Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

Cake is a huge deal for some brides and there is more and more pressure to have a fantastically original cake which doesn't always come cheap. Here are some creative ways of getting what you want without feeling bad eating the darn thing at the end of the day once you see the bill. You can also take some of these ideas and turn them into fun shower or big birthday party desserts.

1. Sheet Cake: Bakery designed cakes are very expensive ranging from $3-8 per slice, (Duff Goldman I love you and your work but frankly I can't afford a cup cake at Charm City Cakes) many couples are opting for a small bakery cake to put a topper on and cut ceremonially and then having sheet cake from the local grocery store cut in the back and served to guests. Most guests don't know the difference or if they know they really don't care as long as they get a piece.


2. Cup Cakes: These mini confections are becoming more and more popular in the wedding scene. If you are going DIY it is a LOT easier for a friend or family member to bake up cup cakes than it is to pull together a three tiered cake (Don't try to DIY your own cake- you will have plenty to do the days before your wedding besides becoming the next Top Chef). An added benefit to cup cakes is you don't have to cut them. Many venues will charge you a cake cutting fee which can run you about $1 per guest. That can add up as your guest count rises. If you still want a cake to cut add a small one to the top of your cup cake tower.

3. Centerpieces: Try killing two birds with one cake. Brides spend so much money on a beautiful cake to have it shoved in the corner of a banquette hall. They also spend a lot of money on centerpieces that are not functional after the five hour reception. Why not combine the two and have small cakes or small cup cake trees on the center of each table? Smaller cakes are cheaper as they aren't as much work to make or transport from a bakery. You can also mix up the flavors. Encourage your guests to mingle by naming each table after the cake's flavor instead of numbering the tables having a different flavor cake at each table on a simple cake stand. Check out cake stands at Home Goods for $10-15  and ask your local bakery about 8-10 in cakes normally around $12. Taking care of centerpieces and cake for under $30 per table with a creative twist is priceless!

4. Get Creative: Cake is traditional but these days you can eat whatever you want as a wedding dessert. Go with your favorite confection, serve what you had on your first date for dessert, a traditional dessert in honor of your heritage, have a buffet of small pastries/sweet treats, have a candy bar, or a sundae bar.

My favorite cake is ice cream cake so I had the bakery make a fake cake only putting cake in the top tier for cutting. The bottom two tiers were styrofoam covered in frosting (Check in out at the top of this post- Can you believe it isn't real?). The cake is the expensive part if you cut out half the work and trouble for the baker you can get a stellar deal that looks great.  We then picked up Carvel ice cream cake from Price Rite and had the caterer served it up. People were thrilled and loved the ice cream cake on an August night. I ended up spending half my cake budget and got exactly what I wanted!

5. Don't Go Overboard: Some venues will try and talk you into serving dessert AND wedding cake. Frankly this is overkill. If things are going well your guest should be workin' it on the dance floor not finding room for two desserts. Cut costs by only serving wedding cake, no one will slander you on Facebook the next day for not also having bananas foster or creme brulee.