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Bride in Wedding Dress for Photoshoot Outside Hotel
Bride in Wedding Dress for Photoshoot Outside Hotel
By Kate Cohen

A two-tier wedding cake decorated with orange slices, gold leaf, and rosemary.

Some wedding traditions are just meant to be reimagined.

For some brides, it may be wearing a white gown or having only women in the bridal party. Perhaps it’s using the words “to honor and obey” in your vows. Or maybe it’s an outdated bouquet toss.

The new trend rebellion we’re embracing wholeheartedly is forgoing wedding cake for an alternate wedding dessert.

While wedding cakes can be things of extravagant beauty (and deliciousness), they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.

Whether you’re not a fan of cake or you’re looking for ways to stick to your budget, switching up your dessert is a great option – and an opportunity to showcase your personality, too.

At each of our four Rosen Weddings venues, you’ll find an incredible culinary and pastry team ready and willing to help you reimagine your wedding dessert and create tasty celebratory treats that look as amazing as they taste.

Here are eight fabulous wedding dessert alternatives we’re loving right now.

Ice Cream Truck

Ice cream scoops in cups surrounded by cones and colorful toppings. An ice cream truck is a great wedding dessert alternative.

Is there anything better than the nostalgia of an ice cream truck?

Treat your guests to a cool surprise that’s as tasty as it is unique.

These days, many local creameries and ice cream shops have trucks or carts that can easily be hired out for events. Serve by the scoop and let your guests choose their own flavors and toppings for a playful wedding dessert experience everyone will love.

Croquembouche

A croquembouche is an elegant tower of fluffy cream-filled pastry puffs traditionally served at French weddings. The cream puffs are held together with caramelized sugar and often adorned in flowers, fruit, or chocolate.

A croquembouche makes a visual statement at a wedding and can be fun for guests to pick apart a piece at a time, though there’s no shame in cutting and serving the profiteroles on plates, too.

Cannoli

Two small cannoli on a plate dusted with green pistachios. Classic Cannoli make a fabulous wedding dessert alternative.

 

You don’t need to be Italian to appreciate great cannoli.

Crispy curved shells can be piped with a variety of creamy fillings, from classic ricotta to nutty pistachio or strawberry.

Dipping the shells in chocolate and adding festive toppings on either end (chocolate chips, sprinkles, crushed nuts, etc.) take cannoli to the next level for your special occasion.

Cheese Wheels

Three tiers of cheese wheels stacked like a cake, decorated with grapes and figs in an outdoor setting: a savory wedding dessert alternative.

Take a savory approach to your dessert course with rustic cheese wheels stacked on top of one another to suggest the appearance of a tiered wedding cake.

Decorate your “cheese cake” with sprigs of rosemary, fresh figs, and colorful berries for a more elegant appearance. Serve it with classic charcuterie accoutrement like jam, prosciutto, marcona almonds, and grapes.

Donuts

A close-up of donuts glazed in chocolate and white icing, topped with sliced almonds, cereal, and bacon. Donuts are a popular wedding dessert alternative.

Celebrate your “holy” matrimony with a selection of whimsical donuts.

Feel free to go all-out with gourmet flavors and toppings. These perfectly portioned treats are beloved classics for a reason, and a fun way to end a celebratory soiree.

Cookie Cakes

Cookie cakes are relatively new to the wedding dessert trend but are always a hit. Tiers of thin, flat chocolate chip cookies layered with butter cream frosting are as fun to look at as they are to eat.

For a playful twist, serve slices of your cookie cakes with milk served in cookie shot glasses, or with a fun cookie straw.

Cupcakes

A plate of vanilla cupcakes decorated with daisies, berries, and lemon slices. Cupcakes are a wedding dessert alternative for couples who want the taste of cake without the cost.

Cupcakes have been a classic cake backup for a while now, and while the flavor profile is pretty much identical to a traditional wedding cake, their serving-sized cuteness has yet to wane.

Plus, when you choose to serve cupcakes over traditional cake, you can offer a variety of flavors and decorations for a display that looks as good as it tastes.

Bonus Tip: Pair your cupcake display with a matching small cake round so you can have your picture perfect “cutting the cake” moment as a new married couple.

Cake Pops

A row of pale pink cake pops decorated with leaves and flowers presented on a gold tray. Cake pops are an elegant single-serving dessert alternative that offer the perfect pop of sweetness.

Another cake alternative is cake pops, bite-sized baubles with endless potential for decorating and flavor combinations. The best cake pops are soft and moist with the perfect ratio of candy coating for a bite that truly satisfies the craving for cake.

Rethink Your Wedding Dessert and Other Traditions with Rosen Weddings

Whether you’re a wedding traditionalist or are looking for a way to mix things up, Rosen Weddings is here to help you make sure every detail of your wedding day is perfect.

Our four distinct venues and team of wedding professionals will bring your wedding vision to life however you imagine it.

Contact our team today to learn more about how you can be a part of the Rosen Weddings family.

 

A wedding setup at Rosen Shingle Creek, with blue sky, white clouds, tall palm trees, and a long cobblestone path leading to an archway draped in white fabric. Host your wedding at a Rosen Weddings venue.

Bride in Wedding Dress for Photoshoot Outside Hotel
By Kate Cohen

A ballroom with an ornately decorated carpet and a geometric chandelier set up with white chairs and florals for a wedding ceremony. There are plenty of benefits to having a hotel wedding.

When it comes to weddings, nothing influences the vibes quite like your venue. Whether it’s intimate or grand, indoors or outdoors, formal or casual, the setting makes a huge impact on your event.

Hotel wedding venues are known for their ease and experience, with plenty of space, amenities, and staff to coordinate an unforgettable event.

At Rosen Weddings, we’re experts in hotel weddings. With four unique venues – Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista, Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre, and Rosen Shingle Creek – each with their own distinct amenities and aesthetics, hotel weddings are what we do best.

That’s why we’re here to share a variety of benefits to choosing a hotel for your special day. If you’re in the process of choosing your venue, here are four perks to hosting a hotel wedding we think you should know.

1. Convenience, Convenience, Convenience!

An event setting with sheer white drapery hanging from the ceilings and walls, pale pink uplighting, and round tables set with candles and florals. A hotel wedding can be a glamorous event in an elegant ballroom space.

One of the biggest perks of hosting a hotel wedding is the convenience of having everything in one place.

All four of our venues offer the opportunity to rehearse your ceremony in the actual space (depending on availability) or provide an alternative space where you can run through everything prior to your wedding day.

Each of our properties also offers onsite dining and separate gathering rooms that are ideal for hosting an intimate (or extravagant) rehearsal dinner.

On the morning of your wedding, get ready with your bridal party in a designated hotel room that is private and comfortable.

Rosen Weddings properties have large hospitality suites that offer perks like more space, kitchenettes, mirrors, and private bathrooms to accommodate a larger group.

The ideal hotel venue will have multiple spaces for hosting ceremonies, cocktail hours, and receptions. Your guests will appreciate not having to travel from venue to venue, ensuring they can spend every moment in attendance celebrating you and your partner.

At the end of the night, retreat to a private hotel room with your new spouse for a luxurious and well-deserved night of rest following an unforgettable wedding day.

2. Accommodations for Your Guests

For wedding guests, there’s nothing better than having the option to stay onsite for a celebration.

When your accommodations for the night are only an elevator ride away, it can mean not having to choose between indulging in a signature cocktail or driving home later that night or having the luxury of running up to your room to change into better dancing shoes.

Many hotel venues will offer wedding couples a block of rooms at a reduced rate to incentive and reward guests for staying onsite.

It’s a great way to show your guests you appreciate their traveling to celebrate with you and encourage everyone to take advantage of the benefits of staying at the venue.

If you have a large number of guests traveling from out of town, consider the location and amenities of your hotel venue. Perks like a refreshing pool, rejuvenating spa, and delicious onsite dining offer convenience and entertainment without the need for rental cars or ride sharing.

Additionally, choosing a hotel in a popular area gives your guests the freedom to explore local attractions and restaurants during their stay.

3. In-House Catering and Event Equipment

If you’ve ever attended a wedding, you know firsthand the importance of good food – and plenty of it.

At Rosen Weddings, we offer our own in-house catering, culinary teams, and commercial kitchens that prepare menus to suit your tastes and delight you and your guests.

You won’t have to worry about finding proper preparation space for outside caterers or fretting over whether the team will arrive on time (and with enough food to keep everyone satisfied).

You can feel confident knowing your venue team has plenty of experience preparing delicious food for large groups.

We also have tables, chairs, bars, linens, and other event necessities on hand, eliminating the need to rent furniture from a third-party company.

Additionally, our incredible events team will be on deck to help set up your space so you and your guests can focus on getting yourselves ready, not the venue.

4. Beautiful Backdrops

A cobblestone path leading to a distant arch draped with white fabric, surrounded by tall palm trees and set against a blue, cloudy sky. Hotel weddings can take advantage of beautiful landscaping.

Hotels are places of rest and respite, and the best ones have aesthetics that showcase a welcoming, unique, and stylish sense of hospitality.

Rosen hotel venues take pride in our spaces and keeping them updated, offering prospective couples a venue that is as beautiful as it is convenient.

Whether it’s an elegant ballroom space, a poolside patio, or a terrace with a sprawling golf course view, the right hotel venue will have beautiful event spaces that create a gorgeous backdrop for your picture-perfect wedding day.

Choose a Rosen Weddings Hotel Venue for Your Unforgettable Hotel Wedding

At Rosen Weddings, our four distinct hotels are perfect for hosting hotel weddings of all sizes, budgets, and visions.

8 men in matching black tuxedos stand outdoors in a courtyard surrounded by palm trees with a towering hotel behind them. Rosen Shingle Creek is perfect for an elegant hotel wedding.
Rosen Shingle Creek

Opt for grandeur at Rosen Shingle Creek, a magnificent resort with stunning views of our championship golf course and sprawling grounds.

A breathtaking two-story ballroom with views of an adjacent terrace and beyond is the crown jewel of event spaces at this spectacular venue.

A bride and groom stand on a green lawn with the entrance to Rosen Plaza behind them. Rosen Plaza is an elegant destination for a hotel wedding.
Rosen Plaza

Rosen Plaza is an ideal option for couples interested in a grand ballroom setting with plenty of flexibility and options for customization.

Welcoming hospitality suites, onsite dining, and other amenities make it the perfect place for a weekend of joyous celebration. Located in the heart of the popular I-Drive district, it’s a great destination to keep your guests entertained.

A bride and groom kiss on the front lawn of Rosen Centre at night, with the hotel and fountains lit up behind them. Rosen Centre is a beautiful destination for a hotel wedding.
Rosen Centre

The neighboring Rosen Centre offers beautiful outdoor locations with tropical backdrops and elegant indoor ballrooms for a one-of-a-kind event.

Our professional wedding planning team will work with master chefs and our catering manager to help you curate a wedding that tastes as amazing as it looks.

A panel of sheer fabric tied to a gazebo post overlooking a pond, grass, and trees. Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista has a beautiful outdoor pavilion for a hotel wedding.

Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista offers a charming garden-like setting for intimate ceremonies and a contemporary ballroom with stylish light fixtures.

As a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel, you and your guests can take advantage of special Walt Disney World amenities throughout your stay.

Our Rosen Weddings team can help you find the perfect hotel wedding venue to suit your unique vision. It is an honor to be a part of your wedding day, and we can’t wait to make your dreams a reality.

We Bring Your Dream Day to Life.

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Where Dreams Come True

Rosen Plaza Hotel

Address:
9700 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819

General Phone & Fax Numbers:
Toll Free: 1-800-627-8258
Local: 407-996-9700
Fax: 407-354-5774

Website

Rosen Centre Hotel

Address:
9840 International Drive
Orlando, Florida 32819

General Phone & Fax Numbers:
Phone: (407) 996-9840
Toll Free: 1-800-204-7234
General Fax: 407-996-0865
Sales Fax: 407-996-2659

Website

Rosen Shingle Creek

Address:
9939 Universal Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32819

General Phone & Fax Numbers:
Toll Free: 866-996-9939
Local: 407-996-9939
Fax: 407-996-9938

Website

Bella Vista A Rosen Venue

Address:
8442 Palm Parkway
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836

General Phone & Fax Numbers:
Local: 407-996-7300
Toll Free: 800-999-7300

Website

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