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I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Cupcakes!

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I am so very happy that cupcakes have made this incredible resurgence into society. It seems like in every major city, on any given corner, an abundance of cupcakes can be found. Whether it’s a sweet pick-me-up or a special occasion, I am finding out that there are more to cupcakes than just a pretty face!

I guess it was back in February I started thinking about the cake for our wedding. Did we want something traditional, out of the box, or just down right too pretty to eat?! These were all good questions. The good news is that in today’s market you can have just about anything you like… until you hear the price. Thank goodness I was calling from Philadelphia because when one woman told me her cakes started at $11.99 a slice, I thought to myself “Quick! Say something… you’ve been silent for too long and she’s going to know something’s up!”

That being said, I had to re-work my game plan and change my approach. I decided to make an overall cake budget. What was I willing to spend to accommodate all of my guests but still feel like we had a beautiful wedding cake? I set the price at $3.99 a slice and believe me that helped. When calling bakeries, it was nice to be able to say “Hey, I’m getting married, I’d like to budget $3.99 a slice. Can you send me photos of cakes that fall into that category?” When I got a yes to the budget most bakers told me to go on Pinterest and find a style of cake that we loved and to send it over and from there. What great News!! This was working out really well and then I met Jamie…

Jamie is a baker near my hometown that introduced me to a wonderful idea for the Bride on a Budget from Creations Bakery in Georgia.

When talking to her about how much I loved dessert and how I wanted my wedding cake to taste like dessert (we’ve all had “wedding cake” before J ) she suggested that I do a wedding cake and cupcakes. I immediately thought “There is no way we can afford that.” Jamie’s idea was that we could take the total number of party guests, say 250, and make 150 servings for wedding cake and 150 cupcakes. This way there would be plenty of servings and something for everyone with all sorts of flavors. The even better news you might ask? We would come out better on the budget than we would have if it was only wedding cake. Genius! With cupcakes coming in at $2 each… the hardest part was going to be which flavors do we go with?

Aaron and I thought we’d start with vanilla and chocolate… but cupcakes are way too evolved for that! Jamie had us write down our favorite desserts and she put together a tasting that reflected those treats. We had everything from S'mores to Red Velvet, Bread Pudding, Crème Brulee, Cookie dough, Mint Chocolate, and even BBQ! Say what?!

Creme Brulee cupcake

Blueberry Pancake cupcake

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake

Maple Bacon cupcake

S'mores cupcake

The only one I didn’t care for was the BBQ… which Aaron loved but thought for our wedding we should hold off. The only one Aaron didn’t care for was the Red Velvet because he said we could have that anytime. He had a point…

BBQ cupcake

That still left us with 7 cupcakes we absolutely adored. Here’s where you come in… Which flavors would you like to see at our wedding?! Believe me there are no bad choices but it’s always nice to hear what’s making your mouth’s water! Let me know by voting on the Courtney Says I do Page this week. Can’t wait to see the results!

Bride on a Budget Extra Tip: Don’t be afraid to call bakeries that aren’t in your town or even your state. Most bakeries are able to ship cupcakes anywhere with the amazing packaging they’ve come up with to secure your cupcakes and sweets. Take for example Cakes and Candies MaryEllen, who did the cakes for Courtney Says I Do. Not only was she one of the best priced gals in the PA area, Her cupcakes were delicious, and she ships!