10 Strange and Unique Wedding Cakes

Grasping your husband's hand, you stroll past your friends, family and colleagues toward a beautifully decorated tiered tower of cake and icing. But this is no ordinary wedding cake. It's a wedding cake-shaped collection of cupcakes!

Why go with cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake? Well, cupcakes are extremely popular and can easily be matched to any cake/icing combination available on regular cakes. Arranging a bunch of these sweet little confections into a traditional wedding cake design by packing them together on a tiered cake plate is also incredibly chic. They're less expensive and better on the waistline (if only because of their smaller size), so while many of your guests might decline a piece of regular wedding cake, few will be able to resist saying "I do" to one of these tiny, tasty treats.

Who says you need a three-tiered, traditional-looking cake for your first bite of married life? Sculpted cakes allow couples to express themselves and their shared interests in an edible form. Anyone who's seen "Cake Boss" knows what we're talking about here. A good specialty baker should be able to sculpt a cake to represent anything you want, no matter what you're into.

Couples who want to get their geek on can promote their favorite film or video game through their cake. If you're Star Wars fans, for example, why not commission a cake that looks like the Millennium Falcon? If you met your sweetie in a Halo death match, find a talented baker to create a life-size cake version of Master Chief's helmet. If you're rabid football fans, get your guests to root for your favorite team with a jersey-shaped cake, or, if you're both fiends for Halloween, why not get hitched on All Hallows' Eve with a pumpkin-shaped (and maybe even pumpkin-flavored) wedding cake?

The possibilities are endless, and you don't even have to sculpt your cake into something unusual to make it stand out. Lighthouses, sunflowers or anything else that brings you two together will make a great statement.

Regardless if you'd like to express yourself by adding a few subtle visual enhancements to your baked masterpiece, or you want your ceremony's most important dessert to stand out like a bright purple tux at a black-tie wedding, you might want to consider adding a bit of color to your wedding cake. It's easy to match your cake to your location, theme or wedding colors by adding a few light-colored hues, but if you want to go really crazy, here are a few ideas:

You shouldn't have to radically redefine what a cake can be to make it stand out. "Fruit" and "wedding cake" may not sound like the most obvious pair, but, as many dissimilar couples can attest, opposites do indeed attract. In this pairing, fruit's sweet, natural flavor can add a surprising and welcome complement to a sugary set of cake and icing.

Now, there's a couple of ways you can go here. You can have a traditional, tiered cake with various sliced fruits placed on top of each section, filling up all the empty space between tiers. This is a great way to show off both a classic and contemporary look at the same time, and it can help your wedding's most important dish conform to your ceremony's theme or location. If you're having beachside nuptials, go tropical by topping your cake with pineapple, coconut and tamarillo. Strawberries, blueberries or currants, on the other hand, would be perfect cake toppers for a garden party theme.

If you'd rather give your guests a fruit-filled surprise, you can always stuff fruit inside the cake. The fruit you use should depend on the flavor of your cake and icing, but unless you're trying to cram fresh watermelon inside a mocha-flavored cake, you should be fine. Berries and citrus go with just about anything, but don't be afraid to bring a few pieces of fruit to your cake tasting if you can't decide.

Even if your wedding theme doesn't involve 1980s cartoon characters, you still might want to consider having a strawberry shortcake wedding cake. This classic flavor can easily be crafted to look just like a traditional cake, and the taste will be both surprising and familiar. The best strawberry shortcakes are sweet, light and creamy, and, of course, topped with the freshest, most delicious strawberries you can find.

This highly seasonal cake is a perfect choice for spring or summer ceremonies, and you can class up this classic treat by covering the top of each tier with freshly dipped chocolate strawberries. Other than that, just serve it as is. Sometimes the best way to be different is to just keep it simple, and a good strawberry shortcake is all you'll need.

Sometimes you don't even need to mess with the shape or flavor of your wedding cake to make it stand out. All you really need to do is switch out those boring old bride and groom cake toppers with something cooler, more unique and undeniably you.

If you're going for pure shock value, get a traditional cake and top it with something extremely unconventional, like large plastic dinosaurs or toy aliens. If you're trying to keep it classy, use symbols that are important to you both. Anything from religious iconography to little plastic peace signs will work. If you want to thumb your nose -- and cake -- at contemporary expectations, go for traditional bride and groom toppers in unconventional poses. You can find them doing anything from playing baseball to engaging in a passionate (and somewhat explicit) kiss.

Sure, there are plenty of things you can do to make your wedding cake stand out, but if you really want something strange and unique, don't use a cake at all. Instead, serve your guests cheesecake! OK, so it's called a cake, but it's technically more like a pie, and it's a perfect option for any cake-averse brides and grooms -- yes, we know you're out there. Don't worry, it'll still look like a traditional tiered wedding cake if you want it to, and you're not stuck with cheesecake's traditional flavor.

As with regular wedding cakes, a good baker should have no problem whipping up a cheesecake in just about any flavor you choose. How about a vanilla and milk-chocolate cheesecake on a praline cookie crust or a butter cookie crust filled with coffee, mocha and vanilla-flavored cheesecake? If that's not enough, adorn your cheesy wedding cake with berries, edible flowers or even whipped cream. Now, are you still thinking about a traditional cake? We didn't think so.

It may not work for everybody, but for the right kind of couple, the best way to start off a marriage is with the perfect union of delectable sweets. And it doesn't get much better than cookie plus cake. We're not talking about those blasé mall cookie cakes, either. Imagine large, tiered cookies made from the finest ingredients and topped with thick, creamy layers of icing. Sure, you can go for the classic chocolate chip, but, again, you're getting married, not going shopping, so why not class-up those baked balls of sugary dough with flavors like decadent dark chocolate, coconut or raspberry rugelach? Of course, old standbys like snickerdoodle, peanut butter and, yes, chocolate chip will also serve you and your guests well, especially when paired with the right kind of icing. Just imagine a lemon cookie base with a rich, bittersweet chocolate frosting. Now that's a union to celebrate!

You can change a cake's color, shape, size or consistency, but it's still going to taste like, well, cake. Give your guests a real taste of your wild side by choosing a completely unexpected flavor. Here are some ideas to savor:

Wedding cakes can be ridiculously expensive, so it's not surprising that many brides initially balk at the idea of a cake buffet. However, a cake buffet can actually save you money. Think about it -- regardless if you're inviting 12 or 1,200 guests, you've got to find a way to feed them all. Since wedding cakes are pretty much the priciest kind of cake you can buy, offering multiple, lower-priced choices will end up costing you less than a single large wedding cake. It's like taking a week-long honeymoon in Cancun vs. a weekend in Paris. They're both great, but for many couples, more is better.

Wedding cake buffets are also about more than saving a buck. By offering several choices, you can make sure there's something for everybody, and you can incorporate multiple ideas and even get a little crazy. Many of the options already mentioned in this article will work here: a plate of cupcakes, a few fruit-filled offerings, cheesecakes and cookie cakes, radical colors and flavors. It's all up to you! Just make sure you stop to rub a handful of cake on your sweetie's face before everyone starts digging in.