Wedding Cake Question (long time lurker, first time poster)

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't find it. :)

I am getting married April 6th and it's going to be a VERY small wedding (30-35 people) and I decided to bake my own wedding cake.  I've done a few cakes covered in fondant before and even made a "trial" wedding cake a few weeks ago (learned A LOT and feel ready).

Anyhoo, I asked a local baker how much a wedding cake would cost with the exact specs that I'm going to use for my cake (to ensure that the savings were really there...other wise I would skip some of the stress and allow a pro to do it).

I told her that I wanted to have a 16" x 4" styrofoam tier on the bottom (as we won't need THAT much cake), and then a 12" x 4", 8" x 4" and 6" x 4" round cake tiers for the rest of the cake....and with alternating chocolate and vanilla cake layers, to make a nice "stripe" when you cut into the cake.

Anyhoo, she stated that, even with the 16" x 4" styrofoam base, that the 12" x 4" round tier would HAVE to be pound cake for structural purposes.  And the remaining two tiers could be my "two toned" cake.

Now, I'm planning on taking each tier SEPERATELY in their own box to the reception site and assembling it there on the cake table (I'll have two hours to do this and the reception site is only 30 minutes away).

So, my question is...do I really need to keep that first real tier pound cake?  I don't want to avoid that advise and have my cake collapse after awhile.  But, we are going to keep the 6" x 4" tier to eat for our 1st anniversary...so that means I'll only have 1 two-toned cake and then a HUGE pound cake :(

Thank you in advance for your advise :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZCouture 

Lol, oh the things some of these "bakers" say sometimes.

I thought it sounded strange as I really been trying to do my homework from other people that have done wedding cakes on their own, and this was the first time I saw this mentioned (making your first tier all pound cake). But, then I started to think "What do I know?  I'm not a professional" and started to worry that I missed something somewhere... :

They also quoted me over 50% more than what it is costing me to do it myself. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by -K8memphis 

 a 12" square is twice as many servings as you need

 

i'd suggest go smaller all the way around though

 

if the guest list is no more than 40

 

you could do 12sq x10r x7r x 4r

 

with the 12sq being foam and have plenty of cake to serve plus keep top tier

 

the 12 inch square is plenty big enough to make a nice graduation to the 10 inch round

 

you might want to cut these shapes out of newspaper to stack up and play around with

We plan on cutting "normal" sized slices for everyone and we are going to have quite a few people get seconds (lots of people with a sweet tooth attending)...we're also not planning on serving the top tier at all. 

And both my parents and my future husband's parents already stated they DEF want some left overs, so I was going to box a lot of cake up for them to take home. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dani1081 

Jackie, it sounds like the baker you consulted does not know how to stack a cake. A cake is placed on a cake board and then that cake board sits on dowels inserted into the tier below it. It doesn't sit on the cake, so it won't smash the cake, no matter what the cake is made of.  You might do that baker a favor and refer her/him to this website:

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/tiered-cakes/stacked-tiered-cake-construction.cfm

That's what I was thinking...if the cakeboard is really resting on the wooden dowels, what difference does it make what the cake is made of?  But thought I would ask others on here, just to be on the safe side :)

I also made a small trial size cake and left it assembled on the counter...when I awoke the next morning, it was still there...and it wasn't pound cake :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marianna46 

Since it's the dowels or whatever supports you use that take the weight of the upper tiers rather than the cake itself, there is no reason you absolutely need to have a dense cake as the bottom tier, as -K8memphis said. And I'd take any advice she has to offer about size or anything else - the girl is the bomb when it comes to cake decorating. By the way, what did the baker say about the price - are you really saving money? Because if you're planning on stacking and fixing a cake at the site of your reception yourself after your own wedding, it better be a heap-o-dough for it to be worth the stress. Unless you just ADORE baking and decorating, I'd say buy your cake and make them for others later on. If you decide that's what you want, though, I wish you the best and I hope it's a very happy and rewarding experience for you!

It is a heap of money (at least to me).  I'm saving nearly 60% by doing it myself....plus I love the idea of making my own cake (and I'll have a few "helpers" that day so that's good).  All the women in my area that are married said this bakery was the cheapest. 

It's a small wedding and everything is on the very informal side so I also know it doesn't have to look perfect.  PLUS I like the idea of being at the reception site so early as it's less than a mile from the ceremony site, so less chance of me being late to my own wedding  

Thank you!  :)  I'm super excited about it!

Thanks again for all your input!!  I'm really excited about it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZCouture 

They were quoting you a price as if you were a customer, right? 

Correct.  I got a quote from them before I started my trial cake because my future husband basically wanted to see if it was THAT much difference in the price department.  And if it wasn't, he would have covered the difference because he was afraid I would get too "stressed out". 

But, after we found out the HUGE difference in price, I went forward with my plan and the future hubby saw how much fun I had with the trial cake (and was impressed with the final product).    So, now he's looking forward to it too :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by -K8memphis 

i'm glad you have helpers

 

sounds like a good plan

 

i like red velvet with strawberry stripes as well as yours black & white

 

(dang i'm getting hungry--gotta get that rum cake in the oven!!)

 

i/we are here for you for any questions

 

all the best to you!!!

Ooooo, I'm such a sucker for red velvet...why did you have to say that!?

Thank you SO much!  I've already starting a wedding cake timeline, so I'll know when I should start everything and space things out as much as possible (I tend to wait until the last minute, so this will help me avoid that lol)

I'm sure I'll be back here with questions, though :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marianna46 

Yes, indeed, we really wish you the best for your wedding and your happily-ever-after! I love your laid-back approach to the ceremony so much that I'd like to give you a big hug. I'm sure you'll enjoy the day a lot more than the "this has gotta be perfect" type-As we see so many of in this business. The thing is, if you're open to experiencing with pleasure whatever happens on your wedding day,you may find some really unexpected things to be happy about and cherish in the years to come. So again all the best, and please post a photo of your cake here.

Awww, thank you SO much! 

We started to plan a "traditional/normal" wedding and, even when cutting costs where we could it was still about $13,000.  We both REALLY wanted to buy a home while it was still a buyer's market, so we both decided that it was best to remember what the day was all about, have only our closest relatives/friends there and save the money for something more "constructive"

I'm sure if we had a normal wedding, we both would have had a blast, but we are enjoying our new home everyday and so glad we saved our money.  With a little help from our parents this wedding, so far, is only costing us $1,000 :D  (We did splurge a little on the favors for the guests)

With my cake, I'm reminding myself that it isn't going to be perfect, but I have equipped myself with some "tricks" on how to cover some of my mistakes...and, if anything, it will be the little errors here and there that will remind people that I made it.

My biggest fear, right now, is the transportation of the cake.  I'm having my mom drive as she drives like a little old lady, but it's going to be the worst 30 minutes of my life! haha