Local Specialties to Enhance Your Austintatious Wedding

1. Central Market Westgate (899-4300) Pastry chef Katherine Clapner's newest creations are tiny, one-layer individual wedding cakes in either Italian cream with edible flowers or carrot cake with frosting ivy and candied violets. They'll also prepare flower-decorated cupcakes for showers or wedding receptions.

2. Russell's Bakery & Coffee Shop (419-7877, 3339 Hancock) Russell's is one of the few places in town that makes elegant little petits fours, and they will also prepare individual-serving, two-layer cakes covered with rolled fondant icing or white-chocolate couveture with icing flowers to match your colors or bouquets.

3. Penny's Pastries (302-3663) One of the hottest trends at Austin weddings has to be Penny McConnell's hand-painted, designer cookies. They'll do brides in gowns, grooms in tuxes, place cards with guests names, three-tiered cookies to match the wedding cake, hearts with the names of the bride and groom -- if you can dream it up, Penny can probably turn it into a cookie.

4. Miles of Chocolate (632-3323) Miles Compton's personal chocolate creation tastes like a cross between a dense chocolate truffle and a sinfully rich brownie. Restaurant chefs and caterers alike have recently realized that the divine confection works very well as a groom's cake, garnished with whipped cream and fresh berries.

5. Marta's Desserts (476-4334) Sweet party favors are all the rage at weddings these days, and what better gift for your guests than elegant little bags of Marta Guzman's dainty meringue cookies, tied with a pretty ribbon and a card thanking guests for being part of your special day? The meringues come in several flavors, including a new one drizzled with Belgian chocolate.

6. Dr. Chocolate (4001 N. Lamar, 454-0555) These purveyors of fine chocolates will be glad to fulfill your chocolate wedding fantasy -- gold-foil wrapped chocolate coins with the names of the bride and groom, chocolate place cards for each guest, gift boxes with individual truffles or candies, molded signature items that represent the bride and groom, cake tops, chocolate wedding sculptures, or the wedding-night bottle of champagne dipped in chocolate for a treat.

7. Passionfood Truffles (441-9341, www.passionfoodtruffles.com) Pastry chef Mary Perna's new company specializes in hand-dipped truffles made exclusively with El Rey chocolate. Perna will gladly create custom assortments of truffles for your wedding party or guests, packed in lovely single- or double-serving boxes, complete with a printed love poem in each box. She also makes truffle cakes, such as the Mudslide of Love, that make wonderful groom's cakes.

8. Sweetcakes Bakery (423-3437, www.sweetcakesbakery.org) After years of creating pastries, desserts, and wedding cakes for other local food businesses, pastry chef Tracey Iakovakis struck out on her own last year with a pastry catering company. Her custom pastry and wedding-cake creations will delight your wedding guests, especially the elegantly decorated one-, two-, or three-tiered individual wedding cakes.