So into the new wedding cupcakes trend. Mini cupcakes are so cute!

Cupcakes vs. Wedding Cakes: The Showdown!

Are Whimsical Cupcakes Right for Your Wedding?

By Nina Callaway, About.com Guide

Wedding cupcakes keep popping up again and again in the media as a way to save money on your wedding or adding a bit of whimsy to the reception. But what's the truth? Are cupcakes really a good alternative to a wedding cake? I decided to have a showdown and see who could be quicker on the draw when it came to cost, style, and tradition. Which one do you think will win?

COST:

This is the big question, isn't it? When wedding cupcakes first became a trend, they were touted as a great way to save money: spend a buck or two for a cupcake rather than $4 or $5 per slice for cake. But bakers soon caught on that doing wedding cupcakes are just as much work – if not more – than a traditional cake. Every single one of those suckers has to be baked and iced. If you're doing specialty decorations, you'll need one for each cupcake. And, most bakeries will rent you a cake stand, but you might have to purchase a cupcake stand.

On the other hand, it is easier for a non-professional baker to put together 150 cupcakes than trying to make an elaborate tiered cake. It's also easier to dress up grocery store cupcakes than it is to try to make a cheap wedding cake look fancy. In the end, it all comes down to choices.

Here are some little extras that make your wedding cupcakes special, but also might blow your budget:

Specialty cupcake liners
To match your wedding colors approx. $0.10 each
Fancy laser cut cupcake liners approx. $1 each
Sugar flowers
these can either be royal icing or gumpaste
Wendy Kromer $0.40 - $9 per flower
Express creations $0.30 - $4 per flower
Sugar Craft $0.30 - $3 per flower
Monogrammed fondant hearts
Wendy Kromer Approx $1 each.
Mini bride and groom cupcake toppers
Plum Party 12 for $7.50
Cupcake Stands
Wilton wire stand Holds 38 cupcakes $39.99

Acrylic and Mirror-finish Stands From the UK. 7 tier stand holds 120 cupcakes £69.99 (Larger sizes available)

Cardboard stand Holds 36-40 cupcakes $4.79 Decorate edges with ribbon matching your wedding colors.

Centerpiece Cupcake Stands Instead of flowers, use cupcakes as a centerpiece! These wire stands hold 13 cupcakes. $16.95

Make Your Own!

Winner: A tie! ! When it comes down to the bottom line, you can do cupcakes more inexpensively than you can buy a wedding cake, but in the end being memorable is a valuable commodity. And it's cheaper to have a memorable wedding cake than to decorate each individual cupcake.

STYLE:

There's something so whimsically childlike about unwrapping a cupcake. And that's what people both love and hate about wedding cupcakes – are they fun and familiar or too casual and unsophisticated?

If you're having a formal wedding, you may want to stick with a grand and formal wedding cake. If your wedding guests are traditional people, they might think cupcakes are too casual, or worse, cheap.

But if you're having a relaxed reception where fun is the primary goal, tell everyone to be a kid again and grab a cupcake. Once they're up and having fun on the dance floor, they won't have to sit again for dessert. They'll just grab a cupcake and keep on groovin'.

Winner: Cupcakes! There's just a bit more punch to a cupcake. You can dress them up or down, but they'll always be fun.

TRADITION:

Wedding cakes have been the standard for over 100 years, and you may be sad to give up the traditions associated with them. Cupcakes leave no room for a cake topper, and the customary cake cutting looks a little comical when your cake is only 3 inches wide. But brides and grooms have found a way to have their cake and eat it too: get a small 6" cake to sit on the top of your cupcake tower. You can use this for the ceremonial cake cutting, and then freeze the rest for your 1-year anniversary.

Winner: Wedding Cake! Come on, this winner was a given. Even with all the tips I've given you, cupcakes will never be as elegantly traditional as wedding cake.