wedding cake inventiveness

weddings are this huge industry...I cannot even fathom it, and I am part of the machine. My sister got married a few years ago, so I remember concern over costs...from the big stuff like meals and venues all the way to smaller stuff like favors.

I have been obsessed with this penny-pinching idea ever since I read about it on offbeatbride.com. One particular vendor appeals to budget conscious brides by allowing them to RENT a wedding cake. The cakes look beautiful and artistic; they're decorated to match whatever extravagant idea the bride has in her mind's eye... The secret element that allows them to go for the low, low* price of $150 is...they're not really real. They're styrofoam. The manufacturers even build in a special compartment where they'll hide an actual piece of cake so that traditional brides can still feed their grooms some butter-creamy confection. (I find this part extremely amusing/resourceful/ridiculous.)

*But...$150 to RENT some fondant covered styrofoam? Seriously? I mean, sure...you can get just-as-delicious sheet cakes from the bakery, and you're still saving money while maintaining appearances, but...$150 to RENT a "cake"? I suppose if you don't have a sister who went to culinary school and worked in a bakery frosting wedding cakes for a while, that might be your best option. Thankfully, someday when my prandsome hince** comes along, I will be calling said sister and letting her know it's time to go to Michael's and buy some pre-cut styrofoam rounds and the cheapest, nastiest frosting they make. :-D

**What? you haven't heard the age old tale of Rindercella and the Prandsome Hince?

Also, a real quick notification: I'm out of town/state until July 10/11-ish. I will be checking email as I get internet access, but as I'm sleeping on a different couch almost every night catching up with all my old college chums, I cannot guarantee that I'll be able to get back to you as quickly as I'd like. Please bear with me...and if you have my phone number, go ahead and give me a buzz!