I was thinking that I can do my own wedding cake to save money. Is it a crazy idea? Of cousre I would practice before the actual wedding...any pointers?
2007-06-28 07:56:58 · 15 answers · asked by chiple 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
If you want to save money on the cake, and really think you'd like to do it on your own, here's my suggestion:
Go to a bakery like Publix or Sam's and order the cakes undecorated. Getting the cake itself baked is messy and can be hard to get them even or filled if you don't have experience. Plus it saves time and they are fairly inexpensive if you get them undecorated.
Good Luck!
If you're doing icing:
When you put the icing on, first, use a kitchen brush to gently wipe off any crumbs, then do a very thin layer to catch any remaining crumbs. Take care not to scrape the cake. Then do a thicker layer of icing. Go to your local library and get a Wilton book on basic cake decorating techniques. Or go to a craft store and get a Wilton starter kit.
Rather than icing though, I would suggest using rolled fondant. It tends to look more professional and there's less room for crumbs show through or spatula slip-ups. You can buy the mix in a powder and follow the directions to make the fondant. You may need to try it a few times to get it right, but once you do, it will be like a ball of dough that you can roll out in a sheet. Do a thin layer of icing on your cake to make it sticky, then gently lay the fondant on top of the cake and trim the excess off of the bottom with a sharp knife. You can add a ribbon to the bottom for a nicer edge or use a pastry bag with icing to make a piped edge. Then put fresh flowers on top for a simple cake.
2007-06-28 09:26:00 · answer #1 · answered by my2fuzzyslippers 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can do your cake. The cakes can be baked and frozen ahead of time and filled and frosted. But you need access to a large freezer. Alternately as suggested buy a plain cake. Use ribbons instead of frosting borders , no decorating skills needed. Just be sure to secure the ribbon with some sort of gee gaw between the cake and the pins that attach the ribbon so you don't lose a pin in the cake. Decorate with fresh or silk flowers or some other topper. Transport in three layers and have then place them on floating stands or assemble on site. Do not try and transport the cake assembled. Have large enough box for each layer cut down the sides and tape them after the cake is in it. Place pearl headed pins around the side of the cake boards into the cardboard to keep the cakes from sliding or buy a wedding cake transport box from a bakery.
2007-06-28 11:05:39 · answer #2 · answered by lemonlimesherbet 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've done them for friends but I refused to do my own. It is kinda crazy because there is SO much to do in those last couple days. Perhaps ask a friend or family member to be your baker so you don't have the stress?
Pointers...um practice! You fiancee will love helping you take care of any screwups.
Get one of those spinning cake decorating stands...they make it so much easier.
Honestly though, by the time you buy everything you need to decorate it and the pans you might as well buy it. Forget traditional bakeries, go to the grocery store or Walmart, or Sam's club. Their cakes taste very good (buy a small one and try). What we ended up doing for my friends wedding was we bought her cake there and just had them do the icing plain then we wrapped the ribbon around it and added the flowers ourselves. It was less than $2 a serving.
2007-06-28 08:12:08 · answer #3 · answered by pspoptart 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
A friend of mine is a baker and makes wedding cakes for a living. She decided to do her own cake. On the way to the wedding she got into a car accident. Just a minor fender bender. She was OK. The car was OK. The cake... well let's just say it didn't survive. She still wishes she had just hired someone else to do it. And this is coming from a pro!
2007-06-28 08:09:40 · answer #4 · answered by Allyson S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't make your own wedding cake to save money. There are other things, better things, to save money on. A wedding cake is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility. Let a professional do it.
You can save money on a photographer...just get a couple of your friends or family with digital cameras to shoot everything in sight, then put it all together in a slide show on a disc. You can set it to music. My sister did that and it looks great.
You can save money on a band. Hire a disc jockey to play mp3s from a laptop computer through a sound system.
You can save money on flowers. You don't need to decorate all those tables. When there is food and drink on them, people will have more than enough in front of them.
Yes, there are lots of ways to save money, but leave the cake to a professional. I have seen bad things happen with cake...the frosting falls off, it's lopsided, the pedesatal breaks....believe me, on your wedding day you don't want to deal with those things!
2007-06-28 08:08:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Leave it to the pros. Even if you have the time to practice and the temperment, all the money youll spend on practicing supplies probably wont be worth it. There is a lot involved in creating a wedding cake.
2007-06-28 08:04:19 · answer #6 · answered by fizzy stuff 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a skilled baker, so no, I wouldn't. But my friend, who got married two weeks ago, did her own. She was experienced in cake making and decorating, and the wedding was small, so she didn't have to make a monster cake. It was absolutely beautiful. But she told me that if she had had a bigger wedding, she would not have been able to pull it off.
2007-06-28 18:09:31 · answer #7 · answered by Ara57 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You won't save all that much money, because the pans and other equipment isn't cheap. Plus, the cost of eggs, butter, sugar, flour, icing, filing, syrups, etc. etc. adds up. Not to mention that your oven has to have been calibrated recently in order for that size of a cake to cook properly. Then you need all the decorating tools, and space in your fridge to store it. Do you really need to be doing this 2 days before your wedding? And what if it goes wrong, despite the practice cakes? (practice cakes mean you need even more eggs, butter, flour, frosting, etc.)
2007-06-28 08:20:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I would never do my own. I'm not much of a baker and I don't need the added stress of making sure it gets to the reception OK and if it tastes terrible. I would rather let a pro do it.
Though my grandma did my dads cake a couple of years ago. It was a 2 tiered chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. But she was a fabulous baker.
2007-06-28 08:05:07 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
With my wedding cake, we bought plain white buttercream cakes, then my mom decorated it the day of. Our cake was rather simple, no piping, just textured white frosting and multi-colored flowers on it here and there. The grand total of a 3 tiered wedding cake was under $50.
2007-06-28 09:30:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋