Cake... Yes, Please!

I think wedding cakes are outrageous... cost wise I mean. Seriously, it is hard to find a decent sized cake to serve a good amount of people for less than $500. I know, I could always get a small cake for the "cake cutting ceremony" and then sheet cakes to serve but I'm trying to be unique and still budget friendly... fantastically frugal?? So with that said, I went on a search for an option that was cheaper and "more fun".

Operation "Ixnay Expensive Wedding Cake" Part 1: Cupcakes!

Anyone alive knows that cupcakes are huge right now, and rightfully so. Cupcakes are a dessert that anyone can bake on their own, and with a quick trip to the baking aisle of your favorite craft store, you can have all the necessary tools to decorate your cupcakes to look like they came from an expensive bakery. Not only do I love the idea of cupcakes for this reason but I also think that cupcakes have less of a chance of  going to waste than a sheet cake would. I am hoping that cupcakes, along with to-go boxes, will encourage all of my guests to indulge in this wedding tradition (even if it's after they've gone home!).

More to come on cupcakes: recipe ideas and recipe tasting party!

 Operation "Ixnay Expensive Wedding Cake" Part 2: Oh, but I AM getting a wedding cake!!

Although I'm all for breaking tradition, I still am set on having my own little cake, that fiance and I can cut into together... hand over hand, with cheap/fake silver/cheesily decorated cake knife, smiling painfully into the camera. But really, I want to "cut the cake". If not just for the purpose of having an beautiful wedding cake, then to prove to all of my guests (and the world) that you don't have to shove cake and frosting into each others faces just to get a laugh out of everyone. That is one tradition I definatly do not mind leaving out. (and I will have you know, that if need be, my fiance, will be signing a contract that their will be no cake smashing and I will personally notarize it).

So anyway, I have decided that I will be having a cake, a small one.

 I really like the idea of a really simple cake, with minimal frills, and just a bit of flare. One of the style I've been considering are the layered cakes with no frosting on the sides. I love the unfinished look as well as the colors of the actual cake layers. It also gives you the opportunity to throw in a lot of flowers and still retain that simple, rustic look.

I especially like the clean, white frosting looks, with bits of color thrown in between layers. I recently have been obsessing over succulents (see the first cake on the left, below) and am really leaning toward that style. Once again, though, all of the cakes pictured below seem like they would be fairly easy to re-create and luckily, I have a bridesmaid who is pretty good with this kind of stuff!

Other touches I really like are the ombre colored layers when you cut into the cake, another way to spice up a basic, white frosting.
 

 As for a topper, I was stuck on birds for the longest time (me and my fiance call each other "bird")... check out these adorable little guys:

Cherry Red Toppers

A Little Bird Tweet Me

Cinnamon Birds

...I love this idea, little birds underneathe a mini garland...

... but I also love this...

Creative Stamps

Whichever I end up choosing, it will be adorable, the artists on etsy are amazing and will totally customize almost anything for you!

Now... how will all of my cupcakes and "my" cake be displayed??? hmmmmm...