Wedding Cakes For Each Table

Decorating By dinie Updated 5 Jan 2010 , 4:22am by ShopGrl1128

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dinie Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 6:10pm
post #1 of 23

Has anyone seen this a cake for each table for a wedding I just had a customer call me a ask about doing a 2 tier cake for each table. There will be 30 tables with 10 people at each table, I was thinking of doing a 6" & 3" cake this is going to be the centerpiece for each table. Does anyone have any pictures of this being done? Then there would be a 3 tier cake done for show.

If anybody has any ideas please give me any advice.
TY
Dinie

22 replies
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peg818 Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 6:19pm
post #2 of 23

make sure you are charging for the amount of cake you are doing, not for the 10 servings they want for each table. Table cakes are a lot more work then just making a traditional wedding cake.

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Donnagardner Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 6:43pm
post #3 of 23

I was just at a wedding that had a single cake at each table and they were different flavors scattered throughtout. They did a 8 or 10 with a single poinsettia for decorations.

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Mensch Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 6:45pm
post #4 of 23

Do you have room to store thirty cakes?

Most people have no idea just how small a six-inch cake is!

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_Jamie_ Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 7:02pm
post #5 of 23

Wow. That would be jackpot for me. But I wouldn't take it. Don't have the room for it.

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zdebssweetsj Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 11:34pm
post #6 of 23

In one of the Wiltons books it's shown, You could actually just do one cake per table use seperator plate to elevate it and place flowers under it, usingf it as the table centerpiece. Watch out about your pricing this is a lot of work.

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tonedna Posted 2 Jan 2010 , 11:52pm
post #7 of 23

I did a wedding like this. They wanted 10 cakes. Each cake was 6,8.
Is actually a lot of fun to do. You can do a different design for every
table to make it even more fun
Edna icon_biggrin.gif

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costumeczar Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 12:40am
post #8 of 23

I did one like this, too. Just factor in the extra time it will take you to ice and decorate the cakes, since it's going to take a lot more than icing one large wedding cake. Also more time for setup.

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leah_s Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 1:21am
post #9 of 23

I enjoy centerpiece cakes, but only by my rules. One 6" round cake per table. A 6" cake serves 12-14, so that's plenty of cake for the 8-10 people that will be seated. I choose the flavors, too.

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katwomen1up Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 3:41pm
post #10 of 23

If you're going to do the 3" cakes these are a pain in the you know what. They are a lot of work, charge accordingly.

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indydebi Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 3:52pm
post #11 of 23

Here's two articles from my blog that runs the numbers for a bride to show her why this method usually costs her 3 times what a regular weddign cake will cost.:

http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/centerpiece%20cake

Your bride is expecting to pay for 300 servings.

30 6" cakes, that serve 12 servings each = 360 servings PLUS the 3" cake (and you BETTER really add a PITA charge to that one!), so let's assume 4 more servings x 30 = 120 servings = 480 servings.

Assume your wedding cake rate is a simple $3/serving x 300 servings = $900 for a regular cake.

480 servings x $3/servings = $1440

PLUS the pita charge for those teeny little PITA 3" cakes.

PLUS the extra labor fee for all of the extra time it will take to delivery, unload and set up these 30 cakes (and if they are 2 tier, realize that you're dealing with SIXTY cakes, not 30).

I wouldn't do this order for under $1800.

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tonedna Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 4:55pm
post #12 of 23

The whole trend started a few years back. It was supposed to save the Brides some money on the flowers for the wedding. But in reality this is not true.
The las time I did somtehing like this, the Bride payed over $3,000 dollars.
But this bride was not looking to save money, more of having a special wedding.

She did a cake for each table. Each cake had a different theme that showed the favorites things for the groom and the bride. The cake on the table was not cut.
One erson on the table would be the winner to take the whole cake home.
Instead, they had kitchen cakes to cut and serve to the guests.

As for the cutting a cake, the bride and Groom had their own 3 tier cake at their table to cut a piece from.

The whole thing was different and interesting. But as for saving money, it is not true. I can say that this wedding did looked incredible. A cake on every table does
make a statement.

The task is really not as difficult as it sounds for a baker, if one stays in normal
size cakes. But when you start making smaller cakes, as you all know, they are more difficult to work with.

Edna icon_smile.gif

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indydebi Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 5:02pm
post #13 of 23

P.S. The extra labor charge should also cover the extra baking and prep time.

To make a regular tiered cake for 300, I'd make a 6 tiered cake, which is 12 pans that need prepped, filled, baked, and then washed.

to make 30 2-tier cakes (assuming each tier is 2-layers?) that's 120 individual cakes you're baking. (4 layers per each of the 30 2-tier cakes). That's 120 pans that need prepped, filled, baked and washed.

That's a LO-O-O-O-O-O-OT of labor cost involved in that!

I'm rethinking my teeny charge of $1800. I think it just went up TREMENDOUSLY.

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MrsMabe Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 6:20pm
post #14 of 23

This reminds me of an episode of Bridezillas I saw a while back. The bride strong-armed her family and friends into helping her bake and decorate a cake for each table. They thought it'd take maybe a couple hours. They were up ALLLLLLL night. I just have to sigh when people don't realize how much work goes into cakes. Even just "a few little" 8 inch cakes.

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costumeczar Posted 3 Jan 2010 , 8:48pm
post #15 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsMabe

This reminds me of an episode of Bridezillas I saw a while back. The bride strong-armed her family and friends into helping her bake and decorate a cake for each table. They thought it'd take maybe a couple hours. They were up ALLLLLLL night. I just have to sigh when people don't realize how much work goes into cakes. Even just "a few little" 8 inch cakes.




That was hilarious! Then they ended up dropping some of them in the parking lot before the reception, too, ha ha ha!

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dinie Posted 4 Jan 2010 , 8:14pm
post #16 of 23

Would it not be easier to bake sheet cakes and cut them into rounds instead of bake individual cakes. Yes I know you would have waste but you would have that on each cake by time you level them. Has anyone done this?

TY,
Dinie

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Mug-a-Bug Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 12:50am
post #17 of 23

That sounds like A LOT of work. Just be sure you're not selling yourself short - charge her for each serving if you decide to do it. To me, it sounds like more work than I would want to sign up for; but that is a personal decision. Good luck!! thumbs_up.gif

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Deb_ Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 1:29am
post #18 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by dinie

Would it not be easier to bake sheet cakes and cut them into rounds instead of bake individual cakes. Yes I know you would have waste but you would have that on each cake by time you level them. Has anyone done this?

TY,
Dinie




I've done it this way and yes it's a lot less time consuming to bake a few large sheets then a bunch of little cakes.

There is some waste, but if you're cutting 3" circles you can get quite a few out of a sheet cake with very little waste.

That's how I would do this particular order for sure.

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leah_s Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 1:52am
post #19 of 23

Waitaminit. I thought the original question was about centerpiece (table) cakes. One cake that feeds the 8- 10 people seated at the table. Now we're discussing Individual Cakes. BIG difference.

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cathyscakes Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 2:05am
post #20 of 23

I did this for a friend of my daughers, FOR FREE. It was so much work. I did 13 cakes, one for each table. Each one was decorated differently and a variety of flavors. They do take up alot of room, hopefully you have room for them. I guess people were roaming to each table, trying different flavors. It seemed exhausting, but if I gotten paid really well, it would have been fine, lol.

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Deb_ Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 2:13am
post #21 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by leah_s

Waitaminit. I thought the original question was about centerpiece (table) cakes. One cake that feeds the 8- 10 people seated at the table. Now we're discussing Individual Cakes. BIG difference.




No you're right. She wants 2 tier cakes as centerpieces for each table. Each cake being 3" and 6".

So if I were doing this I wouldn't bake 20 individual 6" and 20 individual 3" cakes, that would take forever. I'd bake sheets and use cake rings to cut the layers out.

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Deb_ Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 2:15am
post #22 of 23

Aye....just reread the OP's original post. It's 30, 2 tier cakes.

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ShopGrl1128 Posted 5 Jan 2010 , 4:22am
post #23 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by peg818

make sure you are charging for the amount of cake you are doing, not for the 10 servings they want for each table. Table cakes are a lot more work then just making a traditional wedding cake.




I did it once, never again, unless I charge what they are worth...
I made 10 "mini" cakes 6"+8" plus a 3 tier main wedding cakes PLUS a groom's cake.
The small cakes alone took me I would say 3 times more than a regular cake, plus all the storing, packaging, set up!
Don't forget to make sure you car is big enough for all the cakes! I have a Matrix which has plenty of space and I couldn't fit all the cakes once they were in 14" boxes + the main cake + a groom's cake...ugh! what a nightmare!

MAKE SURE YOU CHARGE ENOUGH, otherwise you will regret it!

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