Get a Lower Wedding Cake Price

Believe it or not, there are ways to lower a wedding cake price while still going for the classiest of cakes. After reading this article, you'll be able to treat your guests with a mouthwatering cake which was bought at reasonable price.

Steps

  1. Make sure that the decoration and design is the right kind to suit your taste, before you agree to give an order to the baker. Go through referrals and see what prices are being quoted. Look through their real portfolio first before deciding on your cake (not the 3-ring binder of flawless images). A supermarket could offer a wide range of cakes at a lesser cost than your bakery. However, you should note whether their cakes are made on the spot or produced elsewhere and shipped in. Many supermarkets get their cakes in frozen, baked in a central commissary. Freezing cake doesn't necessarily damage it, but thawing and refreezing cake and holding them an extra long time, does damage them. In addition you will have to provide your own delivery to the reception. Make sure someone has an SUV that is clean. Do not allow someone to hold the cake or place it in a seat, both are a disaster waiting to happen.
  2. Decide on how you want to decorate your wedding cake, whether you want to keep it simple and cute or splendid and rich. Avoid over-decorating the cake. It is not necessary to have a five-tiered cake. Your baker will help you determine what size cake you need for your guest count.
  3. Consider borrowing the pillars. There are disposable pillars available with your local baker or rental companies which are a better alternative than those crystal pillars if you want to cut down on the cost of the pillars. Let the baker or your local rental company help you with the disposable pillars instead of the crystal ones.
  4. Find prices at a cake making or culinary school near your place. Students have baking and decorating cakes as part of their curriculum. This may be a way to save a substantial amount of money, but you should be aware that your cake is being made by students and may not have the same quality as one made by a more experienced pastry chef.
  5. Save on your wedding cake topper prices. Often relatives and well-wishers ask what you need as a gift. Ask them for a wedding cake topper.
  6. If you buy a multi-tiered cake, see that you decorate it yourself or have the florist do it for you. If you want flowers on your cake but the cost of the sugar flowers isn't fitting in your budget, let your florist put real flowers on the cake. Just make sure that they are non-toxic. Check the price of the organic edible flowers. Silk flowers may be a better cost-saving solution.
  7. Consider a smaller tiered cake for effect, and get a sheet cake to feed the guests. Even though it can be tempting to supplement with sheet cakes from the grocery store, consider kitchen cakes for your extra servings. A kitchen cake is an undecorated cake that looks exactly like your wedding cake when cut and is cheaper than a decorated cake of the same size. This way you can save a little and all your guests will get the same beautiful slice of cake and some will not feel like they got shafted with a grocery store sheet cake. Not only that, but many bakers won't provide a cake if you will be serving other cakes for insurance purposes and to protect their reputation.
  8. If your venue charges a cutting fee for cakes brought in from outside sources, consider a cupcake tower. This will be priced comparably to a tiered cake, and you can avoid the cutting fee since there is no cutting and plating involved for the venue's staff. Note that some reception sites call it a "cake service" fee because it covers plates, silverware, and the server/dishwasher for the extra time involved thus may apply to cupcakes or table cakes as well.
  9. Find out your bakers fee structure before you book. Find out things like: do they charge a delivery fee, what is the rental on cake stands, do they charge a setup fee, do they charge extra for fillings or which fillings are included in the price, if you find out your guest list is smaller than when you booked can you change the size of the cake (thus reducing the cost of the cake in many cases), what is the payment structure and is there a discount for paying cash up front, is the cake price locked in for X amount of servings or will the price go up if there is a price increase for the baker (minimum wage hike, ingredient cost hike, etc.), etc.
  10. Find out what portion size the baker is using. A baker that uses a fruitcake slice is a different portion size than a baker using a party slice than is a baker using a wedding slice. The same counts for cupcakes as there are mini, regular, muffin, and Texas sizes available. When figured inch per inch regular cupcakes can actually be more expensive than having a tiered cake since the portion is different. A baker charging $5/slice with a fruitcake slice vs. a baker charging $5/slice for a party slice is a significantly different value for the money.
  11. A design that is easy for that particular baker is going to cost you less than a design that is more difficult for that baker. Just as you have a specialty in the job you perform daily so does each individual baker. Keep it easy on them it'll keep it easy on your pocketbook.
  12. Bakers are more eager to give you the little "something extra" if you are easy to work with and pay on time with their payment schedule. A little open communication goes a long way. Thursday through Sunday are your baker's busiest days of the week giving other brides the same attention you want given to your cake, don't expect immediate replies to your email or calls during those days. Stay easy to work with and your baker will be more likely to do the little extra on the value side of your cake than you otherwise may have gotten. If you have to send a check, make sure it's sent before your deadline and use a service like priority mail with delivery confirmation so you can send your baker the tracking number and help avoid any problems involving "the check is in the mail" potentially losing your deposit if it doesn't arrive in time.
  13. If you can't afford your original cake design after booking work with your baker to design a new one that does fit your budget better. Refer to the above: A little open communication goes a long way!
  14. Order your cake early as you may be able to lock in the cost of the cake with some bakers before price increases take effect for a given year. This can also help you avoid extra fees such as "late fees" if the cake is booked last minute (2 months or less from the event).

Additional Wedding Resources

Doc:Wedding Budget Chart,3 Month Wedding Action Plan

Tips

  • Ask whether it will save to rent a dummy cake and serve kitchen cakes to your guests. Note that this will not always save money and not all decorators will have this as an option. You will have to settle for pre-decorated designs as the biggest expense in wedding cakes is in the decorating and that costs the same no matter if it's on a real or fake cake.
  • Be honest with your baker about your budget up front. Don't come in with a picture of an extravagant cake from a magazine and expect to pay rock bottom prices. Let your baker create some sketches for you of what can be made in your budget that also suits your own style.
  • Expect to pay per slice of the cake as the cake cost depends more on style than flavors.

Warnings

  • Always order enough slices of cake to feed all of your guests even if one side aren't "cake people". No guest wants to be told by the catering staff "sorry, we're out of cake". Like any other meal related event, better to have more than enough food than not enough. No one ever complains about taking an extra slice home with them.
  • Bakers who do not specialize in wedding cakes may not know how to construct your wedding cake. Yes, many people can bake a nice birthday cake. But not everyone understands the chemistry of baking large cakes. And fewer still understand the construction methods that enable a cake to stand straight and not lean or collapse. Also you need to make sure your home based baker is inspected, licensed and insured.
  • Before considering DIY, relative, or unlicensed baker on a wedding cake make sure your reception site will allow this to be done because of issues involving state food sourcing laws which occur in most states. Some states even go as far as no ribbon or inedible materials (such as flowers) may come in direct contact with the cake.
  • No guest likes to feel like they're a second class citizen, if one guest is served an unfilled slice of cake, then serve all of your guests unfilled slices of cake.

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Sources and Citations

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