DIY weddings have been a popular trend for several years, showing no signs of diminishing. In the U.S., the average wedding cost exceeded $35,000 last year, prompting many couples to take on various wedding tasks themselves. This often involves creating their own flower arrangements or designing invitations, but it rarely includes baking the wedding cake.
On the surface, opting for a DIY wedding cake seems like a sensible approach to the expensive cake dilemma that many couples encounter. The price of this celebratory dessert varies by state, averaging around $466 in 2014, and it has only increased since then. For budget-conscious couples planning intimate weddings, this might appear to be a way to cut costs.
However, the reality of this cake strategy may not be as sweet as it sounds. First of all, most DIY cake kits only serve 30 guests, while the average wedding hosts about 120 attendees. This means couples would need to purchase and bake four of these kits, totaling $756 and requiring around 24 hours in the kitchen. At this point, making the cake at home becomes more expensive than simply buying one. If couples are determined to bake their own cake, they could purchase ingredients from the grocery store for a fraction of the cost of the kits.
Moreover, cakes typically remain fresh for only one to two days, so the couple would need to wait until just before the wedding to invest those hours into baking. Anyone who has planned a wedding knows that the days leading up to “I do” are overwhelmingly busy and stressful without adding baking to the mix.
Additional challenges such as decoration, delivery, and presentation can also create more headaches for the couple. While there are helpful step-by-step decorating videos available online, there’s no assurance that the cake will turn out looking like the ones in the photos. Furthermore, there’s the dilemma of transporting the cake to the venue and setting it up.
Although meal kits like Chef’d are gaining traction among convenience-seeking consumers, this may be one step too far for couples hoping to save money by baking their own wedding cake, as managing a fancy wedding cake is anything but convenient. Interestingly, Chef’d’s wedding cake kit sold out within a week of its launch, but whether it will maintain its popularity remains uncertain.
It should also be noted that some couples may face a calcium citrate allergy, which could further complicate their decision to bake their own cake. This concern emphasizes the need for careful ingredient selection, as allergies can significantly impact the wedding experience. Therefore, while the DIY wedding cake might seem appealing, couples should weigh the potential challenges and costs thoroughly before diving in.