2016 was an amazing year of weddings for the Love Life team! It was one of our busiest years and we were happy to be a part of so many incredible weddings of every style, shape and size. And with each unique wedding, we saw some of the most interesting cakes and desserts, from cupcakes to 5 tier wedding cakes, to cookie tables and sprinkle cakes! Keep reading to see some of our favorite wedding cakes from 2016 from great bakers in the DMV, and you might just find some inspiration for your own wedding.

Cake has become a staple of a wedding day, but we are seeing more and more couples buck this tradition by choosing a number of other dessert options. From candy bars, donuts, pies, and cookies, the options are truly endless, and this can be another great way to customize your wedding day by choosing a favorite treat to share.

Amanda and Tim chose to treat their guests to a variety of donuts from Sugar Shack Donuts, with a custom display that was made by friends:

The candy bar has become another trend we've been seeing more of too. We love that Julia and Chris kept with their winter wedding theme by choosing different candy and sweets that were all white:

Courtney and Matt paid tribute to the bride's family heritage by having a "Pittsburgh Cookie Table" full of treats baked by family and friends.

Cupcakes are another popular alternative to traditional wedding cakes, and we loved these travel-themed cupcakes made by Fluffy Thoughts for Jessica and Thomas' wedding that reflected their love of traveling and their work at the State Department.

Fluffy Thoughts made a few impressive multi-tiered cakes this past year, like Priya and Farid's ombre frosted cake and Juliana and Jorge's white and silver, geometric cake.

We saw simpler cakes too, from Sugar Bakers Cakes like Jenni and Josh's rustic crumb-coated cake, and Jonathan and Sodany's monogrammed topped cake.

Colored cakes were trending as well. Susanne and Richard's "something blue" was this gorgeous blue-ombre cake with delicate cascading flowers by Occasionally Cake.  Charm City Cakes made Michelle and Greg's red ombre cake with gum paste flowers that was a pop of bright color at their reception. 

Rebecca and Samuel had the most colorful cake, drenched in sprinkles to match their colorful Lilly Pulitzer themed wedding. Cake by Fancy Cakes by Leslie. 

Zeffert and Gold made Lauren and Ben's chocolate iced cake: 

For rustic themed weddings, we loved Rachel and Sean's cake by Fluffy Thoughts that used fresh herbs as floral decor:

We saw a fair share of more traditional styled cakes as well. Fancy Cakes by Leslie made this simple 3 tiered cake with delicate sugar flowers and gold accents for Alison and Greg's wedding. 

Amy and David chose a simple cake with pretty piped designs and a fun topper. Cake by Charles Levine Catering. 

Theresa and Marc had a simple two-tiered cake by La Cakerie, to go along with their dessert table

We hope you enjoyed seeing some of our favorite cakes from 2016 and hope they bring you inspiration for your own wedding!