The Walmart Challenge-The Cake

So, I've been quoted $4/slice for my cake. As other bloggers have mentioned, I asked for a cake that serves 100 guests (since most don't even eat the wedding cake). It still came to $400 for a 3-tier cake...I can't pay that much for batter and sugar! I understand all the work that goes into making a cake, but I just can't bring myself (or my tight budget) to do it!

I discovered that Walmart makes wedding cakes, and to my surprise, they look quite nice. At my Atlanta location, they have 1 flat rate for 3-tier cakes of $125.00. I wanted a plain, smooth cake with a ribbon and brooch (To go along with my brooch theme). Walmart is flexible enough that I can deliver my ribbon and brooch to them, and they will add it at no extra charge.

So, let's test your eye.
I'm going to post pics of Walmart cakes along with cakes that cost $4-$7/slice. Can you guess which is from a bakery vs Walmart?

        A                                                   B 

           C                                                    D

      E                                                             F

     G                                                  H

    I                                                        J

 

   K                                                 L

Ok, so what was your guess?

Walmart cakes were: A, B, C, E, (F-was not a direct Walmart link, but the person says they got their cake from Walmart), J, K, and L. With the exception of the "F" cake, I took those photos myself from their order catalog.

All the other cakes were $400-$1000

So, my idea is to order cake J (In Ivory Butter-cream  not tan) & leave off the Walmart bows. I will instead take my brooch and ribbon and ask them to put it on my cake).

Here are a few pros and cons to ordering a Walmart cake:

Pros:
-Cost about 1/3 less than traditional caterers.
-Still looks nice as long as you don't mind a simpler cake.
-It can be customized with different colors and designs, & as long as it's not too elaborate, the price will stay the same flat fee.

Cons:
-They don't deliver. You will have to trust someone to get it safely to you.
-They don't do fondant (wasn't a problem for me because I hate the way fondant tastes anyway).
-It will not taste as great as a cake from your neighborhood bakery.

So, use your own discretion on this one, and figure out how much a catered cake means to you.
Mine will cost $125

So, last time I blogged my budget was down to $921
Subtract cost of cake:$125

Balance $796

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think about the cakes BTW!

Cake credits:
Cakd "D" Sweet personalities: http://www.sweetpersonalitiescakes.com/id16.html
Cake "G" Google images
Cake "H": Coutour Cakes: http://www.wpbeventhall.com/local-wedding-cake-bakeries-pg-2-0804
Cake "I" http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/lets-talk-cakes/01ccc5b9ca0e4c51.html

Cheap Gift Finds (Bridesmaids & others)

If you're anything like me, you ❤ giving gifts that appear to cost a lot, but actually cost very little.

I mentioned in a previous post, I found all my Bridesmaid jewelry on ebay. I got 6 sets of Bridesmaid jewels (Earring and necklace sets) for $17 total (With shipping!).
Here's a photo:

Here are the tricks to having a successful ebay experience: 

1) If you order from overseas (Example: You live in the USA & are ordering from China) be sure to order at least a month ahead of time. The delivery tends to take up to 25 days.

2) Shop "Buy it now" items first. These items are often offered in multiple quantities. This is where you will find your Bridesmaid sets. No point in bidding on a single item, unless you only have one bridesmaid.

3) When setting your search options, select the max amount you want to spend, than change the criteria to display "lowest to highest). This will ensure you don't spend all night searching. **Note, I always check on items slightly more expensive before I decide on a product. 

4) PAY ATTENTION TO SHIPPING!!! Sometimes, sellers offer an item for .99 with a $15.00 shipping fee! It's just a little trickery to get your money. Also note that if your product isn't what you expected, paypal usually only refunds the cost of the product, not the shipping fee. Many sellers offer free shipping. This is how I usually shop.

 Here are a few other great finds on ebay that I'm considering purchasing:

Cuff-links for the groom-to-be, groomsmen & Dads.  $2.99 & .99 Shipping TOTAL $4

Compare to these for $34.00 at cufflinks123.com

Bridesmaid gifts Corkscrew $2.45 w/ free shipping

Bridesmaid bracelets. $3.74 w/shipping

Decorative hair combs $3.79 w/free shipping

Bracelet $1.77 w/Shipping!

So, these are just some small ideas. When you shop on ebay, you can get some pretty great gifts, don't you think!?

The Bouquets

I've gone back and forth with myself on whether or not to go with silk flowers or fresh. Of course the budget-conscious side of me has decided to go with silk for the Bridesmaids and a Brooch Bouquet for myself.  I made the brooch bouquet & toss bouquet myself and purchased the Bridesmaids Bouquets from Afloral.com for $14/each.
Here's a breakdown of the spending:

My Brooch Bouquet: ~$35
We all have seen the bouquets online on Etsy starting around $275 and going up to nearly $1000. I couldn't see myself paying that kind of moolah. So I gathered up all my unused costume jewelry, along with some I had for a while that I purchased from a wholesaler a while ago (At one point, I was selling jewelry online).
My mom and aunts went through their jewelry boxes and donated all their un-used brooches and rings to me. Here's the supply list and cost breakdown:

$4: 1 Silk Hydrangea from Hobby lobby. (I got the nice one for $7.99. It was 1/2 off for $4.00)
$5: 22 Gauge jewelry wire. (I used 2 packs in silver since most of my jewelry was silver)
$1: Painters tape. (I already had this laying around the house.)
$2: Brown ribbon (On sale @ Hobby Lobby orig. $3.99)
$2: Floral Pins
$10: 3-D Flower stickers and Decorative buttons from Hobby Lobby (All 1/2 off . Packs came to about $2 each)

These are an example of the 3-d sticker flowers. Click HERE for link.

And these were both on sale. I used them in addition to a few others:

$2 1/2 off LINK$1Sale LINK

$0: Brooches/Jewelry/Rings I already had at my house & the ones I collected from family.
$10: Additional 99 cent brooches I found on Ebay
$1: Thread
$0: Christmas tree pearl garland (Left over from this past Christmas.

I viewed a tutorial on Youtube on how to put it all together.
Watch Youtube video: CLICK HERE

And here's what I came up with:

Then I made a toss bouquet with a pre-made bouquet from Hobby Lobby. On sale for $7.50

And I added some things left over from 

 Gerbera Bouquet (Caught 1/2 off sale) LINK

This is how it looks after I added rhinestones, 3-D Stickers and Ribbon. I used the same technique as I did with the Brooch bouquet.

Here are the Bridesmaids Bouquets (I'll add some jewels from the things I had left, later).

Bouquet LINK

So, my grand total for bouquets:

1 Brooch Bouquet $35

1 Toss Bouquet about $10

6 Bridesmaids Bouquets $84

TOTAL: $129

Amount left from last post $1050

- Brooches $129

Total left: $921

My Venue...The Splurge

So many things can be afforded at a low cost, but unfortunately, my venue wasn't one of them. Because I have an anticipated 180 guests, the venue had to be large enough to hold them. Besides that,  it was very hard to find a venue that would allow us to cater our own event (another DIY soon to be blogged about).
This was my splurge at $1500, but it's everything I dreamed of. Hardwood floors, exposed brick, up-lighting, linens provided, a patio, and a stocked cash bar @ $20/hour.
Here are some pics of the venue when other people held their reactions there.

So, my new budget:
Amount left from previous post: $2550
Venue: $1500
Amount left: $1050