This is how to get a beautiful wedding cake to fit your budget. Given the current financial crisis, we at Anesha’s Art of Cakes fully understand that this is something all brides and grooms want to know. So, here are our top tips and tricks for keeping the cost of your wedding cake at your chosen budget price. Note, that all of these options do require you to work closely with your cake designer and/or your other vendors. It will be essential to select vendors who you love at both a personal and professional level
Buttercream or Sugar Paste Cakes?
Naked, buttercream and fondant cake finishes are all slightly different prices. Naked is the lowest price and most budget-friendly for wedding cakes. Buttercream finishes are a mid-range option. Conversely, sugar paste finishes will be the high-end choice. If your wedding is in the cooler months of the year, then naked and buttercream cakes are a great option
Use your wedding cake as dessert
I am a strong believer that your wedding cake is a perfect dessert option. You just have to take a look at our unique flavour menu to see what I mean. By using your wedding cake as the dessert course it means that you can transfer a portion of your wedding breakfast budget towards getting your unforgettable wedding cake
Dessert table or Wedding Cake?
Dessert tables are becoming a hot trend. You can either purchase a beautiful selection of sweet treats yourself or hire a wedding cake designer like myself who offers cupcakes, macarons, personalised biscuits and brownies! This way you can have an impressive and unique selection of treats to suit all your guests’ tastes, and also stay within your budget
Display wedding cakes
Why not order a plain wedding cake and dress up the table or the stand on which your cake is placed? A big part of the cost of a wedding cake is in the decorations. This is where the skill and time of the designer are at their highest. Decorating the table instead of the cake could be suitable for a lower-budget wedding. Chat with your florist or venue stylist about a beautiful table display or, better yet, buy the decorations yourself! Here at Anesha’s Art of Cakes, we offer beautiful cake stands that you can hire, many of which you could allow your florist or venue stylist to decorate. Why not hire one of our cake hoops, log stands or plinths? It is far less pricy and more practical than purchasing your own, which you will most probably never use again anyway
Try a local wedding cake designer
Hire a wedding cake designer who is located very close to your venue. The further away the supplier is, the higher the cost of delivery will be. This is due to more fuel being used and more time spent getting to and from the venue. Also, there is a higher risk of damage in transit, resulting in the need to make spare decorations and extra time spent doing small repairs during setup. It is all of these factors which add to the total cost of your cake. At Anesha’s Art of Cakes, we have delivered as far away as London, but most frequently our brides and grooms are getting married within a 20-mile radius of our premises. This enables us to offer free delivery within that area, of which Hodsock Priory, Hazel Gap Barn, Van Dykes in Clowne and Thorsby Riding Hall are top-rated venues
Choose your decorations wisely
A big part of the cost of a wedding cake is the decorations (if you are having them). Handmade sugar flowers or models are, without a doubt, stunning. However, they take a lot of skill, experience and a long time to make. As a result, they tend to be chosen by couples who have a higher budget available. A great way to keep costs lower is to swap your sugar flowers for fresh or artificial ones. By working with a reputable wedding florist and cake designer, you can get matching non-toxic flowers as part of your package. This also reduces the costs even further.
Here at Anesha’s Art of Cakes, we can communicate directly with the florist on your behalf – not only to save you the hassle but also to select the best options for you
False presentation cake and serving cake
Another great budget-friendly wedding cake idea is to have a fake presentation cake as well as a ‘kitchen cake’. With this option you will have the best of both worlds; a showstopper false cake for the photographs and a serving cake in the kitchen. It is highly unlikely that your guests will know that their delicious cake slice wasn’t from the pretty presentation cake so admired by everyone earlier in the day!
Hire a registered experienced wedding cake designer
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, finding the right wedding cake designer who you can connect with and who has the skills to make your vision a reality, is of utmost importance.
Anesha’s Art of Cakes has proudly upheld its 5-star food hygiene rating and has had full professional insurance since its inception. We pride ourselves in designing bespoke cakes that truly reflect each of our couples perfectly. This is why no two of our cakes are alike. Very importantly, we are guided by your budget and inspired by the personal style of your wedding. We then add our extensive knowledge of various concepts and up-to-date techniques required to create your unique wedding cake. After all, we believe every couple deserves a perfect wedding, so we work hard to bring your vision to reality. We would love for you to get in touch and have a ‘discovery call’ about your dream wedding cake
For more tips on the different styles of weddings and the types of cakes that go with them, see my previous blog on the different types of wedding themes out there
