Elegant Wedding Cakes

Check out some of the great elegant wedding cakes submitted by our readers. We always appreciate it when our readers share their ideas or pictures of desserts from their celebrations.

These styles (also called formal) usually have strict patterns, and only a few types of décor that are on the dainty or fancy side, for example: lace (picture Kate Middleton's confection). They often are multi-tiered, and have intricately designed icing. A lot of the time, they're also lighter shades of beige, off-white, gold or even white.

When is formal appropriate? Most of the time, they go best in indoor venues that have upscale or elegant decor, architecture and furnishings. There are occasions where they would be appropriate in an outdoor setting, as long as the surroundings were "formal-like" enough to make it work.

Examples of formal confections are those that have tiers wrapped in fondant ribbons or emulate details from the wedding gown, like lace or buttons. The decor is often on the dainty side. One of our favorites, was for a reception at the Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco. The dessert was all white, five layers and was decorated with hundreds and hundreds of petite flowers (that looked like stephanotis flowers - which was in the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets), made out of sugar flowers. The cake was by Katrina Roselle based out of Northern California.

Katrina's creations look extraordinary and taste even better. It was the centerpiece of the entire reception, so elegant and so formal. Formal choices are usually white on white, or very light in color, and are perfect for events in formal or traditional indoor spaces, such as The Drake. We regrettably misplaced the picture of this masterpiece, but attempted to include equally beautiful creations in the photos above.

It's best to make sure that your venue is a match to this type of design. It wouldn't fit well in a barn event, a nightclub or the beach.

Here are some of the best design ideas submitted by our readers.