Who needs that white vanilla wedding cake with sugary frosting? Do you want a wedding cake that looks good but tastes like cardboard, or one that looks good enough to eat - and is? And would you put that hard plastic bride and groom wedding cake topper in your curio cabinet?

Fruit cake, cheesecake, ice cream cakes, even chocolate with chocolate-dipped fruit - your choices in wedding cakes are much wider than they were when your mother got married. You deserve a wedding you like, and a perfect wedding cake for it. Some ideas:

1. A multi-flavored wedding cake thrills everyone. Uncle Jack won't eat vanilla, but your husband's best friend is allergic to chocolate. And you have one guest who is allergic to wheat products, another who is lactose-intolerant. So get a cake with multiple layers of different cakes: cheesecake on the bottom for Mr. Wheat, chocolate for Uncle Jack, and a fluffy fat-free angel food cake on the top for you. Your baker can help.

2. How about a filling for the wedding cake? To dress up an otherwise-bland cake or just one layer, fill it with chocolate, strawberry, or preserves. Or frost it with hard chocolate instead of traditional frosting.

3. Why are wedding cakes always round? A current cake trend is one that looks like a stack of presents, decorated with ribbons and bows. You can have anything you want; if you're both Nascar fans, maybe a car shape, or a cake in the shape of a rose or a castle. And don't limit yourself to one shape; you can make layers heart-shaped and have a square base, or use geometric shapes.

4. Match your wedding cake to your wedding colors. White cakes can be boring. Consider edible flowers for decoration as well; these real flowers add color and a real touch of class and beauty, but are totally nontoxic.

5. Have a gorgeous wedding dress? Dress the cake up to match. Especially if you have a very unique design, you can ask your bakery to match some of the decorations on the cake to your dress.

6. Look at real china, glass, or objets d'art to top your cake, instead of the plastic figures. Lladro figurines are a wonderful keepsake and look great with traditional and semi traditional cakes. Or you can go with a glass pumpkin coach for the fairytale wedding theme, or something you both love.

7. If you just can't agree, have a groom's cake as well. Men tend to go for richer, heavier flavors. One great wedding had a traditional tall white wedding cake next to a chocolate fountain, and then a groom's cake, devil's food chocolate (how appropriate) piled high with chocolate-dipped strawberries, with undipped strawberries around it for decoration and to dip into the fountain. Don't be afraid of being different.

Wedding cake ideas and other catering issues are always changing. Our Wedding Toolkit can help you make everything about your wedding memorable, and avoid the traps and pitfalls that many couples fall into...