How To Decorate a Wedding Cake: Save Money and Get Compliments

Do you ever wish you could have a gorgeous wedding cake like the ones you see on Pinterest, but know that the price is out of your reach?  What if I told you that you could easily make your own and save a ton of money?

Prepare the Wedding Cake

You can use literally any combination of cake and icing you like as long as it adheres to a couple of criteria.

First of all, your cake should be a denser, non-crumbly kind, especially if you plan to make it a naked cake.  No cake mixes please!  Although I have nothing against cake mixes in general, you’re not going to be happy with the results in this project.

I added about a half cup of greek yogurt to my usual white cake recipe so that it would be moister and less crumbly.

Related: Simple Tricks to Make Your Next Cake Look Amazing

Cut your cakes with a bread knife so they are flat.  Apply icing with a piping bag and smooth out with a spatula.  Repeat until all your layers are stacked.

Fix any and all mistakes with your final layer of icing around the whole cake.

I highly suggest making your favourite variation of buttercream.  Here’s my lemon variation if you’re so inclined.

Suggested Recipes: White Zucchini Cake, Luscious Lemon Cake, Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting, Naked Mini-Egg Easter Cake.

Add Fresh Cut Flowers and Lace

Want to know how to get the perfect size of lace to wrap around your cake?  Wrap the lace around your cake pan and cut.

If your cake is completely frosted, the lace will have no problem sticking.

If your cake is naked, you may need to secure it with a pin or toothpick.

Choose flowers that will hold up well to a day with no water.  I used roses, carnations, and baby’s breath here.  Generally, if it has a sturdy stem it will last the day.

Remember those boutonnieres from last week?  You’re going to use the exact same technique to make the three main rose decorations on the top of your cake.

Placing the roses evenly is the most terrifying part of the whole process.  If your topping looks a little sparse or off centred, you can fix it with the next step.

Fill Out the Wedding Cake with Flowers

My cake was looking a little sparse at this point and I didn’t like how the greenery was uneven.  I make a few more boutonnieres with just greenery, carnations, and babies breath to fill in those spots.  Once I was done I inserted a few sprigs of babies breath and leaves to fill any remaining small holes.

Enjoy Your Gorgeous Wedding Cake

At this point, you could easily walk away and call your cake done.  I make a few more boutonnieres so I could have some decoration at the side.  My cake plate is pretty large, so I needed something to balance the proportions.  If your cake plate is smaller, you probably can skip the side bit.

Looking for more ways to save money on your wedding?  Check out my friend Sarah’s 10 ideas to save thousands of dollars on your wedding at Pretty Simple Ideas.

These are the actual wedding cakes I made for Alex and Carvil’s wedding.  I tried to take step-by-step pictures for the blog, but the hotel room lighting wasn’t great and I was in a huge hurry.

Related: Growing Your Own Flowers for Your Wedding?  Read This First!

Would you be brave enough to give this a try?  Try it out for your next birthday cake and you’ll be hooked!  Let me know in the comments what you think.

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