First Possible Wedding Cake!!
Decorating By heathercarnold Updated 3 Mar 2006 , 3:06am by SherisEdibleDesigns
I just recieved my first phone call about a possible wedding cake order in late May. I need help figuring out an estimate to tell her. Because this is my first wedding cake i told her i would do it for just a lil more then what it would cost me. Since I've never done a cake this size i have no idea where to start with calculations. She wants a cake to serve 250 people, 4 tiers. She said the cake it's self will be simple, white cake with bavarian cream filling and Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting. Any help or tips on the price would be great!! thanks so much!
Wow, will she be getting a deal. My first suggestion would be to look in the Wilton yearbooks for a serving guide (page 109 in the 2006 yearbook). It will tell you not only how many servings to expect from each size cake, but how many cups of batter per pan. If you use a cake mix. Figure on getting about 5 to 5 1/2 cups of batter from each mix, and go from there. This chart will also tell you how much icing to able to expect to use. I always add at least one mix and one batch of icing to my estimate, just to be on the safe side.
Just an FYI - the 50s style cake in my gallery feeds 250 people. I would charge $1.50 a slice plus extra for the additional decorations (the molded chocolate). The filling would be at least 50 cents more per person. That's the general pricing in our area (Magnolia, Texas).
I am doing my first wedding cake this weekend and it is for a person that I used to work with. you know the type - you bring in cakes to work and everyone always says that when they get married that they want you to do the cake for them and you think ok, well she called !!!
anyways, I am doing a small easy design 3 tiered stacked cake, with 6, 8 and 10 inch layers, filled with a white chocolate pudding and decorated with B/C icing. I am also doing two 11x18 sheet cakes with no filling and decorated with a farm/tractor theme. I charged her $200 for everything 
because it is my first wedding cake and I am still learning. I sat down and figured out "all" of my costs and it came to approx $100 so I am making $100 for my time - which I can tell you is not nearly enough but it is the experiance.
I found that when you sit down and add every single little cost - cakes really cost more to make that you think 
Good luck, you will do fine , it is just another cake and nothing to get too worried about. 
Good luck to you! I'm with Sgirvan, be careful not to get underpaid!
Thanks so much!! looks like i have some math to do! 
Thank you all
The pricing matrix is the neatest tool I have ever seen. It has come out so accurate more times than I can count. You will find this very helpful. I wouldn't charge a dime less than it suggests. I know you are new to this but afterall, she does want you to do the cake and she knows she could go somewhere else but still decided to come to you. She's got to take you seriously and you have to make sure that you are not getting robbed on this. Good luck, if anything you are gaining experience but why not make a little $$$ too?!
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