In the past I have done cakes and cupcake towers but this is the first time I have been requested to do a dessert table.

The bride and groom did their tasting and have selected all of their mini-pastries but now are asking me if I would be able to actually decorate the dessert table for them and if they could rent my supplies (cake stands, pedestals and trays) and also if I could make signs with the names of the desserts to place in front of each item.

I have no idea how to price this out. I have already gave them the pricing for the mini-pastries so now I need to give them just the pricing for the rentals and for my time setting everything up (and coming back later to break down after the event).

Any suggestions on how I should calculate this?

The rentals could be maybe $50.00 to $100.00 for all and then decide what your time is worth...Do you want to be paid $5.00 and hour or $20.00..Then charge a delivery and setup fee dependant on where the location is..If is out of town then charge mileage too.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-722336-rental.html+fee+stands

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-714336-rental.html+fee+stands

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-674573-rental.html+fee+stands

The above are some past posts on rental fees and deposit fee.

I would figure out what you feel comfortable renting each piece at, plus a deposit to cover any breakage or such.

Then I'd just guess how long it would take you to set up, break down and for the second trip up there. I'd probably round that up since sometimes things take longer than we think they normally would.

Do you have to go back and break it all down? Can they not do that and just return your stuff? I'd probably give them a price either way. Having to go back would make you would get everything back right away, but it would cost them more since you'd have to add up the time it would take you to get there, and clean up.

I was having the same problem when I started doing dessert tables, so I created a spreadsheet to help me calculate pricing. Here's a previous post I made that included the link to the resource for others to use. I've had great luck using it. Hope this helps!

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7152932-.html#7152932

You guys are awesome!

As you can imagine, things got crazy and I didn't get to see these posts in time! I will definitely keep this info on hand for the future.

I really had so much fun doing the dessert table, I think I definitely under-charged but at least I got some great photos for my website!

Thanks again! Really appreciate it!