How much should you take off for a very close friends wedding cake??? Is 10% too much or too little? I'm charging her $500 for a 3 tier cake with a push pin design and a1 tier grooms cake. Local shops are charging $5 to $6 a slice.

You take off whatever you are comfortable with!! I discount between 10-25% depending on how close they are. My friends started my business so Im very loyal to them!

How close of a friend? If it's a close friend or family I give a 20% disc. If it's a friend of a friend you knows you do cakes...full price.

My family discount is 25% and many friends are included in that. Do what you're comfortable with, but you are very smart to do the % thing instead of just picking a price point or for "supplies".

How much SHOULD you take off for a friend? Nothing.

How much WOULD you take off for a friend? Whatever you want.

I guess I had an "all or nothing" policy. I can't recall discounting any friends for a wedding cake. They either paid full price or I gave the cake for free.

Discounting always seems to bite people in the a$$. Pick a policy and stick to it, whatever you do.

I've only done one paid wedding cake, a word of mouth referral thanks to a friend. Everyone else has been a close family member like a sister or sister-in-law and their cake WAS their wedding present. Which both of them occasionally refer to how much they appreciated it, makes you feel good when they realize the work that goes into it.

I discount for church events when asked to provide the cake. It usually ends up about 25%, so there's enough to cover my supplies and maybe a little of my time. I don't charge a whole lot in general because it's a more rural area with sticker shock about stuff like cake. I've also discounted for two very close friends' kids birthday parties, again as a gift. I've spent a ton of money on this "hobby" and DH hates when I discount, but each cake teaches me things and is experience for when I attempt a bakery once he's done with school.

Discount whatever you are comfortable with. Is this your business? Or are you more a hobby baker? Either way, I'm sure she will be grateful for the price break.

It's funny that when people are starting to know that I do cakes, the so called "friends" are popping up here and there. Those "friends" are maybe just the ones I met in another friend's party. We never contacted each other until they need a cake. They never hesitate to ask for discount based on "our relationship" or tell me "their price" up front. I also got invited to their kid's party even though I don't know their kids at all, and I have no kids to play with theirs, either. I also got invited to wedding receptions of friends I'm not familiar with, too. I know this sounds bad, but I knew these people just want free/discounted cakes or free delivery. They figured if I'm attending their wedding reception, I might as well bring their wedding cake along with me to the venue. Do these happen to you often, too??

Usually, I do not attend these "friends" wedding unless they are really close to me. Although I don't attend the wedding, I still need to give them wedding gift just because I was invited. So I take into account the gift I'm going to give when I consider about the discount. If it's a cake that's only a single tier, or that doesn't involve complicated design, I may just give the cake as a gift. I may not give any discount at all, but I will still send wedding gift since I was considered "a friend" of theirs. The truth is, if they are real close friends, they usually know how much work and time are involved in making a designer cake, and they don't ask for any discount or benefit at all.

Indydebi, you are so funny, but what you said was exactly what they had in mind!!