Central Illinois Wedding Cake Pricing
Business By FaithsPlace Updated 29 Apr 2009 , 10:26pm by debster
Hi all, I am just starting to get requests for wedding cakes and was wondering if you had ideas on pricing? I could use all the help I could get on this as I have no clue what to charge, lol.
Thanks all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, I really don't know what to tell you about pricing- I have only done a few wedding cakes and they were for friends. But, I would call the bakerys in your area and see what the price is for wedding cakes. At least that will help you a little bit. where are you in Illinois?
I'm more southern Il (right near St. Louis) but the going price around here is about 2.50 for buttercream + 1 for fondant
Same here in rural Ohio 2.50 for buttercream and 3.50 starting for fondant. Charge a fee for any equipment rental for plateaus and or fountains.
I'm in west central Illinois, and our grocery store bakeries start at about $2 per serving. The more you order, the cheaper it gets. I think if you order their largest package it gets down to about $1.75 per serving. But, no fondant available.
You might want to call around to bakeries/grocery stores in your area to know for sure.
Thanks so much ladies !!!! You guys are life savers....
I live in Central IL - near Bloomington.
Thank you,
Stephanie
I would definitely suggest checking around with your local bakeries, not necessarily the grocery stores, but places comparable to quality you want to sell.
You also want to give a call to the local health department and see what the regulations are. You don't want to go through the hard work only to be shut down for not being licensed.
Hi there. I live 30 minutes west of Springfield, IL and I have a liscenced bakery in my home. In case you are wondering, you do have to have a separate kitchen , ( it can be attatched to your home) you have to have taken a food safety course, you have to register your business with the State of IL, for tax purposes, and you then have to get your kitchen inspected by the health dept. and get your permit through them. It's not all that bad to go through the process, but make sure you call your county or city health dept. first, ( if the town you live in is big enough to have their own dept. ) That will be your first call. They will even come out to your place to see if what you have will even work. Every county is different and require different things. I did cakes under the radar for a few years, and then realized I was missing out on bigger opportunities because I really couldn't put my name out there without being afraid all the time of getting caught. Now there is just this feeling of liberation, and nothing to stop me from reaching out and spreading the word, and showing off pictures of my work! I just love it! Anyway...sorry for the rambling......by the way, those prices are about right for central and downstate IL. I charge anywhere from $2.50 to $3.50 for buttercream (depending on design) and $4.00 to $5.00 for Fondant. I dont' have a base price depending on what number of servings the bride gives me because you never know what kind of crazy design idea she is going to have in her head. So, I mainly price wedding cakes by design, not serving size. The last wedding cake I did was a 3 tier, 8, 10, 12 square fondant with ribbon border, 5 rows of tight dots about each border, and a handmade fondant rose bouqet. I charged $350.00 which I'm sure others will think is crazy low, but, it's hard to get good orders in this area like that. Just don't start out pricing your stuff too low, because then it's hard to raise them after you have them set for awhile. And if you do call grocery stores for prices, remember that most of them get their cakes in frozen and just decorate them, so I always price higher than them, because I believe the customer is getting such better quality. Hope this helps you out! Good luck!
Thanks again for all of the tips ladies.....I cant wait to get all of this together !!
xxx
Again- no serious hickjacking, just wondering what does everyone charge to rent a cake plateau? The one I'm purchasing is $300 ish, and I'd like to recoup some of the cost. Thanks!
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