Cakes | The Wedding Coach

Ollie Crafoord

One of the cornerstones of planning The $10,000 Dream Wedding is avoiding “wedding” products and services as much as possible. As soon as you even whisper the word, “wedding,” the price goes UP, UP, UP.

Once bride recently asked me this question about saving on her wedding cake:

“I was thinking it would be bad to call and say, what do your “wedding” cakes start at, because now they know it is a “wedding” cake.

“Could I just ask how much a 3 layered (tiered) cake for 130 people would start at? And if they ask what type of event is it for, I can say a “party”? Or do you think they will catch on? Attached are some basic ideas of what I may want our cake to look like, but with different color bands, and probably only 3 teirs/layers. I have a feeling they might catch on when they see our idea unfold?? How should I deal with the cake issue?”

First, I do NOT recommend lying. It has a way of coming back to bite you in the ass later on. Plus, if you want a wedding vendor to work with you lying doesn’t exactly encourage a good relationship.

If you know exactly what wedding cake you want (like this bride seems to) it might be possible to get a price quote via email up front BEFORE you drop the “wedding” word. However, since what she’s asking for is a traditional wedding cake it’s likely she’ll get quoted typical “wedding” prices.

The real savings on wedding cakes comes from choosing a “non-wedding” cake option.

Here are a few ideas about what I mean…

Buy an assortment of delicious cakes from your favorite bakery and offer your guests a selection. Imagine the impressive display of 6-8 beautiful, delicious cakes (often much less expensive and much more tasty than traditional wedding cakes.) At a bridal show just yesterday the bakery had an oreo cookie cake, a lemon cake, a Bailey’s Irish creme cake, a raspberry cake…so tempting! You can still have a small wedding cake to cut, if you like.

Kate Weber

Choose a smaller decorative wedding cake then serve sheet cakes behind the scenes. Most of the cost of a wedding cake is in the preparation of multiple tiers, fondants and icing. Cut the prep time and you cut the cost. Have a small cake for cutting and display, then serve the same flavor sheet cakes in the back. Your guests will never know the difference.

The ever-popular wedding cupcakes. Cupcakes are inexpensive, cute and just the right size. Guests LOVE them.

Derek Rose

Serve assorted pastries and cookies instead of cake. Think cannolis, napoleons, lemon bars, eclairs, cream puffs…Get as creative as you want. Does your aunt make a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe? Showcase the family recipes at your wedding.

The theme here is BE CREATIVE. Going “non-wedding” means thinking outside the box. That’s where the real savings live.

One of the best ways to plan an affordable wedding that really fits you is to get creative. It’s something I stress again and again in my eBook on planning a wedding on a budget…because it can save you $1,000’s.

On that note, let’s talk about wedding cake price…

According to the Bridal Association of America, the average cost of wedding cake is $543. Wedding cakes are usually priced by the slice: $1.50 per serving for a low-end, simple cake…$5-6 per slice for a flavored, mid-end cake…$10 and up per slice for an exotic, high-end cake. And that’s just getting started. Cake decorations can quickly add to the expense; the more elaborate the design, the more the price racks up.

Now, let’s get REAL about how much value your guests get out of that price…

If you’ve been a guest at a wedding–especially if it’s a really kickin’ party–by the time the cake gets served to the tables, everyone’s up and dancing. They’re having so much fun they are not thinking about cake. And by the end of the reception, HALF the cake is sitting, uneaten, on the tables. It gets THROWN OUT.

Is that a good value?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest something shocking…maybe even dangerous.

What if you skipped the wedding cake?

Agh! The horror!

Seriously, a wedding cake is traditional. Your family is probably going to tell you you’re “supposed” to have one…

But if you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you know what I think about “shoulds” and “supposed tos.” And where they can stick it.

The only “supposed to” for your wedding is one that YOU determine.

I predict we’ll see a wedding trend appear in 2009 as more brides skip the cake altogether.

What if you set up an impressive dessert buffet so that guests could help themselves? You can buy delicious cookies and pastries from your favorite bakery…without the “wedding” markup. Guests who aren’t interested can skip it; those who are can gorge themselves…and you can save a bundle.

Another idea: if you have bakers in the family, what if you had Mom bake her famous brownie recipe and serve it with ice cream? Or Aunt Alda’s family chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Your dessert not only saves you money, it stands out as a way to make your wedding unique and personal.

Believe me, so long as their sweet tooth is satisfied, your guests will not complain. Okay, maybe the old biddies will complain, but they don’t have teeth anyway.

If your dream wedding includes a wedding cake, by all means have one. But I encourage you to get creative and consider this and other ways to save by daring to be “non-traditional.”

Think I’m crazy? What do you think about skipping the cake?