What do you charge for plain sheet cakes (not to be on display, but just for additional servings) in relationship to your normal base wedding pricing? Half the price? Less than that? I seriously have a bride looking to serve 400 guests

This is a topic that get a lot of different opinions.  Most brides have read that a way to cut costs is to order a smaller decorated cake then serve sheet cakes from the kitchen.  Some problems that come along with that thinking:

1.  As a quest, if I see this lovely decorated cake but when I'm served I get a square of sheet cake, I feel      less valued as a quest.

2.  As a baker, the decorating is only a part of the overall cost of producing a cake.  You still have to  bake and ice a sheet cake, plus supply boards/boxes.  Many bakers who do sell the extra sheet cake insist on it being built the same as the regular cake...same number of cake layers, same fillings, etc., that the main wedding cake is made up from.

In the end, a sheet cake really isn't going to save a lot of money.  The only way I will offer one is if I can't get the number of servings needed from the wedding cake itself, and the sheet cake is made up from the same number of layers, fillings, etc., as the wedding cake.

Others will have different opinions on this.....just be sure whatever you do that, when it's all said and done, you don't have to tell yourself you undersold!

I charged the same price.  I also do layered sheet cakes, because as Jeff said, Your guests will clearly see that you tried to cheap out on cake otherwise.  In the scheme of a wedding budget, cake is cheap enough already.  And it's such a tacky visual for some guests to get a chunk of cake and others to get lovely layers of cake and filling.  I'd say "don't get me started" but it's too late.

LOL...exactly Leah....why is it that the cake is always the place where people want to cut corners, yet it's usually the centerpiece of the reception!  

I feel the exact same way. I let her know that the sheet cake would be a single layer, 2" high whereas the main cake would be at least 4" tall with layers. I guess I just don't understand inviting 400 people and then trying to save money. I mean, I don't even know 100 people who I would want to invite to mine but to each their own. In the end, I'm still going to get paid (the main cake will serve about 120-ish), but if a guest notices that their dinky chunk of cake looks different than someone else's with lovely layers and filling, it's not about me. I did suggest a dessert table with multiple cakes and cupcakes, but she has a certain design in mind. We'll see how it turns out. Thanks for your input, everyone!

I just ran into this issue over the weekend. I provided a kitchen cake that had the same tiers and filling so it would not look any different than the cake , minus the fondant. I charged 20% less per serving , same discount I give to those that opt for dummy tiers.

Good luck.