by Karen S Musselman

Created on: September 20, 2009

We've all seen the astonishing wedding cakes that awe everyone who see them.

Towers and tiers, waterfalls and lights.

But do you really need all that extravagance when you're working with a limited budget? You can have a beautiful cake that will stun your guests ... without stunning your wallet.

I found our cake design on The Wedding Channel's Gallery of Cakes. I fell in love with it! Our theme colors are a simple ivory and shades of mauves and pinks. My cake has a simple yet elegant design and will be perfect when topped with ivory beads and silk mauve petals.

We chose to have a bakery design our cake, and since she was referred by the coordinator at the fire hall where we'll have our reception, we knew we were getting a great price that included delivery and set up.

Yes, some bakeries charge extra to deliver and set up special event cakes. Some will even add mileage fees to their prices depending on how far they have to travel to your reception location. Be sure to ask about those extra fees if you're working with a smaller bakery or professional cake designer.

How else can you find cakes at a bargain?

Check at your grocery stores in their bakery departments. Some departments will advertise that they do custom cakes and others you find out just by asking around. So stop in and check. You might find your bargain! Do you have a neighbor or family member who is creative? Show them a photo of the design you want and see what they will charge you to do your cake. You may even get someone to offer to do your cake as a special wedding gift. Bake your own! If you start early enough and you're not too happy with the way it turns out, at least you have dessert for your family and you still have time to look around for a designer. Making your own wedding cupcake tree, with a smaller designed one-tier cake for the top.

Wedding cupcake trees are gaining more popularity today as a way to save money on a wedding cake as well as making the cake easier to serve to the guests.

They're easier to serve, especially if you have a lot of guests, since the cupcakes obviously don't have to be sliced up to be served in individual pieces. And because each is a miniature cake on its own, guests can opt to take them home as favors and eat them later.

A cupcake tree can also be just as stunning as a traditional wedding cake since the cupcakes can be designed like a traditional cake and arranged on tiers as large as a tiered wedding cake.

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