Help w/ wedding cake suggestions? Places to order?

I answered a question the other day about cost of cake %26amp; once I realized how much mine was going to be, I was shocked! I have about 50 guests %26amp; the restaurant uses one specific bakery. If I go through them, they don't charge me any cake cutting fees at the reception but they do add 7.75% sales tax %26amp; a 20% gratuity on top of that. The place delivers for free but this is how it breaks down:





Cake (feeds 72 people) = $468


Florist to decorate w/ Orchids = $75


Tax = $42


Gratuity = $117


Grand Total = a whopping $702





I can switch the fondant for butter cream but still . . . it's ridiculous!





I can use another bakery but of course someone will have to pick up the cake %26amp; the restaurant will charge me $2/pp cutting fee.





Where else could I look into other than a specialized bakery? Considering I have to pay $100 for them to cut it, I'd like to get a much less expensive cake. Has anyone ordered one from a grocery store like Vons or Albertson's? I don't want it to be cheesy.

Help w/ wedding cake suggestions? Places to order?
If you switch to buttercream it will be much cheaper and taste better!! I would stick with this baker to avoid the extra fees and switch the frosting.
Reply:I would call around to other bakerys. Smaller bakerys. They often deliver. I've never heard of all these costs. My mom does wedding cakes she would love to make that kind of money, that's crazy. Where the heck do you live.





Just keep calling around, look for the little mom and pop bakerys. Often times they ake beautiful cakes at much lower prices. I've never heard of needing someone to cut the cake. I don't know how many weddings you've been to. But, alot of people don't even eat the cake. It funny, my husband and I totally forgot about our cake until the wedding was almost over.





Designate a family member to cut the cake. I'm sure someone would be more than happy to do so.
Reply:You might have luck with a small, family-owned bakery. But I dont think a grocery store cake will cut it (no pun intended) in your case. You obviously want a nice cake. Another thing to consider is the transportation of the cake could be risky, and then who will assemble it on-site? Also, buttercream is tasty! Fondont looks nice, but buttercream is delicious. I almost wish our cake had been buttercream, but with the design we chose I dont think it was possible.


Maybe, check out some local family-owned bakeries, or even a cake maker who works from their home, and keep the venue bakery in mind as a last resort.
Reply:We got a cake at a shop rite in Stroudsburg, PA when we renewed our wedding vows and it was delicious and beautiful. Your cake is almost $10 per person, that's just ridiculous. I doubt it's that tasty. Also, $2 per person to cut the cake is ridiculous. You need to negotiate that down.
Reply:Check your local bakery, or walmart does a great job with wedding cakes
Reply:I had a personal friend make my cake-she is a professional but happened to be a friend. Sometimes people who decorate/bake on their own are cheaper than a bakery. You should check with friends etc. Otherwise, I would try small bakeries-ones that are not so expensive perhaps but do have a good reputation. Hope you find something and congrats on your wedding!
Reply:We're on a pretty tight budget, and we're getting ours from Schnucks (a grocery story with a bakery). I think the cake we're getting to feed about 100 people is about $130, with a $35 delivery fee.
Reply:Well if you know somone who can make a cake for you then that would be way cheaper like a friend or realative. Maybe even if you played around with it you could do it. My fiances sister in laws aunt it making ours for a 100 bucks. She will bring it down to us too. Were also doing the top part real because your suppose to keep the top part I guess and eat on your one year anniversary which is weird but she insisted. The second layer is the one we will cut and then we have the best cheesecake recipe that we are making alot for the guests to have. Cuts back costs and everyone loves it. Just do what you want but like I said maybe you and friends can try it out and see what it looks like or a family member or whatever. The lady doing mine has made all of her daughters and my sister in laws and she does a EXCELLENT job.





Good luck!!
Reply:You can get a fancy tiered cake for less people and sheet cake for the rest. That's what we did. It was $350 total. The tiered cake fed 40 people and the sheet cake fed 80.





I simply do not think that Albertson's compares to a bakery.
Reply:We ordered my daughter's wedding cake from Albertsons and it was lovely -- It was a traditional tiered cake and it cost us less than $100 (but that was 11 years ago). I would at least check them out and Von's too. There is no reason that you should have to pay over $700 for a cake because of the venue you chose. That is highway robbery. Another option would be to look in the paper for people who do it on the side to make extra money. Or ask around at Bridal shops, shops that carry wedding invitations etc. Then ask for references and pictures before your agree to anything.
Reply:I don't know if you have a Giant Eagle out there but they do wonderful wedding cakes reasonably priced. Also Big Bear does really good ones too. I would also look at Kroger, Albertson or any of the large grocery chains. They usually all do really good cakes.
Reply:Oh gosh that is extremely high! I feel for you, mine cost us $553 total for a 4 tier cake plus three flavored cheesecakes. Guess I was lucky. My venue cuts my cake free as well.


Well are you set on the restaurant? Maybe you could find another place?


IF that's not an option you could definitely go with buttercream instead of fondant. Fondant cakes are higher because they require more work to make them seamless. Maybe a smaller traditional cake and use sheet cakes to feed everyone else.


I would def check into small bakeries too. They usually do wedding cakes that are just as nice for a lot less, and check out Von's and Albertsons like you said. I am sure they could put something together just as nice. The ones that "specialize" in weddings really jack the price up. I don't know if anyone mentioned it here or not but I wouldn't bother with doing styrofoam imitations to look better. A lot of times they cost just as much, a little cheaper but not worth it. And that cake cutting fee is just outrageous! Around here places that do charge for cake cutting it is normally a flat fee of about $50 bucks. Other than what I already mentioned the only other thing I can think of is having your one layer that you and your fiancee could cut into with your cake topper on it and use cupcakes for the rest. Hope you find something that works for you! Good Luck