All About Wedding Wedding Cakes

As the centerpiece of your reception, wedding cakes are a bride's opportunity to make a major style statement. But many brides don't particularly like the taste of wedding cake, and some simply prefer to serve something a little more distinctive for the dessert course. Looking for something different? Browse our ideas for a refreshing spin on the traditional wedding cake.

1. Break the Mold

Cupcakes and doughnuts are trendy alternatives to traditional wedding cakes, but good ol' Jell-O might be the most creative new option. When molded into cake form with a touch of class and ingredients like tropical fruit, champagne, and lychee nut, the family picnic favorite can be transformed into an elegant and refreshingly light treat perfect for a summer or outdoor wedding. Plus, it's bound to be an instant conversation starter. Love the idea? Present it to your caterer to recreate it.

4. Flavorful Fountains

Chocolate fountains in lieu of wedding cakes have been done. So put a new spin on the chocolate fountain with a colorful, flowing display of fruit coulis, which is that powerfully tangy syrup made from raspberries, mangoes, or other fruits and often comes drizzled over something like a flourless chocolate cake. In its fountain form, dip brownies, shortbread, and other cakes and cookies for a sweet, fruity treat.

5. Cake Fake Out

If you like the look of iced tiers, but want something truly surprising, have rich, velvety gourmet cheesecakes stacked and decorated like a traditional wedding cake. Your guests will be none the wiser until it is time to slice up.

Get even more ideas for unusual wedding cakes at Elegala.com

Much more than a sweet finale to the reception meal, wedding cakes are a major style statement. And trends in wedding cakes, like all other wedding details, evolve with the times. The wedding cake presents a perfect opportunity for creative brides to play with shape, color and embellishments. For those of you who need a little inspiration, consult this list of top trends for wedding cakes.

When it comes to wedding day bling, bejeweled brides have some competition. Now your cake can don jewelry too! That's right, the latest adornments to hit wedding cakes are hand-made Swarovski Crystal Cake Jewelry. Design a sparkilicious cake bedecked with crystal monograms, hearts, flowers or butterflies.

Learn more about wedding cake jewelry at the Unveiled Wedding Blog ...

I've narrowed the process of selecting your wedding cake into three easy steps.

Step 1: Determine your Wedding Cake Style

As the focal point of your reception, your cake should represent the theme of your wedding and reflect your overall vision. Consider the style, shape, color and adornments. Browse and collect photographs of cakes that inspire you. Make a list of qualities you like and don't like. Browse this gallery of Pictures of Wedding Cakes for inspiring images of cakes.

Step 2: Factor Cost

Cake cost is based per slice and is determined by how complex the overall design. The typical range is usually $2-$15 per slice. As a result, there are 2 easy ways to keep your cake within budget.

Keep it Simple - Lose the ornate adornments and infinite skyward-stretching tiers, and opt for a clean design with an impeccably smooth surface. Add simple details such as a Swiss dot pattern, fresh flowers or wide ribbon around the base.

OR

Improvise a Complex Design - Most wedding cakes featured in magazines use fondant icing, which creates that sought-after smooth look. Fondant icing is more expensive than buttercream, so ask your cake designer to create a similar look using buttercream icing. You can also opt for a smaller, intricately designed cake to showcase at their wedding, while the site holds simple sheet cakes in the kitchen to serve to guests.

Step 3: Choose your Baker

If your reception site is the exclusive baker, sometimes the case with country clubs and hotels, you can skip this step - your work is done. If the site does allow an outside baker, pick a few local cake bakers and book appointments to view their portfolios. Consult this directory of local wedding services for a list of cake designers near you. When meeting with potential bakers, consider look, taste and price. The one you choose should be able to create the beautiful masterpiece you desire at a price you can afford, and it should taste scrumptious as well. Ask to taste some samples to determine the talents of your baker.

Get even more wedding cake ideas.

Much more than a sweet finale to the reception meal, wedding cakes are a major style statement. And trends in wedding cakes, like all other wedding details, evolve with the times. The wedding cake presents a perfect opportunity for creative brides to play with shape, color and embellishments. For those of you who need a little inspiration, consult this list of top trends for wedding cakes.

Back to Buttercream -
Buttercream was once the traditional frosting for wedding cakes, but sleek cakes came into favor, and rolled fondant became the frosting of choice. Not any more - thanks to advanced tools and techniques that allow buttercream to look as smooth as fondant, cakes iced in buttercream are again the norm. We love this trend, since buttercream frosting tastes better, has natural ingredients, and costs less than fondant. Now you can literally have your stylishly sleek cake - and eat it too.

Chocolate Face -
Brides have bucked the traditional white wedding cake for the last few years, but today's brides are no longer hiding decadent chocolate behind a shield of white frosting for appearances sake. Dark chocolate is now front and center on the face of the cake, as chocolate wedding cakes are appropriately decked in chocolate mousse or whipped chocolate frosting. The result is a full blown chocolate dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

Blue Rules -
Shades of blue dominate the 2009 wedding décor palette, and your wedding cake is a perfect canvas to incorporate this hot shade. Consider a cake saturated in turquoise, periwinkle, or even navy, and embellish it with complimenting colors like silver, white, grey, lavender, or yellow.

Square Mini Cakes -
Cupcake towers in lieu of wedding cakes have been around for awhile, but brides are making cupcakes interesting again by playing with shape and size. Brides are stacking square shaped mini-cakes (slightly larger than cupcakes) adorned with flowers or dressed as presents for a completely different take on the cupcake frenzy.

Get even more wedding cakes trends at Elegala.com

Don't let a tight budget stand between you and the ultimate wedding cake. Here's what I learned when picking out my wedding cake - size and design are the two main determinants in cake cost. Creative brides can play with these elements to slash wedding cake prices.

This post from the Wedding Planning Advice from Industry Insiders blog offers 7 ways to save on wedding cakes, so you can have your cake - and eat it too.

If you're still seeking the perfect confection for the centerpiece of your wedding reception, look no further than this interactive Wedding Cake Gallery. Here you can search through hundreds of pictures of wedding cakes, narrowing your search by color, style and shape. You'll find everything from elegant wedding cakes, to crazy wedding cakes. Regardless of your style, you're bound to be inspired.

And of course, don't forget to select a dessert for your hubby-to-be. Indeed, the old Southern tradition of the groom's cake is making a comeback - not only in the South but in metropolitan areas across the nation. And no, it doesn't have to be the red velvet armadillo from "Steel Magnolias". Today's grooms cakes, now just as elaborate as the wedding cake itself, often reflect the groom's interests in a dramtic and whimsical fashion.

So while your there, browse through dozens of Grooms Cakes and select a style that spotlight's your groom's personality.

If you want to serve a dessert your guests will actually eat, consider a wedding "cake" made of cheese. No, not the rich, loaded with sugar variety with graham cracker crust - literally a cake made of cheese stacked in tiers and decorated to look like a wedding cake. The trend is taking off in the U.K. where cheese for dessert is prevalent.

Read more about cheese wedding cakes

As someone who has had extensive contact with wedding vendors - both personally and professionally - I can tell you that most of them are genuine, talented professionals who strive to perform a service to the best of their ability. For most vendors, the joy gained from performing an artistic craft that they love is the primary incentive. The money earned, well, that's extra. Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day, we all need to make a living and we all work for money. But some vendors seem to be less motivated by the craft and more motivated to squeeze every last dollar from the happy (or unhappy, depending how you look at it) couple. It's these vendors who propagate the myth it's impossible to exchange vows without simultaneously shelling out tens of thousands of dollars and going into debt.

Case in point:
Elegala.com has a number of articles offering money saving tips for every wedding detail - from flowers, to music, to photography. Believe it or not, we've had some pompous vendors complain that we offer these money saving tips, insisting, for instance, that we remove a tip about how you can save on photography by being wary of upsells like custom albums or save on your floral budget by sticking to in-season flowers. Apparently, we're releasing to the public blasphemous ideas that vendors have been dubiously safeguarding for decades. Oh no - don't enlighten the brides-to-be!

Sure - there are many lucky brides who have unlimited funds to plan their weddings, but for many - especially with the economy in the state that it's in - these budgeting tips are essential in making a wedding a reality. Let's face it - even some couples who have the money spend would prefer to spend it somewhere else. And that's OK. Really, it is. But some wedding vendors would prefer that everyone continue to keep up with the Joneses so long as it keeps their wallets fat. I say shame on you.

See original post on my wedding advice blog.

The Unveiled Wedding Blog from Elegala.com is looking for buzzworthy wedding ideas from brides (or anyone who's been to a recent wedding). Unveiled is known for punchy, catchy posts on what's new and trendy in the world of weddings, and they're offering a free two night stay at the luxurious Taj Hotel for the best entries.

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