Serve a wedding cake that suits your style -- and your taste buds

     The bride and the groom may be the stars of the big day, but the wedding cake deserves a nod for its time-honored supporting role.

     In ancient Rome, guests broke a wheat bun over the bride’s head to bring good luck and fertility. Fortunately, the buns sweetened up, and in the 17th century a creative French baker stacked and frosted them. Voila! The first tiered wedding cake was born. One cake tradition is still under debate -- saving the top tier for the first anniversary. “You can save a fruitcake,” says Cheryl Kleinman, of Cheryl Kleinman Cakes in Brooklyn, New York. “Beyond that, I don’t encourage it.”

Cake bake-off

     White cakes, buttercream frostings, columns and dazzling sugar flowers are wedding cake classics, but feel free to break from tradition. If you prefer a trendy design, try a colorful Southern red velvet cake, a mango creation that boasts Caribbean flair or even an Asian-inspired creation with red frosting.

     As colors go bolder, style and form are also changing. Askew cakes, whose tiers are placed off center, are gaining popularity. Even wilder, Krispy Kreme, a popular doughnut chain, has seen a number of requests for multi-tiered cakes made entirely of their doughnuts -- one for each guest. Your local baker may be able to shape the doughnut delight into a wedding cake to remember.

Beyond the taste buds

     So what’s on top? Joining the ranks of the plastic couple, new toppers are simple and design-oriented: a slim, petite vase with a single rosebud; a layer of flower petals; a plain tiny top tier. Family is in, and some couples are choosing a portrait of themselves, a sentimental keepsake like a keychain or small stuffed animal, or their initials in royal icing, an egg white-based icing that can be sculpted into shapes.

     Cake presentation is also important. What’s surrounding your cake is just as visible as the cake itself -- especially in photos -- so plan ahead. Possible cake surroundings include a nature-inspired display of twigs spread on the table, baby photos of the bride and groom or a handmade tablecloth from Grandma that matches the cake’s colors.

Cake mistakes

     Cakes are beautiful, but they can go wrong. Here are several “don’ts” to keep in mind. Don’t:

     * frost with buttercream at a summer wedding unless you want sticky hands (the icing melts quickly).

     * put your cake in front of a bathroom or distracting wall ornament. It deserves center stage.

     * forget to cut it with a knife suited to the cake’s composition and texture.

     * forget to talk with your florist about safe, edible blooms if you intend to have your wedding cake decorated with fresh flowers.

     * let the photographer take distant photos of your cake. It’s an important part of your ceremony, so get up close to capture details.

The cost of a cake

     Designing the perfect dessert can leave you with a not-so-perfect budget. Save on your cake with these tips:

     * Have a small cake to cut in front of guests, while pre-sliced sheet cakes (or cute bakers’ cupcakes) wait in the back to be served.

     * Talk to your baker about extra costs -- you can usually get delivery thrown in for free.

     * Not everyone will eat cake -- subtract 10 people from your guest total when calculating the slice count.

     * Use fresh flowers or fruit garnishes and your own supplies as cake decorations to avoid handicraft fees from the cake designer.

     * Skip a separate dessert -- your wedding cake is enough.

     * Serve half slices of cake for your guests, and enhance the plates with fresh fruit or sorbet.

     * Forgo the fondant. Buttercream icing is less expensive (and tastier!).

Cake terminology

     The first time you meet with a cake designer, you may feel overwhelmed. Don’t fret -- below are several cake decorating terms to help your initial intro run as smooth as fondant (see # 3).

     Torte: a dense cake that does not use leavening agents

     Buttercream frosting: an off-white or ivory soft frosting with a butter base

     Fondant: a smooth icing with a porcelain finish that is rolled to uniform thickness and wrapped around or draped over the cake

     Royal icing: an egg white-based icing that becomes plaster hard and easy to sculpt into ornamental shapes with a pastry tube

     Marzipan: a paste made with a ground almond base that is used to mold cake trimmings

     Gum paste: a rigid, edible modeling medium used to make garnishes for the cake

     Piping: decorative details on the cake, made with a pastry bag and metal tips