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I’ve never been crazy about the idea of serving wedding cake. Don’t get me wrong—I love cake! It’s just that whenever I imagine our big day, a wedding cake isn’t in the picture. But, I am a HUGE fan of cupcakes! Cupcakes make it easy to have a variety of flavors for people to choose from. And leftover cupcakes would be so much easier for the guests to tote home after the wedding.
When I asked our caterer about the possibility of serving cupcakes, I was surprised to find that they are more expensive than a wedding cake! I always assumed they would be cheaper, but at our venue they’re not! I was torn. Part of the cupcake attraction had to do with the thought that they were more economical, but they were actually going to be LESS economical in our case! So, I tried to settle into the idea of having a wedding cake. I recalled attending a friend’s wedding this summer, and loving their cake. It was covered in crystallized sugar, something I had never seen before! The cake shimmered, sparkled, and was crunchy! Crunchy frosting!? Awesome! I started to get excited about this sparkly, crunchy, wedding cake idea.
Now that we knew what we wanted our cake to look like, I started thinking about the flavors. Sadly, Mr. K and I will miss out on one of the best wedding planning rites of passage—the cake tasting!! Because we are planning from afar, we have to pick out our flavor based on the caterer’s descriptions. After reviewing the list of mouth-watering cake flavors, we chose these for our three-tiered cake:
For those chocolate-lovers out there, we also decided on serving chocolate-covered strawberries. I gleefully submitted our selections to the caterer via email. But that same day, she emailed me back strongly suggesting that I limit my choice of cake flavors to ONE. She said that because we are having a seated dinner it would be “too confusing” to serve multiple varieties of cake. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with serving one cake flavor, but I wanted to give our guests a variety of choices (which is why I wanted to do cupcakes in the first place!). Is serving multiple flavors really going to cause the confusion that my caterer predicts? What if we just leave cake on a buffet table for people to select themselves?
So, we can either stick to our guns and insist on three different flavors, or we can choose just one. But choosing just one is so tough! Mr. K is in the chocolate camp, while I have always been a supporter of vanilla!
You should go with your gut–three flavors are better than one! And if the only objection is “confusion,” I think you’re fine. I would only be worried if the baker seemed hesitant about pulling off a 3-flavored cake.
i agree, go with the gut. i went to a seated dinner reception where they had multiple flavors of cake, well, 2 flavors, and the servers had no trouble serving cake. they just had trays with plates of both flavors and asked which one we wanted.
the only confusion was deciding which one i wanted! lol.
those flavors sound amazing! you should def stick with the three flavors if that’s what you want. Sounds the coordinator is only looking out for the venue’s interests. I’ve been to weddings with multiple cake flavors and certainly doesn’t add any sort of confusion. Your guests will figure it out and I’m sure they’ll appreciate the choices 
those cakes flavors sounds very yummy could you use those cake flavors as cupcakes too?
I’d split the difference and do two different flavors — definitely orange blossom, and one of the others. I do think that it’s hard to serve lots of flavors of cake unless everyone is getting a slice of each (which one of my friends did — she went completely CRAZY with cake and we actually ate it all!). At a couple other weddings I attended, I ended up being served cake flavors I wouldn’t have chosen, while people at other tables got the yummy ones, because the servers didn’t come around to ask what flavors we wanted. They just put plates on the table and we got what we got.
The way that tea described sounds like a great alternative, but I think three flavors would still be too much.
I don’t know if this helps, but the Thursday before our wedding, my FMIL is planning an all women get together, complete with fun vintage aprons, and are all making the cupcakes for our wedding!!! She has a convection oven, so that helps move things along, and with all 9 aunts on the grooms side, plus our wedding party, this will be, quite literally, a piece of cake. Plus its a fun activity for my bridal shower!!!!
P.s. I was in love with the multiple flavor, cupcake idea too, and this is how we are making it work. Go with your gut! Get what you want!!
I LOVE the idea of the three flavors! They all sound delicious and it will make everyone happy. A cake buffet is an excellent idea, or just having the servers pick up slices of each and ask the guests what they want will work, too!
I agree with everyone. Talk to your caterer and come up with a solution to the confusing issue (sounds like a crock anyway!). If you do need to cut it down go with 2 flavors, but not 1. I’ve never been to a wedding with one flavor of cake only. You need choices!
And if you really want cupcakes then just do it.
I love cupcakes too, but wanted a wedding cake, so we are doing cupcakes for the shower!
I say Miss Kitten, you can have all the flavors you want in your cake. Do not listen to your caterer. I have been to several weddings where the cake has more then one flavor. At some weddings the cake is served at the table. At another wedding, they sliced the cake and put it out on a buffet. And at a third it was passed around like hors d’oeuvres where a waiter had a tray of the three different kinds of cake and you picked which one you wanted from the tray.
Do not let your caterer dictate how your reception should go. They are there to help you throw the party of your dreams.
YUM cake! Now I need to go have another cupcake my FH bought me for Valentines day.
I think you shoud go with the three flavors…you will be saving $$ by not doing cupcakes, but still get something that you really like. I just went to a wedding that had three tiers-all different fillings-lemon, strawberries, and amaretto. It was fun because we could pass around and try all of the different varieties that were served to our table!
We’re doing three flavors too, but the top one is a special layer just for us Our baker didn’t see any problem with us at all, and is even doing a full sheet cake in two different flavors.
PS. Mrs. Bee, I’d really love it if it didn’t take me to the boards when I sign in
I think that you have a clear idea of what you want for your wedding. Maybe you could cut down on your costs somewhere else to get the cupcakes? It seems like you really want three flavors, so why not? Just cuz it would be harder on the CATERER??? That is their job to worry about, not yours!! (If they can do beef and chicken, why not orange, chocolate, and vanilla???)
I was just thinking…what’s the difference between having three cupcake flavors and three cake flavors as far as serving them? Why is the caterer ok to serve 3 cupcake flavors and not 3 cake flavors?
It’s your wedding day- stick to your guns! have whatever you want!
I voted for cupcakes though, because I like the idea and there is less of a chance that your guests will be confused.
i say do all three flavors on one cake.
my cake had three flavors. we opted out of the groom’s cake so one layer was chocolate. my only suggestion would be to order more than you think you’ll need.
our baker made the most delicious cakes and tons of guests wanted all three flavors. consequently, we ran out of cake at the very end of the reception. some might tell you that that is a problem but i liked all of the flavors too much to let any of them go. besides, i considered everyone’s desire to enjoy all three as a compliment to my taste.
multiple flavors are not confusing to anyone except the people who are encouraging you not to do it!
I’ve been to multiple flavored cake weddings with a seated reception. It wasn’t confusing at all. When they served the cake, they brought multiple flavors around to each table, and asked which you would prefer. It seemed like it worked fine. 
Go with your gut. In my opinion, I would give the guests a little more credit than your caterer seems to be.
@Miss Taffy:
We had cake at our shower because we really wanted cupcakes at our wedding — lol
Confucius say tasty cake must be made with happy heart!
It worries me that this early in the game the caterer is balking @ the 3 flavor request. It should be “as you wish” IMO.
Also — even if u are planning from afar — which I have done before for a couple weddings i did — Cake can be sent in a refrigerated container overnight for tasting purposes. . . Just an fyi — it comes out pretty good too.
But I don’t think the cake would be confusing if the staff is competent in anyway.
But if cupcakes are your priority/dream request maybe cut back on something else to make it a reality??
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Mrs. Kitten, Austin/Grand Cayman Age and Occupation: 25, Law Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Dental Student Engagement Date: October 19, 2006 Wedding Date: April, 2009 Venue: The Grand Old House, Grand Cayman About Me: In 2009 I will get married (after a two and a half year engagement!), become an Army wife, graduate from law school, take the bar, move from Austin to Washington, D.C., and start my career as a lawyer! With all this going on, Mr. Kitten and I decided to have a tropical, "stress-free" destination wedding. Nevertheless, my micromanaging, detail-oriented, perfectionist side has prevailed---I am currently obsessed with every last detail of my "stress-free" destination wedding! But most of all, I'm beyond excited to become Mrs. Kitten on a fabulous Caribbean vacation surrounded by my friends and family!
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