Is it odd to request a cake with all faux tiers except for one?

My caketopper is too tall for a single layer. It would look awkward to me. Also I don't want to force people to have to pick apart a cake because of fondant.

My family is offering to help. My sister wants to make my wedding cake but she is a bridesmaid. A few family members want me to ask for their help with things like this. Also, it's not hard to make sheet cake ahead of time. I am also far ahead of schedule

Just do what you can afford. Some one i know did cupcakes and it looked like a real cake.. if its a one or 2 tier cake you can do, do what you can afford. You can also bake your own by buying box cake as I know some people do and let some one do fondant on it.

Hope this helps or just make smaller cake.

None of the bakers we looked into even offered faux cakes...and for good reason too, because really what's the point? Just get a two tier cake that's simply frosted and call it a day. Have sheet cakes in the back to serve to your guests. There's no need to fake it as others have said the decorations is what drives up the price i.e. Fondant, sugar flowers, detailed piping work etc..

ETA: please don't have family members make your sheet cakes. One you don't want them cooking on your day, two it's not a birthday party and three nobody likes a poorly tasting cake...especially at a wedding. Sorry.

To answer your actual question: Yes, it is uncommon/odd to have a fake 3 tier with the top tier real and the rest being foam. Most couples, if they go this route, choose to do a 1 or 2 tier small cake and then have sheet cake. However, if that's how you want to do it, then I think you should do it. It sounds like you're just doing it for the sake of pictures/topper, which is fine. I would advise getting your sheetcake made at a bakery though, not by a friend, because you don't want to add stress to a guest with them having to prep before and transport it. Plus, you leave yourself open to potential issues if the cake gets anyone sick.

Also, you should make sure you check with your venue/read your contract. Some venues/caterers do not allow cakes from anywhere but a licensed bakery. My venue is actually a catering group, and we had to get our cake through a licensed bakery so that there were no issues of food safety...it also minimizes the venue/caterer's liability.

As far as I remember they were ok with a homemade cake. It was one if my first questions. I can double check, my venue is fairly flexible.

May I suggest this though?

I know you want the 3 tier look. Can you get a quote from like 3 bakeries (gets you variety and an average) and ask the pricing for your 1 real tier and 2 foam and then also get a quote for a full 3 tier. I think you should really check the prices first and see really what the costs are and if there really is a big difference first. There are many bakers that can pull off a fondant look without fondant. Most guests know to avoid eating fondant anyways if you're worried about taste.

Call a few bakeries and get estimates for what you'd like to do. Our bakery said that faux tiers cost almost as much as real ones. The cost is in the decoration not the actual cake.

You may be spending just as much on a mostly fake cake as you would on a real one. Add the additional cost for the kitchen/sheet and you'll probably spend more.

So basically what I'm reading is that some bakeries may take the requests, which answers my question.

I was only listing my preferences. I always get quotes and request quotes to compare what the place has to offer for services. I never said I wasn't going to get a quote for a real cake. I stated my reasoning for the preference of faux. Also don't want my guests to have to worry about pulling fondant off and getting sticky. I had to deal with that at a wedding and i wasn't pleased about it.

For making cake ahead of time, I can easily freeze the sheet cakes.

It also seems that a ton of people on the WW forum do not agree with family assisting with the wedding. In my experience family gets upset if I refuse their assistance. I found out my sister really wants to make my wedding cake. As it is i am trying to convince her that she may not have time to make it. I'm offering to let her design it. If someone offers help for the wedding i let them know what's going on and that it can b a time crunch and have an effect on their enjoyment of the wedding. I am not forcing anyone to do anything. Anything I am personally DIYing is going to be done over a month before the wedding.

Sam's club has 3 tiered wedding cakes for $75!

Ok, I know I said I was trying to keep my cost down with the cake, but I just wanted to know if it was not unusual to request fake layers. Also I do not have a sam s club membership. I have a Bjs warehouse membership. I know the make tiered cakes. I just didn't want to go to a bakery and find out it's not reasonable to ask for faux cakes. My question has been answered. Thank you. I will take the comments into consideration

I'm just here to agree with @Nancy that fondant is awful, haha. But, while I'm here, I think a single tier cutting cake is totally fine. Then offer a sheet cake, or pie, or cupcakes, or whatever.

I did 2 tier cake and the rest cupcakes it's going to be beautiful..

You can go on Etsy and buy a fake cake for a good price. I'm thinking about it myself!