Please help me find an understated but sentimental wedding cake topper

June 23, 2022 12:37 PM

We are getting married next month and I would like a wedding cake topper that fits our courthouse ceremony and backyard reception, but that I can also treasure as a sentimental keepsake. Did you love your wedding cake topper? What was it and where did you get it? What did you do with it after the wedding?
posted by rue72 to Shopping (21 answers total)

Our cake topper was the first thing I bought when I started wedding planning. It helped me define the vibe I wanted for the wedding, which was silly, nerdy and fun. It now sits on our mantle, looking over our living room.
posted by bluloo at 12:53 PM on June 23, 2022 [10 favorites]

I had 2 llama figurines that a friend painted - she also added a little top hat to one, and a veil to the other. It was very cute. After the wedding (and marriage, ha), I had them on a little display shelf with my salt and pepper shaker collection.

A friend of mine had a laser-cut piece of wood with silhouettes of her dogs. I think she got it on Etsy.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 12:57 PM on June 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

Similarly, our cake topper was I think the first thing I bought for the wedding. However, it matched none of the other decor. Which I guess set its own kind of vibe. Looks like the etsy shop is gone now, but it's similar to these. It now sits under a glass cloche on a bookshelf, with a few other tidbits from the day.
posted by BekahVee at 12:58 PM on June 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

Oriental Trading. You could easily craft something like this, or someone probably sells custom versions.
etsy, etsy, etsy, etsy, etsy, etsy really shines at this. etc.
We had fresh flowers in the 80s. you kids and your Interwebs, dangit.

I think the garter retrieval and toss is weird, hijacked it by putting a tiny loaded squirt gun in my garter and deploying it. I am easily entertained. There's video showing that guy who actually caught the garter deftly redirected it to my younger brother. Weddings can bring out so, so much weird. Have fun.
posted by theora55 at 1:13 PM on June 23, 2022

I don't know how much you're willing to pay for something like this, but Etsy could give you ideas. There are a few sellers who are creating likenesses of the couple in bobble-head fashion. That link was just the first on the page of suggestions - but there are at least 3 more on the first 2 pages... along with other less personalized, but also very cute handmade toppers. Like this one in clay. Or this one in wood - I just saw this now, and I think it would be my preference - and it IS personalized!
posted by itsflyable at 1:14 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

We did chocolates instead of a cake. But, I suspect I'd go for brass insects or possibly barro negro pottery figurines (which are personally relevant, but may be kind of random otherwise). Metal insects are an anniversary gift we've done. We often keep them balanced on the leaves of potted plants, including several generations of cuttings from the succulent from the wedding bouquet. Cheers!
posted by eotvos at 1:41 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

Our was made of Lego, which we both have an affinity towards. It sits on our mantle today, amongst a maximalist bunch of stuff.
posted by advicepig at 1:58 PM on June 23, 2022 [6 favorites]

We had a white ceramic cherub blowing a kiss (putti) atop our cake. It lives with the Christmas decorations and gets set on a windowsill each December.
posted by sarajane at 2:00 PM on June 23, 2022

We didn't have one, we just put fresh flowers on the cake. But if I was having another ceremony today, I would have an artist/potter friend of mine make a cup or bowl that we could put flowers in on the cake and then keep out on a shelf in our home.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:00 PM on June 23, 2022 [7 favorites]

We used Nintendo amiibo’s. Which is hella dorky but it made us smile and it made all our guests laugh too.
posted by lepus at 2:03 PM on June 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

I used Sculpty clay and created likenesses of myelf and my (then) husband. It was a labor of love, and it was really sweet. I still have them somewhere.

Besides official cake toppers, you can check out cute Salt and Pepper shakers - there are so many, probably in interests you both share, and obviously you can use them on a daily basis afterward.
posted by annieb at 2:04 PM on June 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

We just got little stamped paper hearts on sticks from this etsy store; they didn't have the maps at the time or I would have done those. :)

We did paper flowers too, so now the cake toppers are stuck in the cup with the flowers on my desk at home. :)
posted by joycehealy at 3:02 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

You could each buy a wee glass that you like - sherry glass, shot glass, tiny coupe, etc. - easy to find at a range of price points at Goodwills, vintage stores, swap meets, boutiques, art fairs, etc. Use them to toast your last night as single people - put them on the cake, and then keep them to toast your sweet life with whenever you please in your happily-ever-after!

(I don’t drink, but toasting is still a very beautiful and potent symbol for me - people do it in many cultures all around the world to connect, honor, and celebrate. You could even keep a little notebook with a list of all the rituals you toast with, and all the toasts you make!)
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:21 PM on June 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

If you have pets - we used an acrylic cutout cake topper that matched our family (like this, though it wasn’t this one). It went on a chocolate cake bought at a bakery that morning, to give you an idea of our level of formality/wedding planning. It was a little goofy, but perfect for us. We kept it, though we haven’t done anything special with it.

(I should note that although I love it, it was a bit fragile and broke, so keep that in mind if you go this route and handle it carefully.)
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:22 PM on June 23, 2022

I am partial to these custom ones you can get from a lot of Etsy stores, which are a pretty laser-type cutout of your names and the date.

You can usually get them in whatever color you like, and since they’re two dimensional you could save it right in your wedding album afterwards.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:07 PM on June 23, 2022

Our look-a-likes as Lego Minifigures with a few props representing a shared hobby.
posted by freethefeet at 12:20 AM on June 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Ours is a bride and groom fashioned out of vintage silverware. It sits on the fireplace mantel.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:15 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

When we were dating, my husband got me a little bronze replica of the Robert Indiana "LOVE" sculpture. We put that on top of our cake, and then back on a shelf, where I see it every day. You can get versions of it at a zillion price points, ours looks like this but absolutely did not cost $595.
posted by SeedStitch at 5:34 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

We had these high fiving figures. Can't remember where we got them, likely not that Etsy store. They're decorating a shelf now. Loved them, brought them on the honeymoon so we could take scenic photos of them.
posted by omnie at 8:22 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

My husband made a bunch of penguin figurines, most of them were given away as favors, some are still knocking around the house.

Why penguins? Why NOT penguins?

I seriously don't know, but every time I open a drawer and find a penguin, I smile.
posted by champers at 9:07 AM on June 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Penguins are already dressed in formalwear.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:38 PM on June 24, 2022 [3 favorites]