-like desserts! Some morning weddings even feature pancake or waffle cake creations as opposed to the traditional wedding cake. 

Create a brunch themed dessert table complete with donuts, danishes, waffles, and pancakes, perhaps in a miniature size, or mix in other popular breakfast pastries! 

Milk and Cookies Bar

There’s no more classic dessert than milk and cookies, so you can’t go wrong with this idea! For the cookie loving couple, consider a dessert bar of assorted cookies and milk. Include milk alternatives if you have non-dairy dietary restrictions amongst your guests. 

Family Recipes Only

A dessert table full of family recipes only is a warm and charming option. Pay homage to your families and enjoy your favorite childhood treats with a family dessert table. You can even ask special guests to bring desserts for a DIY wedding, so you can have your favorite family sweets made just right. 

Bring in an Ice Cream Truck

Food truck weddings are all the rage lately, so consider bringing an ice cream truck by for your big day! An ice cream truck makes for a great photo backdrop at a summer wedding. Adding in a food truck is even easier at an outdoor wedding, and it’s a unique sweet treat and experience for guests. 

S’mores Station

A great addition to any backyard wedding is a bonfire and a s’mores station! If you can’t safely hang out around a fire pit, you can use other methods for indoor s’mores cooking. S’mores are an affordable and beloved treat, so they’ll make for a great addition to your wedding. 

Decorate with Signs 

Spruce up your dessert table with plenty of signage! You can use a larger sign to alert guests to the desserts, smaller signs to label each treat, or both. If you or a member of the bridal party has good handwriting, you could even use a chalkboard sign and really make it your own!

There are plenty of options when it comes to dessert table signs, so you can find something to fit any theme, style, and color scheme. Go for a classic “Love is Sweet” slogan, or get punny with your desserts!

Set Up a Candy Shop

Turn the dessert bar at your wedding into an old school candy shop for guests to enjoy! There are lots of ways to make a cute candy bar at your wedding, from old fashioned signs and candies to creative jars and containers for all of your favorite sweets. You can even use a bar cart on wheels to roll out the candy bar.

A candy bar can also function as your wedding favor giveaway. Leave bags for guests to fill and encourage them to grab their favorite candy bars on their way out as a parting treat!

Stack Desserts Vertically 

If you’re planning out your dessert table and it falls a bit flat of what you expected, add some height – literally! While you might not need stands and shelves to fit all of your desserts, consider stacking them vertically to add some depth and excitement to your dessert bar. 

Colorful Cake Pops

Cake pops are a fun new dessert. These pop-able mini cakes are a great way to add color to your dessert table. You can get cake pops made, or even make them at home, with different color icings to make a colorful dessert table.

Stack them up, make a cake pop tower, or display them like a bouquet – there are lots of options to sweeten up your dessert bar. 

Find cake pop stands to display your colorful cake pops at the dessert tables!

Rustic Dessert Bar 

If you’re planning a rustic wedding with a natural, unfinished look, make your dessert bar look the same! For weddings featuring a lot of wood, consider a wooden dessert bar topped with desserts like mini pies, caramel apples, whoopie pies, or even a cookie bar.

Dessert bars make it easy for guests to serve themselves in a dessert buffet style, and a wooden bar is a great look for the fall or at an outdoor reception. Incorporate fall colors and flavors, and get inspired by down-home desserts!

Drinkable Desserts 

Drinks can be desserts too! If you’re planning a winter wedding, consider a hot cocoa station for a sweet treat that will keep your guests warm. You can find drinkable desserts for any season, whether it’s milkshakes, slushies, ice cream floats, or even dessert wines or other boozy concoctions. 

For a more mobile option, consider using a bar cart that can move around your wedding reception, offering these drinkable dessert options!

Shop the look!

Candlelit Cakes 

For a whimsical glow, add candles to your dessert table! If your venue is dimly lit or if you’re hosting a wedding outside, candles will light up your dessert table and make the sweets look even more appealing.

If you love a candlelit wedding, consider a candlelit cake table! Just be sure that the flames are safe and that guests won’t burn themselves reaching for a sweet treat.  

Dessert Cart on Wheels 

Provide desserts on the go with a wheeled dessert cart. You can find plenty of carts on wheels with some research, so there’s something to fit any wedding theme and style.

Your cake can make a grand entrance with a wheeled dessert cart, so you can prepare the dessert table but keep everything fresh and untouched until the perfect moment. 

Consider Your Backdrop

The dessert table isn’t the main focus of your big day, but it’s still a good idea to consider the backdrop behind all of your beautiful desserts! Consider where the dessert bar will be placed in your wedding venue and what’s behind it.

You could create a flower wall or a wall of vines, use mirrors, signs, curtains, and more to make for a picture perfect wedding dessert table.

Dessert bars are naturally gorgeous if they’re filled with beautifully decorated dessert options, but there’s nothing wrong with going the extra mile. Wedding cakes don’t have to be the focal point, so decorate away!

Vary Flavors and Ingredients 

While the happy couple may love all things chocolate, not every guest at your wedding will have the same taste in desserts. When creating your dessert table, consider adding an assortment of flavors and ingredients so that there’s something for everyone!

If your wedding cake is all chocolate, consider adding non-chocolate desserts like fruits and fruity desserts, vanilla options, or other flavor combinations.

Aside from just flavors, you should also consider the ingredients in your sweets. Consider if your guests have any dietary restrictions, like lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, and more. Try to make sure that you have options for everyone to enjoy!