Are Fake Wedding Cakes A Thing Now?
A spectacular-looking wedding cake is often the centerpiece of an American wedding. But not many people know that the custom of wedding cake dates back to the Roman empire, where marriage ceremonies concluded with breaking a cake of wheat or barley over the bride's head to bring good fortune to the newlywed couple (per Gastronomica). While the popularity of wedding cakes steadily rose over time, the modern wedding cake as we know it now was first introduced in the 19th century. Over the last 100 years, this celebratory pastry has evolved from the traditional white icing version to bigger, fancier, and bolder designs.
Although a wedding cake can be an elegant masterpiece and a delicious part of your celebrations, there's the undeniable fact that it can be pretty expensive. The average cost of a wedding cake in the United States is $500, per The Ascent. However, it can easily cost more than $1,000, depending on the size, flavor, design intricacy, ingredients, and time.
Some might wonder if there's no escaping the high costs of a wedding cake. Well, a fake wedding cake can be way more cost-efficient than the real thing. For couples who loathe the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on a wedding cake, opting for a dummy cake might be the right choice for them. You could say that a fake cake has all the ingredients to be a thing now, especially when inflation is hitting Americans like never before.
Fake cakes are becoming a popular wedding cake alternative
Gone are the days when hearing about a faux cake at a wedding reception sounded strange. Fake wedding cakes are becoming popular, as they are easier to transport, look flawless in wedding photos, and, most importantly, way more affordable than the real ones. A faux cake is often made of Styrofoam, gum paste, and fabric. While it uses real icing or fondant and can be elaborately decorated just like any real cake, it is anything but edible.
However, you can make it more realistic, as many dummy wedding cakes are designed to have a "slice" removed. TikToker AndrewRobyEvents, who boasts more than 100,000 followers and two million likes, shared a video to show an up-close look of how a faux cake works. In the clip, Roby shows a fake decorated wedding cake with a small "cutout" filled with real cake and frosting. He then explains how a couple can easily cut a single slice of the faux cake to keep with the fun tradition of ceremonial cake cutting. Many TikTokers seemed surprised and admitted they weren't aware of the use of dummy cakes at weddings.
And if you'd still rather opt for the real deal, make sure not to make these common wedding cake mistakes.