23 Creative Wedding Dessert Bar Ideas

Whether it's a donut tower or tiers of pie pops, a bar of sweets is an easy way to impress your guests

by Christina Park
Updated 10/04/17

Melissa Marshall

Dessert bars are a wildly popular choice for couples that want an alternative to the traditional wedding-cake stand—and we understand why! Aside from the open bar, the dessert table will most likely end up being the most frequented spot of the night. Plus, it's open to guests of all ages. So what better way to treat your all of guests than with a stylish table full of post-dinner treats?

From rustic homemade tarts to elegant French macarons, these desserts not only satisfy guests' sugar cravings, but they also add personality to the overall wedding. As a nod to their heritage, one couple created a Mexican Pan Dulce Bar, where guests were free to take home assorted native pastries and cookies. Another bride incorporated her ethnic heritage with a Persian tea station—displaying a vibrant array of traditional sweets, fruit, and Iranian teas. One crafty couple used a vintage suitcase as their cake stand and a large distressed windowpane as a backdrop for their dessert table. If you want something a bit more statement-making, try blowing up oversized gold foil letter balloons for an eye-catching backdrop to your sweets table.

If you still want to serve a traditional wedding cake, serve it right alongside assorted other desserts. Or instead of a full dessert station, go for a coffee and tea bar with cute touches like a printed banner and hanging burlap.

From inventive pie stations to candlelit donut bars, find out you how could end the night on a sweet note by reading and then pinning see our roundup of inspiring dessert table ideas!

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Tree Trunk Serving Platters

Pastel and wood accents for dessert table at a wedding

Phil Chester

This couple amped up their rustic, outdoor aesthetic with cookies and macaroons on tree trunk serving platters.

02 of 23

Bright Colored Cake Pops

Don Mears

Bright shades of pink and periwinkle are highlighted in the two-tier cake and the cake pops to either side.

03 of 23

Cake in a Cage

Anthony Hoang

Mini desserts and a caged single-tier cake keep this dessert table modest but full.

04 of 23

Glass Top Table

Erich McVey

Pink-and-white macarons are everywhere on this simple, glass top table.

05 of 23

Mix Pies and Cake

Photo by Becca Lea Photography

Pecan and berry pies brightened up with semi-naked, two-tiered cake.

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Unexpected Cake

Photo by Caroline Petters of Katie Osgood Photography; Cake by Momofuku Milk Bar

This Momofuku Milk Bar crispy rice cake was the perfect ending to a backyard wedding in New York's Hudson Valley.

07 of 23

Serve Trifles and Tarts

Bride and groom cutting cake

Photo by Sally Pinera

Four tiers of wedding cake were accompanied by trifles and tarts.

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Create a Cream-Puff Tower

Croquembouche Wedding Cake

Photo by Harwell Photography

This chocolatey croquembouche (cream-puff tower) stopped the show with a few other tarts alongside it.

09 of 23

Serve Doughnuts

Melissa Marshall

This couple opted for a simple spread of artisan doughnuts (look at all that frosting!) alongside their mini white-frosted single-tier cake.

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Create a Fake Bakery

Fresh baked pies on a wedding reception dessert bar with flowing greenery and strings of lights

Photo by Max & Friends; Floral Design by Shindig Chic

Simple white and wooden accents made these pies pop against the draped greenery. And how cute is that fake bakery storefront?!

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Display Parisian Desserts

Dessert bar at Boston brunch wedding Millennial pink

Carly Michelle Photography

Waffles, macarons, and small cakes dripping in gold were perfect for this Parisian brunch wedding.

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Accent with Florals

Indu Huynh

Fall colors were in full bloom with the floral accents on this spread of whoopie pies, bunt cake and cookies.

13 of 23

Light Candles

Birds of a Feather

Low candles offered warm light from beneath these tiered serving trays piled with sweets—don't forget about the sweet backdrop as well.

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Frame Your Cake

Kayla Adams

A simple backdrop perfectly framed these cakes and pies at an outdoor venue.

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Double Doughnuts as Party Favors

Abigail Miles Photography

It seems no brunch wedding is complete without donuts—here, they doubled as party favors, with boxes for guests to take them home.

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Decorate with Feathers

Kayla Adams

Wispy, gold-dipped feathers and warm lights amped up this dessert table.

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Use a Funky Table

Kayla Adams

This table's base mimics the cake's criss-cross pattern, making it the perfect table for an overflowing dessert bar.

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Create a Quirky Look

Kelly Anne Photography

Waffles, cake, and donuts served on a table that looks like an ironing board? Quirky and delicious!

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Represent Your Roots

Anna Page Photography

This couple's desserts represented each of their home states, turning a dessert bar into another symbol of their union.

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Swap a Table for a Cabinet

Jennifer Young

You don't have to use a table for your dessert bar. These tarts were served in an open cabinet with floral accents.

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Serve Two Desserts

Jason Smelser

For a brunch wedding, couples have to ask themselves a very important question: donuts or cake? This couple decided not to choose.

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Mix Modern and Boho

Ally Burnette

A simple marble cake is accompanied by equally understated whoopie pies. We love how they stand out against the shibori indigo backdrop—a perfect combo of modern and boho.

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Decorate with Greenery

Harlow and Grey

The ample greenery on this dessert table propped up the assorted sweets.

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