Real Cake vs. Fake Cake

jflynn929

Do you think it would be that much cheaper to go the fake cake route and have sheet cakes made in the back? You can purchase a pretty large 4 or 5 tier dummy cake for like $15, but isn't the biggest expense in buying a cake actually the decorating? 

zulamay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_real-cake-vs-fake-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:16013792-7b84-4058-88a4-2e6cdcf2b129Post:48d0a56c-f5e4-4b62-ad9e-0c439cfb482e">Real Cake vs. Fake Cake</a>:
[QUOTE]Do you think it would be that much cheaper to go the fake cake route and have sheet cakes made in the back? You can purchase a pretty large 4 or 5 tier dummy cake for like $15, but <strong>isn't the biggest expense in buying a cake actually the decorating? </strong>
Posted by starchic6902[/QUOTE]

<div>Yup.  This is what most of the cake places told me when I was looking.  Some girls on the Knot have found ways around it though. </div>

emarston1

I personally never looked into this option but from what I remember from other posters, the fake cake cost just about as much as the real one did, if not more.

Jashley05

I did a fake tiered cake with sheet cake and it was cheaper. I didn't have the cost figured out if it where a real cake though. I'm not really sure why, but we had the opportunity to have a bunch of different flavors with the sheet cakes.

Jacks2913

I've been thinking of going the fake cake route as well. One of my bridesmaids has an aunt who decorates cakes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll help me out!!! 

msteaches

I'm doing a fake cake. Its about $400 cheaper that way.

Sue-n-Kevin

I guess it depends on how many guests you are having.

We were going to have a "token cake" made by our caterer (Holiday Market) which would have been $89. That would be 2 layers, top one 8" bottom one 10". We were then going to buy 2 sheetcakes from Costco ($17 each for lovely white decorated cake, with vanilla mousse in the middle of white or yellow cake). The caterer would have taken the token cake back to the kitchen and cut it, along with the sheet cakes for delivery to the guests.

But, we were only having around 100 guests (actually ended up being 80). We got the actual cake from Holiday Market to feed that many and it cost $189. We had half of the bottom layer left. We got RAVE REVIEWS about the cake, which was yellow cake with Passion Fruit Mousse and white buttercream. We continued to eat the cake which we put in the freezer.

Not sure how many people you are having, or how "grand" you want your cake to look. If you are talking about a "fake cake", 4-5 tiers, that would appear to be enough to feed 300-400 people. Are you having that many?

The most expensive part of the cake is the decorating. Ours was fairly simple. But I was never one that thought it needed to be grand. It was simply frosted with about a 1/2 inch thick layer of the most delicious buttercream frosting I ever ate (and I am a frosting FREAK), and they attached off-white pearls I bought at Heinreich's Cake and Candy store in Warren (10 Mile east of Van Dyke across from Dealer's Discount Floral). The pearls matched the way the skirt on my dress looked.



You have to decide what you want to spend for the number of guests you have. The price of the cake from Holiday Market was roughly $1.89 per person as it would have fed at least 100 people.

Good luck.

db1985

We are expecting around 130 guests so we are doing a small tiered cake (real) for about 78 and a kitchen cake in the back for the rest.  Our baker told us Its just as much labor to decorate a fake cake, so we figured mine as well do the real thing.  You could always have part real cake and a few fake tiers if you want something larger.  Most bakers can do different tiers in different flavors if that is the concern.

MichiganderBride

I am planning on doing a fake cake with sheet cakes in the back. But, I am doing the fake cake by myself so this will definitely save money. Since the decorations that I wanted on the teired cake would have been very expensive at a bekery, this was the only way to get the look I wanted without blowing my budget. I think it would be best to do the math, and figure out how much you are really saving.

Also, do you want fondant on your cake?