Why £500 for a wedding cake is actually a pretty good deal

A professionally made wedding cake is a (delicious) investment.

Wedding budgets are weird things. You can spend thousands on a venue, a dress, or a photographer (ahem hi), but when it comes to cake, suddenly everyone turns into a financial advisor. "£500 for a cake? It’s just flour and eggs!"

Except, no. No, it is not.

Last summer (it's taken me a while to get round to writing this, I've been busy, ok?) I spent some time with a professional wedding cake baker, and it turns out there’s a lot more to making one of those towering beauties than just whacking some sponge together and hoping for the best. If you’ve ever thought about making your own wedding cake to save money, here’s why hiring a pro is an investment worth making.

1. Wedding Cakes are Basically Engineering Projects

Sure, anyone can bake a cake. But making one that stands up under its own weight, survives transport, and looks good while doing it? Whole different story. There’s a reason professional bakers use things like dowels and support structures—it’s not just about making it taste good, it has to stay upright. For ages. In summer.

Without the right know-how, your beautiful DIY cake could become a leaning tower of buttercream disaster. I've seen it happen and it's a delicious, miserable mess.

2. Time is Money, and Wedding Cakes Take a Lot of Time

A proper wedding cake isn’t just baked the night before and slapped together in the morning. It takes days to do it properly. Baking, cooling, leveling, stacking, smoothing, decorating—it’s a multi-step process, and every stage has to be done just right. Do you really want to spend the days before your wedding covered in non-compliant buttercream and crying over lopsided layers? Thought not.

3. The Ingredients Alone Will Cost More Than You Think

Think making your own cake is a budget-friendly move? By the time you’ve bought quality ingredients, cake tins, a stand, dowels, edible decorations, and fancy sculpting tools (plus you'll probably need to make a practice or two), you’ll be well on your way to spending a decent amount anyway.

4. Wedding Cakes Have to Travel

One thing people forget: cakes have to get to the venue, not just sit on a counter like the ones you usually make. Driving with a multi-tier cake in the back is terrifying. Every speed bump is a potential disaster, every turn a moment of existential dread. Bakers don’t just make the cake—they transport it, set it up, and make sure it’s perfect before you or your guests even see it.

5. Professionals Know How to Make it Look (and Taste) Amazing

A good wedding cake isn’t just about being edible—it’s about being a showstopper. These things get photographed, admired, and devoured. A professional baker knows how to make it taste as good as it looks, and they have the skills to create designs that only end up on social media for the right reasons.

Final Thoughts

Yes, wedding cakes cost money. But so does expertise, quality ingredients, and the sheer amount of time it takes to make one of these things well. When you hire a professional, you’re not just paying for cake—you’re paying for peace of mind, skill, and the guarantee that your cake will actually taste as good as it looks.

So before you start Googling “DIY wedding cake tips,” ask yourself: is this really how you want to spend the week before your wedding? Are you absolutely sure your helpful aunt Margaret knows what she's doing? Or do you maybe want to leave it to someone who actually does this for a living?

Now go book a baker and stop worrying about it.