DIY Glitter Bridal Cake Server Set

One of the most popular wedding photos is of the bride and groom cutting their cake. There's something so sweet and romantic about it. A lot of couples will just use whatever cake cutter set the venue provides. But not us. I actually picked out a set that I loved. You don't have to spend a ton of money on a personalized wedding cake serving set though. In fact, you can make this DIY Glitter Bridal Cake Server Set.

It took a little bit of time and a handful of materials. Actually, I had everything at home already. I picked up the clear plastic cake servers from Dollar Tree. The two utensils came in the same pack, which was great. If you just go and buy those, the entire project will only cost you $1. That can definitely fit into your wedding budget.

DIY Glitter Bridal Cake Server Set 

This is a pretty simple project, but it is something that will span over three days if you want to be completely sure it will dry completely. So don't leave it for the night before your wedding.

What You'll Need:

• Clear Plastic Cake Servers
• Glitter
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• 2 sheets of paper
• Tape

What You'll Do:

Use a piece of tape to mark off where you want the glitter to go.

Personally, I glittered the entire handle of the cake server and cake knife. The glitter will be covered with non-toxic Mod Podge, so it will be safe to cut your cake. If you use something else, make sure it is non-toxic. If not, make sure the glitter ends higher so you don't have to worry about it getting on your cake.

Using the foam brush, paint a layer of Mod Podge along the handle.

Carefully pour glitter over the Mod Podge. I put a sheet of paper under the cake server and cake knife to catch the excess glitter. You can then roll the paper and put the glitter back into the package or tube it came from.

Let the Mod Podge dry completely. It's best to leave it overnight, if you have the time.

Paint a layer of Mod Podge over the glitter.

This is why you want to let it dry overnight. If you don't, you run the risk of the top coat of Mod Podge wetting the bottom coat and then removing the glitter.

This top layer is completely necessary. It traps the glitter and means that when you grab it, you won't get glitter on your hands. That means you also won't get glitter on your cake either.

Leave it to dry overnight.

The next day, peel off the tape and you will see a beautiful straight line.

I made the cake server and cake knife different shades of pink, making them perfect if you have pink as a wedding color or if you're hosting a bridal shower.

You could actually do something similar to make matching toasting flutes as well. Just follow our tutorial on how to make glitter wedding glasses.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make this DIY Glitter Bridal Cake Server Set?

Want more glitter projects?

DIY Glitter Wine Glasses

Wedding Cake Alternatives (by season)

In the beginning of wedding planning, I wanted cupcakes as our dessert. See, there's an amazing cupcake place in town and I wanted all of our guests to try them. Since the majority of our guests were coming from out of town, this was their only chance to have them.

But my mom talked me out of it. She told me that when I look back on my wedding photos, I'd have wished I had a cake. At first, I just went with a cake to appease her but now, I couldn't agree more. I loved our wedding cake -- loved the look, the flavors, and the photos.

Maybe you don't want a cake though. Maybe you have jophaboia (that's the fear of cake, which, yes, is a thing). Or maybe you are having a budget wedding and can't afford $5 a slice. Here are some wedding cake alternatives for you.

Wedding Cake Alternatives (by season)

Winter Wedding Cake Alternatives
Creme Brulee
I love the caramelized sugar crust of a creme brulee. Cracking into it is really the best part of the dessert. It would be so fun to give each of your guests a small ramekin of creme brulee instead of a cake.

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cups
I love hot chocolate in the winter, but you can't just give a mug of it in place of a wedding cake. You can, however, give pudding cups. Top them with mini marshmallows, just like you would hot chocolate. Serve them with candy cane spoons too for fun. If you're having a backyard wedding, you can make your own homemade pudding cups using our recipe.

#ad Got to the @westinhhi, took a shower, Pete made me coffee, and I immediately grabbed one of the @mdmacarons left for us in our room. You know how you can tell I love Pete? I offered him one even after this bite of heaven was in my mouth. Thank goodness they gave us six. I'm trying to ration them over our three days here, but I can't make any promises. And yes, we will be in Hilton Head Island for the next three days, so be sure to follow along as we take you behind the scenes at The Westin Hilton Head Resort & Spa.

A post shared by Lisa from A Bride On A Budget (@abrideonabudget) on Jun 25, 2017 at 8:15pm PDT

Spring Wedding Cake Alternatives
Macaroons
Macaroons were the new cupcakes a few years ago, and they haven't left the dessert scene. They're usually made in pretty pastel colors, making them the perfect wedding cake alternatives for your spring wedding.

Key Lime Cupcakes
Fruit and spring are a perfect match, so it was hard for me to narrow this down. After much thought, I think key lime cupcakes are the best use of fruit in a cupcake. You can even top it with lime slices too.


Summer Wedding Cake Alternatives
S'mores
I love action stations for weddings and everyone loves s'mores. This is a great marriage (wow, bad pun) of that. This is best for a summer wedding because it might be too chilly for any other season. If you don't have a fit pit outdoors, you could always do this with fondue (and then have your guests dip their marshmallows in graham cracker crumbs).

Ice Cream Sandwiches
I love ice cream, but you can't really give out a bowl of ice cream as a wedding dessert. You can do an ice cream action station, which is amazing and so much fun for your guests (trust me; I was at a wedding recently with one). But, if you don't have room for a buffet, ice cream sandwiches are easy. Plus, you can order them rolled in sprinkles that match your wedding colors to coordinate a little.

Fall Wedding Cake Alternatives
Mini Apples Pies
I thought about having a fall wedding just so I could give out mini apples pies with dessert. It was just such a fun idea. You could serve them warm, then have a server walking around offering a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top the pies.

Apple Cider Doughnuts
One of my favorite things about fall is apple cider. It's delicious, so the more I can have it, the better. And no one I know can go apple picking without picking up some apple cider doughnuts. They just screams fall, making them a great wedding cake alternative for your fall wedding.

Any Season Honorable Mention
Cookie Plates
Personally this isn't for me. They don't scream wedding, but so many people offer them at weddings, this list of wedding cake alternatives needed them.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of these wedding cake alternatives is your favorite?

Buying A Grocery Store Wedding Cake

When I was wedding planning, I heard a lot of people suggest you save money by buying a grocery store wedding cake. And, I'll be honest: I scoffed just a little.

See, this grocery store that was close to my last job in New York made an amazing sheet cake with cannoli filling. But ... it's a sheet cake. So every time I heard someone suggest a grocery store cake, I thought of a sheet cake.

And then my friend Erika started planning her wedding and told me she was planning on buying a grocery store wedding cake. She showed me a photo of the cake and it was beautiful.

And, heck. It wasn't a sheet cake. And was definitely not something to scoff at.

Buying A Grocery Store Wedding Cake

I kind of really have grocery store envy right now. See, that cake in the photo, that's Erika's actual wedding cake. It's stunning -- and doesn't look like it's from a supermarket.

When Erika was ordering her cake, the styles could be combined and colors could be changed. Plus, the grocery store was able to work with her on the size of the cake, making sure it fit her wedding needs. 

You'll have to go in store to get prices and most bakeries will have books with options. It will also have options for accessories like ribbon and edible flowers. If you want a specific cake topper, though, you're better off ordering one yourself or making your cake topper like I did.

So this is what you're hoping for when you considering a grocery store for your cake. No sheet cakes -- unless you order one. See, some catering halls will walk out a pretty cake, but guests are getting served a sheet cake because most of that pretty cake is actually Styrofoam. Crazy, right?

If you do buy a grocery store wedding cake, be sure to follow up a week before your wedding just to make sure your cake is on schedule. That's good practice for any bakery, unless it is affiliated with your venue (then your venue will check up on it). 

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you thinking of buying a grocery store wedding cake?

Tips For The Perfect Wedding Cupcakes

When we were talking about wedding cupcakes versus a wedding cake, there were a lot of opinions, but one that rang loudest was Erica M., who said she was making cupcakes for her boyfriend's mother's wedding.

The wedding came ... and so did her gorgeous cupcakes.

These look professional. From the touch of the embellished cupcake liners to the perfection of the icing on top, these are absolutely perfect and wedding worthy.

For me, a piping bag and tips don't make gorgeous icing. They make an uneven mess on top of a cupcake. I start steady and then I lose it at the top. So these would be out of the question. And baking eight dozen like Erica did, wow.

I asked Erica (who does this as a hobby for family and friends, not professionally if you can believe that) if she could share a few tips. I thought it was asking for a lot and definitely didn't want to put her out, but she happily obliged and typed up a list of tips that would definitely help everyone. So if cupcakes are your passion, you're gonna wanna print these tips out. Seriously. They're amazing and helpful and I want to publicly thank Erica from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to type them and share them with us.

Tips For The Perfect Wedding Cupcakes

Take it away Erica ...

Here's a few tips/rules to live by when making cupcakes: 

1. Make sure everything is at room temp unless it says otherwise, everything combines easier. (There's also some sciency reasons why but I wont get into that right now lol.) 

2. For cupcakes that are uniform in height, use a #20 ice cream scoop for standard size cupcakes. One scoop will fill the liner to the correct amount and takes the guesswork out of measuring batter for each one. (You can find a picture online of these scoops if you want, its just an ice cream scoop with a yellow handle).

3. Avoid over-mixing the batter! So many people do this and wind up with hard or brownie like cupcakes. The key to light fluffy cupcakes is to create small air bubbles in the batter by mixing them lightly. I always hand mix my batter with a spatula towards the end, a stand mixer can easily over-mix it.

4. Don't open the oven every 5 minutes to check on them!!! lol. Doing this lets out more heat than most realize and can make the cupcakes (or anything for that matter) not rise properly and you may wind up with a lopsided cupcake. Not a pretty picture huh?

5. Always have a good attitude when baking and take pride in your work! If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!

6. Always always always level out dry ingredients with the back of a butter knife. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've eaten a cookie or cupcake that has way too much flour or baking soda/powder in it. It doesn't taste good!

7. Quality ingredients = quality product

8. Preheat your oven before you start mixing and measuring everything. A preheated oven should be at temperature for at least 20 minutes to ensure proper baking.

9. When frosting a cupcake using a pastry bag, do a couple of test swirls first! It'll help get your technique right and it gets those first few big air bubbles out. I find that holding my bag at a 45 degree angle gets me the best swirl when using a star tip.

10. The last and most important tip: Have fun doing it!! Baking is an enjoyable experience and can be done by anyone at any skill level! Don't worry about making a mess, it's part of cooking and can be cleaned up later. Relax, enjoy the smell of fresh cupcakes, taste the frosting, and be happy!

I love her tips almost as much as I love her wedding cupcakes. I'm going to print these myself and tape them to the inside of my recipe book. My fave tip was the one that the oven should be at temperature for 20 minutes before baking. I had absolutely no idea about that (and truth be told, I used to never pre-heat the oven -- shh).

Now that I told you which tip was my fave, I want to know yours.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What wedding cupcake tip did you find most helpful?

Cupcakes Vs. Cake (The great wedding debate)

I remember when I stopped in to a cupcake shop in town for the first time.

It was, by far, the best red velvet anything I've had ... which is a feat since I pretty much eat red velvet anywhere it's available and I'm super picky.

It got me thinking. At one of the bridal expos we went to, we sampled six cakes and I wasn't impressed with a single one. I wouldn't serve any of them to my guests. I'm kind of a dessert snob. Pete, he doesn't know a scratch cake from a box cake. They're all the same to him. But my pallet, it knows desserts.

And this cupcake ... it's what memories are made of.

So I thought, "What if I went against a traditional wedding cake and got cupcakes from this shop?"

Wedding cupcakes are the trendy thing to do. In fact, it's exactly what my friend Mallory did at her wedding.

She had a small cake ... and that's the one they cut and stuffed in each other's faces. But everyone else had a delicious cupcake. It was perfect. After a cocktail hour and dinner, you don't always have much room for a traditional cake. But I've never heard a single person ever say they don't have room for a cupcake.

I mentioned cupcakes to my mom during planning, and she said that I would regret it in the future. She said I would look back on my photos and wish that I had one of a gorgeous wedding cake. And our wedding cake, gosh, it was gorgeous. And delicious. It took me months of cake tasting to find the perfect one. But over a year later, people are still talking about it. It was definitely the right choice for us.

But, what about you?

BRIDAL BABBLE: What side of the cupcakes vs. cake wedding debate do you fall on?

Four Unique Wedding Cake Cutting Songs

We knew exactly what song we would play when we cut our wedding cake. In fact, Pete had it picked out before he even realized that we had to pick specific songs for specific parts of our reception. He knew for sure that he wanted to play "Cut the Cake" by Average White Band. It's such a funny song and, quite literally, states what's exactly happening.

Of course, I love any sort of play on words or anything that's even slightly punny, so I was definitely on board. And of course, I had to make that the top song in our shortlist of unique wedding cake cutting songs. I only picked four because, honestly, I hate the lists that give you every single love song ever known to man as an option.

Four Unique Wedding Cake Cutting Songs

Cut the Cake -- Average White Band

Cut the Cake -- Average White Band mp3

Sugar, Sugar -- The Archies

Sugar, Sugar -- The Archies mp3

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) -- James Taylor

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) -- James Taylor mp3

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) -- The Four Tops

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) -- The Four Tops mp3

If you need ideas for your other songs, you can check out all our wedding songs.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What are your favorite wedding cake cutting songs?

Enjoy Your Wedding Cake (On your one year anniversary)

Pete and I were out to dinner last night, celebrating our anniversary. Our waitress asked if we wanted any dessert and Pete told her that we had cake at home. He was referring to our wedding cake, one that had been renting space in our friends' deep freezer for the last year.

Having your wedding cake a year later isn't something that you can just remember to do last minute. You can't jump up with minutes to spare on your first anniversary and remember about the cake that has been sitting in the freezer and eat it. No, it's a process, just like storing the top tier of your wedding cake is (if you don't know how to do that, you can click the link and get the steps).

To eat your wedding cake, you have to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Then, take it out of the fridge to allow it to thaw for about 30 minutes.

When you're ready for it, that's when the unwrapping starts.

First you open the box, then you remove two layers of foil, then four layers of plastic wrap -- and, if you're like me, you nick the edge of the cake when you're pulling up the last layer of plastic wrap and ruin the edge. And, if you're also like me, every layer between you and the cake is a reminder that you have really good friends. If you remember, we actually didn't wrap our own cake. Our friends did it for us, then stored it for us, and then invited us over for dinner (and cooked for us) on the day we needed to pick it up.

How did it taste? So good. Seriously. It was just as fresh as the day it was served at our wedding. The pecans in the chocolate turtle ganash were still crunchy, the cake was still moist enough that crumbs could be picked up with the back of a fork. It was a lot better than I actually anticipated. Yes, people tell you that your cake is still good a year later, but if you are a skeptic about year old cake, let me put that doubt to bed. If you wrap it right, your wedding cake topper will still be good. Plus, it will give you an excuse to use your cake knife and server another time.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you planning on saving the top tier of your wedding cake to eat on your anniversary?

Disney Image Projections Wedding Cake (You have to see it in action!)

I loved our wedding cake. Absolutely loved it more than any other wedding cake I've ever had. It was eye catching and delicious. You can't ask for more from a cake.

Unless you're Disney.

Because they made a cake that's basically a projection screen. It's a cake that has your images projected onto it. Want Tinkerbell sprinkling fairy dust across your cake? Family photos? A love poem?

Disney can make that happen.

Photo credit

My wedding twin Kristiana showed me the cake this morning, and I can't stop thinking about it. It's a little dramatic for me, personally, but it will definitely be a cake your guests will remember years later.

Photo credit

Cinderella-themed wedding with her horse and carriage strolling across your cake? Why not.

I mean, if Disney can make this happen on Cinderella's castle, of course the mouse house can make it happen on a cake.

I was worried, though, that with the lights on, you'd end up with a completely white cake. But, in the light, this cake is even prettier.

Photo credit

You can completely customize your cake, making it unique to you. And the projection on the Disney Image Projections Wedding Cake is completely edible, so you can do a traditional cake cutting and actually serve this cake to your guests. Plus, that also means you can pick any type of cake you want ... although, I would guess that you wouldn't be able to have a chocolate fudge icing because this probably needs to be displayed on something white. But I'm not really sure.

If you're planning on wearing the Disney Frozen wedding dress, this sounds like the logical cake for you. And if you're really into Disney Cakes, you can sign up for Disney Cakes & Sweets magazine for free. You'll get the premiere issue of Disney Cakes & Sweets Magazine for free, plus a free Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutter and Winnie the Pooh Silicone Molds. I wonder if this new projection cake will be a huge part of the magazine? I can't see why it wouldn't.

But, in case you're curious about the Disney Image Projections Wedding Cake and can't wait for the magazine, you're in luck. I needed more details, so I found a YouTube video about the cake. You can watch it below and get your questions answered.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you project on your wedding cake?

How To Store The Top Tier Of Your Wedding Cake (so it tastes great a year later)

The end of our wedding reception is more of a blur than the wedding itself. Nearly all our guests traveled, so they almost all took the shuttle we rented back to the hotel after the ceremony ended. Pete and I were left, carless, at the venue. We had a room in the resort for the night and I knew we could get a ride back home in the morning, but I never thought about all the items that we would actually have after the wedding. We had leftover favors, miscellaneous centerpiece items, two guitars, and gifts that had to go somewhere ... somewhere that wasn't our honeymoon suite.

Two of our friends, who live in our town, were amazing and took all of our stuff back to their house.

Including the top tier or our wedding cake.

I really thought storing the top tier was simple. I thought you put it in the freezer and took it out a year later and had it on your first anniversary. Simple. 

Oh no. There's a process to it.

Our friends did ours for us (small aside: If you read our post Five Things No One Tells You About Your Wedding Day, number four was that you need that one random friend who will help you at the end of the night, after your parents and bridal party have retired from their duties. These friends were those friends) so I don't have any personal experience doing this. But I do have instructions from the bakery we used: Imaginary Cakes. Their instructions are paraphrased below:

How To Store The Top Tier Of Your Wedding Cake

• Remove the cake topper and any big decorations from the top tier of the cake. Any edible decorations can be left.
• Freeze the cake in the freezer for an hour. This hardens the icing so it doesn't stick to anything later in the process.
• Remove from the freezer and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover the cake in its entirety, making sure its covered from the top to bottom and all sides. This wrap should be airtight.
• Double wrap the cake with aluminum foil. This makes sure there's no taste of freezer burn.
• Put the wrapped cake in a box.
• Place the box (with the cake inside) in a freezer-safe tight container, plastic bag, or a garbage bag.
• Leave the cake in the freezer for a year.

The Day Before Your Anniversary

• Take the bag from the freezer and place in the fridge overnight.

The Day Of Your Anniversary

• Remove the cake from the fridge and let it thaw for 30 minutes before serving.

The cake above, that's my friend Susan's baseball cake from her wedding last weekend. It was delicious, in case you were wondering. If you want to check out a photo of my cake, there's one in this post.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you plan on saving the top tier of your wedding cake?

The Naked Cake Trend (And a photo of Full House Star Dave Coulier's wedding cake)

Earlier in the week, we tackled the great cake versus cupcakes debate. My favorite reply was from The Giving Bride who, when replying to if the cupcake trend is over, said: I think they're not as trendy, but they'll always be tasty!

Good point. Cupcakes are still cake and frosting and, oftentimes, filling. It has all the tasty parts of the cake in a portion-controlled size.

But now my sweet tooth wants to know what you think about the new wedding trend: naked cakes. Full House star Dave Coulier married Melissa Bring earlier this month and the couple had a naked cake.

Photo credit

Naked cakes, if you've never heard of them, are, quite simply, cakes without frosting/icing/fondant. It's just the cake and filling, all on display. The cakes often have a dusting of powdered sugar on them, but that's it.

When we were cake shopping, I was having a heck of a time finding what I wanted. The buttercream down here is so much sweeter than what I'm used to. I would try a cake and have that overly sweet taste in my mouth all day. You know, the one that immediately dries the roof of your mouth? And for me, cake was top priority, so there was no way I was having a cake that forced my guests to have a dry mouth all night.

After much searching and cake tasting, I found a cake that had a very subdued buttercream. It was amazing and exactly what I was searching for. We had two cake flavors, two cake fillings, and the entire cake was covered in white buttercream (you can check out our wedding cake, if you want). It took a heck of a time finding that buttercream, but there was no way I was jumping on the naked cake bandwagon.

That cake is gorgeous (and can't be found outside of Pinterest -- seriously, I tried. Google Images couldn't even catfish that bad boy and every Pinterest link I followed turned up a dead page). It's pretty. Very pretty. And probably takes more skill than a cake that's covered in frosting because each layer must be perfect. You can't cover up any construction errors with fondant or frosting.

But it also looks unfinished. It looks like there is something missing. And that something, obviously, is buttercream.

I'm very opinionated about cakes, so this just is not for me. But it's for Dave Coulier's wife (if it wasn't, he could have told her to: Cut. It. Out.). And it's for enough people that it's become the latest trend in cakes.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What about you? Do you like the naked cake trend?

Is The Cupcake Trend Over? (And photos of my wedding cake)

If you know me, you know I love sweets. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day. So when I thought about the wedding and the part that was most important to me, it was definitely the dessert.

Originally, I wanted cupcakes. I fell in love with these cupcakes that are made in town and was absolutely sure I wanted nothing but them. Plus, cupcakes are really fun and whimsical. Who doesn't love a cupcake?

Well, my mom for one. Not that she doesn't love them, but she said for a wedding, you should have a cake. Especially for the photos. So we listened to her and ended up with a beautiful cake that tasted amazing (and looked amazing too -- which you'll see if you get to the end of the post). People confessed to having three slices. It was absolutely the right decision.

But even after we decided on a cake, I still had the cutesy cupcakes in the back of my mind.

Then the cupcake shop in town -- the one I wanted to order from -- closed (it has since re-opened but drastically reduced its hours). And then yesterday, pretty much out of nowhere, Crumbs Bake Shop closed its doors.

Photo credit

Basically, yesterday, Crumbs Bake Shop informed employees that it would be closing. And that was that. Poof. It's less than 24 hours and the Crumbs website basically vanished.

Just as quickly as cupcakes were here, it seems like they're gone.

People are trying to find the next cupcake: macaroons, whoopie pies, cake pops (although I think cupcakes were the next cake pop, to be honest), cronuts, that chocolate chip cookie shooter thing. That's great for sweets lovers like me, but for brides, I don't think you should try and find the next trend. And I'm not very certain you should look for the current thing either. There's a reason why some things are tried and true, and a reason why cliches become cliches. They just work.

I think you definitely want to incorporate some trends into your wedding day to mark the time that you're getting married. Pick your wedding song as something that was popular when you met or when you're getting married. If you really like the mason jar craze, do it. Love chalkboard art? Have some. But don't have a Pinterest-only wedding and fill your wedding with trendy items only. You'll risk having a very dated wedding ... which might look dated a mere six months after you tie the knot.

And right now, stay away from cupcakes.

Maybe my wedding cake photo will sway your decision.

Yup, that is our actual cake from our wedding last month. It was stunning, delicious, and definitely made for a pretty picture (especially with the beach as a backdrop). Plus, I made those cake toppers myself. With my own two hands (and Popsicle sticks).
Speaking of cake toppers, don't forget yours ... Click the images to order our favorite above or check out more cake toppers here.
BRIDAL BABBLE: With Crumbs closing, do you think the cupcake trend is over?

Review: Preston Bridal Cake Cutter Set From Reed & Barton

A Bride On A Budget received this item for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.

When you start planning a wedding, costs add up. You have to pay for everything. Want premium alcohol instead of house? You have to pay for that. Want the upgraded chairs? You have to pay for that.

There are things that a venue will (most likely) have available for you to use: plates, linens, a cake cutter. But personally, I wanted my own cake cutting set. It's one of those things that you can use and pass down to your kids for them to use at their weddings, especially if you get a very classic and timeless set.


We were lucky enough to receive the Preston Bridal Cake Cutter set from Reed & Barton. The set, which contains a cake cutter and server, is made of 18/10 stainless steel. Personally, if you're looking for sets, stainless steel is the way you want to go. Silver is nice, but you have to polish it or it will tarnish. And if you forget about it, it's not something that you can break out in ten years and just expect to be ready to go. Stainless steel has a lot less upkeep. Be sure to wash and dry it (never putting detergent directly on it) and use a stainless polish to remove any discolorations.

I love the look of the Preston set. It has a classy double barrel at the "throat" (where the handle and head meet) and a fluted hollow handle. Very classic. I looked at a lot of cake cutter sets and some were so trendy. Plastic handles that you fill with beads, bedazzled handles, rhinestones galore. They're things that could look pretty now and might really match your wedding, but they're things that will look really dated when you look at your photos in years from now.

Classy and classic is the way to go. And the Preston set is just that.

The knife is a lot lighter than I thought it would be -- and the server is heavier than I thought it would be, so go figure. Better than the other way around.

If you look close at the photo above, it looks like you can see imperfections in the server. It's not. The set comes packaged in a very nice box with "beds" for each piece. They "imperfections" are actually a dusting from sleeping in the box (oh, such a technical explanation). Once you wash the pieces, this will be removed. I would suggest washing these and bringing them outside of the package to your venue so that you don't have to rewash before you use it. Bring the box, though, so you can store them after (after they are washed, of course -- although mention you want it back. Our venue ended up tossing our box so we don't have it anymore).

Reed & Barton sells a ton of other wedding-related items, like toasting flutes and picture frames.

But back to the Preston Bridal Cake Cutter Set items. I love this set. The photos make it look amazing, but it's even better in real life.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you pass this cake cutter set down to the next generation?

Wedding Cake Alternative (and a review of Batter & Cream)

A Bride On A Budget received these items for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.

There's been a trend to move away from traditional wedding cake and go with individual and bite-sized treats. We went to a couple weddings in the recent past with cupcakes instead of wedding cakes.

And, although cupcakes were the hot trend for a while, you might be trying to catch the next trend. What about whoopie pies?

When I was first contacted about a review of Batter & Cream whoopie pies, I didn't know this was a thing. I had heard of them and had them when I was a kid, but I didn't know they existed outside of preservative-heavy packages in supermarkets. In fact, when I was talking to Pete's dad about them, he didn't even know a whoopie pie existed so here I was, thinking we were the first to hear about these for weddings.

In fact, one glimpse at Pinterest shows that there are actually other people in this world who have heard about whoopie pies for weddings. But, honestly, how did people get married before Pinterest?

If you are like Pete's dad and haven't heard of a whoopie pie, it's more of a cake than a pie. There's no pie crust. It's two cake layers with filling between. So it's more like a cupcake than anything else. Plus, Pinterest taught me the right way to eat a cupcake is to cut the cake part in half and stick the bottom on top so the frosting is in-between. Whoopie pies save that step.

These whoopie pies arrived in a plastic container holding 15. There were five different varieties and we got three of each (which was great because Pete, his dad, and I were the ones having them, so we could have one of each).

They weren't labeled but we did get a card with various flavors and we were comparing what the photos looked liked with what we had in our hands.

The pies were shipped from New York, and the shipping package says it was shipped with dry ice (although, I'm gonna be honest: We weren't so sure about that. They came in the packaging in the top photo, and that was in a silver, padded envelope. We didn't see any dry ice packaging, so unless the dry ice was in that padding, we didn't find it).

Because they traveled to North Carolina, the frosting arrived a little melted. A quick stay in the fridge changed that. I'm not sure if there is a proper way to enjoy whoopie pies, but I would definitely say chilled. This is good too because if you do order these for your wedding, you can have them shipped to your venue and immediately refrigerated. You can serve them chilled -- and it will give the centers a little time to stiffen.

The pies were great. The actual cake portion was really moist. They weren't overly sweet, which is just how we like our desserts. The mini cakes were just shy of two inches (yes, we measured) so they were the perfect size to pop into your mouth (although I did eat mine in three bites).
I would definitely overestimate the amount your guests will eat, if you do decide to have these in lieu of cake. They are really easy to grab and enjoy, and your guests definitely will. Batter & Cream has a bunch of flavors, but I would advise you to limit to two choices. That way, you can kind of suggest (without saying it) that your guests only grab two. If you have five flavors, they might grab five so they can try them all.
My favorite of the ones we got to try was the chocolate one. Looking at the website, I would think it's the Chocolate & Orange Zest, but none of us tasted any orange zest. A very close second was the Fig, Honey, and Goat Cheese whoopie pie. It was fantastic. Such a great mixture of flavors -- and yes, it's a great dessert profile, even though reading that might have you think otherwise.
You can do a cake tower filled with these pies and then a traditional cake on top for your cake cutting. Or, heck, just get a six-inch whoopie pie instead of a six-inch round cake and cut into that! And if you want to try these at home, you could pick up a whoopie pie pan at this book --  Whoopie Pies: 30 Recipes for Treats for Every Occasion -- and see what delicious combinations you can dream up.
BRIDAL BABBLE: If you were creating a whoopie pie, what cake/filling flavor combination would you make?

Cake Tasting (My real life experience)

When you first start planning your wedding, you have to set a budget. You arbitrarily assign dollar amounts to items without having a clue what things actually cost.

Once you start figuring an actual budget, you realize you can't afford everything. You have to decide what is a top priority and spend your money there.

One of my top priorities is the cake. I love dessert and I'm often underwhelmed by wedding cakes. I wanted to make sure my wedding cake wowed me.

So we tried cakes. A lot of cakes. Fifteen to twenty cakes between various expos and events. They all had an incredibly sweet and grain buttercream that I refused to have my wedding.

I was at a meeting with a cake designer who understood my frustration and suggested Imaginary Cakes to us. Apparently, it has the least sweet buttercream in the county. I had to try it.

Before our tasting, we were able to pick three cake flavors and three filling/icing choices. Imaginary Cakes also gives vanilla buttercream and fondant, since most of the cakes they make are covered in vanilla buttercream.

I was excited about that because I really wanted to check out this buttercream that was rumored to be less sweet than the others.

When we got there, a "map" was put in front of us. It was exactly like the back of a chocolate box (you know, the one that ruins Forrest Gump's mama's theory).

The map completely matched up with our choices (even down to the shapes of the cakes).

My mom and I were left with the cakes and fillings, plus an iPad slideshow of cakes that the company had made.

I wanted to watch the slideshow, but the moment of truth was in front of me. Literally. Could this be the buttercream I had hoped for?

I decided to try a bite of cake first.

"Try this filling," my mom said, talking about the strawberry filling made from berries picked and frozen from a local strawberry farm.

So I tried a bite of cake and strawberry filling. Delish.

"Did you try the buttercream?" she asked.

It was good. Actually, better than good. It was the best buttercream that I had tried since moving to North Carolina.

The chocolate cake was amazing and the filling we paired with it, oh my gosh, we wanted to take home a funnel's worth. All the cakes were great, actually. They weren't sweet alone, and the fillings and icing weren't incredibly sweet either, but when it was all paired together, it was amazing.

After we tasted the cakes and decided what we were going to pick, we went through the photos I saved from the slideshow. I showed ones I liked and what I liked about them, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.

So I did what any normal bride to be does: I went to Pinterest. I had pinned cakes, lots of cakes, and went through them to remind myself of what I wanted.

Professional bakers are amazing and can pretty much make anything you want, so don't be afraid to ask for what you want. It's your wedding. You can find someone to make your dream cake.

And finding those people can be easy. You can go to an expo, you can ask around, or you can ask your venue. Our venue, coincidentally, has this bakery on its preferred vendor list. That means that our cake can actually just be added into our package and we don't have to worry about making sure we pay someone else. One less check to write; one less headache.

So, I'll be honest: We didn't finish our cake samples. At the end, when we were asked if we had any questions, I said, "Can we take the rest home in a box?" I laughed because, well, this is a bakery that makes custom orders only. It's not a storefront. No one can walk in and purchase something from behind the glass and leave with it. We were told yes ... and we were given the fillings to take home too.

That night, we had a second cake tasting with Pete and the leftovers. He's not a sweets guy at all. In fact, if we didn't have a cake, I'm not sure he would miss it. And even he loved the cake. I can't wait to have it again in four months (and then a year and four months since we are keeping our top piece for good luck).

BRIDAL BABBLE: Have you done a cake tasting yet? How was yours?