Top tips on how to budget for your dream wedding cake

A beautiful hand-crafted bespoke wedding cake can be yours with good planning and careful budgeting. As with all aspects of your wedding, it’s a question of your priorities. I am a big fan of lists and suggest that it is a good idea to sit down and make a list of all the suppliers that are important to you as a couple. This will help you highlight where to the buy the best you can afford and where you can cut back. I am a great believer in trusting your instincts and sticking to a well thought out plan. With so much to organise it’s easy to get sidetracked and allow your budget to disappear in no time at all!

Wedding cakes are the second most photographed subjects at weddings – the bride, of course, is first! So if a stylish eye-catching dream wedding cake is near the top of your wish list and an important part of your wedding planning, which I hope it is, here are some considerations and suggestions that I hope will help you achieve your goal.

Wedding cakes are edible works of art and many, many hours of time and effort can go into creating these masterpieces. It is therefore important to realise that the majority of the cost of your wedding cake is paying for the time and expertise of the person creating your cake; the time spent researching, designing options, planning and of course baking, covering, constructing and decorating the cake itself. It is not the ingredients that determine the overall cost. That isn’t to say that ingredients, size and shape don’t affect the price because they do, they just have a smaller role to play.

Tips to reduce the cost of your wedding cake:

• Be organised when you go for your initial cake consultation, collect as much information about your wedding and your style as possible. Paying attention to the details at this stage will ensure a smoother quicker design process.
• Think about downsizing on cake portions rather than downscaling the design.
• Opt for standard shaped tiers that don’t require any carving.
• Choose decorative techniques, such as edible lace that look stunning and impressive but are quick and easy to create.
• Add detailed decorations to just one or two of your cakes tiers rather than every tier.
• Use fewer, larger sugar or edible paper flowers rather than lots of small ones.
• Choose popular classic cake flavours and stick to one or two rather than lots.
• Consider a smaller cake plus undecorated cutting cakes that are behind the scenes or a dessert table, to give more choice.
• Add dummy tiers to a cake to give more height and impact.
• Ensure that your design does not need to be assembled at the wedding reception as this will add to the cost.
• Collect your cake to save on delivery charges.

Communication is key:

When you first approach a cake designer, letting them know your budget will lessen the frustration of finding out later that it is not possible for that designer to work within your budget. By all means, ask for guide prices, they are often a good starting point, but time is precious so be as honest and upfront about your budget as you can.

Just like any other relationship, there needs to be a positive connection between you and your chosen cake designer. Your designer should be finely tuned to your ideas and requirements and be able to guide and steer you in the right direction. A bespoke wedding cake will never be the cheapest option however by having a reasonable budget and employing the services of a skilled designer, you can relax and be confident that you have made the right choice.

I hope you have found the above useful.

Good Luck & Sweet Wishes
Lindy