Autumn Weddings Inspired by Somerset Orchards

Published 4 November 2025

Blackberry, dark chocolate and hazelnut Lambeth cake

Every year, just as the air starts to smell faintly of bonfires and apples, I find myself drifting back toward the orchards. The ones where the trees lean a little, the grass is damp underfoot, and the cider press is already humming somewhere in the distance. I tell myself I’m going for a walk, but somehow I always end up coming home with a basket of apples, a handful of pears, and a mild sense of panic about how many cakes I can justify baking in one week.

It’s the season when my kitchen feels most like Somerset. I start pulling jars of local honey off the shelf, stirring caramel until it turns the colour of conkers, and roasting pears until they almost melt. There’s something about those early dark evenings that makes me crave comfort in flavour form - and I say that as someone who also tells herself she’s going to eat lighter after summer.

For couples planning autumn weddings, this time of year brings such a natural sense of warmth and abundance. Everything feels a little slower, a little more generous. Cakes can carry that same feeling - apple and brown butter with cider caramel, pear and vanilla with toasted hazelnuts, sticky toffee with damsons, or spiced pumpkin layered with maple frosting. Each one feels like a nod to the season without being too heavy or traditional.

Autumn Picnic Spread

I love when couples choose to bring those flavours into their dessert tables too. Think mini toffee puddings, poached pear tarts, cider truffles, or slices of ginger cake with apple compote. Grazing tables in autumn work beautifully when they mix savoury and sweet - Somerset cheeses alongside roasted nuts, figs, dried fruits, and dark chocolate shards. And afternoon teas at this time of year tend to lean towards comfort: warm scones, cinnamon-laced cream, and tiny slices of spiced apple loaf that I inevitably end up “testing” for quality control.

Most of the ingredients I use come from just a few miles away - Longman’s butter from Evercreech, Cheddar honey, cider from a farm down the road. It’s not something I consciously plan anymore; it’s just how I bake. Using what’s around me, what’s in season, what’s quietly brilliant.

Autumn picnic

When I design cakes for autumn weddings, I like to let the season show up. Sometimes that’s a hand-painted pear, sometimes a scattering of dried apple slices, sometimes just the colour of the sponge itself against soft ivory icing. I love that gentle echo between what’s on the table and what’s happening outside - the turning leaves, the orchard light, the sense that everything is slowing down.

Autumn has this way of reminding me why I started doing this in the first place. It’s unhurried and honest. It rewards a bit of care and patience. And it always brings me back to the same simple truth: the best ideas - and the best flavours - start with what’s growing right outside the door.

Photography - Helena M Photography

Concept - Foxglove and Fig