It sounds like a bridezilla's worst nightmare: A Welsh couple found out their wedding cake was a fake made of polystyrene only after trying to cut into it at their reception. As bride Aimee West told the Daily Mail, "It was a lovely occasion and the ceremony was going to be the icing on the cake -- only there was no cake."
The snafu happened when West discovered four hours before the wedding that bakery Creative Cakes had forgotten to bake her cake. Creative promised to get West a cake in time for the ceremony.
They delivered it later, but it was the bride's mother who discovered the cake was a fake right as the couple was going to cut it.
The Wests, though disappointed, likely had a laugh and moved on with their ceremony. But shortly after their nuptials, they decided to take Creative Cakes to small-claims court to reclaim their deposit and gain compensation for their legal fees.
The court bid was successful, and the Wests were awarded £310 (about $511). The only hiccup seems to be that Creative Cakes maintains that the Wests knew that the cake was going to be a fake. As anyone who's seen "Cake Boss" or "Ace of Cakes" knows, there's no way to bake and ice a cake that big in a few short hours.
Polystyrene cakes, however, are a popular choice to save money -- and a lot of wasted cake -- at receptions nowadays. Why spend a few hundred dollars on something that won't get eaten?
They're known in the baking industry as "dummy cakes," and they can be all Styrofoam or part-cake/part-fake.
Tell us: Would you "serve" a dummy cake at your reception?
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Friday 06 November
By Simone
You know what. i would. Especially if i was having a small-ish reception. The dummy cake could add some size and height to what would be a small cake. you know? There's nothing wrong with a small cake--but maybe a little dummy cake could enhance the appearance.
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Sunday 08 November
By Gerald Spencer
If one is trying to impress someone, I guess it is okay. This type of thing is fine for bakeries to help pose their products but to say, "This is us, cutting our wedding cake," is not the same as "This is us, cutting our fake wedding cake, Whom do you think we were trying to impress?" How about renting that wedding gown and veil at the same place the groom gets his tux? How about just using a green screen to fake the entire thing? Since when is deception okay?
Sunday 08 November
By Christina
I made a cake for my daughter's wedding. The bottom layer (16" x 16") was fake (plywood) The rest of the cake was the right size to feed the crowd. It did get eaten, as I don't use fondent, my cakes actually taste good.
Monday 09 November
By Dave
Simone
Did you even read the article?
They ordered a real cake!
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Saturday 07 November
By Jen Doucette
I was married in Singapore 23 yrs ago and it was customary to have a "dummy" cake at all wedding receptions. At mine, we used the dummy cake and then the hotel distributed cut up slices of fruitcake (another Eurasian custom) in gold cardboard boxes to the wedding guests. The only mistake I made was not informing my husband before the ceremony that the cake was a dummy but it provided a laugh.
Reply
Saturday 07 November
By Jill
We did, the top 3 layers were real cake and the bottom layer was fake because we had a small reception (less than 100 pp) but we didn't want a "puny" looking cake.
Reply
Saturday 07 November
By Jennifer
I would definitely have a dummy cake. Being a professional decorator myself, there are many decorations you cannot do on a real cake (specifically a cake needing refrigeration due to fillings) and leave it sitting out through the entire reception. If I have a wedding cake, I want it out for everyone to see and be a centerpiece of the wedding, then serve some nice TASTY desert instead of the "traditional" wedding cake which most people never eat anyways! My only thing, I'd sure like to know if I was paying for a REAL wedding cake, that my cake was real, not fake...and shame shame shame on that bakery in the first place!! HOW CAN YOU DO SUCH A THING ON A WEDDING DAY!
Reply
Sunday 08 November
By Sandy
I had a dummy cake at my wedding. Basically the first tier was only real cake for the ceramony. The rest was cut in the kitchen from a sheet cake. Sheet cakes are far less expensive than tiered cakes. And since the cutting was done in the kitchen no one was the wiser :)
Reply
Sunday 08 November
By shawty
so.... the cake is a lie
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Sunday 08 November
By Stammon
Ha-ha. The song is great though.
My new sister in laws baked our cake. I guess if you want a big show you can have a fake cake, fake life, but we decided on a real cake, real wedding and real life. Still in love after 20 years too.
My kids sing the song.
Sunday 08 November
By Devi
Damn! beat me to it!
Monday 09 November
By Amanda
ha ha nice. wonder how many people caught that.
Sunday 08 November
By O.
WAIT? People NOT eating the cake???????
That's never happened at the table I sit at when I go to recpetions. And I didn't see that at the tables around me either.
Brides need to STOP trying to put 200 butts in the seats by inviting the nextdoor neighbors baby sitter and a whole bunch of other people that they barely know and don't care about them! Just so they can be the star of some huge affair.
Maybe then they wouldn't have to worry about people not taking their favors home or not eating the cake.
I was actually once invited to the wedding of someone I hadn't seen or heard from in FIVE years.
Reply
Sunday 08 November
By flashygrrl21
Rant much? What happened, your guests didn't show up at your own wedding?
Anyways, my opinion of the whole thing is that since dummy cakes are usually one layer real cake and the rest is fake with sheetcake in the back then the couple was lied to and rightfully deserved their money.
Sunday 08 November
By Rich
I agree. But since 50% or more of all marriages end in divorce, it makes sense that at least 50% of the cake is as fake as the commitment being made.
Sunday 08 November
By lizt
I agree with what you are saying 100% - I've heard of people inviting their damn Mailman and favorite checkout cashier at their local store - Weddings are suppose to be celebrated with your most closest and dearest family and friends - not every name you can pull out of your ass! Dummy cakes - jeeze what next -I've already seen FAKE Flowers - even for the brides bouquet - if that was case and I couldn't afford REAL then I would be having an intimate service at a chapel or city hall. Jeeze louise!
Sunday 08 November
By whatever
Here in RI, most weddings have dummy cakes. Just the top layer is real and the bride and groom cut into that during the reception and take the rest of that top layer home. Sheet cake is cut up in the kitchen and passed out to the guests.
Reply
Sunday 08 November
By lizt
I can see that - sheets cakes are less expensive and have you ever gotten a piece of cake at a wedding that was missing some frosting LOL - I have and it was a little let down considering that's usually my favorite part - by doing the sheet cake everyone can get a NICE chunk of yummy cake and frosting - The top layer is the most important. SO in keeping with this story - I guess this Bakery couldn't bake ONE Layer of cake & get it decorated in 4 hours - jeeze they got the dummy cake decorated in plenty of time - what disrepectful bakery!
Sunday 08 November
By pinkmomy71
That's funny as I am from RI and I had a real cake top to bottom, so did my brother and 5 of my cousins who are also from RI. Of course we had cakes that fit the amount of people invited(around 100 people), we weren't in it for a show.