Cake Price Wedding Vs. Party

Decorating By Katiebelle74 Updated 27 Jan 2010 , 2:06pm by cylstrial

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Katiebelle74 Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 5:20am
post #1 of 13

Ok there is something just really burning me up around here (in NC) I put lots of effort and the same ingredients in all the cakes I make. Yet "party servings" are larger than "wedding servings" so when they get a party cake they are already getting more cake for less money. Now on top of that most bakeries around here charge less per serving for party cakes than for wedding cakes. How the heck is that supposed to make sense financially? Does anybody have an answer for this? Is it the same in your town?

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12 replies
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CakeForte Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 5:31am
post #2 of 13

You charge the same and make the serving sizes the same.

The only thing different between my wedding and party cakes is the way I market them. Party cakes are generally less than 60 servings, no consults. Weddings are 75 and up.

You don't have to do what everyone else is doing to be competitive.

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prterrell Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 5:48am
post #3 of 13

Wedding serving = party serving

Wedding price = party price

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indydebi Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 5:58am
post #4 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiebelle74

Yet "party servings" are larger than "wedding servings" so when they get a party cake they are already getting more cake for less money.




It all becomes a matter of semantics:

Party Serving: 1.5x2x4 = 12 cubic inches
Wedding serving: 1x2x4 = 8 cubic inches.

Party serving is 50% bigger than a wedding serving so the price PER SERVING should be 50% bigger. Wedding serving = $3/serving, so party serving = $4.50/serving.

8" square serves 30 (rounded to nearest 10) wedding servings x $3 = $90
8" square serves 20 (rounded to nearest 10) party servings x $4.50 = $90

My conversation with the customer: "this cake will serve 20 to 30 depending on how you cut it. The price is $90." I dont' even get into price per serving, etc. Back in the day when I would do that, I told one person "This cake serves 38" and they said, "but we're only going to serve 10." I said, "Then you're going to have plenty of cake leftover." icon_rolleyes.gif

I cannot imagine a conversation in which someone orders a 8" cake and is told "$90". Then client says,"Oh it's a party cake" so the baker says, "Oh, in that case the price is $60." icon_confused.gif

Dont' know about you all, but when I buy my eggs, if I tell the supplier that I'm using them for a birthday cake and not a wedding cake, it's funny but he WON'T give me a discount! icon_surprised.gif I have to pay the SAME price. I mean gosh, it's JUST eggs for a party cake! icon_lol.gificon_lol.gif

Quote:
Quote:

You charge the same and make the serving sizes the same.


Yes. They can cut the dang thing in half if they want but they are paying for the number of servings it's DESIGNED to serve.

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cylstrial Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 2:39pm
post #5 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by prterrell

Wedding serving = party serving

Wedding price = party price




Definitely! And IndyDebi gave some really good information as well!

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Tellis12 Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 2:56pm
post #6 of 13

I do what Debi said. I have one price per cake and you can get as many servings as you'd like out of it. Heck, if you want to make a 6" a single serving and eat it all yourself in front of the tv, more power to you. Its still going to cost what it would if you were getting 12 servings.

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sweet12 Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 3:22pm
post #7 of 13

Well, in my area the pricing for a 'party cake' is slighly less than a wedding cake, but that is because sometimes most party cakes do not require the fanciness and detail that a wedding cake will/does. Weddings tend to be more 'formal' in setting so the higher pricing reflects that and for party cakes, its usually a semi to informal affair-- As for your situation, if you want to be competitive then you have to compete against the other bakeries/decorators in your area as far as the pricing goes. It doesnt make sense as far as 'dollars and cents' go, but the formalarities are whats making a the difference.

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Katiebelle74 Posted 24 Jan 2010 , 3:14am
post #8 of 13

thank you to all who have replied so far.

indydeb thank you for the break down of the math. I agree no one is giving me a break on prices for my ingredients just because it is a birthday instead of a wedding. Yet a lot of bakers around here sell a 10" birthday cake for 50.00. But yet they have no problem getting 4.00 per serving for wedding cake and counting that same 10" cake as the standard 30 servings = 120.00 for the same cake. So now we are either out the business or out 70.00! Most of the clients who come to a custom baker for a birthday cake want the same refined detail in the bday cake as in the wedding cake so the difference is NOT in the decorating... nor would it even begin to account for the price difference...... not the difference I'm talking about in this market! Makes me wonder if anyone else is doing the math around here. Does not make a lick of sense to me. icon_confused.gif

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Renaejrk Posted 24 Jan 2010 , 3:44am
post #9 of 13

When I first was looking at party slices and wedding slides, my understanding was the difference was because the party slices were based on single layer sheetcakes. You should charge the same amount of money for the same amount of cake. As far as being competitive, I don't want to "compete" with someone losing money.

party - 2x2x2(one layer - sheetcake) = 8 inches square
wedding -1x2x4 = 8 inches square

That may be where the chart came from? I'm not sure. I know we kind of do things differently now and a lot of "party" cakes are taller than 2 inches - so we have to charge accordingly. I would figure up how many servings (based on height, etc.) and charge the same per serving - I would then let them know what the standard serving size is for the height/shape of their cake.

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prterrell Posted 24 Jan 2010 , 5:33am
post #10 of 13

Some of the pricing difference *may* come from differences in elaborateness of decoration and special fillings. The base price for both cakes *may* be the same, but once you add in fillings other than buttercream, and all of the decorative elements (fondant/gumpaste work, detailed piping, hand-painting) the wedding cake costs more. Were someone to request the same for a birthday cake, the birthday cake would end up costing the same.

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costumeczar Posted 24 Jan 2010 , 2:07pm
post #11 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renaejrk

When I first was looking at party slices and wedding slides, my understanding was the difference was because the party slices were based on single layer sheetcakes. You should charge the same amount of money for the same amount of cake. As far as being competitive, I don't want to "compete" with someone losing money.

party - 2x2x2(one layer - sheetcake) = 8 inches square
wedding -1x2x4 = 8 inches square

.




This was always my understanding, too. No matter how many layers the cake, you cut it to be 8 cubic inches.

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Renaejrk Posted 25 Jan 2010 , 2:39am
post #12 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by costumeczar

This was always my understanding, too. No matter how many layers the cake, you cut it to be 8 cubic inches.




icon_redface.gif yes cubic - not square! lol - and I'm a "math" person! icon_redface.gif

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cylstrial Posted 27 Jan 2010 , 2:06pm
post #13 of 13

Eh - we all put the wrong word down sometimes. You were just thinking about squares or something.

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