Help! Wedding Cake Needed For Cheap Bride In Minneapolis!
Decorating By lchristi27 Updated 2 Jan 2007 , 6:12pm by melysa
I love this website, and yes it's addicting. Anyone interested in baking a cake for the cheapest bride on the face of the planet? I wanted to do it myself and my family convinced me over Christmas that it would not be a good idea (aside from working full-time, going to college part-time, raising two kids and planning a wedding, I have plenty of time on my hands 
). So I'm looking for anyone who is interested in doing a wedding cake, I can see from all of the pictures and posts there are a lot of good home bakers out there! The chef at our family restaurant offered to do it, and said he would try to keep it down to $400.00!!!! We are looking at 200 people max, is that insane or just me? Date is Saturday, March 24th (yep, off-season to save $$).
Anyway, just thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone comes back with ideas or help for this bride who has trouble spending money on anything! Anyone who has been a single mom knows what it is like to make every penny count (we would all be in rags if it wasnt for the 2nd hand store!)
Thanks! Looking forward to any and all responses!
first, congratulations on the wedding!
i used to think that the cost of a wedding cake was the biggest scam of the entire occasion...that is, until i started making cakes seriously...and then i realized just how expensive it really is to make a work of art- not just the supplies, but the time invested. believe me, i know what it is to watch the pennies, but honestly, in my opinion, $400 for 200 guests is a steal of a deal for you. perhaps you'll get lucky and find someone who would love to make you a beautiful cake but just incase, dont turn down the offer of that chef just yet. shop around a bit, and i bet you wont think its too expensive afterall.
now if you are really in a pinch, you could consider ordering from a grocers bakery...our local superwalmart sells wedding cakes for maybe one and half to two dollars per slice. still up around the same price though-if it were me, i'd take the chef's offer and enjoy it all the more.
good luck, hope you can finalize it soon.
Hi lchristi27,
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!
Don't think that $2.00 pp for wedding cake is out of line at all.
Here are some previous threads on wedding cake pricing:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-31733-wedding.html+prices
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-46026-wedding.html+prices
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-49865-wedding.html+prices
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-44289-wedding.html+prices
HTH
First let me say: congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
Then, how about making a small two or three tiered cake your self and have the chef make some sheet cakes?
Or you could do some gumpaste flowers and your own personalized topper and have the chef make a very simple and un-decorated cake?
Don't know a lot about pricing in the US though.
Get your brideamaids together and you'll have a cupcake baking party, you could probably find a stand set-up or make your own. Cupcakes, are fun and easy to serve and do not cost that much to make. You can make a real attractive set-up. There are lots of pictures on C/C. Just an idea, for the single mom who needs to save money.
Thanks everyone! I'm getting some great ideas here. Good point about the $3.00 for dessert, very true! A sheet cake for everyone might be a great and inexpensive way to go as well. I love the cupcake idea..any thoughts on how long they last? Could they done one or even two days before hand?
you sure can! (i wouldnt do it more than 2 days in advance since they are small they might dry out sooner). i think the bridesmaids party to make cupcakes is a fantastic thought! maybe use the silver foil cc liners, buy a large icing tip and do a nice swirly dollop of icing, and use fondant or gumpaste to make small heart, daisy or cherry blossom cut outs to place on top. icing tips are under 2 dollars, and you can buy cutters for 5 or less from wilton, or even use tiny cookie cutters. do a tiered cupcake stand...then have a one or two tier cake on top for cutting and photos. you can make a 6" and a 4" stacked with a few fresh flowers on top, maybe a few matching fondant decorations. edible pearls? jewels on wires? so many cute ideas, very mondern and inexpensive. i think you're on to something! 
You can get 24 cupcakes from a cake mix. They can be baked ahead of time and frozen before decorating. Use a 1/4 measuring cup for more even sizes. If you want pictures of the display options, try this :
http://images.google.com/images?q=cupcake+wedding&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&filter=0
have fun, and enjoy your wedding!
Double check with your reception site if they even will let you bring in a DIY cake! It's yet another thing the State of MN doesn't allow -- except of course in public buildings ... Go figure 
moydear77 & I are both in the TC metro area.. If you want cheap, go to Super Target or Sam's. There are several grocery stores that do wedding cakes too, but you've got to do your math ahead of time on their slice size because you can end up spending more per slice than if you just went with a good baker who is realistic about their sizing.
It's iffy whether or not I can get into my kitchen at the end of March which is the only reason I can't say "sure" without knowing what it is you want. Budget might also come into play as an issue right now as well knowing where both of us are for rates.
Yup that is pretty standard base pricing even for a Freelance decorator like me.
Just because there are home bakers does not make them any less professional. There is overhead all over the place. Also the saying goes you get what you pay for. The national average is $5.00 a slice.
Couture is right about the licensing. It is legal to sell in MN but most cannot sell to a licensed venue without having a licensed kitchen.
Meant to say publically owned buildings. Either way, we're the "State where absolutely NOTHING is allowed"..
It's better to aire on the side of caution than to take on baking your own wedding cake if you're already doubting whether or not you can do it (or if one of the kids gets a cold you don't want to give it to your guests). If you find the cupcakes taking longer in the days before the wedding you're going to be at the mercy of whomever you call at the last minute. They won't be able to decorate the cupcakes for you if you do have them baked because of liability, so that possibility is out.
Even if you pay $5/slice/cupcake, you're still likely going to be money and stress ahead than if you try to cram it into those final days before the wedding.
First let me say: congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
Then, how about making a small two or three tiered cake your self and have the chef make some sheet cakes?
Or you could do some gumpaste flowers and your own personalized topper and have the chef make a very simple and un-decorated cake?
Don't know a lot about pricing in the US though.
I have to second this idea -- although cupcakes are a popular altermative! But, you could get a beautiful 2-tier cake (like a 6" and an 8" or a 10") with sheet cakes as the back up.
See if any of your friends have any cake decorating experience and would be willing to do the smaller cake. Some friends of a friend did that for her wedding -- one of them had taken a cake decorating class and gave her the cake as a gift. You could then have your baker friend make a couple of sheet cakes -- it doesn't take that much to feed 150 with sheet cakes. (Figuring that the other cake would feed 50 or so.)
I wish I were near you -- I'd help you if I could! Congratulations and let us know how things go.
Sarah
If you have someone willing to do the cake for $400, then GO FOR IT! You are going to find very few licensed vendors who will do a cake for 200 for that rate in the metro.
Thanks for all the help! I'm thinking this $400.00 might be a good idea, or maybe have him do a two-tier for cheaper and get one of the costco or super target sheet cakes.
I would love to do this cake myself, and had planned too, but I stress myself out so badly doing a cake for anyone because it has to be 'perfect' that I dont think I could do it. One thought was to buy some cakes that are done, and I would decorate them myself? Has anyone tried that?
Oh, our venue is at a bowling alley owned by someone my husband used to work for. The catering manager is the wife of the best man, they are giving us a great deal on the whole thing, we can bring in whatever we want. The colors are red, black & white. I'm planning to buy a LOT of valentine M&M's and pull out the pink ones to have red & white ones on each table 
$400 IS incredibly cheap by metro standards. If you figure out Costco's sizing, you're still money ahead with the $400 and you don't have to do any running around to get the cake to your site because your time is going to be more valuable the week of your wedding. For the $100 you might save, you're going to spend that and more running around to pick up the Costco cake because last I heard, they don't deliver.
One other thing, use the same baker for all of the cake. That way, in the unlikely event someone gets sick and it's traced to the cake, it's easier to trace back which one they ate. It also is better for the business if you use the same for all. It also ensures that it all tastes the same. I won't jump on the 3-million other reasons why to use the same baker so I'll 
If you go for candies like red hots and peppermint losenges that are already red or white, you won't have to pick out the odd colors and it will save you bother, as well as left over pink m&ms.
Clear glass bowls and vases from your local charity store, wrapped with the color you don't have in the candy will help with the colors as well. ie: you could go with only red hots inside, wrapped with white and black ribbons. Or use red and black licorice cuts with a white ribbon,That sort of thing...
$400 IS incredibly cheap by metro standards. If you figure out Costco's sizing, you're still money ahead with the $400 and you don't have to do any running around to get the cake to your site because your time is going to be more valuable the week of your wedding. For the $100 you might save, you're going to spend that and more running around to pick up the Costco cake because last I heard, they don't deliver.
One other thing, use the same baker for all of the cake. That way, in the unlikely event someone gets sick and it's traced to the cake, it's easier to trace back which one they ate. It also is better for the business if you use the same for all. It also ensures that it all tastes the same. I won't jump on the 3-million other reasons why to use the same baker so I'll
DITTO
If you go for candies like red hots and peppermint losenges that are already red or white, you won't have to pick out the odd colors and it will save you bother, as well as left over pink m&ms.
Clear glass bowls and vases from your local charity store, wrapped with the color you don't have in the candy will help with the colors as well. ie: you could go with only red hots inside, wrapped with white and black ribbons. Or use red and black licorice cuts with a white ribbon,That sort of thing...
good idea, keep it clean & simple. a variety is nice too (even though chocolate rocks!)
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