Budgeting For A Wedding Cake

When you think of a wedding, there are a few iconic images that come to mind: the white bridal gown, the viel, lots of flowers – and a gorgeous tiered wedding cake. But when a bride says “Let them eat cake”, like Marie Antoinette, she can find herself in unexpected trouble – but of the financial variety. Choosing to serve cake at your wedding could come with some unanticipated costs. These expences are broken down to give you some money saving ideas for the big day.

The cost of the wedding cake depends on the ingredients, design and the number of peolple you plan to serve. Cake prices are usually priced by the slice(number of guests). 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.

• Fondant, creative can cost around $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.

Additional factors that can add to your wedding cake cost include the cake topper and non-icing décor such as fountains, fruit, flowers, layer separators and the purchase or rental of a 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.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Many tiered wedding cakes need to be specially delivered to the reception venue and sometimes assembled on location to ensure 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. This fee us.50 per slice. And remember, if you’re paying for rentals, you’ll now need to get dessert plates and forks for guests to eat your wedding cake.

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 is a budget-conscious bride to 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.

• In order to feed more people you may want to try rectangular or square cakes. Consider this when placing your order – you might be able to save yourself an entire tier.

• Because a good number of people guests won’t eat the cake, place an order that will feed less people, up to 25% less. Rest assured, you’ll still have leftovers!

• You could consider faking you wedding cake. See if your baker is willing to add Styrofoam layers instead of real cake layers. You can still get the visual effect of a bigger tiered wedding cake, but for a much lower cost!).

• Taste-tests prove it: People actually like buttercream – one of the more budget-friendly icing options out there – best. It also works out about $2 cheaper per slice.

• You may find it more affordable to decorate your cake with a real ribbon instead of a edible one.

• 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.

• You can negotiate the cake cutting fee and delivery charges. Ask and see if this can be waived. You can avoid these costs if you have the hall or caterer supply the wedding cake.

• You could consider serving the cake on napkins instead of using desert plates.

Final cost saving advice? You may want to consider not having a wedding cake. you could save a few hundred dollars If the wedding cake isnt that important to you. You might want to consider other dersert options. You may find that non-traditional cakes, cupcakes, fruit, ice cream or a chocolate fountain can prove to be just as yummy but easier for your budget to swallow.

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