You’ve just attended a beautiful, meaningful wedding ceremony of a close friend. Your heart is aflutter with the feelings of love and romance. As you make your way to the reception, you imagine the glow of candlelight, beautiful crystal, silver, and pristine china place settings at each table. You wonder what the wedding cake will look like: square or round? Three or four tiers? Elegant or whimsical? As you enter the reception hall, it is just as you imagined. Your eyes search for the center of attention: the wedding cake. Ah, yes, there it is in the center of the room, but wait, that’s not – oh it can’t be -cupcakes?

Wedding Cupcakes Take the Cake

Welcome to the latest trend in wedding cakes. No longer is the traditional tiered wedding cake a "given." Brides and grooms are choosing various alternatives to the main attraction of their wedding receptions. And cupcakes are a big hit these days. But these aren’t the homemade cupcakes your grandma used to make.

These are miniature works of art as bakers give attention to every detail, just as they would a wedding cake. And when you come to think of it, there are many advantages to using cupcakes as your "wedding cake." You can vary the flavors, the decorations, and how you display them. They can be "tiered" on pedestal cake plates for a cake table centerpiece or served at each place for a sit down reception, which eliminates the sometimes messy slicing of a cake. And they can be more cost-effective than a traditional wedding cake. What’s not to love?!

Go for Decadence with Cheesecake

Another popular alternative being used a lot is cheesecake. As a favorite restaurant dessert, cheesecake can be especially elegant and decadent. And if cheesecake is something you and your fiancé love, why not serve it at your wedding reception instead of wedding cake? It has the versatility that cupcakes have in that you can tier several cheesecakes for a wedding cake look or you can serve individual cheesecakes. And the flavor possibilities are endless: dark chocolate truffle, key lime, white chocolate with raspberry sauce, pumpkin—any flavor you like! Again, you can serve more than one flavor to appeal to all your guests.

Mini Cakes with Maximum Impact

This trend works especially well for sit-down receptions. Let the centerpiece for each table be a miniature tiered wedding cake that will serve all the people at that table. It’s a cake; it’s a centerpiece; it’s a little more personal, too.

You can vary the flavors, colors and styles of the cakes at each table or keep them all the same for a cohesive and elegant look, and you have all the design and flavor possibilities of a traditional wedding cake. Provide a cake knife and server at each table and let the guests serve themselves.

It’s Easy as Pie!

You can really rock your guests’ world when they’re expecting the same old wedding cake—and they get a luscious, homemade pie. Many brides are choosing to serve fruit or cream pies at their wedding receptions for a more informal dessert, and in many cases just because they prefer pie to cake.

For regions known for their apples, blueberries or strawberries, this is an exceptional way to show off your state’s prized fruit. You can find the best bakery in town to create beautifully baked pies, or you can ask that family member known for their great-tasting pies to lend a hand and bake them for you.

What could be better at a July wedding than a juicy, homemade apple pie? Or a tangy key-lime pie with freshly whipped cream in June? And nothing tastes better than strawberry pie when strawberries are at their peak. Whatever month your wedding is, there is a pie that will work perfectly. Again, you can serve the pies from a central location or provide a centerpiece pie at each table for the guests to help themselves.

These would look especially pretty on a silver or crystal pedestal cake plate. There’s something about eating a slice of homemade pie that brings back happy childhood memories and nostalgic feelings, which is a great way to celebrate your big day.

We All Scream for Ice Cream?

Ice cream is associated with celebrations: birthdays, July 4th, a cool treat on a hot summer night. So, why not let ice cream be the centerpiece of your wedding reception? You can offer an upscale ice cream bar where guests can create their own ice cream sundae masterpiece. Use silver ice cream scoops, silver bowls and spoons for toppings, and let your guests dig in. While it may seem unorthodox at a wedding reception, your guests will have a great time and will always remember what a blast your reception was.

So, whichever trendy alternative you choose in lieu of a traditional wedding cake, it will be a surprisingly delicious way to celebrate your wedding. And it will be another way your individuality can shine through on this special day.

A special thanks goes to:

Toria Dolce Fine Desserts & Wedding Cakes, an Ashaway Rhode Island wedding cake bakery, for their wedding cupcakes photo.

Palermo's Bakery, a wedding cake bakery in Ridgefield Park NJ, for their mini wedding cakes photo.

Callie's Confection, a bakery in Asheville NC who speicalizes in wedding cakes and pastries, for their strawberry pie photo.