Every professional has something that irks them. Florists may have strong feelings about certain flowers, DJ's about certain songs, stationers about a certain font - and so on and so on.
For cake people, or this cake person, it's fake cake.
Recently a very well known wedding publication published the advice to have a fake presentation cake with real cake in the back to serve to your guests. It's a suggestion I've seen in other publications in the past, but seeing it in this one...it really stung.
Would you:
- Present a fake side of beef and serve your guests steak-ums?
- Get married in front of a green screen and have the photographer photo-shop you into exotic locations?
- Have large cardboard cut-outs of your family & friends on either side of you, instead of the expense of a bridal party? (ok, this I might do)
I could go on with the ridiculous examples, but at the heart of this is a real dilemma. What do I do if I have champagne cake tastes and a little debbie budget? I know that everyone wants their wedding to be beautiful and perfect. The goal should be to figure out how to achieve the best look for your budget & guest total, without trying to pull a fast one on your guests.
A few tasty, and very real, suggestions:
- If you've fallen in love with a pricey per-serving cake design, but can't stomach the bottom line, talk to your cake designer about the elements of the cake you can't live without. Start with the most important item and work backwards. Often times a good designer can steer you in a direction you haven't thought of, just because you were so focused on that original design. Many times a cake can look even more modern & chic if you pair down a design to it's most fabulous element.
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| A simple cluster of sugar blooms makes a statement, while not carrying the same price tag as a full cascade down the front of your cake. |
- Think about having a small 2-3 tier couple's cake and cupcakes or cookies, or a combo of both, for your guests. The petit cake serves it's purpose for the cake cutting ceremony and can then be served to just the families or the wedding party. Or you box it up to take home and enjoy some cupcakes & cookies with your guests.
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Talk with your cake designer about finish as well. This rustic butter cream finish is very popular, and also very budget friendly compared to more elaborate piped or fondant designs.
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- Consider a cake buffet of single tier and 2 tier cakes. In my opinion, this presents the best option for couples working on a budget who want to make an impact. Many bakery's single tier cakes are priced well below what the same cake would cost with another one stacked on top of it. Stacked cakes take more skill and time to complete, which equals higher cost. A series of 6", 8" and 10" rounds on different stands and platters would both fill up a dessert table quite nicely, as well as give you the ability to have multiple cake flavors at your wedding.
Bottom line, be honest with your cake designer and yourself about your budget.
A good designer will help you create the best dessert for your event, or steer you in the direction of someone who can. Cutting into your wedding cake is the first sweet task you take on as newly-weds. So shouldn't you have a cake that's as real, and fabulous, as you are?
