I usually make cakes for my little girl's birthday parties and that's been about it.  A friend of almost 30 years asked me to make her wedding cake.  I was honored and of course said yes.  She loved it as did the groom.  

If i didn't already shave my head, this may have caused me to turn gray!  I think the part that caused me the most anxiety was transporting it the three miles in a car and through the very bumpy farm where the wedding was held.  My wife and girls were in the from of our midsize SUV and I was squeezed in the back holding and supporting the cakes.

I was given the advice of transporting the 9" stacked on the 12" and then stacking the 6" on-site.  This method worked well yet still scared the crap out of me as we drove.

The cake topper was made by another friend of the bride.  This was a perfect cake topper for her wedding as it was on a farm in NH and an absolutely beautiful setting.

I am open to advice, guidance, and constructive criticism as I would like to continue to grow my skills.

The cake was vanilla with raspberry filling and Italian buttercream frosting.  I layered 4 cakes on each tier that were about 1-1/4" thick.  My guess is each filling layer was close to 3/16" - 1/4" thick.  The overall height of each tier was close to 5-1/2" - 5-3/4".  

I understand a cake tier is usually 4" tall I believe.  I felt the additional height would give it a bit more appeal.  I'm curious what professionals do for this.  What height is common?  I would like to know if the bottom inch or two should be foam as to not waste so much cake or just use cake?

Next and final question, if was was to ever do this for someone I didn't know how would I go about charging?  How much would a cake like this cost?

Thanks,

Sean

oh that's really beautiful -- one thing for you to try & avoid anxiety is: when i started driving myself then i had 'something to do' and i was not nervous anymore -- when i just sat there feeling every bump on the road i died a thousand deaths on the way --

typical height is 4" mine come out over that especially the bottom tier because it can come out looking shorter so i have the tallest cake on the bottom and decrease height going up -- and yes you can use a foam 'layer' in there or extra cake or even a stack of cardboard cake circles -- all iced/decorated to look like that tier --

as far as charging -- some day when you have a minute go into the nicest bakery in your area or get on their website and price the same or a little more than they do --

yeah, cakin' ain't for sissies -- it's a last minute do or die kind of extravaganza/stressorama --

really nice work -- best to you

oh and i deliver my cakes cold -- that invisible internal glue really works to your advantage -- but all my recipes are calibrated for that also -- some cakes do not come to room temp well 

Thank you both comments!  I will take a look at some of the nice bakeries and check out their pricing.

I also delivered the cake cold assuming it would give me a bit more structure on the drive.  It was also an outdoor wedding and wanted it to be as cold as possible for as long as possible.  Ended up being a high of 72 degrees so i couldn't have asked for better weather.

thanks again!

Your friend was very lucky to have you as a friend. Who cut the cake and how did the slices look plated?

What you should charge varies on your costs, market value, and of course what you value what your time is worth.

As an aside, a local b&m bakery ( then expanded to cafe)  that's been around for about 10 years would charge $2/serving for a cake very similar to this. All organic, imbc, nice fillings.....

this market will not support higher pricing, those that have tried have failed.  This place is smack between three cities that are within minutes of each other. One 100k pop w/ median income of 34k, one wi 48k pop w/ median income 36k, and the last 30k pop with 91k median income.

you'll get others on this board who get much more, because of the difference of the market.

Hi Rfisher -

Thanks for the info and numbers.

I don't have a picture of the actual wedding cake once it was cut.  I am not sure if the catering group cut the cake or someone else.  I was a guest at the wedding and at some point realized it had been cut.  I don't think the bottom tier was touched.  The cake was pretty big and they ended up serving two layers as one piece vs the four that were there.

Attached is a picture of the test cake I made a couple weeks ago.  I used three layers which turned out okay.  I'm not really sure why I chose to go with four layers on the real cake.

Sean

I like to see the insides as well as the outsides! Thanks!

when I said that your friend was lucky to have you as a friend, I meant to add "because you did very well".

The cake looks great.  The.practice slice looks delicious. 

The drive is my least favorite part!! I swear I notice every bump when I have cakes in the car. Then the moment right before I open the box to check it my heart stops beating and I wait to see what disaster has happened. I think I lose at least a year off my life with each drop off lol. I've only ever had one cupcake casulity and my friend was a great sport and said set that aside I'll make disappear :)

Very nice cake looks delicious!! 

You did an excellent job on the cake!!  fantabulous!!