A recent conversation with a fellow wedding planner got me thinking about trends in our industry and how jaded we wedding professionals sometimes get. What we may deem as “LY” (Last Year) is just beginning to catch on in most of Middle America. Because trends tend to begin on the East and West coasts, we are usually ready to move on to “the next big thing" much faster than the rest of the country. But could I be wrong?
Take the cupcake craze. While cupcakes have been around since children and birthdays, the phenomenon of waiting in line for thirty minutes for a $3 cupcake totally took off after those fab girls from Sex and the City raved about the Magnolia Bakery in NYC. But that was back in 1997! Six years later, Martha Stewart featured the coveted and oh-so-ingenious Wedding Cupcake Tower on the cover of her magazine. Bottom line: Martha said: "It’s a “good thing”, and the rest of the country agreed. Shocker.
All of a sudden this little frosted confection grabbed the attention of brides everywhere. But not just in the U.S. Gourmet cupcake shops started popping up everywhere including Glasgow and Tokyo, with brides paying upwards of $7 a pop to create this beautiful, unique alternative to what had become so commonplace. Sprinkles in LA and Magnolia in NYC and every little bakery in between upped the ante by turning the cupcake into a work of art, complete with fillings, curds, ganache, and frostings of every flavor imaginable. Who wanted to settle for some dumb wedding cake when guests could have their own little personalized desserts instead?
So here we are, ten years after Carrie Bradshaw reintroduced us to this nostalgic little sugary treat. One would think the idea of cupcakes at a wedding had gone the way of chocolate fountains and margarita machines. But have they? This cupcake train seems to have lost very little steam. Not that cupcakes will ever completely go away; just as the appletini and ABBA will always have a special place in our hearts, cupcakes will certainly always remind us of a simpler time, when Mom brought treats to school for the whole class to enjoy. But what in the world will replace Wedding Cupcakes as the Next Big Thing and are they really about to be replaced? Could brownies be the new cupcake? We'll have to see what Martha has to say about that!
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Show the world your art!> 
First off, I think it's a shame that sometimes good ideas get labeled as "outdated" just because they started as a trend. I say, the more options, the better - nobody should feel tied to one thing because it's the status quo. Cupcake trees are a fun alternative to traditional cake, but it looks like their 15 minutes seem to be up. That said, I do enjoy reinvention. What about petite fours? I suppose they are fairly similar to cupcakes, but with fondant frosting and other options could they could be stacked or fit together like puzzle pieces? I myself have always been a pie fan and think for the right setting a fruit pie could be a refreshing change. I bet the pastry chefs could come up with some fun and beautiful designs.
Posted by: Emily | February 20, 2008 at 08:12 PM
I'm going to predict it now and say MINI BUNDT CAKES or BUNDT CAKES in general.
You heard it here first :)
Posted by: Laura | February 22, 2008 at 09:09 AM
I'm gonna say it's the Macaron - check out my blog
http://modernvintagedesigns.squarespace.com/
for the article on these sweet treats!
Posted by: Wanwisa K Posner | February 26, 2008 at 08:12 AM