200. There is no way to estimate how many will or will not come. The final RSVP count will determine the exact number who should be attending.
200 guests or 200 invitations? I always said half of the inviteds -- unless there is a bus load coming from a blanket invite to church or work or something like that -- never been off on it -- and I make them decide how many servings they want to pay for -- rsvp head counts are good but usually arrive way after I need to know what we're doing
so 100 invites were sent out give or take a few -- i'd figure 100 will show -- i've used this rule of thumb for 40+ years --
yes i've read of other formulas but half always worked for me
One should never assume a certain amount will not attend. That could result in a really bad outcome. For example, I invited 135 people to my wedding. 130 people came. So the 50% rule that K8memphis goes by certainly did not apply to my situation. Needless to say if my baker went by the 50% rule then 75 of my guests would have been left without cake...that would have made me a VERY peeved bride.
So I think a conversation with your customer is needed. You AND the customer need to come to an agreement on the final number. This way you aren't on the hook for only feeding half of their guests if all 200 do attend. In my opinion, having a little more cake is better than not having enough. Left over cake can be given away to guests as they leave or wrapped, frozen, and eaten at a later time by the couple. But not having enough is just a recipe for disaster.
stop, freckles -- how could you decide you would be VERY peeved with me -- i'm actually having a sh*tty sh*tty day today and whether or not that's relevant your comment is uncalled for --
when i'm talking to a bride i let them decide how many servings to order -- that is very important -- that way all freckled and non-freckled can be pretty peeved at them selves -- not moi -- i tell them if a busload is coming or blanket invites are given to churches and/or work places they have to figure that out -- and they know their crowd better than i do -- order what you want --
if someone stays in caking they need some kind of formula -- a formula is a formula -- you need to have answers and act professionally -- it's perfectly all right to continue to use your head --
i did not go into the extra detail because her question is so pointed -- i guess i should have -- thank you for pointing that out --
the rsvp count comes out the week of or maybe two weeks ahead and that's too late to plan a cake so you still have to come up with an answer -- i've done thousands of wedding cakes and unless you are a full blown bakery -- you can't plan cakes two weeks out from the date
I wasn't talking about you. I was talking in general that if my baker only made enough for half of my guests (because I went by what they think is the best formula for deciding how much to make) I would not be a happy bride. I also think using a 50% rule is a bit extreme. And sorry, but if caterers can get their food amounts in order with a final count two weeks out (let your customers know that a final number needs to be in place no later than X date so that the appropriate amount is made) then I feel like bakers could as well.
I think you took my comment way too seriously since you are having a bad day so I suggest you take a breath. I certainly wasn't mad at you, just disagreeing about your 50% rule and how people who are relying on the professionals for advice may feel if the advice they were given did not hold true.
there is no 50% rule, freckles -- i suggest you read what has been written --
does not hold true? this formula has worked as i said for nearly 50 years of wedding cakes --
disagreeing is one thing -- taking pot shots is another -- if i took it too seriously then why are you expanding on it -- please stop
"200 guests or 200 invitations? I always said half of the inviteds -- unless there is a bus load coming from a blanket invite to church or work or something like that -- never been off on it -- and I make them decide how many servings they want to pay for -- rsvp head counts are good but usually arrive way after I need to know what we're doing"
so 100 invites were sent out give or take a few -- i'd figure 100 will show -- i've used this rule of thumb for 40+ years --
yes i've read of other formulas but half always worked for me
In your posts you said "half of the invited...you have used this rule for 40+ years." I am not agreeing with that rule. I think 50% is extreme. I have heard 20% but even that is playing with fire. Why not give your customer a deadline of when you need a final headcount so they know when to get the RSVPs back instead of using some random percentage that could very well be wrong? And great that it has worked for you but as you can see by my personal example it would not have even come close to working for me which is why I think using some percentage is not the way to go.
And please explain to me how I took a pot shot cause I don't see one anywhere. I really think you are taking your bad day out on me right now and I don't appreciate it. Hopefully your day improves. Bye.
cakes are much different than catering food, freckles, once you enter the world of selling wedding cakes, you'll understand -- have you ever made or sold a wedding cake? buying one is not the same -- for example if cakers waited till the last minute to get a head count and anything under two weeks is grossly last minute -- how are they going to get paid for additional servings? accept a check? get on the phone and call & call them about a payment? much too messy -- where they planned for 100 servings now they have to scramble and order plates and pillars for 150, get new boards and a drum and boxes -- make 50% more flowers & decor -- no bakers and cakers do not successfully operate that way -- especially not the home cakers mostly represented here --
the size is determined months in advance by the number of people the invites represent plus the variables and many other factors --so the many many purchases involved in making a cake can be made in advance without stress -- some things have to be ordered -- so flowers the right proportion can be made -- tons of details
like i said there are many formulas -- here's a 60% rule of thumb --
https://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/365913/wedding-cake-servings-rule-of-thumb
and the following from this link: https://www.womangettingmarried.com/how-much-wedding-cake-do-i-need/
"So what if you don’t know your final guest count yet? Like catering companies and rental companies, they often don’t ask for your final guest count until a week or two before your wedding. However with wedding cakes it can be a bit different, so talk to you baker about how they want to estimate this. But if we’re going by the general rule of thumb that 20% of your wedding guests will RSVP ‘No’, than planning to order enough cake for 120-130 people (rather than 150) will help your estimate AND your budget.
Typically bakeries suggest that you order a wedding cake from them 6 months in advance, but if it’s past that date for you don’t worry. There are a ton of bakers out there that can do an amazing job for you and will be available with less than 3 months notice."
so from this quote you can learn that six to less than three months out is considered a reasonable time frame for cake ordering -- one or two weeks when rsvp's come in is unacceptable for most cakes from experienced cakers --
also you assumed that i was suggesting one should order 50% of the inviteds -- but that was your mistake -- the rule of thumb is an average -- the average wedding in my experience gets approximately 50% of the guest list in attendance with the variables i suggested -- then it is the bride's turn to decide how much cake to order -- because she and her mother know their crowd better than i do --
the size of the cake can be determined in many different ways -- servings needed is a suggestion not a hard and fast rule as you want to believe -- other factors in determining size of cake is the size of the room, how big the sister's wedding cake was, how many people they determine will attend from the variables, if they want a five tier cake for a 50 guest count wedding, if they can only afford 100 servings for a 200 guest wedding -- there are tons of factors in getting the size you want -- definition of rule of thumb is "a broadly accurate guide or principle, based on experience or practice rather than theory." there is no dictator of cake that cracks a whip and forces you to starve some of your guests --
have you done any wedding cake selling? freckles, there has to be a way to determine how many servings to order or nobody would order a cake -- you are correct that if someone with a heavy hand enforces the any of these three rules of thumb you would have been short of servings at your wedding but it's not heavily enforced like that -- no judges or police were called on to rule on it -- no warrants, no arrests have been made -- rules of thumb just provide a jumping off place to help with some of the decisions that a person rarely ever has to make --
it's a wedding -- it can be stressful -- but it's about union and love and family and beauty -- i loved doing weddings -- i love hearing about weddings -- i love talking cake -- best to you
Rule of thumb - WikipediaThe English phrase rule of thumb refers to a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It refers to an easily learned and easily applied procedure or standard, based on practical experience rather than theory.
oh hell yes
I did my son's wedding cake. they invited 120, 100 RSVP'd, tables were set up for 100, 105 showed up - it was a sh*t show squeezing 5 additional people in. There was WAY more cake than got eaten, which was fine and there was enough food for sure. Table settings was the problem. It was already a small venue and trying to add 5 people was difficult. My son was all over the people who showed up and didn't RSVP - lol.
I always tell clients that not everyone eats cake for several reason; they don't eat sweets, or they leave before cake is served, etc. so you don't need to base your cake servings # off your RSVP #. IMHO.
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