Smaller cake with a sheet cake??

grneyz12 · January 2010

We are looking at ways to cut cost and as we've been getting prices from the bakers, the cakes are costing about $5 per person and up. I read in a magazine that one way to cut cost is to go with a smaller 'actual' cake and get a sheet cake. Since the cake is cut in the kitchen, no one will ever know.

I'm wondering if anyone has done this. If so, how large of an actual wedding cake did you do? We are planning on anywhere from 150-175 guests.

pandabear322 · January 2010

I haven't done this, but if I did, I would order enough cake for you and FI, and wedding party, plus maybe both of your immediate families. If you're planning on saving the top tier, then two tiers should do it!

We're getting a three tier cake that feed 100 people. (Fi wasn't into the sheet cake idea!)

On a side note, you could also talk to your caterer about any affiliations they have with bakeries. Ours gives us any cake on the bakery's show room floor for a flat $1.70/slice

You could go with a more simple cake as well!

HeatherQ531 · January 2010

We're planning on a three tier cake. The top two will be real cake and the bottom will be fake, the guests will get a piece of sheet cake. I was not aware how expensive cake is!
My friend said we should use the next year to learn how to do our own cake decorating. I'm almost convinced it's a good idea.

Lasairiona · January 2010

I've seen this done a couple times, and the sheet cakes were cut in front of the guests and no one was offended, and guests commented that they preferred the cake being cut in front of them as it didn't have time to dry out since each slice was cut to order as a guest requested it. This also makes transport of any leftovers much easier with a large chunk of cake rather than a million slices.

However, most professional bakers (at least according to the pros at cakecentral.com) do not understand how this saves money as there is twice the labor involved. Any other industry where twice the work is required, you have to pay twice the price. The bulk of the price you pay actually goes into decorating and assembly costs. The baker has to assemble and decorate the fake cake, then they have to bake, assemble and frost the sheet cakes.

Boynton1286 · February 2010

We are trying to decide what to do about cake also, we have looked into getting a big cake and it is going to be way too much money, so my aunt suggested doing the top tier real and the bottom teirs fake and then doing sheet cakes. I have figured that it is going to save us around $300!

lchamnes · February 2010

I've been to a few weddings where they had a sheet cake for the guests and they were just fine. Just be sure to ask the baker. I started looking in my area and a few bakers have stopped doing sheet cakes! I'm outta luck but if yours will do it, then go for it!

txbride2011 · February 2010

You can try driving around town to find a local baker. They tend to be cheaper if you are having a hard time finding one that is under $5/serving. Typically when a couple requests a sheet cake in the BACK - which is where is should be cut and plated - it is a problem. If you are still trying to have the look of a wedding cake in the reception room you will have to talk to a baker about that as it can cost just as much. Other options are cupcakes. If you really want to become a DIY bride in this area than the cupcakes would be a good way to go, you can make them all in one day and freeze them at least one week before the wedding. You can get your girls over the day before the wedding and decorate them together!

klwithers · February 2010

Our cake we (or I) wanted was too expensive, so we went smaller. The cake serves 75 and are guest list is at 140. Although we'll cut the cake earlier in the evening it won't be served until our sweet table comes out. At that point some guests will have left and others will be too drunk to care about the cake.

CandyCane5 · February 2010

I am using a small local bakery. They told me up front that they only do fake wedding cakes because they are safer to transport and then have sheet cakes in the back. There is just a small place to "cut" for pictures. They have been doing it this way for years and it works for them and will save me around $350.

abbycobb812 · February 2010

So I was in the exact same boat. Our wedding will be about the same size and I was very frustrated with how expensive it was going to be for a fairly simply designed tiered cake. The baker kept trying to get me to pick a cheaper design, but why would I want some large ugly cake?

So I am getting a small 3 tiered cake, I believe it will serve 50-ish, and then we are getting 2 half-sheet cakes. The sheet cakes will be very simply decorated with some real flowers to match the tiered cake, and will sit out on either side of the main cake. The baker suggested this rather than having them in the back in order to give the small tiered cake more "presence". (Not sure I'm sold on that) So while people will know it's sheet cake, the cake is delicious so I'm banking that no one will care.

Getting the two half-sheet cakes instead of a big tiered cake saved me $200. We discussed doing fake cakes, but our baker said that since they still have to put all the time into decorating it, it's not necessarily much cheaper. Maybe that depends on the baker though. Personally I think it seems silly to put all that time and effort into decorating cardboard that you can't even eat.

jma1983 · February 2010

We are getting a 3 tier cake to serve 150 people. (We are planning a reception of 250 people) So, we opted to go with the 1/2 sheet cake for the remainder. However, our wedding is hockey themed, so we asked if they could decorate the sheet cake to look like the lines of a hockey rink. They are doing it at no extra charge and we're calling it a grooms cake!

phut_action · February 2010

I know all markets are different but around here cakes start at $2.50/person! i stll think thats too much. If you're going to have a dessert table, you wont even need to order enough cake for everyone because lots of people wont even want any. One wedding I went to last summer there had to be half the place settings that still had whole pieces on them, no one touched them by the end of the night, so I'd suggest having people come up to get cake rather than have it delivered by watiers, or have your wait staff ask if peopl want cake so it doesnt get wasted. That way you can order maybe for 3/4 the number of people you invite.

beckybogue · February 2010

Several of the Brides I've worked with in the past went with this option in order to save $$$. One had a small two tear cake for cutting/pictures and then bought sheet cakes from Costco which I think served 48 people per sheet cake. The cake was cut in the kitchen and served just after they cut their cake. it worked great and saved them so much money!

tommyandy · February 2010

Check your local grocery stores. I would start with the one that is the go-to store for birthday cakes. You are not required to use a bakery for your wedding cake. It will also be cheaper if you keep the cake & filling choices simple, as in one flavor combo for the whole cake. Stick with the basic flavors & don't go too exotic. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, white cake with citrus filling & butter cream icing, chocolate cake with strawberry sauce on after it's sliced, etc. Also check the local cooking schools, you might get a huge discount for giving the students a project they wouldn't normally have. Having a small bridal cake & a groom's cake will also feed lots of people for a lower price. You could also go with mini cup cakes in the shape of a tiered wedding cake - this will save you the cutting fee too. Good Luck!

SoonToBeMrsCote · February 2010

We were going to have only the top tier of our 3 tier cake be real and the rest would be fake and we'd have a sheet cake in the back. As someone said earlier, this can cost almost as much as having the whole thing real because they still have to decorate the fake cake...that's what several bakers have told me. We are lucky enough to have my MIL offer to make the cake! She's never worked with fondant (which is what we want) so she's going to make some practice cakes throughout the year. If you know someone who can bake and decorate a cake you might want to ask them. MIL is finding so much info on wilton.com, they even have pictures showing sizes of each tier and how many tiers feed how many people. The other good thing with her making it is that we don't haveto freeze the top tier because she's going to make us one on our anniversary! (Some bakeries also include making top tier again on your anniversary) Good luck!

kikicurlytop · February 2010

I am having the same problem, though on a larger scale (we are inviting about 250). I have thought about the sheet cake idea, and another I heard from a bakery at a local specialty grocery store was to do what they call satellite cakes. Basically what you do is have a very small tiered wedding cake, and then have small round cakes surrounding it. You can even do them in different flavors, which gives an effect like having tiers of different flavors on the wedding cake, and they decorate the satellite cakes to look like the wedding cake, only they cost the same as if someone ordered a round birthday cake ($20 or less).

MesmrEwe · February 2010

Do the geometry before you do the sheets!!! A 1 1/2x1 1/2x1 1/2 slice of sheet cake on a plate put in front of you after eating a garlicy meal then a 1x2x4-5" slice of cake, which do you want to be served... Now combine those measurements with the prices you're being quoted by your baker... Sheet cake when sized to the same portion as your guests would get of a filled slice of kitchen cake or wedding cake tends to be MORE EXPENSIVE when you do the geometry than getting the cake in a normal wedding portion in the first place from the same baker. Sure, it "SAYS" it'll serve 93, but what portion... The biggest thing you may need to do is scale back the design of your cake!!! Bakers offer budget options if you're willing to work with them. $5 depending on the cake design you're wanting might be highway robbery depending on the market you're in or if that's after all of the delivery/setup/rental costs are added in that's something to consider too. Also, until it's closer to your wedding you really won't have a firm number count on how much cake you're going to need. Consider asking your baker about what they offer for more budget friendly options. Most bakers do offer something even if it does mean abandoning your design. Some bakers even offer a "I'll do your cake for $$$ but they get to pick the design..." If 150 is your invited list, not all of them are going to show, which can sway your budget quite a bit. If you've suddenly got 30 fewer people at $5/pp, that's a big chunk of change just for cake.. Above all else, remember the golden rule that if you're serving sheet cake portion slices to some of your guests, serve that portion to ALL of your guests. No guest likes to feel cheaped out on (you'd complain too if someone sitting next to you got twice the portion you got!). You wouldn't serve some of your guests steak while others get beef hot dogs, same product, different portion, the same is true for cake... Whichever decision you make, plan that all of your guests are served the same portion.

abbycobb812 · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_smaller-cake-sheet-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:16dee8c1-6c1b-4d87-bb18-6129acfcbebaPost:8835558a-1eff-4293-a34a-79615fe6778f">Re: Smaller cake with a sheet cake??</a>:
[QUOTE]Do the geometry before you do the sheets!!! A 1 1/2x1 1/2x1 1/2 slice of sheet cake on a plate put in front of you after eating a garlicy meal then a 1x2x4-5" slice of cake, which do you want to be served... Now combine those measurements with the prices you're being quoted by your baker... Sheet cake when sized to the same portion as your guests would get of a filled slice of kitchen cake or wedding cake tends to be MORE EXPENSIVE when you do the geometry than getting the cake in a normal wedding portion in the first place from the same baker.
Posted by MesmrEwe[/QUOTE]

Sheet cakes from a bakery are not necessarily your typical sheet cake like you'd buy at Wal-Mart. The sheet cakes from my baker have filling and are the same cake as the tiers, only in rectangular form. Therefore the slices from the sheet cakes are the same volume as those from the tiered cake.

Lasairiona · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_smaller-cake-sheet-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:16dee8c1-6c1b-4d87-bb18-6129acfcbebaPost:df901893-4ea3-4e13-baa4-47d6f136de94">Re: Smaller cake with a sheet cake??</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Smaller cake with a sheet cake?? : Sheet cakes from a bakery are not necessarily your typical sheet cake like you'd buy at Wal-Mart. The sheet cakes from my baker have filling and are the same cake as the tiers, only in rectangular form. Therefore the slices from the sheet cakes are the same volume as those from the tiered cake.
Posted by abbycobb812[/QUOTE]
Sheet cakes from Walmart and other grocery stores have the same fillings and dimensions as that of specialty bakeries. They may have different choices for the fillings themselves, but I personally have yet to see a single sheet cake from Costco, Safeway, Walmart, Fry's, you name it, that doesn't have filling. So yes they are the same thing, You're just paying less at the grocery or Costco for the same cake and amount of labor on the baker's part.

kkowalishen · February 2010

I would look into other bakeries.....even places like Wegmans and Redners, do wedding cakes for a cheeper price....

jma1983 · February 2010

Another idea I've heard is having small cakes on each table...then they serve 2 purposes, they are the cake and they are part of the centerpiece.

Sue-n-Kevin · February 2010

Wow, so many opinions!

We are having 100 people. We will have a small 2 tiered cake, and we are getting sheet cakes from Costco. They serve 48 people, and they have the best flavor, several cake varieties to choose from, as well as 5-6 different cream fillings to choose from, mousse, etc. The Costco stores I have been to do a gorgeous all white frosting cake, with lots of piping and frosting roses in the middle. They charge $15.99 for all their sheet cakes.

I had one of the all white ones for my Mom's 75th birthday party. I had a different one for my son's graduation party. These cakes are delicious, and you can cut them in the back, and no one will know.

We are on a budget and cannot justify, for ourselves, spending too much on a bridal cake.

Good luck with your decision.

Moscow04 · February 2010

I agree with Jma- My cousin did this. She had the cakes as the centerpieces and each one had a different filling ( some overlapped I'm sure) and the bride and groom came around to all the tables to cut the cake. It was their way of mingling with all the people and then people were free to go to other tables and try the other kinds of cakes while also mingling with other guests. It saved lots of money since they didn't have to buy centerpieces and they gave the leftover cake away to guests and didn't have to worry about taking anything home or " What do I do with these now?" questions. I'm pretty sure they made some of the cakes themselves. Something to think about atleast...

capecod1986 · February 2010

We are getting a small tiered cake and a sheetcake from our local Costco. Saving lots of $$$

mkmccorm · March 2010

My fiancee and I are having a small wedding cake to cut made at a bakery that will have buttercream frosing and fresh flowers to decorate. I am making the groom's cake that will be made of tiered rice krispies

Made my frist practice on last night and it turned out great!
My mom owns a bakery so she is making sheet cakes for my wedding to feed the guests and bridal party...the small wedding cake will be just for me and my fiancee:)
We are going to have vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, banana, and lemon sheet cakes that will be passed around by servers and cut for no extra fee by the staff

Smaller cake with a sheet cake??

Re: Smaller cake with a sheet cake??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards