Google will tell you the average wedding cake costs about $500. I was quoted about $7 a slice for the simple cake that I wanted which would have cost me about $490.
The wedding cake is often a huge expense. This article has a lot of good tips but also made my head spin a little when reading it. I have a really simple way to cut your wedding cake costs in half....if you dare.
God Bless Straws
When I was 14 I wanted to be a pastry chef. This intense hobby led me to be asked to make my sister's wedding cake at age 16. Who knew those skills would come in handy for my own wedding.
During a private lesson on stacking cakes, I learned you can stack cakes with STRAWS. Yes, that is right. STRAWS. And it is so easy the 16 year old me could do it. Check out this video here about it.
So here is what I did: I bought my favorite cake with the same icing design in three different sizes. No stacking or extra decor. The costs? $200. My wedding was for 70 people but with the entire bottom tier left it could have been easily fed twice as many. The cake was stacked the morning of the wedding with straws and we used left over flowers to decorate (and cover any mishaps). Voila.
If you have friends who are pretty savvy in the kitchen, they might be up for helping you do this. Sounds risky but I promise it is easier that is seems and can save you TONS.
One important note about stacking: Three tiers will be your max. The cake could collapse if you try to add more weight (by stacking more layers).
Another tip that might feel risky but important if you are on a tight budget. Go smaller than you think. A lot of people don't eat the cake. I know there is pressure to have a good size slice for every guest but you will end up probably throwing a lot of cake away.
Lastly, I want to encourage you to remove any pressure about needing an epic looking cake. It's easy to feel like you need something grand when looking at all the different weddings online. If you really want the highlight of your wedding to be the cake, go for it. If not, then be okay with have a simple, delicious and small cake and put your money and photo-ops towards something you really care about.