29 Wedding Cakes with Vintage Vibes

If there's one trend that society keeps falling back on, it's the continual resurgence of old things made new. Culture constantly borrows from the past, recycling historic trends for the modern age. Though the years that we look back to may change, the concept still remains the same—we love vintage. Retro-inclined brides and grooms may go thrift shopping for dresses and rings, but when it comes to details you can't buy old, imitation comes in clutch. Time and time again, our magazine and weddings have recreated vintage cakes. What results is a vault of delicious oldie ideas, giving beloved confectionary styles the comebacks they deserve.

If you're in search of vintage cake inspiration, look no further than these decadent desserts. These ideas may be antique relics, but that doesn't make them antiquated. (For a refresher on what classifies as vintage, check out this throwback video of each decade's cake trends.) Ready to order your own vintage-inspired dessert? Check out these 29 ideas for tons of inspiration.

Classic white icing and simple foliage sprucings let the bride's grandparents' topper take the spotlight on this cake.

China Pattern Wedding Cake

This wedding featured 24 iterations of a favorite chinoiserie pattern, including this elegant rendition on the Ana Parzych Cakes cake.

Classic Wedding Cake

The topper on this The Farmer's Wife cake came from the bride's grandparents and was originally used more than 60 years ago, which was right around the time when this style of piping became popular.

Art Deco Wedding Cake

Two delicious tiers of chocolate ganache and whipped cream made this small and stylish Sweet and Saucy Shop cake a standout.

Modern-Meets-Vintage Wedding Cake

Naked cakes are far from vintage, but an heirloom cake topper took this Cocoa & Fig one back in time. The design was completed with a foliage arch, which were common on cakes decades ago.

Blue Flower Wedding Cake

The bird toppers on this dainty cake were made using retro fabrics.

Victorian-Inspired Wedding Cake

Ribbon embroidery was big in the Victorian era, and the look was replicated here by Ron Ben-Israel. Hand-shaped sugar paste flowers and fondant-covered tiers made this cake one to remember.

1960s-Inspired Wedding Cake

Cake designer Ron Ben-Israel evoked the style of the 1960s by mimicking embroidered lace and floral appliqués on this fashionable cake. The design was inspired by a real dress and was made using silicone molds, sugar paste, and fondant.

Lace Wedding Cake

There's something retro about this edible-lace Melanie Secciani cake, which looked as if it were decked out in doilies. The base was white chocolate and filled with ganache, and the whole thing was bathed in Limoncello.

Dove Wedding Cake

Doves have been linked to love for as long as we can remember. Wendy Kromer tapped into the traditional association by depicting lovebirds wrapping ribbon around this cake.

Sprouting Wedding Cake

Once upon a time, the more cake tiers, the better. This five-level vanilla dessert had raspberry buttercream layers, and Collette's Cakes decorated it with delicate edible flowers.

Jewel-Inspired Wedding Cake

Opulent English jewelry from the 18th and early 19th centuries inspired this regal cake with a light green hue. Yes, those pearls and gemstones were edible—the former of which were made of royal icing.

Piped Wedding Cake

Elegant piping adorned this three-tiered cake, which had a trio of flavorful layers: Pineapple, strawberry, and chocolate cake surely pleased guests.

Vintage Pattern Wedding Cake

This timeless Granada pattern—produced first by Fortuny in the 1950s—took a confectionary turn thanks to the creative powers of Ron Ben-Israel. Blended, marbled fondant was made to look like hand-dyed fabric and royal icing was stenciled on.

Wreath Topper Wedding Cake

Wreathed cake toppers have a decades-old origin. This huge cake from Ana Parzych Cakes also tapped into a history of towering confections.

Silk-Inspired Wedding Cake

Ron Ben-Israel based this masterpiece on a French silk fabric from 1900. Rubber stamps were pressed into the fondant, the mimosa blossom design was piped on, and the leaves were built using sugar paste. The subtle splash of yellow got its shade from food coloring, and luster dust added the shimmer of silk.

Retro Wedding Cake

Between the vintage-looking topper, retro dots, and wedding bell, this Flour Power Confectionary cake was definitely old school.

Toile de Jouy Wedding Cake

This cake acknowledged the bride's background in art history. The antique fondant print covered an old-fashioned banana cake by Cheryl Kleinman Cakes, which featured a dark-chocolate ganache filling and toasted walnuts.

Rustic Wedding Cake

This dotted carrot cake brought guests back to simpler times. It was covered in cream-cheese frosting and sat on an old-stove cake stand.

TV-Inspired Wedding Cake

This bride modeled her cake after one shown in Downton Abbey. The show takes place in the early 1900s, making this cake decidedly vintage.

Vintage Car Wedding Cake

This peach-hued Details Cake Design cake isn't exactly retro, but the handmade Old Bugatti topper absolutely is.

1980s-Inspired Wedding Cake

This architectural wedding confection from Branching Out Cakes revived the 1980s.

Cameo Wedding Cake

The vintage jewelry design got a sugary upgrade on this cake, which featured silhouettes of a bride and groom and the old-timey phrase "Me & Thee." The cameos were made using rubber stamps and were circled with candy pearls and topped with real ribbons.

Giant Wedding Cake

Ginormous wedding cakes used to signal prestige—at one point in time, bigger meant better. This classic wedding invoked the past with a huge, six-tiered dessert.

Shell-Inspired Wedding Cake

Back in the 19th century, sailors sent their love by way of "sailor's valentines"—keepsake boxes with intricate seashell designs. Wendy Kromer took inspiration from the gifts to make these cakes decorated with mosaic-, monogram-, and rosebud-styled gum-paste shells.

Geometric Wedding Cake

Art Deco inspiration shined bright on this buttercream cake with piped frosting and sanding sugar-coated fondant plaques.

1920s-Inspired Wedding Cake

Floral urns were common toppers back in the 1920s. The trend made a reappearance on this vintage-inspired Two Fat Cakes Bakery wedding cake.

Heirloom Topper Wedding Cake

This bride had her grandmother's vintage topper repainted to look more like her and the groom. It sat atop a tall, intricate cake reminiscent of older confections.

Cotton-Inspired Wedding Cake

This nostalgic print was dreamt up by Rob Ben-Israel off of a swatch of 1960s cotton. Tinted sugar paste developed the pattern and coated the fondant tiers.