- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Why don't you make one yourself?
Or, if it isn't a big wedding, do a sundae bar.
I can relate, I thought a cake would be maybe $100 - $150. Mine ended up costing $375. It is only 3 tiers and nothing very fancy.
we were already considering having an ice cream sundae station too...its just that everytime I mention having no cake, people gasp...you have to have cake!
I'm not much of a baker...but strongly considering just making something.
And if we do pay for a cake I would want something interesting for that kind of money...not something like http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/search/label/Wedding%20Cakes
You could try Albertsons or Kroger for a less expensive cake. Or buy already made cakes and serve an assortment of flavors.
People always gasp when they hear something non-traditional. But at the wedding itself, no one will even notice. It might just be an afterthought the guests have on the way home. But they won't miss it.
I've heard that Publix can crank out a pretty good wedding cake too.
Here are the alternatives I've worked out- Costco and Sam's club do sheet (and smaller) cakes for super cheap. We''re talking $30-$40 for a cake to feed 30-50 people! Plus, many (not all, which I have learned the hard way!) of their stores have bakeries which offer fillings- lemon, strawberry, chocolate, raspberry, cheesecake, etc. Tasty and cheap! You can just keep the cakes in the back and have your caterer cut them out of sight. no one will ever know you spent less then $1 per slice! :)
And....if you are like me, you still want the 3-4 tier look and that cake cutting picture (complete with cake shoved in your face) that's easy and cheap too! What we're going is buying a tiny cake at a local bakery and using it as the top tier in a faux cake. The first 3 tiers of the 4 tier "cake" will be round styrafoam covered in fondont and decorated with ribbon! You can get teh foam and fondont super cheap. if you add this to the cost of 1-5 sam's/costco cakes (depending on the # of guests), you shouldn't spend too much. I was gussing that cake for our 100 guests and the fake cake will cost no more then $110. Total!
If that's not how you want to go, you can always keep the sundae bar (super awesome idea!), and just get 2-3 cakes in 3 sizes, push wooden rod into them, and stack them on your own. throw flowers or a topper on them and *poof* Insta wedding cake! Make the traditionalists happy, but keeps the cost down.
What about pie? A friend of mine didn't have cake but they cut a regular size pie and had minis for everyone else.
I have a ton of suggestions!!
- For starters, look at non-bakery cakes... we actually got ours from the local grocery store and we had rave reviews about it. 2 of my friends puposely came up to tell me it was the best wedding cake they ever had. Cost of a 12" cake: $15. You could do three or 4 of these cakes on tiered platters to still give it a great look.
- Which leads to me to doing one or two round cakes for show and then serving a sheet cake, sheet cake is a ton cheaper - even if you go the bakery route this will save $
- Cupcake tree!!! This is a cheaper option than the traditional 3 tier cake and you still get a similar look.
- You can also do small desserts instead of cake, we did mini cheesecakes that were divine. Mini eclairs and cream puffs are also an option . You can find these at Sams club and they're fairly resonable.
- Faux cake, the top part (for cutting) is real and then you have fake bottoms (usually made of styrofoam and covered in fondant), the only thing that isn't cool about those is if one of the younger guests sticks their fingers in the frosting
I attached some photos to give you some visual inspiration....
dessertbuffet.jpg (61.5 KB, 56 downloads) 2 years old caketier.jpg (9.9 KB, 58 downloads) 2 years old cupcaketree.jpg (93.5 KB, 49 downloads) 2 years old cakestand3.jpg (51.1 KB, 54 downloads) 2 years old
I actually was eyeing the cakes at Sam's club last weekend just to get ideas and they looked great! If I can find an interesting stand like the 3 tier one above it would probably work!
I like the idea of a cake bar. We ended up going traditional with a $500 three-tier cake (maybe that was dumb) but we thought of getting a few cake stands and displaying several single tier cakes, which would have cost about $150 to feed just as many people, and probably prettier!
Wait, why didn't I do this again...?
I love the idea (and the price point) of several non-wedding-sized cakes of different flavors on a beautiful wedding cake display. I hear that it can cut your cost down significantly, and I personally have never been into the whole "big wedding cake" thing. My FH is a traditionalist, however. He wants a garter and bouquet toss even though I have no desire. He wants to cut a big wedding cake and "lovingly" smear icing onto my face, and that's not at the top of my priority list. I'll be interested in seeing if he goes for it when we get to the cake part of our planning.
COSTCO!!! WOOOT. I bought 3 HUGE half sheet cakes--each fed 50 people. I had white/strawberry, chocolate/chocolate mousee, and carrot/apricot mousse (weird but so good). Then we paid $75 to have a fancy little cake baked to actually cut and be in photos. Total I spent $65 on the Costco cake and then $75....not too shabby me thinks.
I got compliments on it all night. Everyone was shocked it wasn't from a fancy baker. AND they all got HUGE slices because we only had 115 people at our wedding =]
Costco cake prices:
Chocolate and white cakes: $16.99 each (feeds 50)
Carrot: $17.99
That's not a bad idea. Get really small, two tiered fancy schmancy cake to cut and then serve sheet cake. No one will know. Most people end up serving sheet cake anyway.
If you really want "the look", do a satellite cake (frosted foam layers, i know) and cut the top layer (real) and serve sheet. It'll still be more than what I spent but not $500+
Honeslty i had like $800 wedding cake last month. Not worth it. Pretty, but not that tasty. IMO, money down the drain unless that cake is super delicious AND gorgeous! What are aesthetics w/o flavor, right? Gah, it was undercooked and gooey...yuck.
I LOVE cake, but really can't justify the cost of a wedding cake either. So our plan is toe have a cake "buffet" where we'll have a variety of different cakes (red velvet, carrot cake, yellow cake, chocolate cake etc.) displayed on pretty cake stands of different heights. This way, I still get to have my cake (and eat it too!), but can just get them from a normal bakery and avoid the expense of a traditional wedding cake. I think it will look really great too.
Btw, not sure if you were around at the time (I've been lurking on Weddingbee for far too long!), but Mrs. Gummi Bear did a cake buffet, and it was stunning! Photos over here: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/07/23/going-unnoticed/
thanks for the advice girls! LOVE the idea of a big tall cake with only one real tier to cut & then costco cakes! Mmm thank you!
We're planning a dessert bar. i'm not sure if it will work out to be cheaper, but I'm sure there are ways to do it cheaper. I'm just a big dessert fan! At my friend's wedding this summer, they had a small, very intricately decorated cake and then in the back they had sheet cakes. She said it was so much cheaper and I know around here even some ofo the fancier bakeries will do sheet cakes. For another friend's wedding, they had no cake, just pies. I think they had two or three different flavors? For sure there was apple which was SO GOOD.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| ellisrobertson | 20 |
| MsPanda | 15 |
| aduarte3201 | 14 |
| ShellVee | 10 |
| londonchick | 9 |
| londonpeach84 | 8 |
 KimKimmieKim |
8 |
| ladyartichoke | 6 |
| ndreighton | 6 |
| BearcatBetch |
6 |
Sorry, there are no users yet.
anyone have any suggestions for a cake alternative? I just cant wrap my head around paying hundreds of dollars for cake. also, anyone know of reputable bakers in the central nh area?