Wedding cake for immediate family only?

This is pretty rude. If you can't afford cake for everyone, then don't get cake.

On the other hand, you can get away with ordering like 140 slices of cake since you have a candy buffet as well, but I wouldn't do anything less than that. Cake for immediate family only? How would you even enforce that? "Hey Aunt Ginger! Your dessert is over THERE! Put down the cake!"

I do not think that is ok, at all.....In my opinion it's kinda rude to serve SOME and not others, especially right in front of them. You're better off having a fake "wedding cake" and buying real sheet cake. Sam's Club makes REALLY good cake, so do my local grocery stores. Try them instead of a bakery.

Thats really hard to say. depends on if your guests are dessert people. Normally almost 8 out of 10 people would want a slice of cake especially if the dessert bar isnt appealing for their eye

I'd just get a sheet cake... they aren't that expensive. Especially if you just get it at a grocery store instead of a baker.

I say head to the Costco, Publix or whatever is near you and spend the additional $30 for a sheet cake.

Thanks! I'm glad I could get a temperature reading on everyone before the actual day.

I have been to weddings where I wasn't served wedding cake (we had dessert from the buffet). Perhaps it might be a regional thing.

Yeah I would definitely get a sheet cake and have them cut it in the back. We're doing a one-tier cake just for us, but we're having cupcakes for everyone else.

I would get sheet cakes. They arent expensive.

Our cake is going to be able to feed everyone, have you onsidered cupcakes instead. Cupcakes (on average) are about 75 cents to 1.00 and wedding cakes go by slice, which can be $3.00 and up a slice. Just something to consider. I would also get a sheet cake from a Bjs, Sam's Club, or your local grocery store.

Another vote for no, you can't get away with it. It would be fine IMO to skip the cake entirely and have everyone eat from the dessert table, but not to give cake only to certain people. Wedding cake isn't on the same playing field as any old "dessert", for some people it's their favorite part of the whole wedding.

Just check with your bakery - for some, the styrofoam cake/sheet cake trick will save money, but other bakeries stipulate the "real" cake must have a minimum # of servings so it doesn't matter. Some bakeries make cheaper cupcakes, but at our bakery, the cupcakes are more expensive. It really just depends.

.75 cents to a dollar for cupcakes, where do you shop? I have never seen cupcaks that cheap.

And I am another vote for no on that cake idea. Our cupcakes at our wedding were $3 a piece, no different than a slice of wedding cake would be. Our bride and groom cake we actually did share with our family before we went on our honeymoon, but not at the wedding!

And I have never been to a wedding where there wasnt cake offered. You could get a sheet cake and have it offered at the dessert bar if you think not everyone will want cake, but it cant be offered to a select few, IMO!

In my area, that's the cheapest I have seen for a vanilla cupcake. Your area may be different. The highest I have seen is $3 for a cupcake that has a special flavor or icing.

Some brides are getting a "fake cake" which is foam decorated with frosting. Only the top is real, for them to cut or take home with them. Then they have cheaper sheet cakes in the back to cut up and serve.

No, you cannot only serve the immediate family cake. =)

You CAN serve the immediate family cake... if you do it the next day at a little post wedding get together.

I can not think of anything you would have at the reception that would out-prioritize cake for your guests. Serving only SOME select guests cake would be terribly rude.

We just order our cake this past Saturday. We ended up getting a fake cake with the top being real and the botom only being 25% real so we can cut. Then the baker is going to make sheet cakes to cut for the guest. This saved us about 300 dollars. So we are only paying $480 for cake.

Desert buffet or cake or CHOICE of either would be ok...but to just flat out not serve cake to most of your guests is just plain rude

Simplest solution: Get a cheaper cake. You won't have to cut costs elsewhere and everyone has the option to have a slice, if they want one.

I would never have a cake just for immediate family. Its like saying to your other guests "oh well they're more important than you are so you can have the other desserts but not wedding cake!" ... so rude!

Go with S3's idea- cheaper cake or alternative like cupcakes!

No way! As others have said, to skip it is fine. To do a fake and cut the top only is fine, serving a sheet cake is fine. To serve only your family is downright bad manners.

Your guests should always come first in the wedding reception food chain.