Make your own wedding cake?

My mom used to do cakes back in the day so she's doing our cake as a present. We are doing a naked cake, though! She said they're super simple. We are also making it a small two tier cake and then doing sheet cake in the back .

@Kate, I will look into that. I purchased just about every egg alternative I could find and started experimenting last month. The flaxseed tastes the best given that I'm going with chocolate, but I will definitely look up the potato sub for white cake!

NOOOOOOOOOO

Even if you did make a beautiful cake, no problem....you have to get it to the venue, make sure it's refrigerated, then you'll be worrying about it....ugh nope nope nope

It might be too much to do at the end. My friend's mom was supposed to make her cake as she was a baker but the last couple days before the wedding were so hectic, she did not have the time and they ended up getting a sheet cake at Publix. Sam's club offer offers three tiered cakes for $75. You can also get a cake from Costco.

What about enough full sheet cakes for 175? I'm a decorator and a full sheet should serve 80 to 90 so I'd say 3 full sheet cakes would work. Roughly $50 to $70 each

My dream baker quoted me for 1,275 for a gorgeous design. After calling around I found a baker that has a special for 600. Can't walk away from that level of savings especially since cakes weren't on my radar before getting engaged. I still have to see what the special looks like but even if I ask to spruce it up a bit and the price goes up to 800 it'll be worth it. I would go with Costco or publix if 500 is over budget. Making it yourself won't be cost effective and the labor and timeline will drive you insane so close to the wedding.

Do not do this.

1. you will have to either spend the day prior baking and decorating a cake which you may not have time for or you will need to do it two or three days in advance and hope it stays

2. You will have to figure out how to safely transport the cake to the venue which is another added stress.

3. If you do not already have all the tools for this you will need to spend the money to go out and buy good quality pans, piping kit, etc.

4. You will need to make sure your fridge can handle the hold up of something as large as a wedding cake, and if you plan on doing it more than one day in advance that you have the knowledge of how to keep the frosting/decorations intact.

I would STRONGLY advise against this. Also $500 is not bad at all for a cake for that many people. The couple of quotes we have gotten for cakes for 130pp was around 800 and that was with the bare minimum decorations wise, and butter cream in stead of fondant. There are also other options, including having a small cutting cake and serving your guests sheet cake or cupcakes.

I had my wedding cake done through a wonderful baker, however my mom ordered my shower cake which was 2 tier from Sam's and it wasn't that expensive. I think you should try there. I had 164 guest and my cake was around 500.00 so that is a reasonable price.

I am a baker by profession, went to school and everything. My friends from culinary school and I had an agreement to make each other's cakes when we got married. At the last moment 3 of them weren't able to make it up to Alaska for the wedding just leaving 1 of my friends able to make it. And due to work she wasn't able to make it up until 2 days before the wedding. I took the task upon myself and started the cake right before the wedding and unfortunately, even though they were willing and are professionals too, my family ended up finishing it up. Even though my cake was beautiful, I would never do my own cake again. A lot more goes into making your own cake than you can ever imagine.

PAY. A. PRO.

That is a fantastic price for that many people. My cake is costing $600 for 150 people and that's after I talked her down. $500 is a small price to pay for your sanity!!!

Please don't do it. I know professional bakers who did not bake their own cakes just because of the stress it would have caused them.

I'm a professional baker and I would never do my own.

Yeah my sister "asked" our stepmom to make the cake...aka she had no choice but to say yes...it was for only 20 people but it was miserable for her to do: She had to redo the entire fondant(sister is dairy free) and it took her days to do.

Don'tttttt do it hahaha

Honestly it's worth the money. Don't make it yourself. Just an unnecessary extra stress.

I love baking and have made tons of cakes, but I'm not going to try it for the wedding day. I'm sure I could do it, but I don't think it would be worth the added stress. Check into Publix or Costco.

Buy a small cake to cut and then serve sheet cake

For all of the reasons listed above and more, again.. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS! You will regret it. I used to be a cake decorator for 3 + years.. ive made countless wedding cakes of various sizes, fillings, icings and designs. I would never attempt to do my own. WAY too much stress. And like others have said, if you don't already have the proper tools and equipment, you're going to be in well over $500 when all is said and done. It's just a lot to take on, seriously. Just pay the pro, or go to Sam's club etc...

Check at local grocery store bakeries. They usually have a more reasonable price for wedding cakes and they look and taste just as good. We are doing sheet cakes for the cater to cur in the kitchen and a 3 tier cake for display but 2 of the layers are fake and 1 is real for us to cut into. Doing it thus way saved a lot.

Please don't do that. It is going to be stressful beyond belief. Also, extreme scenario, but what if people fall sick? There could be liability issues.

WW has several good posts about why self-catering or pot luck or relatives doing the cooking/baking is a bad idea.

My grandma used to make wedding cakes out of her home. She was very talented at it, but sometimes she would spend WEEKS making just one cake. It may save some money, but the time and headache you would save may be worth it to pay a lot of money for the cake.