Although your ceremony is important, the real treat of any wedding is the reception. After all, it's the largest and most expensive party most of us will ever throw for our friends and family members. And, of course, you want everything to be special starting with the cake.

Choosing Your Wedding Cake

Many couples are surprised by the process of buying a wedding cake. For one, you don't call up the baker and say “Give me a sheet cake” then pay a flat rate for that cake. Instead, you're charged by the piece. For example, if you want 200 pieces of chocolate cake, you'll be charged a certain price for each of those pieces – let's say $3 – which would mean your cake would cost at least $600. The fillings and icings you choose will add more expenses to that price.

On the positive side, shopping for wedding cakes is great fun if you have a sweet tooth. In fact, you'll probably find it difficult to narrow down your choices because there are so many different options available. For example, you can find cakes in dozens of flavors, including chocolate hazelnut, orange, black forest, banana, cherry, red velvet, mocha, and more. And that doesn't include specialty flavors the baker has created. On top of all that, you'll also need to pick a filling, such as lemon, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate mousse, pineapple, orange liqueur, or praline. Plus, you can pick different types of icing, including the standard butter cream, white chocolate, or mocha.

The good news is that you can choose more than one flavor for your cake. Many couples make each tier a different combination of cake and filling. However, you should stick to one type of icing.

Of course, the cake is only part of the reception story. You'll also need some additional accessories if you really want to make a splash.

Cake Toppers

Traditionally, cake toppers are small bride and groom figurines. Many couples don't like these figurines because the plastic versions look cheap and can detract from the rest of a beautiful wedding cake. If you want to stay traditional, you can invest in china figurines instead of plastic ones, but these are more expensive.

You can also opt for different types of cake toppers. You could consider adding silk or fresh flowers to the top of the cake or even sugar seashells depending on the theme of your wedding. Spun-sugar bird nests are another option because they look amazingly intricate.

You could also choose something more unique for the two of you, such as a sugar model of a ferris wheel or a real picture frame holding your engagement photos.

If you don't want to go that route, you can also find cake toppers in other styles, such as swans, castles, dolphins, or even Gothic items like crows and bats. Just be sure to pick a cake topper that looks good with the rest of the cake and that matches the theme of your wedding.

Serving Sets

On a day as special as your wedding, you're not going to want to use just any old serving set for cutting the cake. Instead, you'll want to pick out something completely special. You'll find plenty of beautiful options available, including handles decorated with hearts or made from mother of pearl. Prices vary from an affordable $30 to $40 to nearly $100 or more just for the two piece set. You may also want to have your names and wedding date engraved on the handles – this service is available through many retailers.

Toasting Flutes

As with the serving sets, you're not going to want to make your first toast as husband and wife out of ordinary glasses. Instead, you'll probably want to select something more special. Many of these flutes are decorated with special designs, such as hearts, joined hearts or rings, snowflakes, wedding bells, and similar wedding-appropriate themes. Other glasses are made from unique materials, such as lead crystal or silver. Many providers of these wedding flutes will happily engrave them with your first names and your wedding date.

Place Cards & Holders

After you spend so much time planning out the seating for your reception, you want to make sure everyone knows where to sit and that's why you need place cards. Place cards should, ideally, be created in a style similar to the rest of your wedding stationery. The names of your guests can either be typed or hand-written on the cards. If your budget allows, you might want to bring in a calligrapher to take care of this part for you.

While some place card styles allow you to just sit them on the table, others need holders. The nice thing about some place card holders is that they can double as wedding favors. For example, you can use small silver picture frames to hold the place card or small miniature handbags that can also be filled with sugared almonds, pastel mints, or other candy. Keep in mind that when you're selecting place card holders they need to match the rest of your wedding's theme.

Although all of these small details are important, the bottom line is your guests want to have a great time at your reception. If you can deliver that, then you'll be having the perfect reception, regardless of the flavor of your cake's filling.