Wedding cake traditions have been an essential part of marriage celebrations for centuries, and today’s trends continue to blend age-old customs with fresh new ideas. One of the most exciting ways to incorporate tradition into your wedding is through a retro-inspired cake. This year, weddings are embracing a groovy revival, and the 1970s are making a major comeback.
Whether you go all-out with bell-bottoms and disco balls or just include a few stylishly subtle call backs to the eclectic era, there’s no denying it, nuptials are hip again. We’re going to help you embrace a 70s vibe with these 5 off-the-hook trends for the tastiest part of your wedding day.
70s Wedding Colours – Clashing with Tradition
The 2020s didn’t invent colour clashing – the 70s did! Traditional wedding cakes often feature soft, pastel hues, but wedding cake traditions have evolved, embracing bold, vibrant colours. Bold brights, warm nostalgic tones and colours that both contrast and complement should be the focus of your mood board for your 1970s wedding. Burnt orange, mustard yellow, avocado green and that very specific shade of brown will transport you back in time in a flash, so consider using them in your retro wedding cake design.
You can either fearlessly go all-out with audaciously coloured cake tiers, or incorporate the 70s shades within patterns and cake decor. One of our favourite designs incorporates these iconic colours, with hand-painted patterns inspired by retro wallpaper. We doubled down on the colour palette with juxtaposing magenta and tangerine sugar flowers, for a wedding cake that marries the 70s with modern styling.
Geometric Patterns: Tradition Meets Psychodelic Chic
A nod to the wedding cake tradition of intricate designs, geometric patterns gained popularity in the 1970s. If you want to reflect your individualism in your wedding cake, adding swirls, circles and retro repeating shapes will help you travel back in time in your own unique way.
At Bluebell Kitchen we are specialists in hand painted pattern work, so your 70s wedding cake is in safe hands. We can add geometric shapes sparingly or get really bold with them – it all depends on just how committed you are to the theme!
Textures and Layers: Wedding Cake Traditions with a Retro Twist
Traditional wedding cakes have often been known for their smooth, elegant finishes, but the 1970s introduced a love for tactile textures. We love playing with texture in both fondant and buttercream, so no matter your preference we can achieve your desired effect – ruffles, sugar molding, bas relief patterns, cake lace to name a few – adding depth and dimension to your wedding cake.
Take a look at this Vogue article to see why 1970s interiors are all the rage again in recent years, and explore the different ways we can decorate your wedding cake with fondant and buttercream our own recent blogs – Textures in Fondant and Buttercream.
Flower Power!
This particular 70s wedding trend gets us really excited – as sugar flower specialists, we believe that flower power never really went away. If you want to lean into your nostalgic nuptials, going big on the blooms is one way to take your guests back 50 years. Whether you resonate with the deeper contextual and cultural meaning of the Flower Power movement or just love fabulous florals, this is one trend you shouldn’t miss for a 70s wedding. Whether you’re drawn to bold, oversized blooms or delicate daisies, floral elements can make your cake feel as vibrant as ever.
Get lost in the meadow for a while with our recent blog on choosing your sugar flowers
Macaron Magic for Your 70s Wedding
You can call us biased but we think macarons belong at almost every wedding, thanks to their versatility and endless design options. They can feature as part of your 70s wedding cake, either in macaron tower form or as unique decor in place of sugar flowers, or double up as bespoke wedding favours.
Designing macarons to suit a 70s theme gives you so many choices…we can design bold, clashing macs to match your colour scheme, hand paint with little geometric patterns, add groovy floral designs or shimmering disco-ball silver elements.
Bringing Your Retro Wedding Cake Vision to Life
Your wedding cake should be a reflection of your unique love story, blending the joy of tradition with the creativity of modern design.
From textured buttercream to bold floral designs, we’ll create a cake that is both a delicious treat and a beautiful tradition in its own right. Contact us today to start planning your perfect wedding cake (1970s inspired or not), and let’s make your big day even sweeter.
P.S., for more insight into how weddings have changed over time, take a look at this editorial we were part of: Weddings Through The Ages
- Photography: The Bostons Photography, Macaron photos – Fiona Kelly Photography, Tony Pullen Photography
Full supplier list for styled shoot:
- Concept, planning & styling – Style It Events
- Photography – The Bostons
- Venue – Chiddingstone Castle
- Flowers – Bryony Mae Flowers
- Wedding Dresses: Bowen Dryden
- Hairpiece: To Be Adorned
- Hair & Makeup: Hannah Clare Hair and MUA
- Groom Suit: Suityou.co.uk
- Videography: Luke Batchelor Productions
- Stationery: Love Paper Co.
- Table Rentals: A Touch of Vintage
- Furniture Rentals: Locate to Create
- Models: Sofia Mayers and Ben
- Veil:Rebecca Anne Designs
- Earrings: Febbie Day Ceramics, Emily Bird
Featured on: Rock My Wedding and Festival Brides
