DIY Wedding Cake Ideas – Saving money without sacrificing the wedding centerpiece

According to the Association of Bridal Consultants, couples in America on average spend $386 on their wedding cakes. For some, that’s $386 that could have been saved for the honeymoon or spent on the down payment for the open bar.

With such a large amount of money now being spent on weddings, more budget-conscious brides have started opting for DIY weddings, making everything from their gowns to their bouquets, and even their very own wedding cakes themselves. Inspiration for DIY wedding cakes can be found just about anywhere. In addition to her unique wedding cake styles,

Martha Stewart offers several DIY wedding cake ideas that are sure to save consumers a dollar or two in their expenditure, and thousands of Pinterest boards have now come out, featuring the wonders of DIY wedding cakes. Some of these are simple – perfect for DIY rustic weddings – and some of them are elegant and telling of the skills of a true baker, but all of them are beautiful and reflective of the couple’s personality.

If you’d like to try your hand at baking a DIY wedding, here are some simple ideas that could help you out:

Contrary to wedding stereotypes, the wedding cake doesn’t necessarily have to be tiered. This rustic winter wedding cake is just one cake decorated with finely grated coconut, cranberries on a thread, fresh rosemary sprigs, mini pine cones, and royal icing.  

Here is another DIY single cake idea. The strawberry wedding dome, inspired by the Swedish Midsummer holiday cake, can be garnished with beautiful and edible flowers, giving this wedding centerpiece a country feel.  

However, if you prefer to stick to the traditional three-tiered cake, DIY Editor Blair from Project Wedding has a simple recipe for a homemade wedding cake, also embellished with edible flowers. Don’t let its height scare you, as Ali Rodham, product developer for Marks & Spencer, shows that it’s actually quite easy to stack a contemporary cakes with the help of dowels:

Before choosing to take on any of these DIY projects, make sure that you make a practice batch at least several days before the wedding to avoid any disastrous results.