People Are "Image-Mapping" Their Wedding Cakes & The Pictures Are GORGEOUS

The wedding industry is ever evolving, as soon-to-be newlyweds keep their eyes peeled for the newest and most memorable trends to incorporate into their own nuptials, like flower chandeliers and Disney-inspired wedding dresses. The latest obsession to hit is taking dessert time to a whole new level: people are using image mapping on their wedding cakes, and the result is a tiered masterpiece too beautiful to eat. No joke, this will knock your socks off.

In general, image mapping — sometimes referred to image projecting — simply refers to projecting an image, design, or video onto a surface. Maybe you've seen it on the sides of buildings, particularly for holidays. Well, in this case, we're talking about projecting onto wedding cakes. Not only does it add a dazzling light show to your cake, but it offers an opportunity to personalize it however you see fit. Want to project pictures of you and your significant other onto your dessert? No problem. Fireworks, symbolic of your love for one another? Sure thing. Your names? Tinkerbell? A scene from your favorite Disney movie? Go right ahead, because with image mapping, the sky is the limit.

Normally, when it comes to wedding cake, I mainly want to know when it's going to be served; but in this case, let me find the best angle so I can post it on Insta.

It's a concept we've all been familiar with for years — don't you remember back in elementary school, when your teacher would pull out the projector and the screen before she started teaching whatever boring stuff she had planned for the day? It's the same concept, only maybe 1,538,204 times cooler. Instead of projecting an image onto a flat screen, this type of technology can project onto... just about anything. All you have to do, says PMC, is get the right software for it, or just use "some elbow grease" to get the virtual images or videos aligned with the physical object (the cake!). Facade Signage notes this uses 3D video projection mapping, which would help explain why it feels like you can reach out and touch it.

Seriously, how cool is this stuff?

Let's be honest: when it comes to weddings, we know no boundaries. Choosing a wedding cake alone sometimes takes months of planning and consideration. Just look at all the trends we've been through and the variations we've come up with. It was in 2016 we first went absolutely nuts for those amethyst geode wedding cakes created by Rachael Teufel of Intricate Icings Cake Design, which are so impossibly gorgeous, I don't know how anyone could have the heart to slice them up. We sometimes tailor our wedding cakes to the season, and end up with beautiful works of art. Other times, we like to get extra creative and opt for wedding cake alternatives like cupcakes, doughnuts, and macarons. And we'd be rude if we left out those magical wedding cakes made of cheese. (Note: not cheesecakes. Cheese cakes.)

2018 is bringing even more originality on the wedding cake front. Apparently, fig wedding cakes are all the rage this year — but probably only after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's lemon elderflower wedding cake. With the fascination surrounding their nuptials, I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of these cakes in the years to come (and you better believe this flavor is popping us elsewhere, BTW). I'm not sure what elderflower even tastes like, but if it's good enough for royalty, it must be off-the-charts delish.

It's about so much more than having a tasty cake. It's about the experience, the memory, and the lasting impression it leaves on you and your guests. It's no wonder everyone has fallen in love with image mapping.