Holy Macaroni!!!! Any Advice????
Decorating By Erlyns_Treats Updated 13 Aug 2007 , 5:46am by Karabear1125
So this would be my first wedding cake and its a beast!!!!! 
im kind of in shock right now but as always am scared of pricing this bad boy im assuming any bakery shop would charged at least $3,ooo dollars for this cake do you think $1200 is asking too much???? i just know a cake like this will take many hours and days of work... any advice on the price? many thanks
erlyn
Do you have any details on the cake?
How many servings?
What flavors?
What fillings?
Fondant covered?
What about decorations, will there be stringwork, fondant/gumpaste flowers?
There are a lot of things that go into the pricing of a cake so we need to know what cake you are asked to do.
Do you have any details or a picture? Kind of hard for us to give advice without knowing more. : )
sorry it took me a minute to resize the image its from a wilton year book 
for the exact cake in the photo, it looks like it serves 212 (print is pretty small so I think i read that right)
With only buttercream filling and one of my basic cake flavors my base price would be. $4.00 a serving with the fondant detail and all of the bows.
So starting price would be $848.00 with delivery in my city limits included.
I think your best bet would be to call local bakeries and see what they would charge. California prices are a lot different than Iowa prices.
sorry leily the servings 200
the desighn same as pic but with lilac bows
lets see flavors scratch white cake with fillings undecided
All covered in white choc fondant which i know alone is pricy
eeeeeks!..lol
have you ever been nervous telling a customer a price of 1000 - 1200 for the cake???? im still kind of in shock she would trust me with such a beast...lol ive never done those swags or a hexagon cake before???
Erlyns_Treats,
Good luck with that big one i know i saw that cake and i got scare just looking at all the detail but remember if you work this one you can work any other don't worry i think you would do just fine and yes charge since you are investing you time don't hold back.
Good Luck 
awe thanks for that! im still nervous but i know this cake will be tedious theres so much detail and fondant work to it im going to croos my fingers for courage...lol
I agree, you could get $1200 in CA, Especially southern CA!!! I think it's worth every penny of it and if theyhave a problem, they can try to find something easier...I think it looks like it would be challenging, but you will probably be just fine! It all looks doable...just take it step by step and you'll be OKAY! Good luck!
Keyshia
My price for that cake would be $5 per serving...and the number of servings the cakes yield is what you charge - not that you're doing a cake that actually yields 220 servings but they only want 200 servings. My usual delivery fee is about $50, so I'd have no problem whatsoever charging $1200 for this cake.
What is especially important is that you have the skills necessary to do this cake. If you've never done fondant swags before, you had better start practicing. Swags are not easy. That cake will take a lot of time and mastery of fondant to pull it off as nicely as it looks in the book. You need to be able to do fantastic cornelli lace, too. The swags and the cornelli lace are what make that cake so elegant. (Or is that sotas? I can't tell from the picture...it looks a little 'busier' than cornelli lace.)
Good luck!
Sherri
OH I am jealuos....this exact cake has been a favorite of mine since the book came out.I HAVE shown to some of my brides and nobody wants it 
You are so lucky to do this cake.However I am afraid of the pricing issues so I have no idea what to charge but good luck figuring it out.LEt us know
remember it is not a $1000 dollar cake. It is dessert to feed 212 people.
YES!!!!!!!!! You beat me to it!!
The more people she invites, the more cake she has to order, the more she has to pay to feed everyone.
It's simple math that even a bride should understand! 
I remember my first quote for a $10,000 catering. She was having 300 people plus a LOT of extra's. Didn't make me nervous a bit. That's what it costs to have what she wanted. (Heck one cheese she wanted was $30/pound MY cost!!!! When you figure 4 ounces per person, that's over $7.50 PER PERSON just for the one cheese!.... and that's before I add my mark-up!)
WOW THAT CAKE IS AWESOME!! Goodluck on that....I think you will do a great job..aint no way i would take on something like that..LOL...not anytime soon anyway..
remember it is not a $1000 dollar cake. It is dessert to feed 212 people.
YES!!!!!!!!! You beat me to it!!
The more people she invites, the more cake she has to order, the more she has to pay to feed everyone.
It's simple math that even a bride should understand!
I remember my first quote for a $10,000 catering. She was having 300 people plus a LOT of extra's. Didn't make me nervous a bit. That's what it costs to have what she wanted. (Heck one cheese she wanted was $30/pound MY cost!!!! When you figure 4 ounces per person, that's over $7.50 PER PERSON just for the one cheese!.... and that's before I add my mark-up!)
omg 10,000 dollars? geez thats alot of money..lol
Now I am shaking in my cake boots...the other groom who came with the bridal couple that I did the tasting for yesterday............HE WANTS THAT SAME CAKE ! Of course, his bride who could not come has not seen it.....I will freak out if that's what they choose! 
He was looking thru the books, and saw the picture, and fell in love with it.....let's hope the bride finds something else she likes better! I know they won't be wanting to pay what I want to make that cake.....but I will give them my prices anyway.
BEST OF LUCK DOING THIS!!! 
I would easily charge $1200 for this cake, if not more, and that's with a buttercream filling. I would charge another $150 for fruit filling. Please don't feel bad about the amount you're charging. Remember this is a business, and you need to be compensated for your time and hard work. If the bride has a problem with your estimate, you can recommend design alterations to reduce the cost such as using buttercream to ice the cakes instead of using fondant. There are many other ways to alter the cake to bring the cost down and still keep the elegant, classy look. The bride can always choose a different cake to fit within her budget if the price is too high. Many brides realize they have to compromise to keep within their budget.
Please post pictures of your finished product. My daughter wanted this cake for her 16th birthday celebration, and I'm curious as to how difficult this cake actually is to make. Good Luck!!
I've been lurking here for many months...and even though I've been decorating for many years, I've learned so much here! I even got the courage to do my first fondant wedding cake-- for my son's wedding this June. It is a slight variation of this cake, we used more flowers (I'm a floral designer) I bought the Satin Ice fondant and was so glad I did--much more consistent than MMF. Anyway, this cake is do-able!! Good luck and thanks to all of you that I've picked up greaat hints from!
reklov what a *lovely* job you did on that! I bet your family was delighted
Erlyn - you have received some wonderful advice. One thing I wanted to point out is your lavender will fade - you won't be able to make up the bows much ahead
It is going to take *lots* of time! Probably most of it at the last second (night before). Don't under charge.
WOw, your cake is beautiful reklov!
And I agree with whoever said experience and ability should play a part in pricing as well. This is an expensive cake just in ingredients alone though. : )
Awe thank you sooo much for the encouragemant and advice i really need it right now.... im going to saddle up and give her a price of 1200 plus (eeeeks~)lol
I'd quote her for $1300 and if she says it's to much then I'd drop it down to $1200! haha .. let us know how it goes!
yah thats true i think i will qoute her around 1200 .... im such a chicken though hope fully that price comes out of my mouth..lol
I know what you mean! I'm chicken too when it comes to pricing, it's so easy for me to tell others what to charge but when it comes to my own I get chicken too! But now I just think, if they don't want to pay my prices then I didn't want to do their cake anyways and someone else will!
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