A true Southern gal knows the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach, and the same can be said for your wedding guests. Treat your friends and loved ones to a classic Southern confection by introducing a traditional flavor to your wedding cake. We asked seven local cakeries to bake for us their top Southern cake flavor (our job sucks, I know). Clockwise from top left we have, brown-butter coffee cake from Have & Hold Studio; bourbon red velvet from Dallas Affaires Cake Co.; sweet potato from Loft22 Cakes; strawberries and cream from Panini Bakery; berry amaretto from Ruthi Hutson Cakes; lemon raspberry from Unrefined Bakery; and hummingbird cake from Sugar Bee Sweets Bakery. 

And while we don’t condone the smashing of icing into your significant other’s face, we do love a good cake shot—and there’s an art to catching the right angle. Make sure you both have hands on the cake knife, and use your matching server to plate. (Pro tip: Inserting the knife vertically rather than at a 90-degree angle will give you a crumb-free slice.) Linking arms, stop midair, just before you take a bite, to allow your photographer to capture the moment. Toast with champagne, and voila!

Any Way You Slice It

1. Waterford cake/pie server ($175/The Ivy House)

2. “Damas” cake server ($436/Blue Print)

3. white and gold cake serving set ($60/Blue Print)

4. woven cake knife ($28/Blue Print)

5. Philippe Deshoulieres “Pharaon” dinner plate ($100/The Ivy House)