1St Wedding Cake......help!!!!!

Decorating By camomama5 Updated 5 May 2011 , 1:38am by JanH

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camomama5 Posted 3 May 2011 , 12:39pm
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Hello. I have decorated lots of cakes and I just recently started trying to start my own business. Just got my first wedding cake job from pictures I had up of other cakes I've done. I have some questions. I apologize I don't know which category these go in. Before I meet with the bride can I get some help??? I would so appreciate any at all!
1. AM I correct in charging the average $1.50 a slice buttercream and $3.50/slice for fondant covered? I am not as experienced as others but I always knock myself out making sure everything is PERFECT....lots of hours.
2. What should I ask her exactly? Wedding colors, specific flowers, flavor of cake and icing type...anything else?
3. Is it reasonable to ask for a day or 2 to give her a final price after I meet with her or will she expect it at our initial meeting?
4. Do we provide the tools to cut the cake (decorative) or does the bride?
5. Anything else you can think of that I should cover in my initial meeting with her and her fiance? I am so nervous I can't stand it. I love doing cakes but my nerves are shot. haha I want everything to taste and look spectacular. This is what will send more customers my way.
Thank you so much to anyone who has time to respond with any help at all. Any tips, etc anything would be greatly appreciated. Wedding size she said would be 90 people. Should I make the cake big enough to feed a little more? ANd the wedding is the middle of this June. THANK YOU!!!!!

4 replies
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Claireybear1121 Posted 3 May 2011 , 1:13pm
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Hi Camomama,
So don't be too nervous, I'm sure it'll be fine! The first wedding cake I made was my own icon_smile.gif


Since this is your first wedding cake, and I'm assuming you're not in a licensed kitchen, I would first ask her where her reception is going to be- and check with the facility that they will actually accept a cake made in a non-licensed home kitchen. In my state it is county by county- and all of the surrounding counties could care less where a cake comes from, but in my county if you show up at the door of most major reception sites with a cake and no license in hand for the to read, they'll turn you away and won't accept the cake. So that is something to make sure of ahead of time.

Secondly, I don't actually charge per slice, I ask them what they want, get all of the details, and sit down and figure out how much detail/carving/flowers/ etc is going to go into the cake, and then make a figure based off of that. But everyone has their own method. I would wait to see what the temperament of the bride is before asking her to wait a few days for the final price, if she seems easy going then go for it!

Things I always remember to ask (in addition to what you listed) are:
Shape of cake (ie round, square, hexagonal, etc), what sort of base do they want the cake on, what kind of topper if any, is the reception site air conditioned, and do they already have a cake server and knife picked out (I usually leave that up to the bride).

I always look at the options for number of servings and give them two to choose from... for instance you could say that they can have an 8/12/16, or a 6/8/10/12... whatever the 2 options that get you closest to the actual number of expect guests, and then let her choose.

I hope this helps! Good luck icon_smile.gif

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mommachris Posted 3 May 2011 , 10:26pm
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Don't forget to find out WHERE the reception will be. In these times, a delivery fee can't be overlooked.

mommachris

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JanH Posted 5 May 2011 , 1:38am
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