Saving Money on a Cake

According to the Bridal Association of America, the average cost of a wedding cake is $543! I am going to give you some ideas on how to cut that cost down significantly. A great idea is to have two layers of your cake be real and have the rest be made of frosting covered Styrofoam. The top layer will obviously be saved for the one year anniversary tradition, and the second layer is to cut into for wedding pictures! After the small piece of cake is cut, then the cake is moved back into the kitchen where the one real layer of cake is cut along with cheaper sheet cake. Your guests will never be the wiser!

In the picture below, the $250 cake has 4 layers, the bottom one is the only real one! The $2500 cake is all real cake.

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Another way to cut costs is to get buttercream frosting instead of fondant. Your guests and wallet will thank you. Fondant is, in my opinion, repulsive. It should not be considered a frosting. At all the weddings I have planned, almost every guest leaves the fondant untouched on the cake plate. So why don't you save some money and go with the tastier and still beautiful cake.

Buttercream frosted cake

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Fondant covered Cake

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This is a price sheet from a local grocery store here in the Northwoods.


Decorative Cakes
Serves                  Styrofoam                Edible                   Styrofoam                    Edible
                           Butter Cream            Butter Cream         Rolled Fondant            Rolled Fondant
                           $1/serving                  $2/serving             $3/serving                    $6/serving
14                          $14                            $28                      $42                               $84
25                          $25                            $50                      $75                              $150
39                          $39                            $78                     $117                             $234
56                          $56                            $112                   $168                             $336
77                          $77                            $154                   $231                             $462
100                        $100                          $200                   $300                             $600
122                        $122                          $244                   $366                             $732

Sheet Cake

Serves          Size                 Price
24                 1/4 sheet          $20
48                 1/2 sheet          $35
96                 Full sheet         $60




As you can tell, having a fake buttercream frosted cake will save you a lot of money!

Lastly, instead of having extravagant decorations on your cake, you can put fresh flowers on your cake for an elegant touch. It is a lot cheaper than having delicate sugar flowers made or other intricate designs.

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