Wedding Cupcakes: Recipes and Display Ideas for the DIY Bride

Cupcakes may seem quite plain and simple for an occasion as momentous as a wedding. But just wait till you see the gorgeous wedding cupcakes featured here! Plus the creative display ideas for showcasing them to match your wedding theme.

Cupcakes are such a delightfully versatile sweet treat. You can frost and decorate them as fancily as you wish. You can serve them as a wedding cake alternative or give them as lovely edible wedding favors. Plus their single-serve size makes them a breeze to serve at a busy wedding reception. 

So, for you DIY brides out there, here are display stand ideas you can make, scrumptious cupcake recipes you can make, and ready-made tiered stands for something extra special! (*this post contains affiliate links)

Wedding Cupcake Display Stand Ideas to DIY

From a simple project for the novice DIYer to more complex ones for the skilled crafter, here are 5 lovely homemade cupcake stands to choose from. And a helpful post on setting up a wedding cupcake display.

Wedding cupcake stands to make
1 – DIY cupcake tower – Lisa of Lombardo Lagniappe shares a detailed how-to for this 6-tier hand-made tower. Quite a bit of wood-working knowhow needed, but the finished tower will give you a stunning cupcake display!

2 – Rustic wood cupcake stand – Perfect for a woodland-themed wedding, this DIY stand is assembled from slices of wood logs and left intentionally rough. Check out the tutorial from Sugar Bee Crafts.

3 – Folding DIY cupcake stand – A change from the usual circular structure, this wooden shelved stand on a folding frame gives you a clean, modern look for your cupcake display. Saws On Skates shows the simple steps to make it.

4 – DIY cupcake ladder display – Some coats of paint on an old wooden ladder, plus plywood shelves and voila! A quaint wedding cupcake display, courtesy of Signed by Soden.

5 – Acrylic cupcake tower – This is actually not a DIY how-to. But a super-practical post from Cuppies N’ Cream with great tips for how to set up a wedding cupcake tower—from transporting and assembling, to arranging the sweet treats beautifully at the venue. Pretty example, too, of a cupcake stand made of acrylic instead of wood or metal.

Wedding Cupcake Recipes and Decorating Ideas

The real stars of the display are, of course, the cupcakes! So you do want them to be truly delicious and beautifully decorated, as in these recipes and cupcake topper ideas we found.

Wedding cupcake decorating ideas from edible toppers to cupcake topper signs


Recipes

Each with a different look to highlight their respective cake flavors: Red Velvet Cupcakes (1) with lovely piped blossoms of cream cheese icing, from What Should I Make For…; luscious Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream (2) from Gold Medal Flour; and Classic Vanilla Cupcakes (3) from Eggs.ca that you can dress up or leave sweet and simple!

Toppers

Speaking of “dressing up,” the ideal easy finishing touch would be cupcake toppers like these. Rose Gold Glitter Mr. & Mrs. Cupcake Decoration Picks (4) from Amazon, or Edible Wedding Cupcake Toppers (5) from I Scream for Buttercream.

Wedding Cupcake Stands Ready to Order

Four very distinct styles of cupcake stands and towers to suit different wedding themes. Each one just a few clicks away on Amazon!

Readymade cupcake stands from acrylic to vintage stye

1 – 3-Tier Plastic Cupcake Stand – with elegant gold-painted struts and top handle

2 – Demountable 5-Tier White Wood Cupcake Stand – can be disassembled for easy transport and storage

3 – 4-Tier Acrylic Cupcake Tower Display – with an LED light garland along the edges of each square tier

4 – Amalfi Decor Cake Stand with Crystals – 3 sizes of cake stands with glass tops that can be stacked to form a cupcake tower, featuring ornate steel frames with hanging glass crystal chandelier pendants and beads

 

How’s that for versatility? The humble cupcake can take center stage at your wedding, with lovely decorating and an eye catching display. No one will miss the cake!