champagneibo,
I would of said the exact same thing! Don't feel bad about this situation at all. Where I live people don't pay as high of a price as people do in a city, BUT, even $75 is way under priced! Like you said..."just the ingredients alone would cost that much"! I'm still a newbie and I am thinking of doing a wedding cake this spring and it's serving 100 people. I am thinking of charging $150-$200...no less! The time it takes making all the gumpaste flowers, baking the cake, leveling, making the fondant and/or buttercream, decorating the cake...I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things but you all get what I'm saying. You should make at least 100% profit! Am I wrong?

I have sent the same type of e-mail a few times. I usually tell them they are lucky to have found someone to provide them with their cake for $xxx and they should go with it. If for any reason they are not happy and would like to re-consider, they can always call me back.

What I'd like to know is when did the florists start throwing the cake decorators under the bus?

I had a bride-to-be call me today about her wedding cake and while we were discussing it, she mentioned that the florist told her if she wanted to save money she could ask for some of her tiers to be styrofoam and just have some plain sheet cakes in the back kitchen to be cut up for the guests. She wanted to know what the price difference would be for the styrofoam cakes. I told her they're the same price as REAL cake becuase it takes just as long to decorate those as it does a real cake...sometimes longer if the fondant or buttercream doesn't stay on! She said, "Oh...ok."

So I promptly suggested if she wants to save money on her cake perhaps she might consider using silk flowers instead of fresh (organic) ones and she said, "Oh my gosh I hadn't even thought of that."

Paybacks are hell, aren't they Mr. Florist???!

that was so funny newsmom!
that made me giggle.


melody

Speaking of horning in on cake decorators... I read today that some reception halls/hotels now include a decorated cake? WHAT??? Is this where a hall has a specific decorator working with them, or are these businesses now making wedding cakes?
This kind of depressed me... Does this concern anyone?

k2, no that does not concern me if a major hotel hires a pastry chef to create wedding cakes for their guests and clients. It's rare to find a caterer who also makes wedding cakes (like me! ) but if a caterer (hotel kitchen) chooses to add that to their menus, they are just expanding their market, like all of us would like to do.

If a hotel works with outside bakers, then it's our opportunity to approach them to get on their list of cakers.

what an excellent evening, gentle breeze, good glass of whi, water, and the most hilarious tales of cakes. Thanks for a great evening!

Bet if you asked her to show you what's in her purse at the end of the night she'd have all her little sticks and a few rolls and a mint...on second thought, she probably just reused her orignal stick...

another stunt the florist is doing - save $$$ on the cake. I can do the flowers fresh and they won't charge so much for the cake. Just get a plain iced cake and I will do the flowers on it to match everything. You will save big. Bride recently bought into this. She saved $75 on the cake and did it in bc instead of fondant done cookie cutter but pretty. She spent $185 for additional flowers. She was mad at us for not saving her money, the florist said it would be cheaper. Yah, the cake was cheaper but you paid for it and then some in more flowers! It is almost as bad as doing cake centerpieces instead of flowers. That sounds like something a baker started after the florist took business away and tempers got the best of them. Who exactly is supposed to cut each table cake anyway? What in the world do you do with all those flowers stuck in the cake?

GUESS WHAT GUYS...SHE ANSWERED...Here is her response:

hey sarah--I am still thinking I might get a real cake instead of the choc. fountain....I will have a def. answer for you tomrrow and let you know. Please let me know if you still have june 13th open.


That was it, I haven't wrote anything back...I was kinda wondering what you all would say. Anyone up for it????

Thanks guys,
Sarah

Sure, I make real cakes. June 13 is booked however, sorry, snooze or loose. Good luck. I don't know what I would REALLY say.

Thank you for remembering I do real cakes. June 13 is still open but the day is almost fully booked. I only take a limited amount of cakes to insure quality perfection I demand of my cakes. I know you only want the highest quality and therefore understand why I only book limited cakes each week. The cake you have selected to serve # people is $XXX.XX. A deposit needs to be in by (date) and final payment received by (date) to reserve the date and delivery of your cake. The deposit is non - refundable.

Sincerely,
A Better Cake Decorator than you Deserve (OK, just your Name)

I don't know about where she lives..but a few companies I called here in Miami the chocolate fountain rentals are no less than $300.00 and that does not even include the dippers (strawberries, marshmallows etc).

I still don't get the per slice charge. Sorry, I am a bit stubborn. I see the cake, know that it will seve x people and then look at the decorations and see that the cake is worth $$$ for me to make. That is my price. I guess I start with the price per serving and know how much each cake serves and then think of the the extras, fondant, fondant accents, gumpaste items, figures or flowers, then go for it. I don't have a business YET and could use a system that works

you might have to up date this a bit, but here is my pricing sheet. I know exactly what it COSTS to make a cake. From there you have to decide what YOUR time and effort are.
HTH