What is a wedding reception without a wedding cake? It is to the reception what the bouquet is to the ceremony - and more. More because it not only adds beauty to the room but it provides dessert as well! Indeed, to keep cost down many brides choose to skip the catered dinner completely in favor of cake and finger food because the wedding cake brings so much versatility to the wedding reception.
That does not mean, however, that no bride should ever consider how to save money on her wedding cake. Indeed, just a couple choices could make the difference of hundreds of dollars. That said, here are five suggestions for how to save money when ordering a wedding cake.
That does not mean, however, that no bride should ever consider how to save money on her wedding cake. Indeed, just a couple choices could make the difference of hundreds of dollars. That said, here are five suggestions for how to save money when ordering a wedding cake.
- Choose Buttercream Icing: Many people look down their noses at buttercream icing, and too a large degree I don't blame them, often it is made with shortening and therefore tastes greasy. However, if you can find someone that makes their buttercream icing with real butter or white margarine (some less skilled bakeries will only use shortening because it is easier to work with because it holds up better, but only by a little bit) it will taste divine and, in the hands of an artisan, can look nearly as smooth as fondant - without the cost. Often the savings over fondant are in the ballpark of one dollar per slice.
- Limit Icing Color: The natural color for icing is either white or ivory (depending on ingredients). If a bride wants the icing to be another color, the pastry chef will have to color the icing by hand and that will raise the price substantially.
- Use the Top Tier to Serve Guests: Even wrapped expertly, cake stored in the freezer until the first anniversary will taste old and freezer burnt. Save money by using the top tier to feed the guests. The couple can always always return to the original bakery and order a small six or eight inch replica cake in time for their anniversary when the budget has recovered - and it will taste much better.
- Limit Design: Every icing flower, animal, or swag has to be made by hand. That means higher labor costs and if you figure even at a minimal rate of twenty dollars and hour - and most charge much more for their time and acquired skill - the cost of a wedding cake could easily jump by two hundred dollars or more. Instead, provide fresh flowers (don't pay the pastry chef to go shopping for you), fresh fruit, or even silk flowers etc. Or, spend the money on vines, medallions, or monograms of crystal wedding cake jewelery that you will be able to use both on your wedding cake and interspersed with greenery and other decorative touches for years to come in your new home.
- Flavor Options: This varies from one bakery to the next. Some bakeries charge extra for orders that want more than one flavor in the cake. Some will allow a different flavor for each tier (the tradition wedding cake has three tiers, large, medium, and small - each tier is made up of two or more layers depending on the bakery). I have never run into a bakery which will allow different flavors per layer without significantly increasing the cost as this would mean much more labor and waste. Check with your local bakeries for options.
A final note: If you are planning an outdoor wedding, think seriously about paying the extra money for fondant icing unless you know that it will be cold. Buttercream will hold up in many cases, but... Fondant is much more reliable in the heat and sun.
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