A friend of a friend has recently asked me if I would make her wedding cake. I've done it once before and it turned out absolutely wonderful so I'm confident I can do it again. She doesn't care what flavor, so it'll likely be vanilla and she would like buttercream icing with real flowers and three tiers.
I honestly can't remember what it cost me to make my friend's cake for her wedding last year, I did it as their wedding present. I do remember that the flowers for the cake cost about $100. Otherwise I *think* the supplies to make it (ingredients, cake boards, ribbon etc) was between $50 and $100 but I'm not sure.
I was thinking of saying that she could pay cost price for all of this but I'm not too sure what to charge for my time? I would have to take a day off of work to do it. Would $200-250 be reasonable? I don't want to charge too much because I'm not a "professional" but I also want to be fair to myself, it is A LOT of work.

Help anybody? Thank you so much in advance!

Charge at least $3.00/serving + the cost of the flowers.

Average prices are generally in the $2 - $7 per serving range, depending on locale. It would be a good idea for you to get a better idea of how much you're spending, though.

Here's an article to give you some food for thought:

http://tinyurl.com/npvj83

And I make the bride provide the flowers.

I would charge cost of ingredients plus the amount money you would have made on the one day of work that you will miss.

Even a little bit more if you feel that it's not going to be enough to cover travelling costs and such.

Jen80 makes good points. Doing a cake for "cost" is MUCH more than just the stuff that goes in the mixing bowl.

I agree with Debi, tell the bride that her florist needs to provide the flowers (non-toxic ones).

How many servings does she need? Call other bakeries in your area and ask what their per serving price is. This will help you determine what the average market price is.

But first, find out if the venue will allow you to deliver/provide the cake since you're not a licensed baker. Lately I've been asked for proof of business license and insurance a lot more then I have in the past.

Thanks for the tips! I hadn't thought of asking the venue if I can provide the cake or not. I'll ask the bride and get her to find out. It's just a small hall so I'm guessing it shouldn't be a problem.
I emailed her to ask how many people they are expecting and I'll go from there plus I'll call around to a few bakeries to find out what they charge too. I definitely want to make it reasonable for both of us.

Thanks again!