This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure statement here. All photos (minus one) in this post by Kristle Leigh Photography.
When we began to assemble our wedding budget, it hit me that there was no way I would spend $300+ for a cake. I knew that it would be an extra wedding day stress, but making cakes is something I’m fairly good at, so I decided to make our wedding cake myself.
I kept the design simple with a few pops of glitter to coordinate with our wedding decor. Here’s what I chose to do:
The bottom two tiers of our cake were styrofoam. We knew there were would be an abundance of dessert at our wedding and the cake would be solely for display and cutting, so using styrofoam was the most time effective solution.
A few weeks before the wedding, I gathered all the supplies and assembled the foam layers. I glued the bottom two tiers to a cake board and was as done as I could be until I added the real cake tier.
About a week before the wedding, I baked all of the necessary cakes and froze them. The day before our wedding, I whipped up a double batch of icing, assembled the real top tier, and iced the whole thing. I created a wavy texture with my spatula, which took all of 10 minutes. So easy.
As for decoration, I kept it simple but sweet. I wrapped a layer of silky white ribbon topped with gold glitter ribbon (similar) around the bottom of each tier. I then created bows out of the gold glitter ribbon and attached them to the middle of each tier.
The final touch was a topper. I knew I wanted something fun and customized, and after scouring the internet for something that was just right, I found this cake topper on Etsy for under $20.
On the morning of our wedding, our wedding planner and I drove the cake over to the venue (I wouldn’t let anyone else carry it!), placed it on the table, and added the topper.
The glitter elements really gave this simple cake elegance. It was exactly what I wanted, and the total cost was only about $50.
To this day, I’m extremely glad that I made our cake. I hope you love it as much as I do.
If you liked this post, check out other posts in our wedding series below:
1. Our Wedding: Our Engagement Story
2. Our Wedding: The Date is Set
3. Our Wedding: Inspiration
4. Our Wedding: Hunt for the Dress
5. Our Wedding: A Realistic Budget
6. Our Wedding: The Venue
7. Our Wedding: Simple Gold Save-the-Dates and a Wedding Website
8. Our Wedding: Making Printable Invitations Your Own with a DIY Touch
9. Our Wedding: The Dresses, Suits, and Accessories
10. Our Wedding: A Peanut Butter and Jelly Themed Ceremony