Do you get a "real" cake?

daniellenicole8 · January 2011

I was curious what everyones oppinions are about the cake. Do you get a "full" cake (not all cardboard or foam) to feed all your guests? Or do you just get a cake of mostly foam and just enough for you and your fiance for the cake cutting and anniversary top? Then sheet cakes for your guests? Just interested on what you ladies think! Thanks!

miranda060184 · January 2011

my fiance and i are going to get a small cake for us to cut, but we are having 3 different kinds of cupcakes for our guests. that way theres some variety and people can pick and choose what they like.

ivyrose13 · January 2011

We are getting a four tiered hexagon cake with enough servings for all of our guests. We stuck with a simple flavor (lemon) and we are using buttercream instead of fondant. Our cake comes out more affordable per person than cupcakes

kimp67 · January 2011

We are doing the whole "real" cake. But, I see nothing wrong with doing the fake one & having sheet cakes to serve, as long as, like a pp said, it's the same quality.

mgietler76 · January 2011

I am having a 3 tier real cake. I wanted to go the fake route but my FI was dead set on a real one.

I would caution though that sometimes the fake cake ends up costing just as much as the real one with all the detailing that goes into it, since it's in essence a box covered in frosting or fondant, the detail and man hours it takes to decorate the cake is the costly part.

fallbride1109 · January 2011

I had 2 fake tiers because a) they had rhinestones and b) my cake vendor always does the top layer fake and then boxes it for the B&G to take home. Our cake was served butler style at the tables so whether we had sheet cakes or not, no one knew the difference. It wasn't any cheaper in my case. We still had to serve the same # of servings, have it decorated, etc.

FayeValentine69 · January 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_real-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:05baf8ee-6ab2-4345-af6b-722f0047ec73Post:843268b1-7cd7-4d0a-923c-8bba6c8193dc">Re: Do you get a "real" cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]I had 2 fake tiers because a) they had rhinestones and b) my cake vendor always does the top layer fake and then boxes it for the B&G to take home. Our cake was served butler style at the tables so whether we had sheet cakes or not, no one knew the difference. It wasn't any cheaper in my case. We still had to serve the same # of servings, have it decorated, etc.
Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

What do you do with the top layer then? Is it decorated with non-perishable stuff, or does it still have the icing and such on it?

Sounds like it could be really cool.

fallbride1109 · January 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_real-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:05baf8ee-6ab2-4345-af6b-722f0047ec73Post:ca3650f2-c6eb-4249-8cca-33605facac4f">Re: Do you get a "real" cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Do you get a "real" cake? : What do you do with the top layer then? Is it decorated with non-perishable stuff, or does it still have the icing and such on it? Sounds like it could be really cool.
Posted by FayeValentine69[/QUOTE]

The top and bottom fake layers looked the same as the others. You couldn't tell the difference. Our real topper was given to us boxed up.

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If you are having a small wedding and don't need this much cake but just wanted to have a big cake for looks, then in that case, I guess doing fake layers will save you money. You would just serve the 2 layers that were real depending on how many people you needed to feed, and in that case, you wouldn't even need sheet cakes.

RebeccaB88 · January 2011

I am on the short list of people who hate fake cakes, but there are a lot here who are okay with them. They aren't always cheaper. I would rather see a small, real cake on display, supplemented with sheet cakes from the back, than a huge fake cake. To me it's a dead giveaway that it's fake when only certain layers are cut, not the whole thing, or if it's a gigantic cake at a small reception. But, if it works for you, as long as all the guests get essentially the same cake, it'll be fine. (Agree with the above poster that you shouldn't do cheaper cake for the guests than the bridal party.) We will have the entire real cake for display, because that's what we prefer. If you want a variety of flavors, the bakery will be able to tell you how they can do that.

kaesha · January 2011

I totally agree with everything stage said, but I have to say I also agree with RebeccaB88. I'd much rather see a small cake than one with fake layers. I don't see the point of trying to fake out your guests - it makes it feel like you're trying to use the cake as a status symbol, and that just strikes me as silly.

Edit: I also think sheet cakes are fine, provided that your guests are eating the same thing you're eating. I think it's totally tacky and TERRIBLE hosting to serve something to your guests from Walmart if you're eating something from the best bakery in town.

DanielleZZ · January 2011

We are doing a real, small, 2 tiered cake to cut and then sheet cakes to serve. It is saves so much money.

dees14 · January 2011

I'm not doing a cutting cake. I'm just going to have them serve my guests cake. The best wedding cake I ever had was sheet cake from Costco, so I figured I would do the same!

FayeValentine69 · January 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_real-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:05baf8ee-6ab2-4345-af6b-722f0047ec73Post:6bb26809-2d30-4ee9-a3b4-7d375fb67a69">Re: Do you get a "real" cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Do you get a "real" cake? : The top and bottom fake layers looked the same as the others. You couldn't tell the difference. Our real topper was given to us boxed up. If you are having a small wedding and don't need this much cake but just wanted to have a big cake for looks, then in that case, I guess doing fake layers will save you money. You would just serve the 2 layers that were real depending on how many people you needed to feed, and in that case, you wouldn't even need sheet cakes.
Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

That sounds really cool. All the cake designs I've seen that I love seem like it would be a real pain to serve because they have pearls or rhinestones on them. This might be a neat alternative.

But, yes our guests would be eating the same type of cake we would.

MMRoberts11 · January 2011

I'll be doing a real cake. Probably 3 tiers due to the number of guests.

Just FYI, fake cakes are made the same way real cakes are, they just have a styrofoam base instead of a cake one.

SuMmErKuTiE · January 2011

We had a real cake, but it was included with our venue's package. If we had gone elsewhere to an outside baker and had to pay for our cake, we probably would have done what Stephiehall did. After all, her cake was our inspiration! The baker just messed up and didn't add the 4th tier and the gold ribbon at the base of each tier *sigh*. We would have had an outside baker do a fake layer or two for looks and have real cake on the other tiers since we only had about 120 people at our reception.

fallbride1109 · January 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_real-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:05baf8ee-6ab2-4345-af6b-722f0047ec73Post:2ee56c4b-3e7f-48c3-ae28-3006fee2e894">Re: Do you get a "real" cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]We had a real cake, but it was included with our venue's package. If we had gone elsewhere to an outside baker and had to pay for our cake, we probably would have done what Stephiehall did. <strong>After all, her cake was our inspiration!</strong> Posted by SuMmErKuTiE[/QUOTE]

Awww, I didn't know that! :) I just looked through your bio--everything was beautiful! We only ended up at around 110 people and we had sooo much cake left over it was ridiculous, AND everyone got 2 pieces! But MIL had paid the cake off early by the time we knew our final count so we didn't bother to change it.

Hee, I remember looking at your bio when all you had in there practically were your door hangers and I remember thinking they were the cutest things ever!!

AbbeyS2011 · January 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_real-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:05baf8ee-6ab2-4345-af6b-722f0047ec73Post:0e99b90c-d7fc-47b7-9b51-a02b384c807e">Re: Do you get a "real" cake?</a>:
[QUOTE] I would caution though that sometimes the fake cake ends up costing just as much as the real one with all the detailing that goes into it, since it's in essence a box covered in frosting or fondant, the detail and man hours it takes to decorate the cake is the costly part.
Posted by mgietler76[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Most of the cost of cake is the decorating itself.

Pookie05 · January 2011

"Real" cake for wedding party and immediate family, then cupcakes for guests.

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