39 Amazing Dessert Tables from Real Weddings

There are no rules that say you can only cut into one cake at your reception. Take a cue from these couples and deck out your wedding dessert table with candy, donuts, and more. Your guests (and your sweet tooth!) will thank you.

Not a fan of cake? Serve a selection of your favorite treats, like cookies or brownies. Consider yourself more of a pie person? Slice into your favorite fruit-filled varieties, no matter what time of year you're tying the knot. Just like options? Load a perfectly-decorated table with tons of sweets your loved ones can enjoy throughout the night. And don't forget that you can still serve a traditional wedding cake in addition to your dessert melange. Choose a smaller confection or a few single-tiered cakes in a variety of different flavors, plus an array of other sweet confections, and you'll have the very best dessert spread around—especially if you dress up your table with blooms, lights, textured fabrics, backdrops, and more.

A dessert table is an especially great option for couples who don't want to stop the party to cut their cake. With a table covered with treats guests can grab between songs, you'll never have to worry about keeping the dance floor filled. If you're sold on the idea of serving an array of different treats at your reception and want to serve them beautifully, click through to see some of the best dessert tables from real weddings.

Hutch

A repurposed wooden hutch was both the serving station for dessert—which featured caramel apples, parfaits, and cookies—and a display for the jarred honey and jam wedding favors.

Repurposed Machinery

Distressed and rusted, a nonfunctional piece of machinery got a new life as a rustic dessert table, complete with a wild floral arrangement.

Macramé Hanger

A hanging macramé shelf, which held the couple's blush and gold geometric wedding cake, added another tier to the treat table.

Marquis

Topped with apothecary jars and crystal votive candles, this pretty tableau got a touch of Hollywood courtesy of a lit-up initial.

Feminine

Dainty cake stands and an ornate mirror added a girly feel to this station, filled with bite-sized treats, candies, and confections.

Mix and Match

For a balanced mix between rustic and feminine décor, this couple opted for both mirrored and distressed wooden dressers to display assorted donuts.

Canvas

Leather-colored canvas, illustrated with a few cacti outlines, brought a desert vibe to this dessert spread.

Minimal Macaroons

Sleek white cake stands, a lush garland of greenery, and pretty blush roses dressed up this colorful, minimal macaroon station.

Open Drawers

This dresser dessert display was all about the unexpected. Open drawers filled with burlap-wrapped blooms brought dimension, while a dainty cloche-covered cookie cake added some romance.

Woven Florals

A tan woven backdrop, punctuated with peach lilies and green eucalyptus, brought a bohemian vibe to this delicious scene, complete with a three-tier naked cake and mini tartes.

Candy Colors

This bookshelf display took the dessert theme literally, with its cheery candy hues. Neon chocolate covered strawberries, mini cupcakes, and donuts were the perfect accompaniments to the vinyl-inspired wedding cake, perched all the way up top.

Mobile

Is there anything more fun than grab-and-go desserts? Staff at this wedding wheeled gold-wrapped cupcakes around to guests on a gilded cart for a little extra luxury.

Simple Vintage

An antique extendable table, left in its distressed state, brought nostalgic charm to this simple donut and cake station.

Old and New

This couple mixed the past with the present in the form of an aesthetically pleasing dessert table. A modern light display overlooked the old French server, which featured baroque-inspired scales topped with pastel-colored macaroons.

Farm Cart

Rustic down to the very last detail, this bay hale- and lantern-topped cart served up the ultimate country fair desserts, like whoopee pies, zeppolis, and ice cream sandwiches.

Sweet Signage

A framed chalkboard sign conveyed an appropriately-sweet message atop this dessert desk display.

Rugs

Three patterned rugs and jars of red blooms brought a pop of color to this yummy spread.

Teal on Teal

A blue-green credenza with brass accents perfectly matched the four-tier wedding cake.

Rack

Wrapped in a strand of greens, a vintage garment rack added an industrial touch to a modern wooden table, which was topped with a naked cake, puddings, cookies, and cupcakes.

Candelabras

For a regal touch, this bride placed ornate crowns on top of vintage candle sticks, her cake, and macaroons.

Covered in Greens

This dessert table was all but hidden with an assortment of leafy green garlands, which swirled around platters of cupcakes and a single tier wedding cake.

Glowing Spread

This dessert table was cast in a cozy glow, thanks to a custom overhead installment made of branches, candles, and glass orbs.

Tree Log Shelves

The groom and his friend created this wooden display, which boasted five types of cupcakes, as well as summer berry and stone fruit shortcakes.

Full of Color

The bright backdrop to this sweets spread was made using surprising materials: shower curtains.

Candy Jars

This candy table was filled with sweets in the celebration's color palette of white, gold, blush, and light peach.

Curtain Display

An avid cook, crafter, and baker, actress Blake Lively envisioned an abundant dessert table overflowing with her favorite treats, draped with a curtain backdrop.

Shutter Décor

Vintage shutters adorned with garden roses proved a pretty backdrop to this five-cake display.

Framed Sweets Display

A large arbor framed the dessert display at this outdoor reception in Port Gamble, Washington. Embellished with another custom sign for a bit more personality, it perfectly framed the cupcakes and the stunning view of the bluff and the water below.

Odds and Ends

Unable to narrow down their favorite desserts, this couple served them all, including caramel apples, scones, baklava, pies, pastries, and donuts. They polished off the table with lots of odds and ends, and a pennant garland.

Streamers and Blooms

Colorful streamers and jars of hydrangeas flanked a buttercream cake with garden roses, which sat on an antique pedestal.

Candy Bar

Old-time candies and sweets were set out, country-store style, for everyone to enjoy.

Dessert with a View

A painted lake backdrop provided this dessert table—filled with truffles, marzipan fruits, chocolate-dipped apricots, and almond cookies—with quite the view.

Bar Cart

This couple served French patisseries, such as chocolate-dipped coconut rochers, canelé de Bordeaux, and madeleines, on a vintage bar cart.

Mossy Scene

A moss runner, faux bois details, and sweets inspired by nature fit in perfectly at a woodland-themed wedding.

Sweet Signage

A dessert-inspired sign hung above a stocked dessert table, which featured Irish car bomb cupcakes and s'more macarons.

Vintage Rental

Wanting their multiple cakes to be a focal point at the reception, the couple displayed them on a rented a rolling cart in the center of the dance floor.

Birch Slabs

After dinner, guests grabbed chocolate cupcakes served on rustic slabs of wood to eat around the campfire.

Donut Garland

Instead of a wedding cake, this couple served their favorite treat: donuts. A variety of the classic breakfast treat was set up on pedestals atop a table decorated with a gilded garland.

Winter Scene

Palm leaves and pomegranates surrounded a bounty of sweets surrounded a two-tier lemon and Italian cream confection, chocolate and cherry brownies, apple pie bars, and coconut macaroons.