Grocery-store wedding cakes can save couples hundreds of dollars. Here's where to get one.

• On average, couples spend over $500 on their wedding cakes.
• Grocery stores sell cakes suitable for weddings at a much lower price point.

Newlyweds remember the moment they cut their wedding cake for years.

But the cake is also an expensive part of weddings today. According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding cake in 2022 was $510, and Brides reported that some couples spend upwards of $700 to $1,000 on the tradition.

To some degree, the hefty price tag makes sense. Wedding cakes are typically large and immaculately decorated. And the supplies and labor associated with making such a cake are expensive.

Some couples have chosen to make their own because of the cost, but for engaged couples who want a showstopping wedding cake, it may seem like splurging on a designer cake is your only option.

However, a grocery-store wedding cake might be the answer to your problem.

Where to buy a grocery-store wedding cake

Many grocery stores have bakeries that make cakes daily, and you've likely purchased or eaten one at some point in your life at a birthday or graduation celebration.

But many people don't think to get their wedding cake from a grocery-store bakery — or know that some offer commissioned wedding cakes at a reasonable price point.

It might not be as custom as you could get from a bakery, but some of your favorite grocery stores likely offer a wide range of designs and flavors for wedding cakes.

For instance, Whole Foods has both predesigned round and sheet cakes, as well as the option to create a custom cake that appear to range in price from just $8 for a 5-inch round cake to $119 for a full-sized sheet cake, according to a post on the blog site Bakery Cakes Prices. (Whole Foods did not respond to Insider's request for further information on its wedding-cake prices.)

You can also get a custom wedding cake from Publix, and a decorator from the store will help you figure out the right size, flavor, and decor for your cake. A Publix representative couldn't share further information about pricing for its wedding cakes, but told Insider the price of the cake will vary depending on how many guests the cake will serve and its overall design.

Wegmans offers a similar service; its standard sheet cake that serves 72 costs $54, according to a 2022 post on Bakery Cakes Prices. (The company did not respond to Insider's request for further information on its wedding-cake prices.)

Both Walmart and Safeway have a variety of one and two-tier cakes depending on the store location, as well as larger sheet cakes. The price range for Safeway's cakes is wide, as they start at $500 and can cost over $700 depending on the design, as a representative for its parent company Albertsons told Insider. Walmart's cakes are even more affordable, as a representative for the company told Insider its hand-decorated, custom cakes range in price from $24.96 to $74.

Big bargain stores Costco and Sam's Club offer wedding cakes for members as well. Sam's Club sells more traditional wedding cakes that come in two and three-tier varieties and cost $41.98 and $72.98 respectively, as well as sheet cakes for $20.98 and double-layer cakes for $16.98, according to a representative from the company.

A Costco representative told Insider the brand does not share price information about its products with the media, but Bakery Cakes Prices says the brand's half-sheet cake that serves 48 people costs $18.99. Costco also offers discounted wedding flowers and honeymoon packages, so it's a good membership to have if you're in the midst of wedding planning.

You can make a grocery-store wedding cake your own

Although they're already more affordable than the average wedding cake, you can get more bang for your buck with grocery-store cakes by adding your own decorations.

For instance, Jessica Hoyle-King told Insider in 2019 her brother's wedding cake was made to look more elaborate than it was because it combined two cakes from Costco and they decorated it with their own flowers.

And if the idea of spending money on cake for your wedding sounds unappealing overall, you can always forgo a cake altogether.

In 2020, Alexandra Crisham told Insider she and her husband opted to have a wedding cake designed by Di Bruno Bros. that was made entirely out of four different cheeses from Vermont Creamery. It cost $500, but it was worth the investment for Crisham because the cake was something she actually wanted to eat.

"If you don't like cake, then don't serve cake," she told Insider at the time. "You and your partner's opinions are the only ones that matter when it comes to your day."