A

That's probably it. Yea, I'm getting a similar cake, but I don't need that many servings, and my budget sucks. Something like that. :D

swank cake design* the designers of the original cake say that:

 

they include two hours of decorating time into their base fondant price of $5.50 per

 

then they are $50 an hour for decorating time over the two hours

 

according to their website

 

 

 

*and they definitely have some swank in the original cake!!!

i hope that when/if the people that made the 3-tier cake and the bride and the families find this thread they take a minute to read here

 

i hope their feelings are not hurt by this comparison fiasco shameful roller coaster ride thread

 

so sorry this jr high judgment thing happened to your cake/wedding pictures

And maybe the price of the cake was so low because the baker knew her cake would not be on par with the cake in the sample picture.  Perhaps bride and baker discussed this in advance...

A

And perhaps they didn't and it was a surprise to her that it didn't look anything like it. It is impossible to know. I suppose we'll know if one of them gets on here and tells us, but right now everyone is speculating. But someone did someone else dirty! Either the bride saying she was getting that cake for $340, or the baker saying she could do a cake anything like the original, and either way, it perpetuated the myth that you should get a good, cheap cake, and not pay the baker for their time.

Oh..and no one made fun of the photos.  

As the OP of the whole thread, I can tell you my intent was genuinely to compare prices on said cake. I LOVE threads that compare pricing. The only reason to bring up the price quoted to the bride was to point out the fact that the work put into a cake like that would far exceed $340, even in Podunk KY, as someone mentioned.. Thus, the question of what everyone else would charge. I HIGHLY doubt the bride will ever see this thread, but if she does happen to stumble upon it, please rest assured that no one is making fun of your wedding cake. We cake artists merely recognize the fact that the cake you originally wanted was worth far more than you were quoted. If indeed you were able to get that cake made for only $340, well that would have been the deal of the century.

 

Having said that, let's keep the party rolling and get back to talking prices. What would you charge for this cake? This is from Carriescakes.com and she states on the website this is 100 servings and the price is $400. I think she is in Utah.

 

AThat's only 100 servings? How tiny are the books?! A 1/4 sheet serves 20

ABased on it neon about 100, I'd charge about $325-375

AI'm cheaper for single layer cakes, even though I torte them and fill, I only have to do it once per tier. Based on that, and a fondant starting price of $3.50 a serving, and 100 servings, it would be $300 here in Podunk, Ky ;-)

And I say a 1/4 is 24 servings, based on 2"x2" slices, and rounding the 9"x13" down to 8"x12" and diving by 2 to get the 2" pieces. 4x6 = 24. My sheet cakes are the full 9"x13" and at least 2 1/4" high (even the corners ;-) ) But if you didn't round, you could make the argument that a 1/4 sheet serves 29, since 4.5"x6.5= 29.25

OK...well I'm probably going to say some 'jr high' dissing comments.  That cake was embarrassing and should have been on Cakewrecks!   I feel for the photographer who tried their best to put a good visual spin on an awful project.  Poor construction, bulging, smeared buttercream showing behind the bling...obvious seams...well the list goes on and on!   I say the bride got what she paid for and I for one am glad she did! 

 

This is slightly off-topic, but it's a perfect example of a couple of things.  First the bride who thinks anyone who decorates cakes can produce an identical work of cake art for a cheap, cheap price.  And second...the 'decorator' who probably has never done a wedding cake, has limited skill set, and who agrees to take on the project.   THESE are similar to many of the CC 'newbies' I see posting on here who have no idea of what something like this entails and yet take on the job, come to this website and expect to see all kinds of rah-rah encouragement (which they get) and then produce a disaster like the one posted.  

 

I love CC for the help I've received over the years...I've learned a TON from the many talented decorators who offer their insight and expertise.  But I've also learned that just saying you want to produce a wedding cake does NOT mean you're ready to do it.   I guess that's why it irritates me when I see so many 'you can do its!'  given to those who have serious issues...like zero experience and lack of skill!!   

 

Everyone has to start somewhere, true...but before I'd take on such an important cake, I'd make damn sure I had the basics down and just have to ask about new techniques and how best to approach a different structure and not expect to produce a miracle just because I want one.  Encouragement is all well and good but sometimes I think when everyone jumps on the 'rainbows-and-puppy-dogs' bandwagon, it does a disservice to a bride who thinks she's going to get a Ron Ben Isreal cake for a Walmart price..and the no-clue decorator who thinks they can produce one.

 

So there!  I'm the meanie who will tell someone if I think they need to question their decision to go forward with a cake that may be beyond their skill.  This cake was beyond that decorators skill and guess who was stuck with the result?    Brides beware...and decorators speak out!

 

ACarmijok, I could kiss you.

/agree completely

Those were excellent points.

the book cake--i really like the handmade look of the painstaking lettering etc.

 

i guess i like competition quality work but in my mind i think it a greater skill to produce viable cakes like this than the kind you can calibrate with a micrometer--just my opinion

 

it's an awesome cake

 

sculptures start at $8 per-- i think i'd be close to the $8-ish mark on the books give or take

K8, you're saying $800 for a 3d book cake that serves 100? Girl, you make me wanna raise my prices.

a fondant cake is $4.50 $5.50 right?

 

this is four fondant books

 

rather straight forward all boxy and no moving parts

 

but why not -- this is a sculpture (and a very good one)

 

four books all that damn lettering ;)

 

four 'tier' cake

 

like you said in your blog~~ dessert at the italian place is almost seven bucks

 

a book cake is all that and so much more

 

custom make trump l'oeil--shoot i've talked myself into $9!!!!

 

 

 

no--srsly 8 ;)

 

(i meant custom made trump l'oeil in the previous thread)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

i promise that i would be so way hating on myself if i charged less

 

spent enough time screwing up hating on myself to know ~~

 

the cake is a luxury

 

priced accordingly

 

ladyv~~how many would you like? afternoon or evening delivery? (in my slickest saleslady robin leach voice)

 

bwowahahaha

 

 

(or yah wanna fill up on the all you can eat bread sticks & salad instead ;)

(remember the "do you have gray poupon" commercials of some years ago? ;)

K8......Bwahahaha! Touche' ;) 

 

Honestly, I would charge $6 per serving for this cake. It's not a super complicated design and I know it would not take me quite as long as say a 3D robot or something. Not that $8 per serving is unreasonable at all.

$400 is exactly what I would charge for that amount of servings and that detail. Loving this thread. Nice to see all the different prices people throw out there that have cake experience, and understand the amount of effort put into these creations.

Based on 100 that would be $300 - $325 for me.

ACakestomuch, I followed a link someone posted earlier in the thread. Is it gone?

A

I followed it after that was posted, but that was last night....

Still there http://www.weddingbycolor.com/royallyurs612/milestones/182556

Anybody have any guesses on how many servings the actual wedding cake was and what you would charge for that?