Wedding Cakes on a Budget

In this day and age, weddings are becoming more and more expensive and wedding cakes are no exception. However, it is possible to serve a beautiful cake while maintaining a budget.

One of the best ways to save money on wedding cakes is to consider a kitchen cake. This is a flat slab cake iced on top to match the wedding cake, but generally without piping, flowers etc. When the cake is cut and served, guests are unable to tell the difference between slices of the actual wedding cake and the kitchen cake.

You may also consider having a "dummy" cake as a centrepiece on the cake table. Rent or buy a Styrofoam show-cake from your local baker, and have the caterer serve your guests from sheet cakes or kitchen cakes that are plated in the back kitchen. Or have a single, small cake for show and several sheet cakes to cut for the guests.

When choosing your wedding cake design, opt for simple cakes with minimal decoration as the more labour that is required to decorate the cake, the more expensive. Try to also skip having multiple tiers with fancy pillars. Instead, have the cake layers stacked or borrow pillars if your baker provides this service, or have the baker use disposable pillars instead of the costly crystal ones. Also, check with your local rental company to see if it has any available.

Another option to minimise costs is to try having the cake decorator make and ice the cake, whilst you put your own fresh flowers as decoration for the cake. You can ask your florist to supply extra flowers for the cake to match your bouquets or just pick the flowers on the day of your wedding. If that's not possible, store the flowers on a plate with some water in your fridge. Sprinkling petals, cascading down tiers or placing flowers around the base of the cake are simple yet elegant designs.

Alternatively, bake your own cake or enlist the help of a friend or family member to do this for you as their wedding gift to you. Fruit, candy, ribbon and marzipan sculpted into flowers and figurines make for beautiful wedding cake designs.

Check also if your reception venue offers a wedding cake as part of the catering deal. Some venues will provide the entire wedding cake whilst others will just provide the first tier.

Another option for couples on a budget is to have cupcakes rather than traditional wedding cakes. This is not only a great way to save money, but it is also a very popular option and can be done beautifully. It is both unique and different and can enhance the beauty of the wedding. The cupcakes are generally arranged in tiers similar to wedding cakes. Each guest will receive an individual cupcake. This saves on having to pay the fee for cake cutting as well as paying for a large, expensive cake. The fee when a reception venue or caterer charges for cutting and serving a cake is called "cakeage". Fees can be up to $4 or $5 a head.

Finally, decide when and how the cake will be served.

As dessert: you will need a large slice of cake and need to cater for every person attending the function as the cake is a part of the formal meal and a generous slice has to be put in front of the guest whether they are going to eat it or not. When the cake is served as dessert you normally need 3 times as much cake as when the serving is as a coffee slice.

As coffee: as "finger'' slice which is normally served on a platter towards the end of the evening. A general rule is that you need only cater for 70% of the guests

There are many considerations when it comes to wedding cakes: size, flavor, design, and of course choosing the right bakery. The bride and groom on a budget should remember to look at lots of different ideas before deciding what they want. Visiting several bakeries and getting quotes are a great way to taste yummy wedding cakes as well as perusing bridal magazines to find inspiration.

Beach Wedding Cake Toppers & Beach Wedding Cakes

If you're destined for a beach wedding, you may be interested in beach wedding cakes.

Beach weddings are often destination weddings, a popular choice by many couples who are looking to wrap their honeymoon and wedding into one, or to have a smaller, intimate and inexpensive event. To boot, getting married near the shore is extraordinarily romantic, and can make your wedding experience and memories, that much more special.

If you're a bride-to-be, looking for a beach wedding cakes, what design should you be looking for? What design makes a cake so "by the shore"? Well, that depends on a lot of things. It depends on the couples' style, interests and hobbies. It depends on theme of the event, the time of year, the characteristics and layout of the location...just to name a few. To get ideas on which cake may be right for your beach wedding, we've rounded up lots of ideas that we've included below:

Sea Shell Cakes - You just can't go wrong with sea shells on a beach wedding cake. So what shells? Beaded periwinkle, Florida cone, and maculated ear moon, are some of the most beautiful sea shells for decoration. Small pieces of coral, is also another great choice. The sea shells can be real (wash them well!), or can be made from a variety of icing, molding paste or chocolate. Sea shells can be used subtly or as the main design of the cake. A cluster of shells, as the seashell cake topper is a must for this cake design.

Marine Wild Life Cakes - Incorporate enchanting sea creatures, such as anemones, turtles, tropical fish, sea lions, jellyfish, sea stars, dolphins, whales, or sea horses. We did a wedding in Monterey a few years ago, and the reception was at the Monterey Plaza Hotel - which is right next door to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The entire wedding party visited the aquarium the day before the wedding, experienced a private tour and had a wonderful time. The aquarium was the perfect inspiration for the theme of the cake. The cake designer subtly incorporated some of the sea creatures from the aquarium into the dessert. The topper was a large pearly clam with jewels and pearls pouring out of it, cascading down the side of the cake. (not real pearls, but fondant balls covered with pearl dust!)

Surf Cakes - Crashing waves encircling the cake is the perfect trim for a cake with a surf theme. This style cake is most appropriate for couples who surf, or just love the waves. The surf can be puffy foaming waves, or just subtle hints of wave shaped frosting. Incorporating some blue into the cake can help it look more like the ocean. Airbrushing blue onto cake's frosting, gives a real nice blended, and realistic effect. Add in a surf boards or figurines surfing as your cake topper, and you're set.

Tropical Flower Cakes - Hibiscus, cymbidiums, tuberose, or any of your tropical favorites. They can be used as a flower cake topper, they can cascade down the side of the cake or tiers, or used sparingly throughout. Tropical flowers can also completely cover the cake, or be used just on the base. Wherever placed, they will dress up the most plain and dull cake - and make it instantly gorgeous looking, and smelling.

Sandcastle Cakes - Sandcastles on wedding cakes, are usually used as a toppers. But, we have seen entire cakes shaped like castles, or at least the top half of the cake shaped like a castle, with a few traditional wedding cake tiers below it. To get the sandy effect, the cake can be sprinkled with fine graham cracker crumbs or brown sugar.

Palms and Coconut Cakes - To remind you of your beautiful location, how about a subtle design of palm leaves circling the outside cake? A few coconuts as garnish? A cake topper oasis? How about a cracked open half of a coconut as a cake topper, with bride and groom figurines lounging in it, as if it were a hammock?

Buried Treasure Cake - You don't have to be in the Caribbean to pull this off. The topper could be a treasure chest with gold coins and jewels pouring out of it, cascading down the side of the cake. If you're in love with Pirates, make have figurine cake toppers of a bride and groom...one as Captain Jack Sparrow, and a fair maiden in her wedding dress, of course.

Bamboo and Tiki Cake - Coat the outside layers of the cake with confections made to look like bamboo. You can also incorporate Tiki masks. We once attended a luau wedding and the cake had miniature tiki torches sticking out of the top, and around the cake on the table. When the bride and groom cut the cake, tribal drums were playing in the background.

Ocean Activity Cake - Love to go snorkeling, fishing, diving, boogie boarding, or kayaking? How about bride and groom figurines fishing for wedding rings off of a pier? This would be easiest to incorporate into a cake topper, but don't forget figurines can be anywhere on the cake! Get creative! Any of your favorite ocean activities can be incorporated into your cake.

Sea Bird Cake - Sea birds in flight, in love, with their long necks forming a heart. Best as a cake topper, but can be incorporated throughout the cake tastefully if sea birds are your thing.

Lighthouse Cakes - Is your wedding near a really cool lighthouse? We've seen a lot of lighthouse cake toppers, but we also had a client who had her baker create an entire cake as a lighthouse. Another client had the two bottom layers of the cake as tiered rounds, and the top half of the cake was a lighthouse and its surrounding area, right down to the boating docks below it.

Sand Cakes - Not real sand! Many bakers use crushed crumbs, like graham crackers, or brown sugar. The base of the cake can be covered with "sand", or the top of each exposed layer...or the entire cake! Our favorite, is when a pile of "sand" is formed at the base of the cake and spread out on the table a couple inches around it. Something can then be written in the sand, i.e. "Charlie and Beth Forever", or "CV + BE, 9/12/08". You get the picture.

Nautical Cakes - Go Nautical! Anchors, ropes, buoys, wooden docks, life preserver rings, etc. These can be made from marzipan, subtly sprinkled around the cake, placed as the base, or used as a cake topper.

Beach Relaxation Cakes - Our absolute favorite beach wedding cake is 2 Adirondack chairs as the cake topper, with 2 pairs of flip flops beneath them. Figurines of the bride and groom sitting in the chairs is optional. A regular beach or lounge chair can also be used instead of the Adirondacks. One of our other favorites was a figurine bride and groom snoozing in a large hammock as the cake topper, with sand and miniature beer bottles beneath them.

Swimming Pool Cakes - Not with real water, we promise! Picture this: the top cake layer made to look like an endless swimming pool. This can be done by cutting the top square edge off of the cake (like a router would carve out the edge of a wooden table), to simulate an endless pool. Figurines of the bride and groom's heads could be sticking out of the top of the pool, with shades and sunhats on, holding cocktails of course!

Hawaiian Cakes - How about leis as a cake topper? Or a hula bride figurine enticing the groom on the top of the cake? The cake could be wrapped with a sarong, or beach umbrella, Hawaiian cocktails, pineapples, or anything else Hawaiian could be incorporated.

Beach Colored Cakes - Just want to use beach themed colors? Stick with white, tan, off-white, teal, and of course, blue. The use of blue can be subtle as the color of the frosting, or air brushed onto the outside of the cake for a blended or accented look.