Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Cake decorator
- Phonebook
- Wedding date
Step1
Have a small tiered cake. The tiered cake is meant specifically for looks and to have pictures taken with. Have sheet cakes to cut up for your guests to eat. Wedding cake is wedding cake. Many of your guests will not know that they are not eating the tiered cake.
Step2
Have a fake tiered cake. Another option is to have a Styrofoam cake decorated for pictures, but have sheet cakes for the guests to actually eat. You can wheel your for-visual-only wedding cake from view, and no one will know.
Step3
Skip the caterer’s cake. Many caterers will want you to purchase your cake from them. But the reality is that they probably will not make the cake. They will order it from an outside source just as you would, and then add overhead cost to deliver it to you.
Step4
Skip a fancy cake topper. The cake topper is a large part of the cost. You can decorate the top of the cake with found objects that symbolize you as a couple. Or place flowers on the top. Take the same flowers that are in the bridal bouquet to tie the cake in with the rest of your decorations.
Step5
Order less cake than the number of people attending. Most people will only eat one piece, and many others will not have any cake at all. Offer other dessert options. Many people will opt out of cake for a simple cookie.
Step6
Choose an out-of-home baker or have a family member make it for you. Working out of the home allows them to have less overhead costs, and they will pass these savings on to you.
Step7
Skip the anniversary top. Let’s admit their intention is good. But who really wants to eat a year-old freezer burnt cake on your first anniversary? This little cake actually could cost as much as any of the other layers.
Step8
Get the sides rolled in nuts. Sounds weird, but frosting the sides takes more time and effort than the top. This will cut down on the decorating time and cost.
Step9
Call your local arts and crafts store and ask if they offer cake decorating classes. If they do, contact the teacher. Ask her if she would like to make your cake, or she could give your referral to one of her talented students. Many students take the classes to decorate for their own families and might be thrilled to actually make money doing it.
Step10
Shop at discount or grocery stores. Any place that has a bakery, will more than likely decorate wedding cakes. They do not need to charge much overhead, because this is not their specialty.
Comments
spitfiread1966 said
on 3/28/2008 I agree with gennycake, I do wedding cakes and another problem associated with the nuts is that there are so many allergies to many of the nuts and if you have children at a wedding they just love to touch ... it could be a real problem.
gennycake said
on 10/26/2007 Getting the sides rolled in nuts is probably going to make the price HIGHER instead of lower. Nuts are expensive. Take it from a wedding cake decorator/designer. I would charge much more for the nuts than for plain simple frosting. The easiest way to cut costs on the cake itself is to have fewer and smaller tiers.