Consider Your Cover

• Traditionally, wedding cakes are covered with a layer of buttercream or fondant. Buttercream can be smoothed to a fondantlike consistency or textured on for a more rustic, simple look. Fondant gives your cake a satiny, smooth surface that is flawless. Fondant costs more than buttercream, but is more suitable if your cake is going to be outside or your wedding is in hot weather. For a modern twist, skip the frosting and fondant altogether. Your cake is stacked and filled, but then the exterior is left as-is in its natural form. For a delicious touch, pour ganache over the top of each tier and let it cascade down the side. Ganache can be used on fondant, buttercream and bare cakes and is a quick and simple decoration.

Try a Quick Border

• A border isn’t a necessity, but it helps hide the seams and gaps in between the tiers. For a quick, traditional border string a piece of ribbon around each tier -- closing them at the back. A border of lace, burlap or crystal cake bands also work. For an edible border, create beading, shells or ruffles with buttercream using a piping bag, medium to thick consistency buttercream and a decorating tip. You can also buy edible sugar pearls, roll balls of fondant or purchase pre-made edible borders from a cake decorating store to save yourself the hassle.

Go Floral

• Flowers are elegant, colorful and simple. You don’t have to be a professional cake decorator to finish off your cake with flowers. If you’re not making your own wedding cake, have the cake made and assembled, and do the flower decorations yourself to save a little money. Use flowers to cover the seams around each tier or use flowers at the corners to accent. Flowers can be used in addition to other decorations on the cake or alone and they work with both fondant and buttercream. A bouquet of flowers on the top tier can tie it all together. Use flowers that match the floral arrangements in the wedding -- real or silk flowers work fine.

Get Fruity

• Fruit, real or fake, adds a rustic, simple appeal to a wedding cake. Decorate the tiers with grapes, strawberries or an assortment of fruits. You can top off the cake with a fruit bouquet too. Fruits can be combined with other decorations as fillers. For example, a fall-themed wedding cake could have branches, apples and fall-colored leaves while a winter wedding cake could have snowflakes, mistletoe and red berries.