fondant and buttercream cake designs

There are some really fantastic looking fondant cakes!  You can do so much with it!  The use of fondant allows us to sculpt and mold and manipulate icing into all kind of shapes and forms.  But, it's expensive!  And many people don't care for the taste of fondant (myself included).  So does that mean you have to give up on the fun cake you had in mind?  Not necessarily.  Some fondant designs can be recreated in buttercream with only certain elements being in fondant.  Keep in mind the look will not be 100% similar, but if you are going for a concept, it will be the same!  

Let's compare these two poker table cakes!  The top one is made entirely of fondant.  The second one is made in buttercream with a few fondant elements.  The price is also nearly half of the all fondant cake too!  

• The base of the first cake is fondant.  This gives the cake a more realistic look.  It also allows us to marble the brown side, giving the cake more of a wood look.  The second cake is all buttercream, which will give you the great flavor and lesser price, but does look like a decorated cake rather than the real thing.
• The poker chips on both cakes are fondant, so you would have those elements be the same in both cakes.  And the cards are actually real playing cards in both cakes too, allowing for a more cost effective cake adornment.

Oftentimes couples send me photos of fondant cakes but would like for them to be made with buttercream icing.  I always like to mention that the concept will be the same, but switching icings will change the overall look.  Understandably, it can be difficult to visualize that difference, so hopefully seeing these two cakes side by side can show the difference.

My suggestion: if you are going for the look and want that wow factor centerpiece cake, then splurge a little and go for the fondant.  If your main priority is an adorable concept without spending a fortune, then the buttercream cake with fondant elements will probably be the better option for you.