Dessert Dilemma

Just be honest. "We can't really afford that, but we appreciate your willingness to take a day off of work to do it." (I laughed way too hard at "engineer cookies")

I agree, I wouldn't feel bad about being upfront that that's more than you can afford.

If you don't like sweets, what about a cheese cake?

As in...

Easy to set up and depending on the cheese you choose, maybe not too expensive.

I myself am a home baker and while I will ask friends to cover labour costs if they specifically ask me to make something laborious for them, the expectation that you will cover a day off work for him is unrealistic. Not only will that cost you much more than what a bakery would charge, it also says to me that perhaps he isn’t able to actually make macarons in bulk. I say this as someone who is currently making an elaborate and large fondant decorated birthday cake for a party on Saturday which I am planning so as to not cut into work time.

If it were me I would reach out to him and say “just wanted to let you know in advance before you make any plans, we’ve changed our mind regarding what we will do for dessert so don’t worry about taking time off/making macarons for us 😊”

These types of cookies are a lot of work and $1 per cookie is really not a lot (even if you're paying for ingredients) so I don't think his ask was unreasonable. If you'd feel bad, maybe tell him you decided that macaroons would be better at your rehearsal dinner or bridal shower and offer him a flat fee. He would have to make a lot less, and you could get grocery store cupcakes or sheet cakes for your guests that would be super affordable for your actual wedding but hopefully avoid any hurt feelings from your friend.

Simple - "hey, we really appreciate you being willing to do this for us! We've decided to take a different route, so we won't need your services, but thank you!"

90% of my friends are engineers, and all of them have plenty of time outside of work that they would not need to take a day off to bake - unless you were trying to get him to make a thousand macarons or something. It sounds a bit like he maybe didn't really want to do them to me and was hoping the cost of hiring him would make you reconsider.

I'd just be vague about it and tell him that you decided to go in a different direction. If cost is your concern, then I'd stay away from macarons period. We're doing them for our favor, and man are they expensive... Some of the most cost-effective dessert options are cupcakes or a sheet cake. Even if you and FH aren't big dessert people, I guarantee you will have lots of guests who will love cake

Cookies are another great option! Other budget-friendly things I've seen are a combo of brownies and lemon bars. Lots of choices