How Wedding Cakes are Priced

Wedding cake prices are not typically given out as a total cost per cake. Now I did look at some brochures for wedding cakes from some local grocery stores, and they did show a picture of a wedding cake and give a price for that cake as seen in the picture. That however, is not your average case. Most bakeries will charge you a “per slice” fee.

On average, wedding cakes cost between $2 and $6 per slice. Of course, that fee will vary drastically between different bakeries, so choose a bakery that you feel comfortable with and one that has a reputation for delivering great cakes. Personally, I found a lady in a small town nearby who had been making wedding cakes for 20 years or more on the side. She came highly recommended. The cake turned out beautifully (just like the picture I found), and it was one of the tastiest cakes I’d had.

Features that Affect Cost

The price that you may be quoted for a wedding cake is typically their basic wedding cake with no extra frills. But once you start adding some particular extras, you’ll find that the cost of your wedding cake will definitely increase. There are several factors that will increase the amount of money that you’ll pay for your wedding cake. Here is a quick rundown to help you out.

The Larger the Cake - Of course it works out to reason that the larger the wedding you’re going to have, the more slices of cake that you’ll need. A great way to save money here is to have a small to medium sized wedding cake and make up the difference in slices with a sheet cake, which can cost up to a dollar less a slice.

Tiers vs. Sheet Cake - As mentioned above, a sheet cake decorated like your wedding cake is much less costly than a tiered cake because they just aren’t as much work to create as a tiered wedding cake. Creating a lovely tiered wedding cake takes work and expertise, and it also creates a premium for your wedding cake prices as well.

Special Shapes and Designs - This goes especially for square wedding cakes or extravagant cakes with complicated fondant designs. These create a lot of extra work and experience for the bakery, and you’ll pay for it. Personally, my bakery created these beautiful little sugar flowers and stuck them in randomly around the cake. It didn’t cost any extra and was a great way to add personality to the cake.

Adding in the Extras - Many brides start looking at special fillings such as fruits, nuts and liquors, which will add great flavors to your wedding cake, but will also drive up the cost of your wedding cake.

Choosing Cake Types - I’m not talking about cake flavors here, but instead about cake types. If you’d rather have a red velvet wedding cake with cream cheese icing, you’re looking at paying  much more per slice than otherwise. But perhaps the most expensive type of wedding cake would be the cheese cake. If you love cheesecake and are looking into the cost, be aware that a cheesecake type of wedding cake can drive up the per slice cost to over $6 per slice! Ouch!

I haven’t made this list to try and dissuade you from having your dream wedding cake. You just need to be aware of what kinds of options are available to you for your wedding cake. If you have a budget for your wedding cake, then check and see how much a basic wedding cake would cost. If you have plenty of money left over in your budget, then you can choose to start adding some little things to make it your own.

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How Much Does a Wedding Cake Cost?

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My sister called me the other irate at some friends of hers. They had asked my sister’s niece to be a flower girl in their wedding. Being a close friend of theirs, of course they agreed to let their daughter have a part in the wedding ceremony. But when the bride contacted the girl’s parents about the flower girl dress that the little girl was to wear, they were in for a shock.

The bride wanted this young couple to purchase a $200 flower girl dress for their 3 year old daughter. Not only that, but the dress had to be altered by a professional, costing them another $75. It’s well known that this couple doesn’t have a lot of money, but not wanting to hurt the feelings and friendship that they shared with the bride and groom, they bit the bullet and bought the dress.

Now don’t get me wrong, after hearing about the kind of dress that was purchased, it was probably worth the $200 bucks. It was just like a miniature wedding dress, complete with fancy embroidery and beads with a long train. It was a truly elegant flower girl dress, which is also why it cost them so much to have altered as well.  But I don’t think that it was right for the bride to request that this couple (whom they know are hurting for money) require them to spend so much money on a dress that a 3 year old will wear for three hours. Seriously people.

Everyone knows what kind of economy that were looking at today, and it’s true that a lot of people are concerned about their finances and may be really hurting to make their bills. That being said, be considerate of those in your bridal party who may not be able to afford a top of the line dress to wear in your wedding. You still want to have the same friends you had before the wedding once you get back from the honeymoon.

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Flowergirl Dresses - Be Considerate!

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Are Wedding Rings Always Worn on the Left Hand?

No they’re not. And this was even a surprise to me when I was working on this article.

In some parts of the world, wedding rings are worn on the ring finger of the right hand. Many Orthodox Christians and Eastern Europeans traditionally wear their wedding rings on the right hand. Greek people, many being Orthodox Christians, also wear the wedding rings on the right hand in keeping with Greek tradition. During the Eighteenth century Roman Catholics wore wedding rings on their right hands. It’s been found that still others wore their wedding rings on their thumbs. Weird huh? So how did we get to start wearing wedding rings on our left ring finger? It’s simple, and the idea started in Egypt. To the Egyptians, the circle shape of wedding rings represented eternity, and wearing the wedding ring symbolized the eternity of the marriage agreement. The rings were placed on their left hand on the fourth finger because they believed that the left hand was connected directly to the heart. Pretty romantic isn’t it?

What Order should the Engagement Ring and Wedding Band be Worn?

There are many different options concerning this wedding ring tradition. Many believe that the woman should wear her wedding ring before the engagement ring on her finger, making the wedding ring closer to her heart. Another popular belief concerning this is the exact opposite. This belief says that the engagement ring should be worn first, and then the wedding ring, as it is believed this will seal in the atmosphere of engagement into the marriage. Still others prefer to only wear the wedding band.

New Wedding Ring Traditions

Believe it or not, not all wedding ring traditions have dated back thousands of years. One major wedding ring tradition that has changed pretty recently is the one of men wearing wedding rings. In the past, only women wore wedding rings, while the groom kept his finger bare. I guess it was some of the jewelers with some pretty good marketing that were able to make such a drastic change on that wedding ring tradition. Also, a somewhat newer wedding tradition encourages the engraving of the names of the bride and groom and their marriage date on the inside surface of the wedding rings. This strengthens the symbolism and sentimentality of the wedding rings as they become family heirlooms in the future.

While it’s been proven that wedding rings have been around for thousands of years, it’s obvious that they are not always the same traditions that we follow today. But they’re still fun facts to know and read about, and hopefully to make the symbolism of your wedding rings something that will stick with you for years to come. Also, it kind of makes for a fun conversational piece.

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Wedding Ring Traditions

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Throwing a Backyard Wedding

An elderly couple in our church just had a simple outdoor wedding at the bride’s home. They were both widowed and had grown children and grandchildren of their own.

They didn’t want a big fancy affair, but instead wanted a simple outdoor wedding at the bride’s home with only immediate family and a few close friends. The bride’s home had a lovely pool in the backyard and she had done a lot of landscaping over the years, and it really was a lovely setting. The bride wore a lovely evening gown and had a few simple flower arrangements on pedestals at the place they were taking their vows. Then, the newlyweds and their guests had a reception of food they had made themselves for the occasion. While I wasn’t immediate family, I heard all the details and also heard from everyone there how it was one of the sweetest, and most relaxed weddings they had ever been to. Backyard weddings are a great way to save money on your reception hall and decorating. If you have a friend with a beautiful yard, why not explore your options?

A Wedding in the Park

Another popular idea for a simple outdoor wedding is to have your wedding in a local park or other scenic area. Just make a few calls to find out if it is possible to have weddings out there, along with what kinds of permits you’ll need to make it all happen. Choose a particularly scenic spot for your wedding, and set up your chairs accordingly. If the park has a nearby pavilion or other covered area for parties then that would make a great place for  your reception. Be sure to bring lots of tablecloths as the tables and their seats may be dirty. You can ask a friend to bar-b-que for the event, have a potluck, or if your budget allows for it, cater in some great food your guests will love. Just be aware that other people may be using the park at the same time, so you may have a few unexpected lookers on, or potential wedding crashers.

Many people these days, with the economy being the way that it is, are looking for some great ways to save a lot of money on their weddings. A simple outdoor wedding is a great way to accomplish this. Of course, a simple outdoor wedding means cutting your guest list down dramatically, letting nature provide most of your wedding decorations, and other money saving benefits you’ll see along the way as well. A simple outdoor wedding can be the perfect, low stress kind of wedding that your guests will enjoy and remember for years to come. If you have any great cost saving tips for throwing a simple outdoor wedding, feel free to write in and let me know!

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A Simple Outdoor Wedding

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Setting the Scene

My husband and I are Independent Baptists, and so doing something like this was never really dictated by our culture or religion.

We knew there were going to be a lot of wedding prayers offered from our pastor and uncle who were officiating the ceremony. But we wanted to pray together, and to have a wedding bench to offer up our wedding prayers together. So, when decorating the altar for our wedding ceremony, we got a smaller sized long table from one of our Sunday School classes and covered it with a white table cloth. We then added our unity candles on the top of the table and added two large white satin pillows at the base of the table.

Our Wedding Prayers

We decided to offer our own wedding prayers during the wedding ceremony immediately following the lighting of the unity candle. A song was sung by a good friend of ours, and once the song started we walked over the light the unity candle. Once the unity candle was lit we said our “I love yous” and he helped me kneel down on the two pillows in front of the table, then kneeling beside me. We prayed silently during the end of the song, and once the song ended, my husband prayed aloud. He implored God to be the leader of our home, and to bless our marriage. He then prayed that God would help him to be the husband he needed to be for me and our future family. It was a touching and emotion filled wedding prayer.

Any wedding prayers offered during your wedding ceremony should be personal for you both as a couple as you join in marriage and ask God’s blessing on your lives together. Adding the prayer bench for our own personal wedding prayers was important for me because we wanted our whole wedding ceremony enveloped in prayer. In my humble personal opinion, having Godly men and women pray for you in important, and can be a real blessing. But being able to pray yourself and seek God’s face and blessing is so much more important.

Basically, I’ve written this article to say that your wedding prayers are indeed important, and should be a large part of your wedding ceremony. Depending on your culture or religion, there may be certain wedding prayers or readings that will be a part of your wedding ceremony. But it’s so important to be able to offer your own prayers to God for His blessings on your marriage.

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Wedding Prayers by the Bride and Groom

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Do I Have to Play that Song?!?

You have to admit, when most people think of having a dance floor along with a wedding dj to control their wedding reception music, most guests think of the traditional silly songs that come along with it.

The chicken dance, and they YMCA, and even some songs that aren’t so bad, such as the Electric Slide or the Macarena.  The answer is, of course you don’t have to play those songs, it’s your wedding and you can play or NOT play any song that you choose. But to be sure, you’ll have wedding guests approaching your wedding dj to ask for the song. Therefore, it’s important to establish an absolute no play list of songs you do not want played as part of your wedding reception music no matter what.

How Do I Set Up a No Play List?

Setting up a no play list for your wedding reception music should really be done before your wedding even takes place, when you are researching and hiring the bands or wedding dj to be in your wedding. Whoever you hire to do the job, they should be professional enough to ask you what kinds of songs are on your must play list for wedding reception music. This includes songs for the first dance, the father daughter dance, and any other special songs that you want to be a part of your wedding reception music. While you are handing him the list for songs on your must play list, also feel free to accompany that with your list of no play songs. Make sure your wedding dj or band understands that under no circumstances is to play these songs on your no play list. Again, your wedding dj should be professional enough to stick by what songs you do and don’t want played during your wedding reception.

But Aren’t Those Songs Traditional?

Sure, most weddings typically play those silly songs for the enjoyment of the children and some fun loving adults. But that doesn’t mean that you have to spoil the kind of scene that you want set for your wedding reception by having songs that you don’t want to be played blasted over the loudspeakers. Don’t worry, there aren’t any wedding traditions saying that you have to play those songs, though most guests will be expecting them.

Remember no matter what that it is your wedding and nobody else’s. If you don’t want to have those kinds of songs played, it’s your party and don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do.

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Eliminating Songs for Wedding Reception Music

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Flowers Make a Difference

One great way to capitalize on your wedding theme is with flowers. Flowers lend such a beauty and elegance to every situation, sure - but have you realized yet that your wedding flowers can also set the tone for what kind of wedding you’re going to have?

The Today Show used a small spray of  fushia colored orchids in both the bride and the bridesmaid bouquets, along with other flowers. Using orchids for the groomsmen’s lapels are another great place to add personality and style to the wedding.

Look at the Lighting

Another great place to add some style in an Eastern wedding theme or an East meets West wedding theme is in your lighting. You can buy some great paper lanterns for only a few dollars each and use them throughout your wedding. Use them for your ceiling decorations in your wedding reception by stringing fishing line in lines across your reception and hanging the lanterns from them. You could also leave them on the tables as a fun and trendy wedding centerpiece. There are lots of different styles for lanterns you can choose from to create the perfect look you’re going for.

Wedding Cake Designs

Your wedding cake designs are another great place for you to add some designs and style for your chosen wedding theme. When the couples were choosing their wedding cakes, with the help of the viewers of course, they were given an assortment of wedding cakes to consider. One of the wedding cakes was designed so beautifully that it looked like it was completely made out of bamboo stalks. It was, of course, just fondant, but it would have been an excellent addition to an eastern wedding theme. What was chosen instead was smaller individual wedding cakes at each place setting that had all kinds of different designs on them. I believe they were each two tiers and had colors, swirls, fake leaves, orchids, and much more on them to help complete the East meets West wedding theme.

There are lots of great places where you can add a little bit of personality and character to your wedding decorations. From your table decorations to your flowers and so much more, you’re sure to find lots of places to make your wedding all your own. If you’re interesting in this East meets West wedding that the Today Show threw today, then just check it out on their website for more great decorating ideas.

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East Meets West Wedding Theme

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Why are Cupcake Wedding Cakes so Popular?

Cupcake wedding cakes are popular because they are so different than your traditional wedding cake.

Not only that, but cupcake wedding cakes allow each one of your guests to have their own personal little wedding cake. You can have them decorated all the same, or lots of different ways. Plus, cupcake wedding cakes don’t have to look like what a five year old would have at their birthday party, there are lots of contemporary and elegant designs for cupcakes. But perhaps the best part of all, cupcake wedding cakes can be a whole lot cheaper than your typical wedding cake. This is because they are much easier to decorate, but a little more time intensive than a regular wedding cake. Talk to your local bakery about pricing.

What about Pictures?

If you’re worried about how your cupcakes will look in your wedding pictures, then have no fear. Many couples will still order a very small traditional cake, such as one or two smaller tiers for their wedding photographs. The top tier of course will be saved for their first anniversary anyway. Then, the smaller cupcakes can be brought out and passed around to your wedding guests. Or, have your small wedding cake on display and then place your wedding cupcakes around the cake in a decorative way for some really unique wedding photographs.

Creative Decorating for Cupcakes

There are many different ways you can decorate your cupcakes to make them more elegant, whimsical or with a theme depending on the kind of wedding you’ll be having. For example, you could work with your florist and have a small bloom on each of your cupcake wedding cakes. Or, you could go with a new look and have your cupcakes sitting in edible bowls for a more elegant cupcake. Add fresh berries or truffles for a wedding cupcake your guests will never forget.

It’s obvious that with the economy the way that it is right now, couples everywhere are searching for ways to save money on their weddings. Cupcake wedding cakes are an excellent way to save a little money on your wedding cake to charm your guests without looking cheap.

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Cupcake Wedding Cakes

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Chocolate Wedding Cakes are Getting Popular

Turns out, I wasn’t the only bride craving the groom’s cake at the wedding.

For the past few years chocolate wedding cakes have been coming more and more popular with brides. This is not only because brides love chocolate and chocolate cake, but for many other reasons. For one thing, chocolate wedding cakes can still be just as decadent and elegant as the typical white wedding cakes are. Also, with one of the hottest wedding colors being brown, chocolate wedding cakes will tie in your wedding colors elegantly. Also, with chocolate wedding cakes you get lots of different flavors and choices when it comes to other flavors and designs you can choose for your cake.

Flavors for Chocolate Wedding Cakes

One of the great things about chocolate wedding cakes are the different kinds of flavors and textures that you can use to make your wedding cake stand out. Here are a few examples that you can choose from:

Fruited Chocolate - One great thing you can do to liven up the chocolate taste of your wedding cake is to add some fruit or fruit flavor. Fruit extracts are the easiest way to do this, or you can use chocolate covered fruit. Orange, raspberry, strawberry and mint are some popular flavors you can use.

Liqueur Chocolate Flavors - For a completely different flavor for a chocolate wedding cake, you can opt to use some liqueur’s to add to your chocolate. A hint of rum, brandy or even espresso can turn an ordinary chocolate cake into an elegant dessert.

Chocolate and Nuts - Another great addition you can make to chocolate wedding cakes are nuts. Adding  your favorite kinds of nuts to your chocolate cake will help make your wedding cake more interesting and delicious.

Other Chocolate Accents - Some options that you have for decorating chocolate wedding cakes can include drizzled chocolate, chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, and much more. A marbled look in the icing can create a beautiful and elegant looking wedding cake.

Want a White Wedding Cake for the Pictures?

If you are looking into chocolate wedding cakes for your wedding, but are a little reserved about going with chocolate icing for what it will look like in pictures, there are a few options you can take. First of all, ask the bakery about using a white chocolate icing for your wedding cake instead of a dark colored one. Just remember that any wedding cake flavor you choose can be transformed into a beautiful elegant wedding cake that you’ll remember forever. And if you have a chocolate wedding cake, you’ll also remember how much you enjoyed eating the cake as well.

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What About Chocolate Wedding Cakes?

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Using Dynamic Colors

One of the great things about summer weddings is that brighter colors for your wedding don’t seem at all out of place, or gaudy. Go with some sophisticated brighter colors, but don’t go overboard on using them in your decorations or your wedding guests will have to bring sunglasses.  Instead, choose just a few places in your wedding decorations where you can use that dynamic color, such as in the centerpieces or a table runner, and use a lighter accent color for the rest of your decorations.

All-Natural Wedding Centerpieces

Another great summer wedding trend is to go for wedding centerpieces that are all natural. One popular choice has always been to use citrus as a part of your centerpieces. And while that is still a great look for your wedding tables, consider looking for some ways to update this classic centerpiece. One way to do this is to eliminate the vases for the flowers in your centerpieces, and instead use pedestals covered with thick green leaves and place your flowers on top of those. They make some truly spectacular wedding centerpieces, and there are many photo galleries that can give you some great pictures for ideas.

Choosing a Lighter Fare

There’s nothing quite like a summer cook out. While it would be unthinkable to plan a bar-b-que for several hundred people, you can find some great recipes from your caterer that are much more summery. Think of some lighter choices of meat, such as chicken or fish, and then add salads with fresh fruit, potato salad, or any other popular food that goes great with a summer cook out.

There are always lots of great summer trends that change from year to year, and you shouldn’t pick something that you hate just because it is a popular trend for that summer. If you’re looking for a totally trendy wedding and need some ideas on how to celebrate summer and make your wedding really stand out from some of the others that will be happening around the same time, then consider choosing one of these great summer wedding trends to help give you some ideas on making your summer wedding truly your own.

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Hot Summer Wedding Trends

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