This is the 1st large wedding cake I've ever done. I do this basically for fun and experience. The cake was for a friend's sister's wedding and now the MOB keeps asking how much she needs to pay me. I told her to pay me what she could afford because I really have no idea how much to ask for. It cost $75 to make. It is 3 real cakes - 16", 12" and 8" and the top tier was a dummy. It is covered in fondant.

Here is the cake: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1319983

Thanks for your help.

Congrats on your cake order! The cake is beautiful and I know you will do it proud!

I don't do any fondant for less than $3/slice. I figured the 16", 12" and 8" at 180 pieces...180 x $3 = $540

I'm not sure how other decorators charge for dummy cakes since I personally don't use them, so I'm sure others on CC can help you with that

Congrats again and good luck! Can't wait to see pics!

(Oh, and make sure you have your prices set, don't let people pay you what they can 'afford', you may end up feeling shafted....)

according to my chart that's 233 serv. total
4"=8serv.
8"=30 serv.
12"=70 serv.
16"=125 serv.


I charge 2.50/serv. for fondant covered cakes, so that would be $582.50
Plus about 1.00/each for the carnations= $6.00
Plus about $2.50/each for the gumpaste letters= $5.00
Plus $5.00/tier for ribbon (unless the bride provides it)= $20.00


For a Grand Total of= $613.50 assuming there was so premium flavors for the cake and just a basic vanilla buttercream as the filling

Trust me on this: I'm very INEXPENSIVE compared to most you'll find on here.....I'm guessing they'd agree this cake is a steal for the price I've just quoted..........you definitely need to get more than $75.00 for this cake!!!!

Oh and in case you're thinking you should charge less for the dummy cake........don't even think about it!!! They cost just as much as cake ingredients (sometimes more) and take just as long to decorate!

By the wilton chart, this is 232(*) servings. times my $4.50/serving for fondant = $1044. The dummy if it's a 6", would serve 18 x $4.50 x 80% = an additional $65. So in round numbers, the price for a cake this big is about $1100. And I'm not even factoring in the fondant ribbon stuff you did.

Since you did not really discuss price ahead of time, I think it would be hard to tell her $1100 now, or even $500, at this point. But give her a number. ANY number.

Or I guarantee you, she'll think $100 is a generous price since it was "just a simple" cake.

(*) 16" serves 128; 12" serves 72; 8" serves 32 ... based on the 1x2x4" cake serving.

I'm sorry, I was looking at the wrong chart for serving slices! The previous 2 posters are correct, 232 is the correct servings!