Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

J
Savvy June 2015

Fake wedding cake

Janay, on March 14, 2015 at 12:11 AM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 21

I am on a strict budget for our wedding so I have been considering purchasing a 5 tier plain white wedding cake and getting the middle 3 tiers Styrofoam covered in fondant. Then adding some touches of decor myself. Has anyone heard of someone doing this? Is this a bad idea and most importantly will it save me a significant amount of money?

21 Comments

Latest activity by Zeny, on March 14, 2015 at 9:30 PM
  • FFW
    Master August 2016
    FFW ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Ive heard. If your considering just just a nice one w/ a real top layer & sheet cake in the back so you don't have to touch it up yourself.

    • Reply
  • KitandKaboodle
    Master November 2016
    KitandKaboodle ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Before I saw this on 4 weddings, I'd never heard of this. Since you're not going to have a lot of cake, are you going to have any other desserts?

    • Reply
  • J
    Savvy June 2015
    Janay ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I never thought of the sheet cake idea. We are going to have a dessert, so family member suggested we didn't have alot cake. I just still want it to look big and pretty without spending a lot.

    • Reply
  • J
    Savvy June 2015
    Janay ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Well we are actually going to have a dessert table and a candy buffet as well so I figured guest wouldn't really want cake anyways.

    • Reply
  • Megan Jo
    Super May 2015
    Megan Jo ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I've heard of and and don't see anything wrong with it. It's a lot cheaper to buy sheet cake than it is to buy a fancy tier cake.

    • Reply
  • MJBride
    VIP July 2015
    MJBride ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Before I decided to go with cupcakes, my baker actually suggested that I use styrofoam layers because I wanted a bigger cake but to only feed 100 ppl. I even spoke with a lady in my city who makes the fake cakes with a wedge cut out replaced with a wedge of real cake.

    • Reply
  • Heather A
    Master September 2014
    Heather A ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    If you are not planning on serving cake do not have a big fake one. The point of a fake cake it to at least look real, guests will think they're getting cake and when it never comes up theyll be confused/disappointed.

    • Reply
  • dburger
    Devoted July 2015
    dburger ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    If you're on a strict budget, it seems wasteful to spend money on a fake cake. IMO I would just go with a cake that fed the number of guests I was having and not be concerned with how big it looked.

    • Reply
  • OMW
    Master August 2013
    OMW ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    My husband's nephew and niece did this. Her mom (who also made our cake) made a sheet cake for their guests and a fake cake for presentation because she could make the fake cake early and not have to stress with elaborate decorations the day of/day before. Only a few of us knew, and no one else was none the wiser.

    • Reply
  • Cyndi Lou
    Super October 2018
    Cyndi Lou ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    My mom keeps asking me if this is the route I'm going to go. I haven't talked to FH about it yet

    • Reply
  • LJ411
    Master April 2015
    LJ411 ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Since your having other desserts, how about just a tiny cake for you and FH to cut into.

    • Reply
  • OGSue
    Master August 2016
    OGSue ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    If you don't feel that people would be eating cake then I think it's a good idea!

    • Reply
  • Celia Milton
    Celia Milton ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    No one is going to actually think a chunk of sheet cake is part of a five tier extravaganza. Sorry.

    • Reply
  • K
    Savvy May 2015
    Kb ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Seems like a waste of money to decorate a chunk of styrofoam. Are you going to DIY it or ask a decorator to do it? The fancier it is, the more expensive it will be. And typically the cake leaves before dinner for cutting, so matter how beautiful it is, it doesn't usually stick around long.

    • Reply
  • Rachel DellaPorte
    Rachel DellaPorte ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    This idea always sounded a little odd to me. It's kind of like a bowl of fake fruit. Wedding cakes are very popular, but there are no absolutes anymore. If you can use a miniature Dr. Who Tardis as a table centerpiece and Lego men as bouts, you can use a sheet cake instead of a wedding cake.

    • Reply
  • StitchingBride
    Master October 2014
    StitchingBride ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Styrofaom/dummy cakes have been done for a long time. if it was that obvious then you'd hear about it a lot more often.

    I make cakes and I wanted a big cake with painted fondant. I wanted to make my own cake, particularly since a bakery cake like I wanted would have been very expensive.

    not wanting to have to give up my cake vision, I make the big bottom two layers of Styrofoam, then the top 2 layers were real cake that we cut and served. the top 2 real layers of cake were enough to serve my guests since I didn't invite and have very many people.

    myself, I didn't do it to fool anyone, it just made perfect sense. fondant cakes are very heavy. this was easier to transport and easier to make up. It was just much less worry.

    I had a sheet cake we made in the back in case there wasn't enough cake, but there was plenty.

    I didn't really care who knew the bottom layers were a dummy cake and I don't think anyone would have cared anyhow.

    if you do feel there's a reason to try and keep it a secret, then you can fix it so you can cut the cake and feed each other, wheel the cake into the back then serve from the sheet cake. I've seen it and heard of it done many times and it really just doesn't matter.

    best I can tell, my cousin's wedding cake had to be a dummy, but the reason why it was obvious was because it was all poorly executed. they couple posed in front of the cake for a cutting picture, but didn't actually cut it, and they didn't feed each other.

    the cake stayed where it was, then we were served cake from the back that looked nothing like the cake they couple posed with. one was yellow, the other white.

    but even then I never heard anyone make any mention of it.

    even if people do know, those that are there to share in your day aren't going to care.

    it's all something that has been done many times- if you like the idea, I'd go for it.

    just keep in mind that a dummy cake may not save you that much money since they will still involve decoration time and many things a real cake would. It saved me a lot, mostly because I did it myself with some baking help. if you're interested in a dummy cake, then I'd look into it. Smiley smile

    good luck!

    here's a photo of the cake, the bottom layers are the dummy cake, while the layers above the glasses are real.


    • Reply
  • JCB
    Master September 2015
    JCB ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I wouldn't care what kind of cake I got as long as it was cake. :-) if you want to go this route I'd say totally do it. Sheet cake or fancy schmancy five tier wedding cake? Cake is cake!! Nomnomnom

    • Reply
  • Z
    Master May 2012
    Zoe ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    My big brother had a totally fake cake. The reception was going along... suddenly we were all served cake! It wasn't till later that I realized, "Hey! I never saw them cut that lovely cake!" and realized what they'd done. I say go for it-- wedding cake has to be one of the most ridiculously overpriced parts of a wedding!

    • Reply
  • Soon2be4ster
    Dedicated May 2016
    Soon2be4ster ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Im going the small round cake im doing myself with buttercream cause fondant is just nasty and then im making a sheet cake with buttercream and preslicing them and having them on the table to kinda help yourself ordeal, my guest wont care any less and i wont have to worry about wth is going on i will be cutting it with floss or something to keep it looking nice while its sitting there.

    • Reply
  • annakay511
    Master July 2015
    annakay511 ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    If you don't really care about cake, why not have a small cake for you to cut into or keep as an anniversary cake, and then do cupcakes?

    • Reply

You voted for . Add a comment 👇

×
WeddingWire celebrates love ...and so does everyone on our site! Explore how we embrace diversity

Groups

WeddingWire article topics