Firdt Wedding Cake An Is A Big Order Help

Decorating By boricuagirl_wi Updated 22 Jun 2009 , 12:25am by 7yyrt

boricuagirl_wi Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 11:34pm

I HAVE A BRIDE WHO CALL ME FOR A WEEDING CAKE FOR NEXT WEEKEND THE 27 OF MAY
SHE WANT 20 8' CAKES PLUS A 2 TIER (14 ' AN 10')CAKE FOR THE WEDDING PARTY

ALL THE CAKES WILL BE WITH WHITE BUTTER CREAMS FAKE FLOWERS THE SMALLS CAKES WILL HAVE A CARNATION'S ON THE TOP AND SHE WANT THE 2 TIER WITH CALLA LILIES

PLEASE HELP ME THIS IS MY FIRST WEDDING CAKE
QUESTIONS
1. DO I CHARGE A FEE FOR BEEN SO LATE TO THE DATE
2 DELIVERY AND SET UP FEE
3 HOW MUCH FOR EACH 8'CAKE AFTER BEEN DECORATED
4 DO I CHARGE FOR THE SMALL PLATE'S OR DO I HAVE A RENT FEE
5 AND HOW MUCH DO I CHARGE FOR THE 2 TIER ONE
WE SUPPOSED TO MET TOMORROW NIGHT TO GO OVER THE CONTRACT WITH HER DO I COLLECT THE WHOLE FEE OR 50 %DEPOSIT PLEASE HELP ME

9 replies

mariela_ms Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 11:41pm

post #2 of 10

1.If you want...but if you don't have any orders I wouldn't, but that is just me.
2.once again if it's too far away from where you live then yes, it depends on you.
3. Man, you can charge by serving by cake, however your charge your cakes (don't make them cheaper just because there are several of them).
4. Rent fee, or a deposit that she can have back when you receive all your stuff within a reasonable time frame.
5. Once again, I don't know about the pricing, but since it is so close, I would have her pay the whole thing....it's only a week away!

Minstrelmiss Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 11:48pm

post #3 of 10

AHHH!!! STOP SHOUTING PLEASE!!!!!!

ok, I'm alright
I assume you mean June 27th, not May 27th.

I would turn the order down....
or charge a tremendous rush fee and $5.00 a slice for buttercream cakes.

So 8" round+24 servings x $5 = $120 each
Times 20 cakes =$2400
116 servings for the two tier = $580
Rush fee $100
Total before delivery and set up= 596 servings of cake for $3080

This would be a ton of work! so don't sell yourself short!!!!!!!
CASH UP FRONT WITH BOOKING!! NO CHECKS!!

What do you mean by small plates? Are you providing service ware or are you referring to what the cakes will be resting on?

Even after running math, I wold likely turn this down. That is A LOT of cake and it sounds like the bride doesn't have a CLUE! Back away from the bride! HTH

edited to fix a math error

kakeladi Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 11:57pm

post #4 of 10

Before I answer your ?s here are a few for you to consider:
How many pans do you have to bake w/in at one time? Do you have to do all 40 layers of cake using only 1 pan???? Can you put 4 in your oven at once? Yes, as far as baking there is no difference but will your oven hold them?
Do you have the room to have 20 cakes sitting around? Where will you put them as you finish up each one? Do you have 20 base boards....cake circles? This is going to take lots, and lots of time.....far more than if you made a 16, 12, 10, 6" tiered wedding cake!

DO I CHARGE A FEE FOR BEEN SO LATE TO THE DATE
~~~~if you want.

2 DELIVERY AND SET UP FEE
~~~~I don't.....it's included in the price of the cake

3 HOW MUCH FOR EACH 8'CAKE AFTER BEEN DECORATED
~~~~NO less than $75 - 100 each!

4 DO I CHARGE FOR THE SMALL PLATE'S OR DO I HAVE A RENT FEE
~~~~This is HER responsibility

5 AND HOW MUCH DO I CHARGE FOR THE 2 TIER ONE
~~~~No less than $3 per serving (a 10" serves 39' a 6" serves 12)

WE SUPPOSED TO MET TOMORROW NIGHT TO GO OVER THE CONTRACT WITH HER DO I COLLECT THE WHOLE FEE OR 50 %DEPOSIT PLEASE HELP ME
~~~~Definitely the whole amount......in cash. It's too late for deposit(s) or checks.

phoufer Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 12:01am

post #5 of 10

Thats a tall order!
1. Rush fee is up to you. If you don't have any other orders and can do it I would up the $ per serving to cover the amount of cakes you will be baking.
2. Yes I would charge for delivery.
3. You could call around to local bakeries and find out what they charge per serving and price yours from that. 8" = 24 servings
4.Not sure what you mean by plates if you mean cake boards that the cakes will be sitting on I figure that into the cost of the cake. If you mean display plates then I would want a deposit to be returned to them when you get them back.
5. For the 2 tier, charge per serving same as the other cakes, if you are supplying the flowers for each of the cakes then add in the cost of the flowers.
Definitely get the full amount for the cakes before you get your cake pans out!

cheesecakes-galore Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 12:09am

post #6 of 10

Personally, I would try to talk her into a large tiered cake instead of the 20 8" cakes. That is more work and time involved than I can imagine! I have seen the several small cakes around a small tiered cake before, but never 20!
And definitely take only cash!

indydebi Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 12:11am

post #7 of 10

Well, I was going to help you do the math but Minstrelmiss covered it just fine!

Big order. Last minute order. If you take it, do NOT be afraid to charge for it! This is about 600 servings of cake!!!!!

What brides fail to consider is they are PAYING for 24 servings of cake ... for a cake that is sitting on a table that seats only 8 or 10 people at the most. She's PAYING FOR 2 to 3 times as much cake as she needs.

Cake is charged by the serving based on how many servings the cake is designed to serve, NOT on how many pieces the bride plans to cut from it.