Wedding cake can be your only dessert. "My favorite compliment is hearing the cake was delicious," Polly Schoonmaker of Polly's Cakes in Portland, Oregon, explained. "It's taking time for people to realize that wedding cakes taste really good." Customer demand for a different type of delicious cake led Karen Balzano of Anita's Cheesecake to establish the Providence Wedding Cake Company specializing in eighteen flavors of cheesecake.

Schoonmaker prefers the moistness of mousse cakes with flavors like hazelnut mocha or Italian ricotta alternating with various berry curds. Sponge and butter cakes may have lemon cream fillings. Polly's cakes display rolled fondant frosting which may be enhanced with flowers or ribbons. "Fondant is a decorative finish for design purposes rather than flavor," Schoonmaker explained. "I use buttercream frosting underneath it so that guests can peel it away." Balzano decorates cheesecakes with a non-dairy whipped crme in unique customized designs. After experimenting with many other "frostings," she feels crme is the only medium that enhances the flavor of cheesecake.

"You can order a wedding cake or edible art," Schoonmaker joked. "It's my way of doing art through the back door. I'm creating fashion for cakes." Each cake is a collaboration between Schoonmaker and the wedding couple incorporating motifs of special meaning into the design of the cake. "I'm not trying to imitate reality in my designs," she said. "I weave elements into tasteful cakes with a tongue-in-cheek motif that are an unexpected surprise."

Schoonmaker created possibly the most talked about cake in America, the rose whimsy cake. A two-layer version of the cake with stylized fondant candles was the former first lady Betty Ford's 18th birthday cake. Brides who have saved magazine photographs of cakes will find Polly's Cakes represented in their collection. She sees the popularity of the whimsy cake as part of a bigger trend toward breaking away from tradition and having a fun party cake with individual style. Although noting that different and avant-garde are normal to her, she has found green and yellow to be the dominant cake colors with jewel tones used in fall and winter. For informal weddings, brides are asking for individual cakes and homey cupcakes.

The theme of the invitations is being tied to the theme of the cake in both design and words. Lines from poetry, traditional ethnic blessings or love letters have been incorporated into invitations and cakes. Schoonmaker writes the words in bands along the outside of the cake. Balzano will also write wedding vows or other words on the outside of cheesecakes. "Most people are unaware that cheesecakes are highly stable and stay fresh during indoor or outdoor receptions," Balzano noted. Pastel colors, flowers, columns and suspended tiers of any height are used. While fruited cakes are the most popular, brides are asking for simpler overall designs. All wedding cakes may use different flavors for each tier. Caterers recommend that dessert buffets use at least two flavors while sit-down service be limited to one flavor. Before making your final choices, remember the fun of choosing is in the tasting. Cake tasting is often the groom's favorite wedding task.