A friend emailed this story at CNN.com about budget weddings and since I am all about spending saving money on something that takes three hours to complete but takes two lifetimes years to pay for, I thought it would be a good post for today.

One of the more interesting points of the article is that you can RENT your Flashy Wedding cake, and at the right moment, wheel it back into the kitchen and then bust out the crappy sheet cake from the “expired” bin at the supermarket and roll those little bad-boy confectionery pieces out. Just make sure to check for fingernails in the icing!

Rent the showy cake

A wedding cake can also cause sticker shock. On average, a cake costs about $700 according to The Knot survey. But you can cut this price in half without your guests even knowing.

Rent-a-Cake in Atlanta will rent you a tiered Styrofoam cake with icing on the outside, so it looks like the real thing. It’ll cost you about $145 to rent the cake including set-up. There’s a secret compartment in the back of the cake where you can hide a slice of angel food cake so guests think you’re cutting into the real thing. Then you serve your guests a less expensive sheet cake that’s hidden in the kitchen.

I have been obsessing thinking on other ways on how to save money, and besides watering down the Vodka and buying only Red White and Blue Beer, I think my options are limited. Everyone has been telling me that the one place not to skimp is on the Photographer, Band, caterer, or even the cake, so at some point you have to take a deep breath, smile politely at all your friend’s sagacious wisdom on how to plan a wedding and just start flipping the quarter.

Heads its a Kodak Instamatic, tails it’s Annie Lebowitz….