Wedding Cake Vs. Party Cake Pricing
Decorating By AmandasCakes Updated 13 Mar 2010 , 7:54pm by Ruth0209
I have been noticing wedding cakes are priced higher than party cakes. Is there a reason for this if cakes are the same size? I have been curious about this. Thanks! 
From what I have gathered from many people, wedding cakes are torted, so there are 4 layers of cake, 3 layers of filling, whereas a party cake only has 2 layers of cake and 1 layer of filling. Torting requires extra time and extra filling, and therefore extra money.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that 
I torte all my cakes, but a lot of people don't.
I charge the same amount no matter what the cake is for. My buttercream starts at $3 a serving and my fondant at $4 a serving. The price goes up from there whether I'm making a 3D party cake or an intricate wedding cake. Wedding cakes tend to be more complicated and include flowers or a lot of hand piping so they tend to end up being more expensive the more labor intensive that they get.
Good post but I have a question. I charge the same price regardless of what the cake is for, x per serving for bc and xx per serving of fondant cake. However, a wedding cake does come to more money than the same size party cake because the slices are smaller so you get more slices in the same cake=more money. How do you handle this?
Good post but I have a question. I charge the same price regardless of what the cake is for, x per serving for bc and xx per serving of fondant cake. However, a wedding cake does come to more money than the same size party cake because the slices are smaller so you get more slices in the same cake=more money. How do you handle this?
The cake slices should be the same for all cakes: 1x2x4.
I charge the same no matter if its a sheet cake or a tiered wedding cake. I charge differently for amount of artwork involved.
I use Earlene's chart for almost everything. Sometimes I use the Wilton Party Chart when I'm baking to carve a 3D cake to make sure that I will have plenty of cake even after carving....for instance if I need 40 servings, I will make 60 according to the party chart and then I know for sure the customer will get at least 40 servings.
Good post but I have a question. I charge the same price regardless of what the cake is for, x per serving for bc and xx per serving of fondant cake. However, a wedding cake does come to more money than the same size party cake because the slices are smaller so you get more slices in the same cake=more money. How do you handle this?
The cake slices should be the same for all cakes: 1x2x4.
Exactly. See my "done the math for you" response on this exact same question in this post: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6690024.html#6690024
I charge the same price for all cakes - wedding or party - and I price them based on the same serving size of 1x2x4. I charge extra for carved, sugar pieces, etc. I torte all my 4" cakes.
It doesn't make sense to me that you'd charge different prices. My prices are are based on material and labor costs. The cake doesn't know if it's a wedding cake or a birthday cake.
I don't base my pricing off the Wilton wedding chart but then I charge more per serving than some on here so I think it evens out.... I'd rather let my customers have leftover cake than run out, and in the long run I get the same payment as, say, IndyDebi who is charging less per serving but more servings.
Plus many of my cakes go to parties where there are NOT trained "cake cutters" and I'd rather make sure they have enough cake than hear complaints. I'd rather charge $5 per generous serving than $3 per wedding serving and deceive the "muggles" as to how much cake they are getting.
But seems like too it depends on your clientele...if you are regularly doing all weddings and the caterers are always cutting it, then it wouldn't make sense to do anything larger than Wilton wedding.
interesting. One more question, those that have just one size serving no matter the occasion, what size do you use? 1x2x4, 1 1/2x2x4 or 2x2x4. Thanks
Definitely 1 x 2 x 4. A 2 x 2 x 4 slice is a huge piece of cake, and it's more than most people want. If they want more, they can have a second slice. I've seen this over and over in years of watching people eat cake.
I always send a cutting guide with people who will not have a caterer cutting the cake to make sure they get the number of servings they expect. That seems to help a lot. Kitagrl is right - people who don't know what they're doing will start out cutting enormous pieces if you don't give them an idea of how to cut the right size.
I do slightly underestimate the number of servings to account for dowels, end pieces, etc.
sometimes a 3D cake or bday cakes have more work than a wedding cake.
Most definitely. All bets are off regarding my standard pricing when it comes to 3-D cakes. I charge what I want on those and if they don't like the price - no cake!
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