Lets talk about Cake Stands. Are they necessary?

Coming to the end of planning here, and yes, we are aiming to cut corners where it won't matter. We have a beautiful 3 tiered cake with fresh roses on top - the tiers are separated by that satin ribbon, the frosting beautiful ivory scrolling that looks like lace. The cake will come on one of those circular gold foil cardboard things. They said we can rent a cake stand for $250. We gasped. So, they suggested asking our venue if they had one on hand "to borrow" or ask our caterer. Our venue doesn't have one, and our caterer said they just "present the cake." My question: Do we really need a cake stand or can this cake sit on top of that doily looking foil thing set on a table? Will it look tacky? Seriously so over the extra $200 there, $750 here. We are all for a great guest experience, our menu is really awesome, full open bar, music/dj. We are getting weary of all these extras right about now. Whats the deal on cake stands?