If the rise of candlelit receptions, moody florals and richly layered colour palettes has taught us anything, it’s that couples are no longer afraid to lean into a little drama. The wedding cake is no exception. For our After Dark Issue, we’re celebrating the details that come alive as the sun goes down, and dark romantic wedding cakes fit the brief perfectly. Whether you love subtle contrast or want to fully embrace a dark romantic aesthetic, Gina of Ladybird Cakes shares how thoughtful design details can transform your cake into one of the most memorable elements of your celebration.

I’ve always been in love with a little darkness. Okay okay this is not a Romantasy novel, but I feel that is a good sentence to start one!

In all seriousness I have always loved the contrast of dark and moody when it came to my own personal style and it has constantly seeped into how I present my work and business. Time and time again I have had graphic designers and all sorts of people tell me, its too dark, people want light and bright and airy and white on white. But its just never been me. So it brings my dark little heart so much joy to see more clients embracing elements of dark romanticism and borderline fantasy. Here are some very simple but effective examples on how to bring those elements of “After dark” into your cake:

Contrast: Weddings will always let white shine, but including things like darkly coloured buttercream flowers,piping, fruit and fresh flowers on a light based cake add that element whilst still having a “white wedding cake” .

One of my favourites showing this is this beautiful buttercream vintage heart cake shot by the raddest Dan Brannan Photography, and stunning dark fresh florals by Ame at Raven And The Rose.

Photography by Dan Brannan Photography, Florals by Raven And The Rose , Cake by Ladybird Cakes

Or like this “earl grey” toned buttercream cake with blackberries and wild foliage from Pomp And splendour. (Shot by me) Dark and moody and always cool Rupert On Rupert.

Florals by Pomp And splendour, Cake by Ladybird Cakes

Texture: This is one of my favourite things to add to a cake. You can have a completely white cake, but when put in a beautifully low lit venue and that cake is covered in texture, you create so many places for those shadows to exist. A perfect example of this, is this buttercream piped cake with raspberries, captured at Old Palm Liquor by Club Grain and Maegan Brown Photography.

Photography by Club Grain and Maegan Brown Photography, Cake by Ladybird Cakes

Themes: Who doesn’t love a theme? Lets be honest white on white is still a theme. Just like Sun meeting Moon is a theme. My couple Sav and Ash went authentically them for their wedding and I absolutely loved putting their vision into cake form.  So many elements to this wedding included a darker style with an astrological  touch.

Lighting is everything! : Your amazingly talented photographer will  be able to help you have the dark and moody cake of your dreams by the style in which they shoot.

Okay lets be honest  none of these techniques above are at all ground breaking. But I know how easy it is to get caught up in trying to create something that all ties together and completely overthinking it all. One of my favourite things when it comes to cakes, is just to keep things simple. Let small elements shine and let those suppliers you spent hours on the internet scouring for help in making that wedding vision a reality. Now if anyone’s looking for a romantasy style dragon cake for their wedding I know a guy……

Gina x

Here for the cakes and for the giggles.

About the Author: Creativity has always been at the heart of Gina’s story. Growing up in country Victoria, she spent her childhood making, baking and creating alongside her Mum, discovering early on that beautiful things could be made from almost anything. That love of creativity soon found its way into the kitchen, where weekends were spent poring over cookbooks from the library and baking cakes, slices and cheesecakes for her family. Today, as the founder of Ladybird Cakes, Gina combines her artistic eye with her culinary expertise to create bespoke wedding cakes that are every bit as delicious as they are beautiful.