You know you could easily spend $1000 on a wedding cake. Shocking isn’t it? I am shocked. Well, most caterers will charge $3 per person you want the cake for at a very minimum. Most are more like $8-$12. But did you know Walmart makes cakes? And they are really pretty. Big tall 3 tiered with columns cakes. And they have about 50 different designs to pick from. And they are only $130. Or you could even get a fancy cake plate and just get 2 seperate round cakes and put them together yourself for less. Or you could just make the cakes, but you need to practice plenty ahead of time. And yes you can freeze it . But the big secret is this. You do the fancy decorative cake only as big as you want. Then you have a same color sheet cake that will serve how ever many guests you expect waiting in the kitchen. Sheet cakes are much much less expensive. The fancy cake gets cut by the bride and groom with all of the accompanying fuss, then your faithfull servers bring out the sliced sheet cake to serve the guests. No one knows there is more than one cake. Except for me and now all of you! You can effectively cut your cake budget as low as you need it to be. Another tip is to elevate the place where the cake is presented from. Have your table, decorated, then a sturdy box or platform, then another cloth over it, then a fancy tall cake plate, with flowers around it. Makes your small cake look like a big deal.
mom2fur says
I had a friend who got married about twenty years ago on a very, very tight budget. Her wedding cake came from the local supermarket’s bakery. It was a sheet type cake they made and custom-designed for her…for waaaaay less than a bakery-made cake. It was delicious! And after all, why spend $1000 on something you’re going to take apart and eat, anyway?
Dana says
We did the sheet cake thing too. Our cake was made by a bakery, but was fairly simple, so it wasn’t expensive. I think we may have paid $200 for the tiered cake and two sheet cakes.
Another money-saving hint: We had lemon cake for the guests (yummy and unexpected) but the top layer (that is usually frozen for the first anniversary) was white so it saved a few dollars.
My second tip for the bride and groom: Have the frozen top layer on your one month anniversary. If you wait a year, it’s usually GROSS! Oh, and don’t forget to have stuff to wrap the cake for the freezer at the reception.
Blessings–
Dana