The bride was stunning. The groom was nervous. But what really caught the attention of the 175 guests at the April 20 nuptials of Christopher Connolly and Vivian Holtzman at the Metropolitan Building in Long Island City, N.Y., was the wedding cake. No buttercream frosting, no sculpted-sugar curlicues, just 120 Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts stacked into a 4-ft.-tall pyramid, decorated with edible pansies and topped off with traditional bride-and-groom figurines.

"The cake," says Holtzman, 28, a freelance television producer, "was the hit of the wedding. People tore it apart so fast, there were almost injuries."

Eccentric as Holtzman's choice might seem, she's not alone. For many folks Krispy Kreme cakes are becoming as much of a wedding reception staple as Kool & the Gang's "Celebration." The company says it learned of the trend a year ago when customers began sending photos of their homemade creations. Krispy Kreme quickly asked Ron Rupocinski, its executive chef, to offer guidance. "We go through the whole process: florist, colors, what will be on top," says Rupocinski, 44, who is preparing a how-to brochure, with tips (one doughnut per guest, for instance) and photos of prototype cakes.

Holtzman, a diehard fan of the not-exactly-slimming doughnuts (200 calories, 11 grams of fat each) says her choice was partly based on her distaste for traditional cakes, which, she says, are "disgusting, like dry pound cake, and excruciatingly expensive." In contrast, her cake, assembled the morning of the ceremony (to ensure freshness), cost only $300. Even Betty Ann Connolly, Holtzman's new mother-in-law, came around. At first, she says, "I thought they were a little nuts. But so many people brought cameras just to take pictures of the cake."