Stale Cake Anyone? Three Alternatives to Saving the Cake

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Your mother did it. Her mother did it. Heck, maybe even her mother’s mother did it … but, modern-day bride-to-be … you don’t have to.

I’m talking about taking the cake. You know … the whole keep-the-top-layer-freeze-it-then-eat-it-again-a-year-later cake thing?

I mean … gross. Seriously. Who wants to eat stale, freezer-burned cake? You know you don’t-and I promise you, he doesn’t, either.

But if you are like me and are a sucker for a romantic tradition, then tossing the cake might be hard to do.

Until now.

Here are three fresh alternatives to saving the cake.

1. You Don’t Have to Save the Cake to Eat It, too.
So what did you choose? White cake with fresh strawberry filling? Chocolate and raspberry? Italian cream? (All three!) Well no worries. With a little advance planning you can recreate your wedding cake from scratch, and save freezer space in the process.

Here is what you do.

If you and your future hubby plan to live in the same area as your wedding, then getting fresh cake for your first anniversary is well … a piece of cake.

Just call the baker a month or so in advance and ask her for the smallest cake possible. Better yet, plan this when you order your wedding cake. Your baker can get you on the books and you’ll feel safe knowing your first anniversary dessert is taken care of. If she can’t or won’t make the cake, then ask her for recommendations or call another local bakery.

If you don’t live in the same area as your wedding, then improvise. Call a bakery, describe your wedding cake flavors and ask if they can recreate the cake for you.

When all else fails-learn how to bake. The Internet is full of cake recipes so choose one-or three-and get to baking. Get your honey in on the fun and ask him to help. It will be a romantic event the two of you can do together to commemorate your Big Day.

2. Pop Open Some Bubbly
My husband and I live in Italy, but got married in Texas … so, transporting frozen cake 6,000 air miles wasn’t really an option.

Instead, I ordered an extra bottle of our toasting Champagne and asked my caterer to keep it aside for us. I brought the bottle back to Italy with me and we toasted our first anniversary with the same Champagne and glasses as we used on our Wedding Day. It was a lot cleaner than melted wedding cake and the Champagne was fabulous.

3. Make Your Own Sweet Memories
Surprise your spouse and invite him to join you as you make some of your own sweet memories. Indulge yourselves with cake-scented candles, bubble bath and lotions and follow-up with romantic desserts, such as chocolate-covered strawberries, tiramisu or chocolate mousse.

Have you considered not keeping the top layer of your wedding cake? What do you plan to do with it and more importantly … why?

Budget Crunch: Cake Cost-Cutting Ideas

Wedding cakes are one of the first places brides should look to cut their budget, yet many fall into the wedding industry trap of priced-per-piece wedding cake slices and exaggerated wedding baker-egos.

Think about it, ladies.

It is cake.

Yes, it is an important cake, arguably one of the most important desserts you will serve in your life. (Feel the stress? I know I do!) But in the end it is just that … . Cake.

I served individual wedding cakes for each of my guests and had a large(r) three-tiered cake to cut and still spent hundreds less than my bride-to-be buddies.

How?

I’ll tell you.

Here are six ways you can save money on your wedding cake.


1. Shop Around
This may seem like common sense, but you would be surprised at how many brides find a bakery that has a picture of a cake they like and instantly book them. Any bakery can make any cake, girls, so the idea is to choose a cake you like-not a bakery-and work from there.

2. Compare Prices
Ask the bakery how much they charge and tell them you are shopping around. If you had a lower quote from someone else-tell them. See what they can throw in to make up the difference or ask if they will meet the price from a rival bakery. Be sure you are comparing apples and apples here, though. Many bakeries include the price of transportation, set-up and even cake stands in their price. Others don’t. Make sure you have all of the information before you book.

3. Use an Unknown Baker
Not all wedding cakes have to be produced in a well-known bakery. In each area there are people who make their living baking wedding cakes at home. Previous brides know who they are, can make recommendations and can tell you if their cake is any good. Call the bakers, have a tete-a-tete, ask for recommendations if you haven’t secured one and ask to try their cake. Most of the “freelance” bakers I met offered to make me a small cake so I could test their skills before I committed.

4. Get Away From the Wedding-Craze
This is the biggest rip-off the wedding industry has come up with, yet we are all “bound” by it. Or are we? If you are a gutsy bride, call the bakery and ask for a quote for a cake that will serve around X people and don’t tell them it is a wedding cake. If you decide to book them for your wedding-and they try to raise the price-call them on it. Ask them why it is more expensive and challenge their motivations. I read about a bride who did this with her limousine company and saved $1,000 off of her total bill.


5. Get Around That Priced-Per-Slice-of-Cake Nonsense
After the “wedding craze” hype, the paying-per-slice-of-cake thing is my second biggest pet peeve with the wedding cake industry. I know you are worried you will have cake-deprived guests if you under-estimate your numbers … but you won’t. If you expect 100 guests, tell the bakery you need a cake that serves 90. Most cakes aren’t designed for an exact number of guests anyway, so the bakery will round up … you just want them to round down.

6. Flavors, Fillings and Decorations
Ask your baker about the added cost of having a variety of flavors and fillings. Some fillings cost much less than others and unless you are set on having fresh fruit-one of the more expensive options-then choose something else. Your guests won’t know the difference … but your bottom line will.

Rethink extensive handmade decorations. These will add labor time and your baker will be, oh-too-happy to bill you for those hours. Instead, choose a cake that has decorations you can purchase, such as ribbons, bows or in my case ... beads.

Have you chosen a wedding cake and baker? How did you choose someone? What questions did you ask?

Photos courtesy of Shutter Ferret and Mandott

Crazy Wedding Cake Photos

So today has been a long day and I really needed a pick-me-up, so I decided to search around Webshots for some crazy wedding cake pictures that others on this blog might enjoy. I started coming across a few rather "interesting" wedding cakes. Here are a few below:

The Mosaic Tile Wedding Cake

I would definitely like to give a compliment to the baker that made this cake; not necessarily on the design, but just the time it probably took to put all of those little pieces on this cake. Thank goodness it is only 4 tiers!

Crazy Colorful Wedding Cake

Holy colors of the rainbow! I am sure this takes a lot of work, but it almost looks fake. And even though this cake kind of hurts my eyes, it does put a smile on my face thinking back to my childhood. I think I may have made something pretty similar with my Play Doh!

Crazy Yellow Flower Wedding Cake

This wedding cake is from the same baker as the wedding cake above. I think it is safe to say that he/she is a bit excessive. It is either that or the brides are. What... brides excessive...? No way! :-)

3-2-1 Blast-Off Wedding Cake

So I have have been at many wedding where the wedding cake has some form of sparklers or candles, but this looks like it is about to take off from the cart. Be sure you are fully aware of what is going on with your cake and get a demonstration beforehand if need be. Yes, everyone loves to "Ooo" and "Ahh" at pretty lights that sparkle, but this is just screaming 911.

What the Heck Wedding Cake

This cake made me do a double take to make sure they were really saying this was a wedding cake and not a jumbled mess that some kindergartner put together. However, after I stared at it for 10 minutes I saw that it really isn't cake at all, but honey glazed, sticky doughnuts. I would love to see someone try and cut into this wedding cake.

The SMASH Wedding Cake

So I saved this cake for last because it is my favorite. Now much like the one above, this actually isn't a cake at all. They call it a smash cake. I think that this a very cute idea. It seems that the shell of the cake is made out of chocolate and the inside is filled with M&M's. This would be a great added feature to your wedding if you were having a lot of children. Think about what a kick they would get out of watching the bride and groom smash this cake with a mallet and them being able to collect the candy inside. Almost like a sophisticated piñata!

Hope some of these gave you a laugh, a "what the heck were they thinking?" or possibly a few good ideas!

Have you seen any crazy wedding cake pictures?