Just about anything can inspire your wedding cake design — the beautiful ornate molding in your ballroom venue, your joint love of modern design, or even the pattern from the china you just registered for. Here, a few trends to help inspire your custom cake.

Metallic Cakes

Metallics are big for stationery, and for wedding cakes as well. “We’re not talking about a gold and silver vintage style, but more a stylized glam, art-deco, old-Hollywood look,” says Betsy Thorleifson of Nine Cakes in New York City. The best part about metallics? They can adapt to any style; delicate embroidery in gold feels opulent while geometric shapes give off a fresh, modern feel. If an entire tier is too much glitz for you, consider adding a little sparkle all over. Fine edible glitter (think: pixie dust) can add a decorative sheen to your cake without overpowering the whole design.

Frilled Cakes

For a seriously elegant look, skip the bold patterns and add-ons in favor of subtle embellishments with allover sugar ruffles. The look is light and airy and needs very little added detail. Finish it off with fresh flowers in between each tier or a few sugar flowers on top. “Frills are at home in every type of reception, from avant-garde to country chic,” says Maggie Austin of Maggie Austin Cake in Alexandria, Virginia.

Naked Cakes

Yep, you read that right. With the deconstructed cake, you get to show off the inside. For a summertime wedding, berries work well; in winter and fall, ask your baker to fill the layers with seasonal fruits, like apples, pears, persimmons or even blood oranges. “The exposed cake and filling of the naked cake appeal to both the eyes and the stomach,” says John Rusk of Alice’s Tea Cup in New York City.

White on White

A white wedding cake is always in good taste. The fresh new way to do a white wedding cake is to add interesting all-white embellishments. Dress up tiers with details, like piped embroidery or jeweled embellishments (we love petals or even pearls). “Nontraditional shaped tiers, like hexagons and ovals, make the cake a little more out of the ordinary,” says Jen Roberts of Sweet Element Cakes in East Orange, New Jersey. Cascades of sugar flowers are great for adding dimension too.

Painted Wedding Cakes

Take a cue from what many invitation designers are doing and ask your cake baker to get a little artsy with your cake design. We’re talking marbleized cakes, stained-glass painted cakes and even Monet-inspired wedding cake designs. Pair those hand-painted tiers with solid-colored layers or even simple flower accents. Quick tip: For a cake design that’s so intricate, keep the tiers simple and stick to all one shape (either all classic round tiers or all square).

This article, by Lauren Kay was originally posted on The Knot.  Click here to read the full article, or to read other great wedding-related articles.