What is a great cake without a pretty way to display it? Since I started writing this blog, I have spent hours scouring the internet for great cake stand sources and I have found some absolutely beautiful pieces. These, by Pleasing Pantry, are so pretty it’s almost sinful to put anything on them…
I love the delicate antique designs. So feminine and elegant. These would look absolutely gorgeous set up in a collection of sizes with pretty little cakes displayed together. Actually, any of these cake stands below would look great set up the same way…
Top Row, Left to Right: Noir Cake Stands and White Cake Stands by Rosanna, Black Cake Stands by Ballard Designs / Center Row: Stands by Clara French / Bottom Row, Left to Right: Pink Stand on Ebay, Silver Stands on Ballard Designs, White Stands by Martha Stewart at Macy’s
I even recently saw this brilliant idea for DIY cake stands over on Design*Sponge….
How cute are those, by the way? See the full article on how to make your own stand right here!
And yet, even though I’ve found some absolutely gorgeous stands, I am still in need of more sources! Many of the prettiest cake stands are too small for a standard wedding cake. They might not hold the weight that a wedding cake for 200 demands. So, I am putting the question out to our SMP readers…What are your favorite sources for cake stands??
Comment by krys on 3 June 2008:
I’ve been scouring for cake stands as well. My baker only has shiny metal silver stands, which do not match my laid-back, eco-friendly wedding style. I found a great recycled glass cake stand from Fire and Light, at
http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-102217/
but can’t seem to find anything large enough to hold a 12″ diameter wedding cake!
Comment by christine on 3 June 2008:
i don’t have any new recommendations but a comment on some of the stands included. i read a post back in january(ish) on SMP regarding clara french cake stands, which are pictured above, and i must thank you for the heads up because i ended up using them. they were just so wonderful to work with. we are not having a wedding cake, but 6 of our favorite cakes from all over, and the lovely ladies at clara french custom glazed our stands to match our not exactly pastel color theme.
Comment by lauren ames on 3 June 2008:
I had a obsession with a cake stand in the Martha Stewart cake book and I had my dad build something similar. It is a 16″ square wood stand painted white and he attached 4 glass knobs as feet to give it a vintage look. It probably cost $30 to make. I will send you a picture after our wedding on June 14th. Your website has been such a inspiration for our wedding!
Comment by Lara @ southern wedding style on 3 June 2008:
Oh my goodness, I love this post! My favorite source is actually TJ Maxx. They always have fun new items and some really fantastic (well-priced) designs. I want to start a collection of antique cake stands and this is a great inspiration. The Clara French stands are divine!
Comment by Jenn on 3 June 2008:
Wow! It has been a couple weeks since I’ve been by the site. I thought I remembered seeing those Clara French stands on your site before and came hoping to find the link again. What luck! I’ve been looking all over but cake stands of that size seem to be very hard to find.
Comment by Erin on 3 June 2008:
I love those cake stands, too, and am so glad that you posted more about the ones from Pleasing Pantry and the ones from Design Sponge. I’m already planning my DIY project.
I have a pretty big cake stand– maybe not quite big enough to feed 150 people, but Juliska has a beautiful crystal cake stand and a beautiful stoneware cake stand.
Comment by holly hatam on 4 June 2008:
wow…what a great idea for dyi cake stands!
Comment by Amanda on 4 June 2008:
The cake stands are all beautiful, I’ve recently become obsessed with them and crate and barrel has a few very simple but pretty ones. I want to know, What are those yellow flowers in the background of the last photo? Anyone know? I’ve been seeing them alot recently and think they’re awesome! Very Dr. Suess with a contemporary look.
Comment by wren on 4 June 2008:
Oh man - I was totally at a loss for cake stands at my wedding last Fall - I had all Milk Glass vases for my tables and could not find milk glass cake stands big enough to slide cakes on to. The biggest problems? a) they tend to be 9 inches in diameter (too small), b)they tend to have up-turned lips rather than down-turned lips, and c) they aren’t completely flat across the top where the cake sits (and its dangerous to put a big, heavy cake on an uneven surface!).
The solution - DIY. I bought white ceramic flower pots and the biggest white tart pans I could find. I flipped the tart pan upside down (to get that down-turned lip like the Clara ones in the post). Added a little gorilla glue to the bottom of the flower pot, and stuck the two together. Hands-down the biggest impact/ least time consuming DIY of the wedding. You can see how they turned out: http://picasaweb.google.com/wren.crain/TheNuptials/photo#5116438179892961810
Comment by Amy on 4 June 2008:
Where did you get your ceramic flower pots and tart plates? They look great.
Comment by Ashley on 4 June 2008:
Wren, I love your husband’s boutineer! What kind of flower is that?
Comment by wren on 4 June 2008:
Amy, the pots and tart plates are from Ikea.
Ashley, the boutonnière is a dahlia - straight-up from a local farm in Santa Cruz. That was all we had for wedding flowers, and they worked great!
Comment by Ashley B. on 10 June 2008:
I love Mackenzie-Childs. Pricey but I think you could really run with that style.
http://www.mackenzie-childs.com/
Comment by clara french on 12 June 2008:
I am always so inspired by the features on ‘S.M.P.’and check in often. Such a happy morning to find that you have included our hand made ceramics in your cake stand search! I am completely enjoying working with brides on cake stands for their wedding…so much so that I have not updated my web site to include new cake stand designs with a 14″ measurement across top! A BIG cake stand for a large wedding cake. The Next design for an October wedding will be 16″ across for a 14″ wedding cake…having lots of fun in the studio!
Comment by krys on 17 June 2008:
Hi Wren,
What size was the bottom tier of your cake? I think the DIY cake stand is a great idea, but I have a feeling I may need to size my 12″ cake down to fit anything!
Comment by Dabney on 22 August 2008:
Love Martha’s idea
http://www.marthastewart.com/goodthings/grandstand?lnc=48b8f5e0627ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=taxonomylist_weddings_good-things-weddings
I am having a small beach wedding and thought about using this for my cake
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=430&f=27252
with maybe some cute little knobs added