Here is an email I got from a bride. She wants me to get the fresh flowers. I'm waiting on a price quote from a florist. What do you think of this size size combination she is requesting of a 12 inch and and 8 inch rounds? Would it look weird? I only have 6, 8, 10, 14 inch round pans but I could get a 12 inch if you twisted my arm...

"So what would u think about a 12 inch bottom and an 8 inch top? I preferably would like to stay between $300-$400 if possible. I would go a bit smaller as we r just cutting it and not serving it but I worry it will be too small looking for the cake table, venue and the entire look. What I really would like is to do a cake that we can cut and keep the top layer and let family take the leftover. "

idk--if that was an 8x5 and they are both about 4 inches tall--then the 8" tier is half as tall as it is around--the 5" is almost as tall as it is around--stately looking cake--

if you do a 12" cake  that's 4" tall it's one third as tall as it is around--completely different silhouette with a 2" ledge which also broadens the look--the picture looks like a 1.5" ledge or less--

you can make a pretty cake out of the 12x8 but it'll come out quite different than the photo--if the bride is cool with that...you can decorate it to make it work--get extra flowers of course--when they are the bare naked cakies is when it can get more troublesome for a 12x8--

for some height i'd put it on a riser and cover it with scrunched up tablecloth--build the flowers taller on top to draw the eye up--

she needs to know it's not a popular choice but it's doable--if she decides to ditch the flowers to cut costs she needs to re-think the size

Thanks, K8memphis. Previously she was thinking a 6 inch on a 12 inch! Ack! No! So I wasn't sure about the 8 inch on a 12 inch idea either. I did tell her in her previous email that the size of cakes would make it not look just like the photo. She seemed ok with that. Florist is quoting flowers around $60. What would you charge for this cake? I haven't done too many wedding cakes, mostly birthday cakes that are way more detailed than this. And would you require a downpayment ASAP? I would hate for her to change her mind later.

personally I wouldn't do an 8" on top. I don't like the bulkiness, but that is personal preference. I would recommend a 6" and 10". 

If you don't have wedding policies in place for your business, then I probably wouldn't do the cake at all, or I would spend a whole bunch of time coming up with policies and a contract for her. And yes, you should take a deposit for the date. 

What you charge should depend on your overhead plus profit margin, with competitors taken into account. No one can answer that for you unfortunately because of all the variances in each cake and your location. 

APut a couple dummies together snd show her how they look in relation to each other.

how's about a 12 x 9 x 6 with the 12 being a dummy--it's pretty--it looks ample--suggest that maybe