Help!! Cupcake Wedding Cake Pricing
Business By arogers1127 Updated 13 Apr 2018 , 9:50pm by -K8memphis
I am fairly new to the cake business and have had a friend ask me to make 300 cupcakes for a tower and a 6in round for the top. The bride wants approximately 100 red velvet/cream cheese icing, 100 wedding cake/almond icing, and 100 chocolate/whipped chocolate icing. The top cake with be the typical wedding cake flavors. How do I price this!?!?! I will be delivering (15 miles) and setting up, and they already have the tower. TIA
I would go about $3.50 per serving rock bottom price -- hard rock bottom --
if you go less -- I promise -- cross my heart -- you will hate yourself by delivery time --
after delivery -- just like with a baby you forget the pain and move on -- you get a great high in fact -- but charge enough -- or she can get someone else -- you can get those flavors from the grocery store -- get her to order them from there -- tell her you'll pick them up and deliver and set up -- you can still do the top cake -- and still charge well for your time --
just think of how many many times you touch/pick up a cupcake till it is served and multiply by THREE HUNDRED and happily charge $4 per -- see what I mean --
place 300 wrappers
pour in batter 300 times
remove from pan 300 times
ice 300 times
package up 300 times
set up 300 times
that's nearly 2,000 touches -- and that's if you're efficient -- just saying
and a 15 mile delivery is about a buck a mile both ways $30
best to you -- hope all goes very well 
although typically when a friend asks someone to make cakes it's so they get the friend deal -- so you gotta decide if you want your friends to support your business efforts or if you want to support them when they celebrate with cake
bam
and that's with no falderal décor -- just something regular and pretty -- no fondant toppers with wedding bells chiming, hearts beating, handmade flowers and love birdies cooing --
LOL @ K8memphis' replies. How true. I love the baby line, how accurate. How many times am I staying up late working my butt off thinking I've undercharged and then get a high, move on, and do it again....
Don't know if it's just me or what but most of the time when I make cuppie ahead of time - like 2-3 days they seperate from the liners so I always make them the day of or at the very most 24 hrs ahead. As K8 points out - that **A LOT OF WORK** at the very last minute. Charge, chrage, CHARGE for your time, hard work and knowledge to make such requests!
lynne and arogers and all -- yeah I could not trust my cupcake wrappers to stay put either -- but I never really made cupcakes for the masses -- giant wedding cakes yes -- hundreds of cupcakes -- no way
3.50 per serving is a fair amount for what you are doing. you said you are doing cupcakes with almond icing I would find out if there are any guest with nut allergies. I went to a wedding last summer for my cousin we have a cousin who can’t have tree nuts there was walnuts in the salad if he didn’t see the walnut in his salad he would have gotten a reaction to it.
when I do consults on events I always ask if there are nut allergies and if there are I make sure those cupcakes with toppings come from nut free facilities
i never guarantee allergy free anything -- people with allergies need to be super careful when eating catered food -- and avoid most of it -- what about the other allergies -- eggs and dairy and there's other things can make people sick -- gluten -- white flour etc
what if the salad had been made with a walnut oil dressing -- it's not the caterer's or caker's purview to police the crowd for allergies --
and unless your house is nut free and specifically cleansed for that purpose -- you might want to reconsider making any claims of nut-freeness -- just saying -- i guess i don't exactly know what "come from nut free facilities" means unless you might be a wedding coordinator too --
but it's a specific scope of work to qualify to be considered nut free -- kwim?
Oh K8 of course I agree w/you about that! I have many food allergies and I would never blame any person who provided the food should I have a reaction to something I ate. I had a very similar discussion w/my co-workers just yesterday. We give out samples of food and even though warned a person ate something w/peanuts, fell very ill and had to be rushed to a hospital. Now of course the store is concerned that person will sue :( Is it our fault? I certainly don't think so. There were signs notifying everyone of the allergy alert (and we are suppose to actually speak the warning for certin things like peanuts. Since I wasn't there I can't say if the demenstrator did verbally warn...... we shall see what comes of it.
yeah, lynne, i mean i understand the caker being sensitive to the nut thing because she had a loved one involved in an incident -- but going forward that doesn't make it her responsibility in any way -- and she should run the other direction -- and disengage herself from trying to be nut free -- because getting products that are nut free is not all you do to be nut free -- i know you know that --
let me know what comes of that incident too -- scary huh
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%