Cut wedding cake costs with a fake cake

Planning a wedding in a weak economy is one of the most stressful things you can put yourself through. Tack the word "wedding" onto any item for sale and its price magically triples. Did you know that the average cost of a wedding in the US is almost $30,000? That's a staggering amount to spend on one day.

Wedding cakes, for instance, are a surprisingly huge chunk of these expenses. According to the Bridal Association of America, a typical wedding cake costs $550. Compare that to a $20 sheet cake you can get at Costco that tastes just as good, and ask yourself if it's really worth it to spend that kind of money just because it's tradition.

I understand that no bride wants her wedding to look like a low-budget affair, and a beautiful cake is part of a beautiful wedding. That's why lots of couples these days are buying fake cakes for display, then serving guests from a more economical sheet cake.

CakeRental.com offers these wedding cake look-a-likes (see photo), which come with a hollow compartment so you can put a real piece of cake inside and do the traditional cake-cutting ceremony without ever giving away the ruse to your guests. The website allows customers to select from pre-designed cakes or custom design their own. Some of these designs are really fancy, and the best part is that when your wedding is over, you can give away your "cake" to be reused, or maybe even sell it to another cost-conscious bride!