Actual cake, hidden cake, or cupcakes?

UCABearFan05

I hear a great way to save money on the cake is to either have a "fake cake" for display then feed people from a sheet cake, or to do one small tier then just have cupcakes.  Out of those two options I think I'd still like to appear like I have a cake, but part of me still wants to just have an actual cake.  Is anyone doing one of those options?  Did it work or do you regret it?  My wedding isn't until next July, so I have plenty of time to change my mind :-P

jobiann

A fake cake doesn't actually save money because the baker still incurs the cost of the filler and the time to ice it to look like a cake. If you don't want much cake, do a cute little two layer cake (they are really popular now look at the cake pictures her on The Knot) and then have sheet cakes for the guests. We are having a smaller three-tier cake plus five sheet cakes that we'll cut for guest. But we are also having 350 guests. Or you can always do cupcakes...I didn't want cupcakes because I feel that you can have cupcakes anytime. But how often do you get a wedding cake!?! Good luck!!

mindiosu

We're doing cupcakes with a top tier to cut. We are doing "Dinner by the bite", basically a full dinner in stations that are tapas style, but lots of them and served most of the evening. So, cupcakes go well with that style. And, they are gourmet. We still were able to choose cake, filling, and frosting flavors- 3 different and they are rather large. But, they are still less expensive per than the cake at the same bakery. So, my vote is cupcakes. It's cake- not worth breaking the bank, but good enough to still want to offer- enter cupcakes!

kat_hi

There was a thread just below about faux cakes, and price seems to depend on the baker.  The lady I met who does faux cakes does charge less for them because she reuses them (changes the colors to match your theme).  She quoted me faux and real (including sheet cakes to cover all slices) but said because my wedding is so small, the price isnt that different.  it would be more cost effective for a larger wedding.  my wedding is only 50 guests.I would price around the local bakers and ask your local board if anyone in the area does it.I'm the same way as you. I want it to look like a real cake, but i'm changing my mind all the time too.  Some days, i'm planning a brownie cake. lol

Sherette21

I am doing a 3 tier cake which feeds about 134 people then making up the difference with a full sheet cake.

Calypso1977

we did a rum cake from an italian bakery for our dessert.  it was not on display, nor did we cut it and feed each other.  A cake for 100 people cost us $140 including delivery.  Much, much cheaper than a wedding cake, which can be upwards of $800.

meg1102

We're having a whole dessert buffet from a great local bakery for half the cost of a "wedding cake."  five different kinds of cake, pies, tarts, cookies, brownies, and one little 6" cake for us to cut.  i'm displaying them all on interesting antique platters.  I'm not a big one for following all the traditions just because they are there.  this way we get delicious dessert, people get to choose what they like, and we saved $$.

VeganBride2008

originally I wanted a three tier cake and that was the plan until we decided how and when we were going to serve it.  Because we had cheesecake for dessert and were going to have the wedding cakes as late night serve your own, we were concerned about the supports needed for a tiered cake making it difficult for people to cut their own.  what we ended up doing (which we were thrilled with and got a tonne of compliments on) was buying three cake pedestals and having three tall (I think they were three or four layers) cakes made (we had chocolate, carrot and lemon) and all iced and covered in ivory fondant.  Then the middle cake on the table had our topper (willow tree angels, the promise cake topper) and the two side cakes each had a cluster of ivory roses on top.  It was fairly inexpensive because she just charged us for three large cakes, and our florist added only a small amount for the roses and it looked beautiful.  We displayed them on a semi-circular table and it was very clean and beautiful looking.  They were super easy to cut and people loved the variety in flavours...

shortkake

We're doing a 3 tierd cake and then haveing sheet cakes kept in the kitchen area with the same filling as the tiers. It saved us a lot of $$$. I was going to do cupcakes until I found a cke topper I loved so much we needed a cake!

britt6785

We did a small 2 tiered cake to cut and save the top of and then each table at the reception had their own cake as a center piece. It was cheaper to have the 18 cakes then to have a giant cake and 17 floral centerpieces... plus everyone loved going around to all the other tables and trying the different flavors.

katelyn_alameda

Our budget doesn't allow for a cake. :-(Luckily our dinner includes a dessert, so hopefully people will appease their sweet tooth.  I wish I could figure something out so we could do cake pictures. Maybe someone wants to give me 500 dollars? ;-)

Ab42187

Well I don't know anything about a fake cake or a small tier then just cupcakes but I got my cake at Super Wal-Mart for about $160 and that feeds about 150 people. The cake actually turned out really good and it tasted really good too. It was much better then what I thought it would be for a Wal-Mart cake.

lithiea

We are doing a small single teir cake for us to cut and cupcakes for everyone else-the cupcakes are going to be filled, frosted and dipped into white chocolate so they look like fondant but without the horrible taste- this is only costing me 110.00 instead of the 540-820 I was quoted for an actual wedding cake in my area.

nikkiblueeyes823

PI2 in NH does fake cakes. A few people at my moms work used them. I think they run about $125-$150 for the fake and $80 for a sheet cake that feeds $80-$100. I looked yesterday and they had a bunch of flavors to pick from. We're on a tight budget too so this may be how we'll go. I vote cupcakes Fi votes NO. So ill give this as his only other option. I just want to know the charge for delivery to MA if we decide on a wedding there.

hlm_mckay

In the grand scheme of wedding costs, compared to the cost of food and the rental fees, usually the cake cost isn't one to worry about.  Don't get me wrong, wedding cake isn't CHEAP, and you should shop around, but just pay for the real cake and don't worry about it.

jlzimmer

We met with our fabulous chef that is doing our reception dinner. He makes cakes on his own, and only does fake tiered cakes. So, we are going with a 3 tier square fake cake, and sheet cakes to actually feed everyone. The top tier of the fake cake will be real for us to keep. It's saving us a lot of money. His flavors are awesome and delicious. If we did a real tiered cake, we would have to stick with a basic flavor to save money (which is really no problem either), but this way we can choose something a little fancier for less money.

hrchick72

Similar to jlzimmer above, we are doing a combination. Three-tiered simple wedding cake - bottom tier is fake, middle is real for guests, top is real to save. This will serve about 65 guests. We are supplementing for the rest with sheet cakes to provide for a total of approx 200 guests. We are also having our mints made by this baker, and the total cost is $350 for everything, including delivery. The cool thing about sheet cakes (as well as cupcakes) is the variety you can set up for your guests. We're having five flavors of cake with two different types of icing. Keep shopping and you'll find something that works for you! Good luck!!

Vanessa A

We intially went with a three tier cake but recently added another tier. To off set things, I ordered a grooms cake to resemble the basket ball jersey of my fiance's favorite player and the baker charged it as a sheet cake. The price worked for us.

asl71476

My fiance and I are ice cream people. And honestly, I feel like every time I go to a wedding and watch the cake being put out, it seems to sit there forever. Plus, having worked in the restaurant industry for a few years quite a ways back, I remember we'd all be in the kitchen waiting to go pick up the cake off the tables to see how much hadn't been touched for a quick sugar blast! So, taking all of that into consideration, we're going to do a very small cake (for the sake of the whole cake cutting thing) and after that, we're having an ice cream sundae bar for guests.

rechance

I don't know this for sure but I have seen other Knotties report that you can get a nice wedding cake from Sam's/Walmart for about $150. If this is true, maybe other large stores like Costco or BJ's have similar pricing.

futuremrsvernon

I found a baker that does it out of her home, but has the most beautiful and best tasting cakes (is that proper english?) Anyways, since she was out of her home we are literally paying half the cost! (And this is a lady who has competed against Duff from Ace of Cakes). If you can find someone that does it out of their home usually they have less overhead so you can find the cake for a lot less money.

tkalbarczyk

Im having a small two tierd cake made for us to cut and keep the top of and sheet cakes for the guest to eat. Im going to Costco to get the cakes. They are very good and beautiful and only cost 20 dollars each so i can get several of these in different flavors

akerrigan19

my MOH for her wedding got her cake at a local supermarket, it was beautiful and delicious, and A LOT less than a baker. no one has to know that it came from the supermarket except you and FI! worth a look!

jinxed8605

We're going to have a small real cake to cut and the baker is going to make sheet cakes in the same flavor for guests.