Everyone knows weddings can be expensive, probably one of the most expensive things you’ll ever pay for, and that means you may want to consider saving some money any way you can.
One of the places you can really save some money is with your wedding cake, one of the biggest centerpieces at your wedding.
First off, you have the choice to bake your own wedding cake. This can be very simple or very difficult depending on how adept one’s baking skills are. You can also ask a family member or friend to make one for you, you know thay have great baking skills. And no, it doesn’t make your wedding look cheap, as long as they can bake a really good wedding cake, it only gives it a personal touch and adds more love to your already loving big day. If you don’t have a friend or family member who is a star baker and you can’t bake one yourself, here are some tips on how to save.
A Trick Or Two
Let’s face it, bigger wedding cakes often look more attractive. Bigger also means it can serve more wedding guests and give some grandeur to the wedding itself, but the wedding cake doesn’t have to be 100% cake. That may sound odd, but opting to use some decorated and iced styrofoam to fill in some of the cake is a great way to save on both the labor cost and the material cost of the cake, it may even save your wedding cake from little children who may try to grab at it, by giving the cake a solid base of not-quite-as-tasty styrofoam.
Deconstructed Cakes Are In
An alternate to this is to simply do what’s called a “deconstructed cake,” which has actually become quite popular recently. These deconstructed cakes are very simple, and have all the flavor of a normal wedding cake, just without the fancy decorations that take a trained hand to make. Deconstructed cakes are cheaper to order and also easier to make yourself if you choose to. Deconstructed cakes are usually either messily frosted, or bare, sandwiched with frosting between. Regardless your guests will surely be pretty interested in it, and it has a certain beauty itself.
Frosting vs. Fondant
If you’ve ever had fondant, you’ll know it’s essentially a layer of sugar that doesn’t taste specifically great. For better taste, and keeping it cheaper, go for a buttercream frosting. Buttercream frosting is both easier to make and cheaper than fondant, so it’s an easy choice as long as you’re okay with not having a perfectly smooth looking cake.
Get Creative With Your Cake Decoration
To save on decorations it’s easiest and cheaper to go larger with less quantity than small with larger quantity, so some nice large sugar flowers or even just simple dots as a decoration keeps it cheap and pretty.
Let Them Pick Cake
When it comes to serving your guests, go for a banquet dessert table so guests can pick their slice of wedding cake (as opposed to serving it to them). Some people don’t want cake, while some people may want more. Keeping it simple is the best way to go. You can also reduce wastage by doing this, especially with very little children and adults who are into more savory desserts than sweet.
It’s not always easy to save money on weddings, but if you use these great tips you can surely save a few hundred dollars on your wedding cake. It’s going to be eaten anyway, so don’t worry too much about it. The guests will be happy just to have some delicious wedding cake for dessert.