Rent the Cake

It really depends on who you ask. 

If you mention to some cake decorators that you’re curious about saving money with a fake cake, you’re likely to get an eye-roll and an earful about how it’s tacky, doesn’t really save any money, how it’s wasteful and is really MORE expensive to have a dummy cake and serve sheet cakes out of the kitchen.

Yet, tens of thousands of married couples have done it, successfully, without judgement, and have saved money.

What you have to keep in mind when looking to rent the cake is to compare “apples to apples” as they say. Cake decorators who do not typically offer a rented option will not save you money because there is little to no profit in their business model for dummy cakes. They have to purchase the raw materials at retail. This is why they will tell you its cheaper for the cake you serve and the display cake to be one in the same.

Businesses that do use and plan for dummies–either full cakes or layers– will save you money once you reach a certain price point. Their total cost to produce your cake is much less and they can pass that savings on to you.

Angry Cake Ladies

A recent article on CNN raised a lot of ire from the cake decorating community. The claim made by the CNN piece was that renting a “showy cake” can save couples up to half of what they might normally spend on their cake. 

“On average, a cake costs about $700 according to The Knot survey. But you can cut this price in half without your guests even knowing.” 

The article went on to recommend fake cakes.

Many traditional cake businesses suggest that by the time they decorate a styrofoam dummy cake and a cake for serving (a kitchen cake or sheet cake) the cost is nearly the same. The argument goes: “The expense of the wedding cake is not the ingredients (eggs, flour, sugar), but the time and work that the decoration and assembly require.”

Many cake decorators simply refuse to offer the service - and this is why the cake rental industry has emerged to fill this market need.

The reasons for ignoring this need can be everything from personal opinion about the “proper” way to do a wedding to the lack of space for storing the dummy cake materials. Many cake decorators are fearful of this trend because while their costs are going up, fake cakes are bringing the perceived cost of the wedding cake down.
 
The  Truth Exposed?
While the time to decorate a fake cake is valuable, the assembly of a fake cake is far easier, faster and less costly than a real cake of the same proportions. There are no ingredients, no baking time, no electricity or gas used to bake a styrofoam cake. While there is an initial cost of the styrofoam dummy elements themselves, they can be reused by the cake decorator and considered as part of the rental fee.
 
Of course this kind of cake decorating strategy means that the designs offered are simpler, easily replicated and the renter takes greater responsibility for the care of the cake as damage deposits are required.

Cake businesses that rent pre-designed, 100% fake cakes provide even greater savings.  You’ll want to understand and consider all of the variations of  ”fake cake” to make an informed decision about what you’re comfortable with.