She wanted it for half, or about $250 +/-. I just ran the calculator really quickon what my costs would be for cake for 450 .... and I'm a mix baker so a scratch baker's costs would probably be higher than mine ..... and my costs are real close to $200, JUST in ingredient costs.

This little girl is in for a very rude awakening if she really thinks she might do this herself. And I dont' believe for a second she'll try it ..... she's just blowing hot air you-know-where!

Amen, sister.

I'd like to see her have a meeting like that with Indydebi or Chutzpah![/quote]

Honestly, I would have paid to see that...and definitely watched it on YouTube!

She's a bridezilla and you don't need her. A lesson is how rude people can be and that your work is worth being compensated justly. JMHO

I feel you...i had this couple, gave them the tasting and told her it will be $3 per serving right...and it was for 200 people...well they taste the cake and took the rest home...the 3 days later she emails me and saids...thank so much for the cake but she didnt know walmart do wedding cake and will make her cake plus the grooms for 148.00....when she came to me she just wanted a cake that taste good...and the cake was going to be simple but still a lot of work since it was in fondant...so I told her thats fine no probleme hope its what you are looking for...ahhhand she gets married this weekend...My opinion making cakes its not easy and it takes a lot of time..but I will never buy a wedding cake from walmart or publix...its a super special day...well thats just how I think...people just want everything for cheap price...but guess what do it your self then...

Good for you for standing your ground and raising your prices.

Just keep doing what you are doing and the quality cake shoppers will come. Be thankful you didn't get her order I can only imagine the nightmare you would have endured dealing with her throughout the messs and I'd bet she would even call to complain after the wedding.

I got a call yesterday about a cake for 100 people. She had set her budget at $150. I told her the cheapest I could do for a cake for 100 was $250 + tax and delivery.

I honestly don'e know where these brides get the idea that a wedding cake is cheap......unless it came from the website I just looked at!

My daughter is getting married next fall, so I am trying to get a handle on a budget. I decided to look at one of these websites that automatically figures out a budget for you (give them total willing to pay + number of guests). I know we have a shoestring budget, but I actually laughed out loud when I saw the cake cost allocation: $1.00 per guest!!! Yeah, right. That might work since I am making the cake myself, but certainly not for anyone else!!!

wow....unbelievable...I would have just stood up too and walked away but I would say first " Ok, if you can do it yourself good luck, Have a nice day!

I think your price it very low, I thought of charging more for a 5 tier/450 people

As Bugs Bunny says, "What a Ma-roon!"

I avoid getting too far into any potential cake order without them having some inkling of what they can expect to pay, so I tell them, early on, my per serving prices, AND I direct them to spend some time on my website BEFORE we meet or get into designs and sketches, so they can check out the prices (and my work, and all the yummy flavors) beforehand, and if they're going to be sticker shocked, they can cancel the meeting and we all don't have to waste our time.

I turned down a birthday cake yesterday for the same reason--talked her out of it, more like...She wanted a regular probably 9" round cake for a birthday, got my name from the phone book, no idea on my prices, etc...I told her right up front that I basically focus on weddings, thus I have only one price structure, and that I'd hate to see her pay over $100 for a 9" round unless she's wanting something really custom or specialty flavors etc. I referred her to a local bakery who does all sorts of pastry work, but I told her if she looks at the website and does want me to make her a cake, I'm happy to do it. She was very nice about it, but I could tell she was glad she didn't order!

I'm reading this and laughing my booty off. I don't bake professionally, I just do it for friends and family. I have learned that it's a lot of hard work, and dedication to do the cakes you guys do every day. So I commend you. I have to laugh even more because all this talk of WM cakes and my BFF just texted me and said... "So Wal Mart cake and frosting? Blech! Cake is NOT moist and frosting tastes like lard with powdered sugar."

WOW!!!!!! YOU have GOT to be kidding me on your price! You would have been GIVING-away that cake! My base price, before fondant, dragees, or ANY extra's, is $4.50 per slice! So, a cake to serve 450 guests would have been $2025.00! I probably would have given them a break in pricing after it went over 300 guests - because I'm really nice! Most professionals in CA who I work with don't give discounts, because they don't have to. It's HARD work! That's a LOT of cake! I am just in shock over that, what a RUDE woman! She should have calmly said, "wow, I didn't realize it would be that much, I'm sorry to have wasted your time"... o my goodness!!!!!!! I would just LOVE to hear if she ever found a Baker? I would also LOVE for her to actually call for pricing before she wastes everyone's time. I guess she doesn't realize that the cost of things go UP in 20 years, and especially in the last year or so! (but I think 20 years ago, a cake to serve 450 WOULD have been at your quoted price!)... I really want to know what they came up with - Walmart sheet cakes? HA HA HA HA HA! =)

On the other hand there are brides out there who value the work that we do, and just want a beautiful cake. I just had a bride who wants a sandcastle cake for her and an excavator groom's cake to be pushing it over (a la Duff, but I don't think she's ever seen the show...). Gave me a check for the amount that I asked for right then and there. No deposit, no post-dated, just the check. $3.50 a serving. Some days I actually like people....

The bride will definately be a bridzilla on her wedding day, trying to get herself ready and setup a cake too especially that big of a cake. I say to her, "Good luck chicky baby, good luck"!

Also another thought as a former wedding planner I was taught that you always ask the baker for the birthday cake price instead of the wedding cake price. This allows the planner to mark up the cake and make a little money sort of like a commission. So I wonder if she had someone tell her that and therefore she pitched a fit expecting you to be intimidated and embarrassed to get you to give in to her ridiculous demands.

As a planner I taught people it pays to pay on your wedding day. Meaning in order to make the day flow smoothly you need a lot of helping hands and if those hands are being compensated for that help they are sooooo much more helpful and happy to do it.

I didnt know thier was a difference in pricing for the occassion that the cake was for but I could see that being beneficial to all. A birthday cake wont usually be as elaborate as a wedding cake, but if you are making a special sculptured cake with a lot of specific detail those cakes should have the same pricing as a wedding cake in my thoughts. Does anyone else have different pricing for the cake by occassion?

Sidenote: The separate birthday cake pricing opposed to wedding cake pricing is a whole other topic for another thread, and to spare you my getting on my high horse, shaking my finger and lecturing loudly on that topic, I will just say: No, I don't have separate pricing.

'And that's all I have to say...about that.'--Forrest Gump

Thank you for the input on the seperate pricing.

I just found a saying that may help people understand a little about the "biz" and pricing and this seemed appropriate to share in this thread.

This is by John Ruskin
There is hardly anything in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and those people who consider price are this man's lawful prey!

I am having it printed on my business cards. Hopefully it will deter those who are so price concious. I also think it might be fun to have on my invoices and on a plaque in my office area!

That is Sylvia Weinstock's motto, too...it's in the front of her book.

Sylvia Weinstock? I dont her. I can only assume she is a decorator or a cc'r.

I didnt blink an eye when I ordered my wedding cake and they lady quoted us a price. It was what we wanted to have so we paid for that cake. it was $60 for three tiered cakes decorated in the basketweave design and we supplied fresh flowers and fruit for the tops.

Sylvia Weinstock is a very famous decorator in New York. She's usually described as "the lady with the big glasses". Do a Google search and you'll find lots of info on her. She ranks up there with the Colette Peters' of the world (and I personally would place her a notch or two above Ms. Peters ... and I have a high level of admiration for Ms. Peters' work!)

I had no idea she was a famous decorator. I will definately google her, for sure!

Oh!!! I sooooo hope that she ends up "making" her own cake! Can you imagine that little snob baking the whole thing and then trying to tier all those cakes. That would be priceless!

Yes, yes, the bride was outrageous. However, I suspect that it was a combination of sticker shock and that advice about not saying it's for a wedding that spurred her on. I can totally see someone who doesn't know anything about cake decorating thinking that 450 servings is like 4 or 5 of those big sheetcakes at the supermarket, so it should be $150 and JUST NOT THINKING about the fancier decorations etc etc. I often have that experience -- no idea how much something will cost, and it is always 4 times more than what I thought it would be. And that rude little blurb about the birthday cake -- well, sure you wouldn't charge that much for a birthday cake. Of course, you would also remove 3 of the 5 tiers and not do as much decoration.... That really was ignorant because she essentially told you that it was just a scam to get more for a wedding item. But I can see where that comes from.

Obviously, she isn't going to do her own cake. If she already had cake decorating equipment, she would have some clue about the work involved. If she doesn't, and if she even meant it, when she finds out it will cost her MORE than that just to get supplied up she will abandon that notion. Maybe she means she will get Aunt Mabel to do the cake. Or maybe, once she has called every baker and found out that NO ONE can beat your price, she will come back to you. At this point, if you choose to accept her order, you AT LEAST double the price and require full payment well in advance. You can even tell her that her comments caused you to reevaluate your pricing structure, and after consulting with several professionals, you have set a minimum price per serving or whatever. You could also require a consultation fee of ($20? $50?) up front before you discuss any aspect of her cake with her. Just be up front and say that since she rejected the original quote, prices have increased, and since she has used up her one free consultation, there will be a fee required from here on in.

I actually got a lead from www.weddingwire.com from a bride that was having a Dec. 13th wedding in Dallas.

The cake budget was $100.00 and to serve 65 guests. This was for the wedding AND groom's cake. The bride wanted a simple 2-tier cake design but for the groom's cake, she wanted an octagon shape base with a boxing glove on it (not sure if she was wanting it drawn on or sculpted).

Once I stopped laughing, I started trying to find the right words to tell her that wasn't happening...I have a minimum of $100 for a wedding cake, not to mention the price of the groom's cake ($5.00 a serving if the glove was sculpted) and a $100 (minimum) delivery charge from East Texas to Dallas. When I clicked on the "decline" button, it gives you a few choices such as booked that day, unavailable that day or some other reason. Heck, I really wanted to relay my pricing.

Mac, I think they should have a decline-button(s):

"Declined because bride is an idiot and I dont' have time to deal with stupidity"

"Declined because the delivery charge to bride's neighborhood of Fantasy Drive would be too high"

"Declined because I only work in the world of reality"

oh indydebi...you crack me up

You could have one saying:
"Declined ...coz indydebi said so"

Would anyone be brave enough to query (sp?) it?

Let her make her own cake. You think she's a whack job now, wait until the day before her wedding if she's making her own cake.

Your price was excellent. I would just brush it off, and pity the poor soul (sucker) that ends up doing her cake (if she doesn't do it herself).

Wow, your price is actually VERY modest. She was probably not worth the trouble anyways!