Carmen Emerson-Bass designed this simply pretty, two-tiered cake, a perfect blend of modern meets classic. Pristine white fondant encases each square tier for a contemporary effect, topped with dainty, old-fashioned licorice candies sprinkled in for good measure. Striped licorice straws are placed at the edges with a dot of royal icing. The cake is displayed on a square pedestal to keep the look tailored and symmetrical. Small towers of nonpareils and Hammond's black licorice hard candies offer even more vintage charm.

Who can resist a candy buffet? Cake designer Carmen Emerson-Bass decided to take the idea one step further and incorporate old-fashioned hard candies into a wedding cake that makes a decidedly sweet impression! Hammond’s Candies, the largest handmade candy factory in the United States, provided the festive confections for this display. In 1920, Carl T. Hammond Sr. began the tradition of making colorful hard candy by hand, and like so many classics, the original recipes are still used today. The beautiful hard candies are hand-pulled and twisted in small batches. A machine called a ribbon crimper shapes each fashion ribbon candy to precision. (left) A colorful array of barber poles and puff pillows will delight your guests. Carmen tinted the fondant a pale pink to balance the vibrant colors of the candy, applied the candies with royal icing, then added a thin fuchsia ribbon to finish each tier. Laura Hooper created calligraphy signs to add even more nostalgia. The results will certainly bring back fond memories for you and your guests.

This petite cake, designed by Katrina Nazareth of The Cake Gallery, is playfully dotted with macaroons. These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside and filled with a creamy ganache, are the most famous creation of Ladurée, a Parisian tea salon and pastry shop. The story of the Ladurée macaroon starts at the beginning of the 20th century when Pierre Desfontaines first thought of joining two macaroon shells with a scrumptious ganache filling. Macaroons are made in the very same way today in a variety of different flavors and colors.

Katrina, who worked diligently to perfect her own macaroon recipe, selected a coconut lemon flavor for this cake, then sprinkled the macaroon tops with white pearl sugar. Each tier is covered in sunny yellow fondant. The feminine scalloped impressions are highlighted with luster dust and mimic the macaroon shape. This detail is echoed in the cake stand, which lends height and presence to the delicate wedding cake.

Style Editors Robyn I'aea + Shaunna Keough

Cakes by Carmen Emerson-Bass + Katrina C. Nazareth