I think with the economy the way it is now it's financially smarter to have a smaller more casual wedding and a bigger more fun casual party at a later date when the couple can afford it. no point going in debt for a one day event.
as for renting a cake... that's such a strange concept for me. does the couple still get to cut the cake and feed each other a piece? or...how does that work?

SO basically you'd be spending $150 and get nothing in return except for a few ppl to take notice of a cake they won't eat. Don't get a crazy fancy 5-tear cake! Get something practical, no one really looks at it anyways, get something yummy and simple, or put fresh flowers to decorate that saves a lot of money.

It's baffling to me how some people can be so shallow as to NEED a 3-tier cake at their wedding, even if they have to rent it and not eat it and trick guests with a--OMG, dare I say it--COMMON SHEET CAKE hidden in the kitchen.
If you can't afford it, you don't get one. Weddings aren't competitions about having the most beautiful, most expensive stuff at the ceremony. You're supposed to be celebrating the couple's love and union and all that.
But maybe I'm just cranky because I haven't had my coffee.

I've seen this at weddings all the time. They have this gorgeous cake on display, and then come out with a simple white icing cake. But you can get an edible wedding cake for $150-200 to feed a small wedding. My opinion is, if you can afford to have a wedding for 100+ and feed them dinner, then trust me, they are going to want a nice piece of a wedding cake.

I mean, when we were kids, you couldnt have a birthday party without a piece of cake, it wouldnt be a party without it.

yea I dunno...i think I agree with aistea here.

If you can't afford it, don't get it. Simple cakes can be beautiful too.

This is baffling to me. Too many logistics are involved for a cake. I'd go for cupcakes instead.

Makes no sense to me. I got married last year, and went through the whole cake shopping thing, there are plenty of affordable options out there. I couldn't see myself spending $150 for a pretend cake. Besides, doesn't it take away from the whole cake ceremony anyway? For cash strapped brides, I just suggest not watching anymore "who's wedding is it anyway" The cake really isn't that complicated. Just get real about what you can afford, and the end result will be much tastier =)

Seems off to me. You can have the same effect by simply getting your baker to make the tiered cake out of styrofoam (just covered in decorative icing) for every layer except the top. Then, you cut the top and eat it, while the guests get served the sheet cake.

But then, my wedding cake cost less than this rental, and it was delicious and served my wedding of 60 with so much leftover that we were eating cake for days after.

At first it sounds like a decent idea, but at the same time it's kind of silly because the whole point of having a cake is so you can eat it. Plus, cakes aren't THAT expensive, and if you're paying over a grand for a wedding cake you may be heading to the wrong baker (or your cake is GIANT). My husband and I had a beautiful cake made (3 tier) and it was $300 dollars. PLUS we actually got to eat it, and the top if tasted great on our 1 year anniversary! There are fun alternatives to cakes too, like cupcakes.

I give the company who thought of the idea a lot of credit for coming up with the idea, but only if they are pulling in a lot of clients.

what a waste of $150. I mean, sure a gorgeous cake is nice to look at, but I'd rather give up that pretty cake than waste $150 on a cake I have to return at the end of the night.

I couldnt do this, itd be like lying at the altar. Just seems so tacky and wrong

I don't like cake so I will not have one at my wedding instead I am doing what a friend did for their black tie wedding ice cream Sundae's. They were great and no one even missed the cake.

i think that's a GREAT idea - and i'm into it. chances are i'll get my own cake for my wedding in April but i think that this is a FABULOUS alternative and it's definitely more economical.

This makes no sense. If can't afford the cake don't have one. No one really likes eating wedding cake anyway.

I think brides who did this would be...discussed. Forever. I'm not a huge cake fan (if I had my druthers I'd have wedding ice cream), but if you don't want to spend money on a cake, just don't spend money on a cake. It's not required. Use that money elsewhere and pass out an assortment of Little Debbies or something. That, at least, would be interesting and memorable and unique. A rented cake just comes off as cheap.

Wow, what a waste of money! You don't have to get a huge, elaborate cake. Skip the fondant and sugar paste flowers, go with buttercream (tastes better anyway!) and a couple real flowers to gussy it up. A "simple" wedding cake can be cost-effective and elegant, too!

Hell no! I want to be eating my actual cake if I'm going to have one, thanks. Plus, bait-and-switch annoys me.

It isn't brilliant and it isn't baffling. It is just plain stupid and cheap. It's your wedding for goodness sake. And don't you like the guests would figure something out? Maybe it's just me. But I would not rent a wedding cake. Gross. No. No no no.

Sure, why not? I've heard of couples using styrofoam layers in their cake so that maybe only one layer is real for the cake cutting, and supplementing that with sheet cake to be served. No one knows the difference, the cake looks exactly the same.

renting? okay..i decorate cakes....and sometimes styrofoam layers are used....but if the whole cake but a small section is styrofoam...its def NOT worth the 150.00...i'd rent a dress before renting a cake

It's good to know that the option exists. However, I don't think it's worth the $150+ (pre-designed) or $250+ (custom-designed). One may find it cheaper to go to a local bakery, have them create a real bottom and top tier and the other tiers fake. So this defeats the purpose of renting a cake which is to save money.

Considering that my wedding cake cost less than what it would be to rent, I'd say this was a pretty dumb idea.

I guess this could be considered as a good idea. I mean most guest don't eat all of their cake anyway. You find cake, just like most of the food, laying around half eaten on the table ready to throw away. I would never have a rental cake but to each his own

interesting...I wonder who many people will be doing this.

In my country, this renting stuff is common. I had a 10-tier wedding cake, a fake one, and got three cakes that I share between close relatives.

150$ just to rent a cake? No thanks. And what do they do with the cake once it has a piece cut out of it?

bleached- the cake is never cut i think you just take a pic with it like you're about to cut it then use a piece of sheet cake for everything else...if i'm not mistaken?

i think it's kinda silly... you don't have to stay within the confines of tradition just for a piece of fattening cake!

I had read this in a book, calling it the "old cake switcheroo". Other tips included not saving the top tier to freeze for the first anniversary, skipping the groom's cake, and looking into the sides of the cake. If you do rolled nuts or a more rustic look on the sides that don't require the super-smooth sides that most tiered cakes have, you can go down drastically in price because of the labor intensive process that goes into make the sides smoother.

This is silly. If you can't afford a fantastic-looking cake, settle for a more simple one. The taste is more important, anyway. Besides, if you can't cut it, it's pointless.

It looks so good you could eat it...Oh, wait, no, that's just the rental. I understand renting the dress, but a CAKE. Um, no.

I think this is a brilliant 2nd option or plan B. Sometimes what we want can be more than expected and if you still want a beautiful cake, but can;t afford the pricetag, why not rent it and have the caterer serve sheet cake? I checked out the site and you can use this cake for the traditional cake cutting ceremony and then take it away to have the sheet cake served.

While I understand the concept,
I feel like if you're trying to save $$, why spend an extra $150 on something that's basically useless.
Like countless other commenters have said before me,
if you can't afford the extravagant 5-tier cake, don't get it.
I've seen great looking cakes at friends' & family members' weddings that were simple and affordable.

I personally think that its a pretty dumb idea.
My sister had a nice sheet cake at her wedding. Having a huge cake that nobody can eat is more awkward than any other cake that you can actually eat.

I read that they use a real top layer so you can cut and feed the cake to each other.