Lara and Oliver stunned guests during their dessert course with a mini fireworks show. They topped a Victoria sponge cake with fresh cream and strawberries made by Kelsie Hall of The Sugar Box with sparklers from Fortnum & Mason, which "got everyone’s attention," Lara recalls fondly.

This custom cake topper, by crafter Ann Wood, was made with quaintly retro fabrics that bride Amy designed.

Who said grooms don't give a hoot about DIY wedding details? Lyn and Luke's three-tiered lemon chiffon cake by Crave Bakery was topped with a garland made by the groom, who fashioned it out of Scrabble tiles, twine, a drill with a tiny bit, and sticks.

For Amy and TQ's glamorous destination wedding in Bali, their chocolate wedding cake was topped with fresh orchids and a base of limes added a tropical pop of color.

Tara and Nick's cream cheese-frosted carrot confection was crowned with a rustic bird cake topper and rested on an old stove-turned cake stand.

"I didn't want to do the standard couple on the top of the cake," says bride Vanessa. So Jeanne Kalman of The Well Dressed Cake fashioned a sugar peony that ended up matching those in her bouquet perfectly.

Sam and Ian topped their multi-tierd strawberry shortcake with an extra personalized element: The couple snapped Polaroids of themselves taken in profile and perched them atop the cake as if they were kissing each other.

For her fab LA wedding full of artistic details, bride Joo created a cupcake tower topper by watching an online video on how to make a bunny incorporating pom-poms.

Pauline and Peter's honey-spice cake was capped with a rustic hand-carved "P" topper in honor of the duo's shared first initial.

At Grace and Aaron's Southern sweet southern soriee, a chocolate cake with buttercream icing from Back in the Day Bakery featured 1920s bride-and-groom paper figurines found on eBay; artist Katie Runnels fashioned them into a cake topper.

Lauren and Tim's simple white cake was decorated with sugared candies and fruit in yellow and green and topped with a bride and groom made from birch by Sara Casilio.

Bride Alivia's mother made her favorite cake for her daughter's big day -- Funfetti with cream cheese frosting -- in two tiers, and a custom topper by Over The Top Studio matched the silhouettes on the wedding invitation.

At Justina and Jason's retro Los Angeles wedding, their lemon cake by Olivia Lin of Sweet Catastrophe Cakes was topped with an edible version of the collaged figures featured on their invitation suite.

At this Maryland wedding, a small banana cake from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City (bride Mimi and groom Harry's favorite bakery) was finished with a custom topper by Paul Pape Designs based on the couple's avatars on Nintendo Wii.

Shelli and Christopher crowned a traditional lemon-and-vanilla cake baked by Gambardella Pasticceria, a local Italian bakery, with an original topper fashioned in their likeness by Goose Grease.

Created by Martine's Pastries, Madeleine and Tora's three-tier cake was covered in Grand Marnier-flavored French buttercream and topped with little lovebirds. "I love the imagery of two plump birds happily perched on a branch together," bride Madeleine said.

One of the many confections at Jeni and Justin's North Carolina wedding boasted an antique topper first used at the bride's great-grandmother's wedding in 1915.

At Lily and John's Santa Barbara fete, the cake topper derived its super-sweet charm from two wedding bells made with quilling paper and framed by vintage millinery lily-of-the-valley buds and a gauzy vintage linen ribbon, tied into a bow. Festooned with rose-budded swags of royal icing, the raspberry-lemon cake rested with ladylike poise on a pedestal.

In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, Lisa and Rory opted for a "cake" of cheese wheels at their wedding in the English countryside and added a pair of bride and groom silhouettes to the top tier.

At their destination wedding in Somerset, England, Heather and Neal cut into a carrot cake covered with flags that reflected their passion for travel.

A simple white cake topped with a traditional bride and groom balanced out the glitzy ambiance of Claire and Benjamin's Beverly Hills wedding.

A three-tier vanilla and chocolate cake with buttercream icing was capped with a topper found on Etsy at Abby and Julian's wedding in Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

Newlyweds Andi and Carissa's initials topped their three-tier Italian buttercream cake from Juliette's Bakery.

Ana's Custom Cakes created Allison and Jacob's Tahitian vanilla cake with passionfruit mousseline and fresh raspberries. It was topped with a miniature sugar sculpture of lilies of the valley woven together in a horseshoe-shaped arrangement.

Ribbon tied in lovely looped bows topped this picture-perfect confection at Faymi and Eric destination wedding in Paris.

From left: Herend’s hand-painted porcelain giraffes wrap their necks around each other in a heartfelt embrace.

“You complete me,” say the toppers created by Concarta, who’ll customize a pair of mini-me paper dolls in your likenesses.

Pinwheels are just the whimsical accent a fun-loving bash needs, and you can make your own.

Have Better Off Wed spell out your names (or anything else!) in your favorite font.

Let them eat pie! Rachel and Larry served Chef Andrew's Washington state apple pie at their destination wedding in Idaho and decorated it with a custom topper by Etsy vendor Goose Grease.

Rachel and Larry put the toppers and Larry's feathered boutonnieres in shadow boxes once they got back home to Brooklyn.

Aneta and Phil opted for a traditional French croquembouche for their wedding cake after saying "I do" in Tarascon, France. It was topped with a whimsical bride and groom doing a bit of ballroom dancing.

Left to right: This winsome cake topper of wedding bells and vintage millinery blooms gets our ringing endorsement. Livia Cetti for the Green Vase.

Perch a fanciful golden dove topper on your wedding cake and you'll hit just the right note on your big day. $50, from Tinsel Trading Company.

Music to our ears: This charming beaded design is proof that big style doesn't have to bear a big price tag. $19, by Martha Stewart Celebrate from Wal-Mart.

A balsawood topper fabricated by Publique Living and perched on a Tahitian vanilla and mocha buttercream cake by Inticing Creations, replicated the illustration on Eunice and Daniel's save-the-date.

Left to right: A throwback topper like this one suits the vintage-loving bride. Find similarly snazzy duos at Fancy Flours, a great online resource for vintage toppers. Crafted from millinery flowers, paper scraps, and German glass glitter, this whimsical creation by Goldbug Studio is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Trim, Tinsel Trading Company. Appropriate for your cake or mantel, these minimalist wooden figurines couldn't be more adorable. The best part? Each couple is custom-made to approximate your likeness. Goose Grease. Can't find one you want? Consider mixing different products. We've placed a vintage bride-and-groom set on top of a glittering D. Sharp podium for a classic effect. Trim, Tinsel Trading Company.

At the wedding of Navy petty officer Louis and crafter/designer Casey, the cake topper  mimicked Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photo of a sailor and a nurse embracing in Times Square on V-J Day. The topper was found on eBay and perfectly brought together the thematic elements of the wedding.

Left to right: Garnish your cake with an edible candy compote -- and fill it with even more candy. It's a sugar fiend's dream. $16, Dorothy Timberlake Candies.

For the perfect touch at an afternoon wedding, fill a ladylike teacup with Jordan almonds and set it on the cake. Dragees, $39.50, Crossings French Food.

A cascading adornment of marzipan fruit looks especially lush at an outdoor affair. $240, from Wendy Kromer Confections.

We've always loved the look of flowers on a wedding cake -- but blooms that taste like cake? Even better. From $4 per stem, Sugar Flower Shop.

Instead of a large, multi-tiered confection, Lauren and William worked with Rhonda DeForest of Flour Power Confectionary to create a selection of eight small cakes. The center cake was topped with a vintage figurine purchased on eBay from a couple who had just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

The most familiar topper becomes uniquely yours when embellished. We gave this classic couple a molded clay dais that was inspired by the intricate sugar-spun fretwork adorning toppers of earlier eras. (Vintage figurines have a lot of character, and they're easy to find at flea markets and online auctions.) Tiny white and "something blue" paper blooms surround the base. The piped buttercream of the cake echoes the topper's design.

This is a classic symbol of good fortune; a bride in England might tie a horseshoe charm to her wrist for luck. The topper here is made of phalaris, a dried grass that resembles wheat, itself an emblem of fertility and abundance. The ribbon is embroidered with the couples' initials.

In Bermuda, couples top their wedding cakes with tiny saplings, which they plant to grow as their marriages do. Here, a milk-chocolate figurine, formed in a replica of a 1920s mold, stands on a faux-top tier of Styrofoam coated to match the cake. The flowering quince branches above were painted with chocolate (choose pesticide-free foliage). Chocolate modeling dough makes a balustrade and miniature roses. The rolled fondant is tinted pink to pick up the hue of the quince.

Working with designer Denise Sharp, we took poetic license with Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famed love sonnet, quoting it on a cake by Kromer. Sharp's calligraphed paper garlands -- dotted with ribbon flowers and bows, and adhered with royal icing -- and paper bands encircle fondant tiers that graduate from rosy pink to paler pink on top. The bands are layered over satin ribbon and scalloped cardboard trim wrapped with embroidery floss. A crepe-paper bouquet on a fondant disk is the crown.

Doves mate for life, and in Armenia and the Philippines, the releasing of a pair of white doves at the end of a wedding signifies the beginning of many years of love and happiness. Our millinery birds are framed by an arbor of white silk lily-of-the-valley and maidenhair fern, images that are repeated in the royal-icing decorations on this classic white cake. The doves perch on a bead-covered birdbath.

As legend has it, wedding bells ring out to announce a brand-new union to the world -- and also to frighten away any evil spirits. These bells and the wreath of paper flowers that encircles them were made using the old-fashioned art of quilling, in which strips of paper are manipulated into intricate shapes. Gum-paste curlicues on the fondant-covered cake pick up where the paper ones leave off.

For this cake topper, we selected a dish made of a barley candy. If you want to use a china dish, which is much heavier, insert three or four dowels into the top tier of the cake to support it.

The topper is made of three nesting boxes, each edged in gold ribbon, tied up like a parcel from an elegant boutique.

What could be better for a summer garden wedding? Atop the cake, a ceramic pot (with no hole in the bottom) is overflowing with roses anchored in floral foam.

A sunny canopy parts to reveal a three-tiered, fondant-covered cake. It is finished with an initial made of hand-painted, sugar-paste flowers, a sweet topper for a garden wedding.

These shimmering platinum-blue ribbon bands and this triple-loop bow were pulled and formed from sugar. The rectangular, fondant-covered cake is displayed on a hotel-silver tray with a traditional ribbon-and-cross border.