Love is sweet. Especially in pillowy layers of whipped buttercream.

No one knows this better than our pastry chef Susie Ieronomo. Susie creates delicious wedding cakes, pastries and sweet treats for all four of PPHG’s historic wedding venues in Charleston – and believe us, there’s a lot of love in the mix. For Susie, the wedding cake is the highlight in celebrating a couple’s unique personal style. Her couture confections range from traditional elegance to fresh and modern, with hand-placed sugar petals and frosted details almost too stunning to slice.

We say almost, because Susie’s light-as-air cakes are every bit as delicious as they look. Vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet are classics, but we love to see guests pleasantly surprised by tiers of almond, coconut, lemon, hazelnut and spice. Each is layered with rich mousse and buttercream, in flavors like white chocolate, peanut butter, key lime, passion fruit, ginger or chocolate ganache (we know you’ll want to lick the plate, but just try to remember your surroundings).

With so many tasteful wedding cake options to consider, we asked our expert for a few of her favorite trends – and Susie was happy to weigh in. Sweet as sugar, that one. Have a look!

1. Best Dressed – Matching the cake to the wedding gown is a long-running tradition, from laced piping to these flower details Susie modeled from a bride’s sash.

2. Design Star – Think monograms and bold patterns. This cake is a modern complement to one stylish couple’s indigo quatrefoil design motif that also accented the stationary suite and tent décor.

3. Sweet Succulents – These lovely garden accents give a fresh pop of green to clean white tiers.

4. Great Heights – Susie loves the contemporary look of uneven wedding cakes tiers, which adds dimension and room to be dressed up in pretty petals like this one.

5. Top Notch – Cake toppers are making a comeback, from family heirlooms to hand-painted charicatures of the newlyweds. So cute!

Images courtesy of Leigh Webber Photography; Jennifer Bearden Photography; Marni Rothschild Pictures; and Pinterest.