Idea to save on cake

[FutureMrsBurton]

Girls I make cakes and one idea for you is to ask your cake person if they will use a foam board for the largest part of your cake if you don't need that much cake. I actually am going to do my whole cake on dummy forms so I can do it ahead of time. I will make cupcakes or sheet cakes to serve and we will "act" like we are cutting the cake. Wedding cakes weigh a TON!
Good luck and hope you don't think my idea is too weird. I hear many brides are going this way though so they can have a HUGE cake display without all the cake!

[Whitewater]

Just make sure that the cake you make at home (your sheet cake or whatever) is as good tasting as the foam cutout looks! Because here's the thing: Your guests are going to assume, rightly or wrongly, that whoever decorated the foam model ALSO baked the cake that they are actually eating. And bad cake will reflect poorly on the cake maker, and if your baking skills aren't totally awesome, you may well cause your cake decorator to lose business because they'll taste the cake, not like it, and assume that your cake decorator was also your cake baker!

If you can avoid putting your cake decorator into that amazingly uncomfortable position, then by all means, go for a foam model.

I personally know that I am not the greatest of cake bakers. Cupcakes, yes. Cakes, for some reason, not so much! It's difficult for me to get a cake to come out light and fluffy -- unless, of course, it's SUPPOSED to be dense, *sigh*. My cakes also turn out a little, well, grainy! And not very moist.

I did contemplate making my own wedding cake . . . but only for a few hours as I began to realize just exactly what baking my own would entail. Though we're spending more on our cake than I really wanted to, it's all right because I don't have to deal with it the night before! I can leave it all in my capable baker's hands and not worry -- and that's worth it to me, given everything we already have to do in the days leading up to the wedding.


Whitewater

[caligal85]

If I was doing cake, I think that's exactly what I'd do. Good pointer!

[WebLady]

Girls I make cakes and one idea for you is to ask your cake person if they will use a foam board for the largest part of your cake if you don't need that much cake. I actually am going to do my whole cake on dummy forms so I can do it ahead of time. I will make cupcakes or sheet cakes to serve and we will "act" like we are cutting the cake. Wedding cakes weigh a TON!
Good luck and hope you don't think my idea is too weird. I hear many brides are going this way though so they can have a HUGE cake display without all the cake!In some cases this may save money, but in others it may not. Like if you are having a very detailed cake; much of the cost is often in labor. It take just as much time to set up and decorate a dummy cake as it does a real one.

A baker friend of mine once told me how she'd get people ask about this a lot and most of the time it didn't really save much money. On most cases she still had to bake the same amount of cake even if she didn't use it all. Then setting up and decorating the fake part pretty much took up the same time as it would have with the real cake. But at least their wouldn't be any waste if you didn't need as much cake, but wanted the same big cake look.

[saltyveruca]

Why lie? Just get your baker to make a mini cake that you guys can cut, then take home as the top layer. Serve everyone else sheet cake, or make lots of different flavored cakes to display. One of the first weddings we did had that and it was a hit.

[WebLady]

Why lie? Just get your baker to make a mini cake that you guys can cut, then take home as the top layer. Serve everyone else sheet cake, or make lots of different flavored cakes to display. One of the first weddings we did had that and it was a hit.
I have seen this sort of thing done and I would think would save more money that doing a fully decorated fake cake.

[Kay]

Why lie? Just get your baker to make a mini cake that you guys can cut, then take home as the top layer. Serve everyone else sheet cake, or make lots of different flavored cakes to display. One of the first weddings we did had that and it was a hit.

I agree!! Our local Ziggy's Cafe (no kidding) orders special cakes from some fancy bakery ~ they come frozen, I think. Anyway, they sell them to the public ~ whole cakes for $45 ~ carrot cake, big huge *HUGE* slices of chocolate fudge cake, etc etc... We have thrown around the idea of a "Cake & Champagne Reception" only - and we would have several of these cakes, plus a small wedding cake and a groom's cake and maybe some other "fancy" desserts. MUCH cheaper than feeding 150 people. Anyway, Good idea above ~ more flavors appease more people!!

[tanya n matt]

well i do agree cake saving would be great but as a wedding photographer myself there are a few things in a wedding that are real eye turners and important photo ops which include

most important things brides like to see on there pics after the wedding
and what guests look at the most during a wedding
0, THE CAR APON ARRIVAL
1, THE BRIDE OF COURSE
2, THE DRESS
3, THE BRIDEL PARTY
4, THE GROOM
5, THE RING AND THE KISS
6, THE CAKE
7, THE 1ST DANCE
8, GARTER REMOVALE AND FLOWER TOSS
9, AND FROM A GUESTS POINT OF VIEW THE FOOOOOOOD!!!!! AND DESSERT

so yes i agree on budgets but also try not to mak it look budget especially the guets food as most of you may or may not know whilst your out taking pics the guests are getting hungry and thingking out loud about what to expect out of dinner
AND JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME
THE GROOMS THINKING ABOUT DINNER TOO ......both at the table kind of dinner and his late night supper with you giggles.......jokes ok no one get offended plz :)

[FutureMrsBurton]

Guess because I am doing it all myself I thought it could be an idea for someone else out there to save some $$ :) I'm doing foam cause it is so much easier to deal with and I can do it ahead and just do easy sheet cakes the day before. Guess it wouldn't help too many of you not doing it yourself
:( Well, so much for a cheaper idea :) I tried!