I have a wedding cake to do on the 8th. The client wants round cakes with 150 servings EXACTLY. How do I do this? I have the serving count from Wilton, but is there a better system to figure with? And if I don't include the top tier, then I need to have this count out of 2 tiers only. Any advice is greatly apprecitaed!
Can you say SHEETCAKE!
You can have a 16 inch square cake........ but yikes, no fun to work with. Too big. I hate doing such large cakes. That is 128 servings..... Even if you did TWO of those monster square cakes you wouldn't have enough. If they want 3 tiers they HAVE to have sheetcakes. Not an option not to. Going above a 12 inch cake becomes difficult to work with/transport/etc... why not have a reasonable sized 3 tier cake that doesn't look bizarre/gaudy and huge (although it can certainly be pulled off beautifully, usually bigger isn't prettier)
Your client is being unrealistic. 
I believe the first issue you need to clarify is whether the count will include the top tier.
If the top tier is NOT included, the Wilton charts state that a 6x2 [12], 12x4 [56] and 16x4 [100] would yield 156 wedding size servings.
If the top tier IS included, the Wilton charts state that a 8x2 [24], 12x2 [56] and 14x2 [78] would yield 158 servings and look nice.
For exactly 150 servings: 6x2 [12], 9x2 [38] and 16x2 [100] which works for the servings but will look odd. 
HTH
EXACTLY 150 servings? Oh come on! I dont' care WHAT their RSVP's tell them,they are NOT going to have "exactly" 150 people at the reception!
And EVERYONE will take a piece of cake whether they want it or not? What are they gonna do, shove it down the throat of those who say "no thank you"? What about the folks who take 2 pieces? Or those who take one home with them?
Are you the one cutting the cake? If not, how can YOU guarantee that the person cutting the cake will cut it properly to come out with EXACTLY 150 pieces.
This client is a piece of work and obviously has no idea how this works. They are not ordering Big Macs ..... it's a wedding cake!
If they want EXACTLY 150 servings, then walmart has a big supply of Twinkies on their shelf.
This is definitely a teaching opportunity. When someone says I need XXX servings, I give them options:
This arrangement of tiers yields "XXX+5" servings, and
This arrangement yields "XXX-7" servings. Which do you prefer?
Then they pay FOR THE TOTOAL NUMBER OF SERVINGS that the cake makes, not for the number of servings they want.
Thank you guys soooo much for your advice! This is why I love CC.
JanH, I will find out if they want to include the top tier, and offer them a fresh 1 year anniversary cake. Sounds good?
indydebi, Twinkies! I love that!
jmt1714, that is a good idea "This arrangement of tiers yields "XXX+5" servings, and
This arrangement yields "XXX-7" servings. Which do you prefer? " I like that idea.
You guys are awesome.
alicegop, I didn't mean to leave you out. Unfortunately the bride is set on a certain design on round cakes, so a sheet cake won't do. She said specifically that she wants to feed everyone with the main cake.
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