Should we save money by getting a smaller tiered cake and a sheet cake?

According to the cake baker, we could save money by having a smaller tiered cake and then a sheet cake in the kitchen. We would use tiered cake for cake cutting photos, but most of the guests would actually be served the sheet cake from the kitchen. Both cakes would be the same flavor. Has anyone ever done this? Is it worth the money saved? Or is it better to just have the big, magnificent tiered cake?

Public Comments

1. It's your day.. do what you want. Although if you are happy with a smaller cake, there is nothing wrong with slices of a sheet cake being served from the kitchen. I am a photographer and shoot weddings and I see this done alot recently. Costs are just getting out of hand.
2. Sounds like a good idea.
3. my father and uncle own a very famous bakery ironically lol i don't understand your question. email me a clearer description and i will be able to answer this for you i'm sorry i couldn't help.
4. We didn't do that but it sounds like a good idea. What matters most is that YOU will look magnificent! With weddings, anything is worth the money saved: I'll bet there's at least one other part of the reception you wish you could spend the saved money on! BTW We had a pavlova cake for our wedding ;-)
5. if you don't mind having a smaller cake, go for the sheet cake. it's all gonna taste the same anyhow. the huge one is just for looks. it all depends on your taste and what kind of wedding you're going for. save the money for some extra treat on your honeymoon, or some extra doodad for your home, or an extra for the reception itself, or something like that, instead of a cake that is going to be eaten, and then what will you have to show for it???
6. What are you trying to state? We have lots of money and we should spend it ot show how bug a cake we can get (frivoulous) or that hey heres our cake watch us cut it, then lets all eat some and enjoy, by the way we saved our families some money for this becuz we care about them and after all in 30 minutes that cake will be coming back out of you..please wash your hands before you come back to the dance floor. If most couples would have taken their wedding budget and saved most they would have a much cheaper morgage payment right now.
7. do it &save money to do things you like
8. Congratulations on your Wedding!! - How fun! - As for the cake, and all the other wedding details, this is your time. Where it is very important to always try to make good decisions such as saving money, I believe some things certainly outway that in consideration. Whatever you and your groom-to-be decide, try to think about how you would feel years later - will you regret cutting back on the wedding cake? If yes, then don't - it is worth the money. If it really doesn't matter, then yes - save here so that you can spend elsewhere. - LuvJo
9. This is one of the ideas I had for my cake. The other idea was to skip the tiered cake all-together and just get sheet cake for cutting AND serving. In my world, so long as the cake tastes the way I want it to, I would be happy! I also contemplate the idea of saving the top tier for the 1-year anniversary so I think getting a 2-tier plus sheet cake might be the way to go.
10. I'm suffering a Wedding Budget Meltdown - so I'd say do it! I honestly don't think your guests will notice or mind, and if they knew the cost of wedding cakes today, they'd probably tell you to go with the sheet cakes too! We ended up having my best friend make cupcakes and a small 'top tier' for us to cut together. If that's an option for you, I'd recommend it - we're saving about $400! Good luck to you!
11. I did this, and it did save a lot of money.... and the best part is, your guests don't have to wait forever to get their cake because while you are cutting your cake, the staff can be cutting the sheet cake in the back for your guests and get it right out to them. It's a win-win!
12. It's a great idea and very practical. Guests won't even notice that it came from a different cake, even if you did do different flavors. If you're concerned the cake will look too small for your number of guests (and not believable that it'll be enough), ask your baker if he/she could make fake layers to give it extra tiers. My friend did this and her cake looked magnificent .. it was huge and so impressive! Your guests won't know some of the tiers are fake because they generally take your cake away after the cutting ceremony to cut in the kitchen anyway.
13. I have no idea why you got some rude answers to this question - just ignore them. Yes, this is a great way to save money and as someone else said, is also an efficient way to get people their cake faster. Cutting a tiered cake is actually a little complicated. They sort of shave it off in a circle, and it's one of the reasons caterers charge a cake-cutting fee. If you can simplify the process and save money, go for it!
14. We are having a TINY wedding - with only parents, siblings, priest, pastor, organist and photographer there. For our reception we reserved a room at a restaurant and are having a friend make a small two tiered wedding cake for us. We will be cutting the cake and then eating the bottom tier and saving the top tier for our 1 year anniversary. I would recommend trying to save money. Why spend so much money on something that you are going to eat and it's going to be gone??? Might as well use that money for your honeymoon or for the expenses of marraige.
15. You could even have a huge 4 tiered cake, have only the top two layers real, the top top for saving for 1st anniversary, the second layer down for cutting and photos and the other two Styrofoam fakes that are decorated. Then have the sheets in the back to cut for the guests. You have great photos at 1/2 the cost. Guests would never know the difference because once you cut it the caterers take it out back to cut it up anyways.
16. This is done a lot more often then you think. Its a great way to save money. And it is easier for you and the "cake cutters" you can have the sheet cake already cut up and just have then serve it. Its a lot easier and cheaper that way your cake can be more decorated. I would do it if you need to save money. Talk to you baker and see how much money it will save you in the end. If its like 100-200 go for it but if its like 25 or so its not really worth it unless you want a smaller cake and really dont care. But do it!!
17. I was at a wedding last year where they did this and it was GREAT. No one's going to know the difference or really care. Save your money!
18. I think that the big cake is just for the first initial wow effect then the pictures... I think cake prices are ridiculous personally... and if you don't mind getting a sheet cake, that's a smart move because many people do not care where the cake came from. Also, many times the cake goes uneaten by many guests then it just turns into a waste. We are having a small 7" double layer cake for me and my husband to be to cut...and then we are having the table set up with 2 cupcakes per guest... Doing it this way cuts costs drastically and the set up we are having looks really pretty..
19. It will save you a lot of money!!! The cake tastes the same too. We did this and while I would have preferred having the large tiered cake, we just couldn't afford it. It worked out fine and the pictures look good...
20. I think it would be perfectly fine to go with a smaller tiered cake and then the sheet cake. When the guests receive their piece of cake, I highly doubt they are going to try to figure out which tier it came from. So many things are expensive with a wedding. I applaud your baker for making this suggestion to you. This would be the option I would go with, but if you have your heart set on a huge tiered cake, then go for what you want. Congratulations!
21. We had the tiered cake and sheet cakes in the back. Our "real" cake was 4 tiers, and we had two half sheets (I think, its been a while now, hard to remember!) in the back. Personally, I think a lot of cake got wasted that night. When I placed the cake order, it was long before I had a final head count, so I had to estimate based on how many people were invited. Well, since I'm always one who would rather have extra than not enough, that's exactly what happened. It is a good money saving idea if you can more accurately say how many people will be in attendance. But, since these orders have to be placed well in advance, that may be hard to do.
22. That's an extremely smart idea and exactly what I'm planning on doing. Friends of ours had a pretty small wedding a few years ago and the morning of the wedding, the bride went to the local grocery store and got one of those big sheet birthday cakes with no writing on it. She paid $20 for a wonderful cake instead of $500 or more.
23. I think this is a terrific idea. Who cares if their piece of cake was carved out of an enormous tier or a sheet pan?
24. Saving money is ALWAYS a GOOD thing. Go for it!