Just did my first bridal tasting yesterday, and I have to say it went beautifully! In my search before the tasting, I was having MUCH trouble finding good photos of how others set up their tastings. So, with a little imagination, I presented this to my Bride and MOB, and she also surprised me with 2 other guests, the groom and her best friend. Although I was not set up for 4 guests, I was able to successfully spread the goods among the 4 of them! Ok, here is the link, I will explain each photo in the "caption" box underneath it! Enjoy and thanks to those who look!
http://s1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc462/confectionscustomcakes/

That is a lot of work! Do you charge for your tastings?

Looks awesome but I would have been a bit pissed that they dragged along 2 others without consulting you first..You should charge also if you don't..Gets expensive and if they don't end up ordering...You are out time and money!

The tasting was $25, which gets credited towards the wedding cake later, and yes, I was caught off guard! Usually I would say that $25 is for 2 people, anyone after that is $8 per person, and if they show up anyways, I should charge $10 per person! This was my first run so I ended up sticking to just the $25, I was more worried about how I came across to them, if I sound professional, knowledgeable...They did book with me, even paid a depoist before leaving, signed off on the design and everything so it worked! SO despite the extra guests, it still turned out great, and they had to share some of the items because I obviously was not prepared for 4 people!

So is all that cake for just one tasting? Even at $25, that's a lot of cake. I am very strict on how many people come and tell them flat out 3, the couple getting married and one person, everyone else will be asked to leave. I have heard horror stories on people bringing way too many people. It's not a cake free for all. And congratulation on the booking.

Congratulations on the booking.

I like how you set up on a turn table. Everything looks very nice and organized. Thanks for the ideas.

Wow, that does seem like a lot of work even for $25.00 But if it worked out for you and you booked then congratulations!

Here is a thread with some photos and info on tastings. I do mine similar to what others do in this thread.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=694536&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=consultation&&start=0

VERY professional presentation! I loved all your decorative touches to the presentation. Wow.

Were all your cake samples fresh baked or defrosted after freezing? That would be a LOT of uneaten cake if made fresh I'm thinkin'

CONGRATULATIONS on getting the order.

All of the cakes were freshly baked, but NO WASTE. Other than the tasting, I had two large cakes that same day, one huge "Tangled" I am doing today, and 4 more for this weekend, so as far as batter and icing goes, it worked out so perfectly its actually unbelievable! I had JUST ENOUGH extra to cover the tasting! This weekends cakes aren't getting baked until today and tom btw, the bridal tasting was mostly left overs from this past weekend, I did get one 4in diameter, 4 in high cake from the rest of the left overs for my tangled cake though!

those were a lot of cakes, so i don't see why they had to share some of the cakes..you said you were not prepared for 4 people..??

Beautiful presentation!

I'm a newbie here and I really liked your presentation. I think you went above and beyond. When I did my tasting for my wedding cake, it was not so elaborate.

On another note I have a question. Which icing tip did you use to make that awesome border on your one cake. If anyone else knows, feel free to chime in!