According to Brides, the cost of a wedding cake can range anywhere from $150 on the low end to over $1,000 on the high end, with the average being somewhere around $350. While that might seem pretty reasonable, what may surprise you is that many cake designers opt to not set a price by the cake but per slice. So, how can you get around that?

The Food Network recommends going with a cake that’s as plain as possible (naked or with something like buttercream frosting only). You can then request the designer add some fresh flowers or fruit. The logic here is that since it doesn’t take a ton of preplanning for cake decorators to make a plain cake, they won’t charge you as much as they would for cakes requiring intricate embellishments.

If you want to save even more, you can always add the flowers or fruits yourself. If you do decide to go the DIY route, you can likely use some leftover stems from your florist or you can repurpose a bouquet that you used during your ceremony.