When you think of a wedding, there are a few iconic images that instantly come to mind: the white dress, the veil, a bouquet of flowers – and a beautiful tiered wedding cake. With all of those beautiful images that come to mind, the bride could be sightly blinded by the cost of the cakes. Choosing to serve cake at your wedding could come with some unanticipated costs. Here are some money saving tips for your special day.
The cost of the wedding cake itself depends on the design, ingredients and the number of people you plan to serve. The price of the cake is usually quoted by the slice. This can be deceiving –at a per guest cost, it might not seems so bad, but when you add it all together and realize this price is for a cake – it can be quite surprising:
- Smaller, simple cakes are approximately $1.50 to $2.00 per slice.
- Slightly higher-end cakes (think buttercream frosting, special icing décor) are roughly $5 to $6 per slice.
- Creative, fondant can run for at least $10 per slice.
- With any of these options, should you choose to have an interesting filling or special sugar-based décor touches, the per-slice cost of the wedding cake would increase another $1 or $2.
There are other things that can add to the cost of the cake, these include fountains, cake toppers, flowers, layer separators, and the cake stand.
So if you were hosting an average sized wedding, you could be playing between $210 and $1700 depending on the quality of the cake.
But this is just the tip of the ‘icingberg’. Most tiered wedding cakes need to be delivered specially to the reception venue and occasionally assembled on site to make sure they’re presented intact. While some bakeries will include this service with the cake purchase, other brides have been charged upward of $150.
One of the most unexpected costs brides are faced with is the cake-cutting fee. The caterer, bakery or wedding reception venue may charge you a fee to slice your wedding cake. On average, this fee is between $1 and $1.50 per slice. And also remember that if you are paying for rentals, you need to get desert plates/forks also.
On average the wedding cake wil cost between $500 and $700 to be served at the wedding. And the real tragedy is that many guests don’t even partake in this pricey confection!
So what should the budget conscious bride do? Now that you know where the costs are, here are some ways around them:
- If you’re willing to give them a chance, local culinary schools have students and teachers who are up-and-coming bakers. The prices they charge would be quite a bit less than well-established bakeries.
- Square and rectangular cakes tend to feed more guests than round cakes. Consider this when placing your order, you might be able to save yourself a tier.
- Because a good proportion of guests don’t eat the cake, place an order that will feed less people than your entire guest list – up to 25% less. Dont worry, you will have left overs!
- You could consider faking you wedding cake. See if your baker is willing to add Styrofoam layers instead of real cake layers. You’ll still get the visual effect of a large tiered wedding cake, but the cost of a smaller one (obviously, only the real edible layers would be served to guests!).
- Taste-tests prove it: People actually like buttercream – one of the more budget-friendly icing options out there – best. Easily applied, easy to color, and also about $2 cheaper per slice than fondant.
- Instead of decorating your cake with a edible ribbon, you may want to try a real ribbon.
- When talking with your florist, check if they can supply complimentary petals that you can use to decorate you cake.
- You may be able to supply your own cake toppers and decorative objects at a better price by searching on TradeMe, wedding forums and online stores.
- Delivery and the cake-cutting fee are negotiable charges. Ask and see if they can be removed entirely. If you have your hall or caterer supply your wedding cake, you’ll have an even better chance of avoiding these costs.
- If you are having a relaxed or more casual wedding then you might think about serving the wedding cake on serviettes instead of desert plates.
And the final cost-saving advice? Consider going without a wedding cake. If a wedding cake isn’t really that important to you and you think you can use a few hundreds of dollars elsewhere, speak with your wedding reception venue or caterer about dessert options. You can save money on your wedding cake by choosing something non traditional, like cupcakes, icecream, or even a chocolate fountain just as tasty and cheaper.
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