weddings

On her wedding day, Jade's $500 cake didn't turn up. Then her friends pulled off a miracle.

A year ago, Jade Neil‎ had just married her husband Rohan, and was on her way to the reception.

It was a Friday night, and at about 6.30pm, she arrived to see her family, her friends and absolutely no cake in sight.

The wedding cake – one the mum-of-two and owner of Xpress Beauty had forked out hundreds of dollars for – was nowhere to be seen.

In its place was something else entirely.

“I found out the cake hadn’t arrived,” she told Mamamia on Saturday.

Mary Chew (left) and Candice West (right) putting the cake together between entree and main. Image: supplied.

"I was pretty angry to start with, I had just found out weeks before that I was pregnant, and couldn't have a glass of champagne. So, really, the cake was the next best thing," she told Mamamia.

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"I was also more disappointed that I had tried to support a small local business and they failed to come to the party. I paid $500, and when we contacted them afterwards about the whole thing, they denied knowing who we were."

However, about two hours before, two of Jade's sister-in-laws and another good family friend had learned of the debacle, and took matters in their own hands.

They scrounged together some change, got in the car, and headed to the nearest Woolworths in Townsville Stockland.

"They made it between the entree and the main at the reception and I had no idea what was going on. They all did such an amazing job, to whip together something so good so quickly. I was stunned.

"I think the best part about all of this is that the mud cake was so popular."

Writing on Woolworth's Facebook page in a post that has since gone viral, Jade said every week she goes food shopping and "always sees the little display of what you can do with a good ol' Woolies mud cake".

She said her sister-in-laws and family friend used Woolies mud cake, pre-made Betty Crocker icing, fresh flowers and one of her hessian cutlery holders.

And suddenly, her wedding cake became inspiration for others, too. With the smallest of price tags.

From a three million dollar wedding that ended in court, to an el cheapo one that was organised in five days, Mamamia Out Loud talk the extreme costs of weddings.