Looking for ways to save money on your wedding cake? Well, the biggest way is not to have one, at all. Not for you? Don't worry here are 21 ways to save money on your cake form small cost cuts to big ones! Weddings on a budget don't have to sacrifice style or the things you want you just have to do it smartly.
Find the ones that work for you. Many of these I used to save money on my wedding cake, I spent less than $100 on my cake, others I picked up over the years from friends during their wedding planning. Some are easy some are a bit drastic find your groove, not every thing will work for everyone!
Weddings on a Budget – 21 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Cake
Small display cake – Use a small two tier display cake and serve your guests from sheet cakes. They will never know the difference.
Make the sheet cake yourself – Use the tip above but go to another level and make the sheet cake yourself. It doesn't have to be picture perfect since none of your guests will see it.
Keep it simple – The more you have added to the cake the more it will cost. You can be really brave and order a plain white cake and use your wedding flowers to decorate it!
Don't change your mind – Make sure once your submit your order it's what you really want, any changes you try to make from here on, even small tiny ones, will rack up your cake costs.
Skip sugar flowers – The sugar flowers for the cake decor take a LOT of time to do and time = money.
Get Cashback – Remember when you shop online for wedding items (and even in store!) use Ebates for cashback. They even have special wedding cashback offers!
Skip the fancy cake table decorations – You can spend a pretty penny buying a fancy cake stand and decor. Ask your baker but most bakers will supply a simple baseboard to sit on the table.
Serve smaller slices – Get a smaller cake and serve smaller slices. Everyone loves cake sure but their diets will thank you later for it 😉 !
Go with buttercream – While fondant looks great, it takes more time (there is that word again) to make and you guessed it that means it costs more money, so skip the fondant and go with buttercream.
Use a Naked Cake – This is a new trend, probably formed from those trying to save a few bucks. Skip the frosting on your cake to save money.
Ask your local bakery – You might have a limited choice in designs and tiers but you will be supporting your favorite bakery and sicne they aren't specialists you will get a better price.
Foam cake tiers – Still have your heart set on that big wow cake? Use foam tiers in between so you have the look without the huge price. No one has to know because they can take your cake to the back to cut it!
Deconstructed cake – Skip the cake stacks and have the cake spread out on the cake table, stacking takes time and can be labor intensive to get it just right. Which as you know now costs money.
Check your local supermarket – Many supermarkets will do a basic wedding cake with piped icing for half the price of a fancy bakery. We got our cake at Walmart! We did a plain white with red trim and added some of our flowers for decor.
Choose simple flavors – Choosing the basics like chocolate and vanilla will save you money, the more complex the flavor combination the more time it will take and, you guessed it, the more money it will coast.
Ask a friend – Do you have a friend who loves to bake and is pretty good at it? Ask them to make your cake. Go with tip number 1 a small cake with sheet layers. They will gain experience that could lead to more jobs for them, and they might even do it for free as a wedding gift 😉
Skip the cake – One of the new trends in cakes is skipping the cake. Going with cupcakes or even an ice cream bar is a heck of a lot cheaper and more fun and unique!
Check out a culinary school – Many of these students need the hands-on experience, and professionals supervise them. Ask them to make a cake for you, the price will be right since your cake will be a learning experience. Just don't ask for anything too elaborate.
Skip the delivery – Cake delivery can cost up to $200 or more. Find a couple of trustworthy friends or family and have them pick up the cake and deliver it. My husband and his best man picked up ours. It's still a great story today that brings back laughs on how slow my husband drove not to mess up the cake, and how they describe going over the railroad tracks makes me laugh every time.
Ask what size the ‘serving slice' is – Every bakery could use a different size serving slice for their count. So if you need a cake for 100 people but the serving slices are huge you can order a cake for 50 people and cut your cost in half!
Ask what designs are their specialty – This will vary by the baker as each person has a different set of skills. If they have a few specialty designs, they are really good at it will cost less because it takes them less time. Pick one of those for the best price.
Be easy going – Bakers deal with some horrible bridezillas. If you treat them nice, are easy to work with and pay on time, or gasp, early they are more likely to go out of the way for you and give you some extras, like a fancy cake topper, or display rack or even free delivery.
What ways did you save on your wedding cake?
Others Ways to Have a Budget Wedding
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12 Budget Friendly Winter Wedding Ideas
14 Things Your Don't Think of When Planning a Wedding
Top 10 Budget Wedding Ideas for Summer
I’m getting married again to my husband and we’ve been married since Feb.18,1975 we never had a wedding,and my husband (Jerry) wants us to have the wedding we never had and he’d promised me we would have.