A Trend We're Loving: Wedding Cakes with Micro-Tiers

If there's anything we've noticed about wedding cake trends, it's that they're becoming less and less traditional. So many couples are taking the opportunity to personalize their wedding confections—others are using them as a chance to show off their creative sides. If you ask us, we'd say we prefer our wedding cakes as imagined and fresh (pun intended!) as possible. Feel the same way? Then you might want to bookmark the latest in wedding cake style: micro-tiers.

Gone are the days of the evenly-layered, three-tier treats topped with vintage-inspired figurines in your likenesses. Today's big-day desserts come in all shapes and sizes, from square and hexagonal to oversized or single-serving. Micro-tiers—super-thin layers that often offset larger, chunkier tiers—play into this overarching theme and are the ultimate way to bring a little off-the-cusp flair to your wedding cake. They also bring dimension, contrast, and texture, especially if you use these super-small interludes as accents. Adorn an otherwise-traditional all-white treat with a skinny gold sliver for a modern-meets-romantic touch. Or keep that extra-thin layer subtle, and use it as a structural point of intrigue instead. Note how this Intricakes' confection's second tier is infinitely smaller than the rest but doesn't distract from the rest of its design. It's only marker? A silver band that gives it an understated pop.

Ready to discover even more ways to incorporate a micro-tier into your own wedding cake? Click through for some of our favorite options from some of the most inventive bakers in the industry.

Sugar Flowers

MCakes Sweets proves that melding two wedding cake trends—micro-tiers and realistic sugar flowers—in one confection is always a good idea.

Ornate

If you're looking for a wedding cake that does the absolute most, you've found it in this Charm City Cakes creation, which features two embellished gold micro tiers, a navy crest that spanned five layers, and an ornate, cathedral-inspired topper.

Marble

Not all micro-tiers are super-thin—some just feel remarkably smaller than the rest of its layers. Take this Wow Factor Cakes number, for example. It's thin middle layer stands out not just for its gray marble (a stark contrast against the swirled maroon above and below it), but also for its noticeably smaller shape.

Metallic

Note the subtly-psychedelic metallic drip that cascades over this black masterpiece by MJB Cakes. It nearly disguises the not one, but two tiny tiers that break up the confection. Vanessa Noel Events was responsible for designing the cake's chic station, complete with an acrylic ghost chair and faux sheepskin throw.

Textured

Use your wedding cake's smallest section to make the biggest statement, à la this Sweet Eats by Jennifer Hooper dessert, which came with a ribbed middle layer.

Pastel on Top

Where you place your micro-tier is entirely up to you, but this Saltadena confection proves that a super-petite top tier (especially when it comes in the prettiest mint pastel!) is a solid choice.

Fondant Flower Vine

This wedding cake by The Cakewalk Shop reminds us of a sculpture, thanks to the stone-like fondant and carved berry vines. Those vines creep right on over the confection's barely-there second layer for a realistic effect.

Sugar Flowers

If you didn't look closely, you could almost miss this five-tier's cutest feature: The De La Creme confection's micro-tier is nearly disguised by sugar flowers.

Gold

As far as regal wedding cakes go, this one by Sugar Bee Sweets is a particular stand-out. Its gold micro-tiers reference the confection's other gilded moments, like the banner-inspired fondant detail on the base, metallic lace motifs on the blue-gray layers, and monogrammed crest.

Extra-Small

This St. Regis Atlanta confection's tiny middle tier isn't just smaller in depth than its other layers, but also in width—it gave the top half of the treat an inverted effect.

Square

Break up an ultra-textured confection, like this dotted fondant beauty by Cescaphe, with a clean square micro-tier.

To the Right

This cake's right orientation adds another degree of contemporary design to its already-modern smudged gray color palette; it's micro third-tier acts as an anchor for the bulk of its bouquet-like cascade.

Petite Top Layer

Modernize a simple buttercream confection with a slightly off-center top micro-tier.

Cubed

Looking for a confection that's the definition of contemporary design? The Dulce Experience's cube cake, adorned with gold-flecked sugar whips, fits the bill—and comes with the cutest square topper.

Watercolor

With pastel hues and one-of-a-kind floral accents, this fashion-forward Jasmine Rae Cakes number takes on a fabric quality (the details look more like silk organza more than sugar flowers!). Since so much is happening up above, it's almost easy to overlook it's tiny second layer.

Dreamy Gray

Everything about this soft gray wedding cake—a masterpiece from Jasmine Rae Cakes— is pure romance, from its sugar cherry blossoms to its natural color variations. Note how the small second layer acts as a stepping stone for the flower vines as they wrap around the entire four-tier.

'70s Vibes

This Plumeria Cake Studio dessert is giving us major '70s vibes, thanks to its tiny yellow accent with a vintage-inspired fondant overlay.

Multiple

Who says a confection is limited to just one micro-tier? This out-of-this-world creation from Lilac Cake Boutique features two mini layers. Another stand-out feature? It's celestial gold wire accent, which orbits around the entire cake.

Slate Gray

A cool slate middle layer brings a classic, crisp aesthetic to this wreath-accented three-tier by Sweet Cheeks Baking Co.