- If you like vintage pieces, ask your family members for their old cake toppers. Not only will these older cake toppers add a retro flair to your cake, they will also add a sentimental touch. Martha Stewart Weddings says that the tradition of cake toppers "reached its height in the Victorian era, with the cupid-adorned follies and other elaborate creations that capped the cakes at royal weddings." Bring back some of those elaborate designs with a vintage topper. If none of your family members has one, search Ebay.com or Etsy.com, where individual sellers might have their cake toppers listed for resale.
- If a regular bride and groom isn't what you pictured for your cake topper, try using a unique sugar flower arrangement instead. Shops like the Sugar Flower Shop, a widely praised wedding cake shop, specialize in designing flower bouquets. Compared to real flower bouquets, these sugar flower toppers are cheaper and have a longer shelf life.
- Birds are an elegant and nature-friendly choice to top your wedding cake. Santa Monica bakery The Vanilla Bake Shop used two matching doves dressed in tuxedos on their "Orange Birdie" cake. You can find those particular bird cake toppers on Ebay.com. Search around for other bird statuettes that may or may not be meant for a cake; just because it's not meant to be a cake topper, it doesn't mean you can't use it as one.
- Brooklyn Bride, a wedding blog, featured a wedding in which origami pieces were used as cake toppers. This was an interesting way of incorporating the couple's Japanese heritage into their wedding. Other great examples could be national monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal or the London Bridge. Work with your baker or cake decorator in developing personalized pieces. Whatever it is that you want to use, make sure it won't offend any of your guests.
