I am doing a wedding cake (my first) for a friend in June. We got together today to talk about what she wants. She wants 150 servings, tiered cake, all round. What pan sizes would you do? I get 158 servings (using Wiltons wedding guide) for a 14-12-8. Would that look weird? If I use Earlene's chart I get 14-12-10-8 yields 155 servings. How do I know which chart to use and which tier sizes will look best? I am concerned because a random family member is going to be cutting the cake (rather than a caterer). What if they don't cut the correct number of pieces? I told her I would provide a cutting guide for the tiers but I am still worried.
Also, she wants a grooms cake that yields 75 servings. What is a "normal" size for a grooms cake?
Thanks for any advice you can give!

HEre's the wilton wedding chart (sounds like you already have this): http://www.wilton.com/wedding/wedding-cakes/wedding-cake-data.cfm

HEre's how to cut a wedding cake (round or square): http://www.wilton.com/wedding/wedding-cakes/wedding-cake-data.cfm

Here's pics of the 1x2x4 pieces of cake so you can see they are not "paper thin" (which is what some people think when they hear the words "one inch"): http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1156785

An 8" top seems a little big .... norm is 6". Can you just throw a 6" on top?

There is no normal for groom's cake. There have been groom's cakes big enough to serve the whole crowd .... and groom's cake of just a 6" round.

So does she mean she wants a wedding cake for 150 AND a groom's cake for 75? She'll have a lot of cake leftover if she's only plannin 150 guests.


BTW .. Debi's 60% Rule: 60% of the TOTAL NUMBER INVITED will actually show up. So if she's expecting 150, did she REALLY invite 250 people?

Thanks for your reply Debi! You're always so helpful. The pic of the slice is great. I was trying to explain to her what size the slice was and she was thinking its super tiny.
She sent out 150 invitations so approximately 300 people were invited and she is thinking half-ish will show up. Glad to know the 60% rule. I was wondering how you were supposed to figure that out.
Do you think the groom's cake should be smaller? Or the wedding cake smaller? How do you decide who gets served which cake (grooms will be chocolate, wedding cake will be white)?
I was worried that an 8 on top would be too big as well. What sizes would you recommend to get around 150 servings (with even numbered round pans)? I don't want to just add a 6 because that will increase her number of servings and, of course, her price.

I would do a 6-9-12-15 if she is NOT serving the top tier. This gives 170 1"x2"x4" servings, so you will absolutely have some room in case the person cutting the cake doesn't stick so closely to the cutting guide.

If she IS serving the top tier, then I would do a 5-8-11-14, which gives 154 1"x2"x4" servings, but that doesn't give as much room for error on the part of the person cutting the cake.

As for the groom's cake, it depends on the design you choose to do. If the design is better executed on a sheet cake, you could do an 18"x18" cake which gives 81 2"x2"x2" servings. If the design is better executed on a tiered cake, you could do a round 8-12 (79 1"x2"x4" servings) or a square 7-10 (74 1"x2"x4" servings) or an 8" round on a 10" square (74 1"x2"x4" servings).

Of course, as Debi said, you don't need to provide cake for every person invited, but for every person attending, which is usually about 60% of those invited unless most invitees are from far out of town or the bride is from a large, close knit family, military, or of an ethnic background where larger weddings are traditional.

HTH!

I always described a piece of cake as "about the size of a folded over peanut butter sandwich." I would get a lot of OH! Well, that's fine then" responses.

Here's an 8/10/14 (serves 24/38/78 = 140): http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1230027 so you can see that an 8" top tier'can' look ok.

6/10/14 serves 12/38/78 = 128 .... a little short.

I've done 6/12/14 which serves 12/56/78 = 146 ..... a tight fit.

6/8/12/14 serves 12/24/56/78 = 170 servings. Here's a photo of this set-up: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1432833 If they save the top tier, it's 158 servings.

6/8/10/14 serves 12/24/38/78 = 152. If she needs 150 servings, I'd go with this one.

Thanks so much ladies. Debi, sometimes I wish you were my mom I think 6-8-10-14 is the best way to go. I thought I had explored every avenue to achieve approx 150, but obviously not! She was pretty adamant about NOT saving the top tier. She doesn't want xtra cake (I know!). I think she's worried about hubby's waistline.

prterrell, I hadn't thought about sheet vs. tiered as far as the groom's cake. In fact, I have no clue what its going to be like yet! That's my next project. I don't think she really cares how many servings are in the groom's cake she just gave me a number off the cuff. He wants a groom's cake based on the fact that he's a die hard republican and I would like to do something unique and clever to represent his conservative nature. I have been searching the web all afternoon but haven't really found anything (cake-wise) other than the republican elephant which is not really what I want to do. I'm going to have to post an idea request for this one!