A MUM has revealed how she saved a fortune at her wedding by DIYing her own stunning cake from Costco for just £27.
Lorna Cooper is a household name when it comes to food – thanks to her recipe books full of meals that feed families on a budget.
Lorna revealed how she only spent £27 on her wedding cake Credit: Facebook/FYFF20
She created her own by DIYing a cake from Costco Credit: Facebook/FYFF20
The 48-year-old, from Paisley, Renfreshire, also shares tips on her popular Facebook page Feed your family for about £20 a week has an army of 745,000 followers.
Lorna learnt to cook on a shoestring budget at the age of 11 when her mother died, and has since become a pro budget shopper over the years.
After she was unable to work because of a back injury, Lorna even managed to cut her £100-a-week food bill to just £20.
And she recently sent brides and grooms into a frenzy by sharing her budget wedding tips – which included a stunning £27 cake.
Couples could easily fork out hundreds of pounds for a cake for their special day, and, with skyrocketing costs, it’s no wonder that many look for a cheaper alternative.
Lorna revealed she managed to save some vital pennies on her big day by picking up a white cake from Costco and turning it into the perfect wedding treat herself.
The cake itself cost £17.99, and the savvy mum then bought a range of wafer flowers in different sizes to decorate it.
This included two boxes of large flowers and two boxes of small flowers at £2.30 each.
This brought the total cost to £27.19, and Lorna said it was perfect for her big day.
She also bought and decorated another smaller cake from Lighbody’s in Hamilton, which she decorated with edible flowers and a small bride and groom topper, and it cost £24.25 in total.
Posting on her FYFF20 page, Lorna said: “Let’s talk wedding cakes. I could not believe the price of them! Hundreds of pounds, and some are even over £1000.
“I do not doubt for a moment that the amount of work that goes into them may justify some of the costs, but I just couldn’t! I wouldn’t enjoy it knowing it cost so much money.”
“So I have two wedding cakes. The first one is from Lighbody’s in Hamilton from their factory shop… The second is my fave Costco cake. It was £17.99.
“I just got it plain. I have bought wafer flowers to decorate it. They were £2.30 a box. I bought two large and two small.
“I haven’t decorated it yet but I am sure it will look cute. And I know it will taste amazing! Total cost £27.19.
“Me and my purse are delighted with this choice! I know it isn’t for everyone, and some of you would happily pay for a ‘proper’ wedding cake, but like everything else – it can be done on a budget”.
Lorna said it helps couples save a fortune when celebrating their special day Credit: Alamy YOU GROW GIRL
LORNA also revealed how she managed to save a fortune on her flowers on her wedding day.
The mum told how she bought a colourful bouquet from M&S and Morrisons and then split these to create smaller bunches for her big day – and spent less than £25 in total.
She posted on her page: “I have had a couple of comments about my bouquet so I wanted to talk about it for a second. As it was also done on a budget!
“We went into M&S on Tuesday and bought a nice colourful bunch of flowers that cost us £15. We also bought some white ribbon.
“My friend Mandy and Ayla and I (mainly Mandy though to be honest) then split the bouquet into one larger and one smaller bunch and made them into bouquets.
“Mandy also used another bunch of flowers that John had bought yellow stickered from Morrisons on Monday, and made little button holes and corsages for her and the men folk.
“I would say less than £25 all in! And I think they are lovely”.
In a second post, she added: “Of course they aren’t as intricate or instagrammable but I loved them and that is all that matters at the end of the day!”
Social media users took to the comments to share their delight over her wedding cake suggestion.
One person said: “I think they look fantastic.”
Another added: “Your cakes looked brilliant”.
Someone else wrote: “Absolutely agree 100% with you. So much money wasted on overpriced items because they are for weddings. Your cakes will look lovely and I am sure that everyone will enjoy them!”
While a fourth posted: “Its great that you found a way to make it affordable in a way that suits you and your wedding”.
And a fifth chimed in: “It’s much more personal if you do it yourself.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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