What to Consider When Ordering A Wedding Cake
cake advice
April 1, 2020
1. Do you even want cake? If so, in what form?
2. How many guests do you intend on inviting?
3. Have an idea of what your budget is
4. Think about the location of your dessert table!
5. Do you really want to freeze that top tier?
Most often, couples go to their baker knowing they want some kind of cake on their dessert table. BUT, what if you aren't a cake lover? You'd rather have other desserts, but you still want cake for the traditional and ceremonial wedding symbol it stands for? You don't have to have a tiered cake at your wedding. Cutting Cakes are the trend now - a small 1-tier (6" or 8") round that allows the bride and groom to still have a traditional cake cutting without spending their entire dessert budget on cake. Is this you? Consider this before talking with your cake baker and make sure you have your favorite dessert on that table while also giving your guests the opportunity to choose from a variety of treats!
Don't care about a cutting ceremony? Include cake in your dessert table in the form of standard/mini cupcakes, cake shooters, or slices of sheet cake instead.
Having a rough idea of how many people will be attending your event will play a role in a few different ways.... 1) This can help determine how large your cake should be. If you are envisioning a tiered cake, your # of guests can help us figure out how many tiers and how large those tiers should be in order to serve everyone; 2) It can provide YOU with a clearer idea of how you should budget in order to feed all of your guests, as cake is typically priced per serving (by the slice).
This being said, you may not want or need to serve cake to all of your guests! Let's say you have a count of 100 guests....maybe you want 50 slices of cake among 50 other treats for your guests to choose from. Your baker can recommend cake sizing and serving count for other desserts you're interested in. These are good things to have in mind when we first communicate.
A good place to start: many bakers will list a starting price for cake servings on their site. You have 100 guests and your baker's cake servings start at $5.50? You know you want to have a slice for everyone. This means that your budget should start at $550. Leave some wiggle room in that budget for any detailing/decor and delivery costs. Delivery alone can tack on another $100 to your cake order depending on size of cake and driving distance from the baker's location to your venue.
Is the above very similar to your own situation? Let's say your dessert budget is $500 and you want to spend $200 of it on cake. Your baker can suggest sizing and decor that remains within that number.
Need to cut costs? In the cake world, there are TONS of ways to cut costs, so while our final plans might not be what you originally envisioned, you and I will figure out together how we can serve everyone with a beautiful dessert table that is within your budget.
Always consider what the weather may be like on your day. If your cake will be sitting out in direct sunlight for a bit, speak to your venue about refrigeration options. If it rains, where and how will your dessert table be setup indoors? If it's super buggy and all the sweet treats attract flies, who will be there to swat them away? These are all good questions to think about before speaking to your baker or to bring up when you first chat together.
It's a lovely tradition, but not necessary (in my opinion). Adding a tier to your cake can tack on another $100+ to your order. If you're really into freezing a tier, have your baker include it separately on the side in its own box (it's cheaper than having it stacked onto your cake). Further, why eat year-old frozen cake on your anniversary when your baker could make one fresh for you? Most times, if you have already ordered wedding dessert, the same baker will give you a discount on a first anniversary cake and be thrilled that you asked them to bake for you repeatedly.
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