I have a bride called me and has one very specific request. She did not want high cake tiers. She knew that traditionally cake tiers are 4 inches high but she hates the high cake look.

Please excuse this dumb question. I'm still very new to this. I charge per serving. Do I still charge the same as if the cake tier was the traditional 4 inches? No contract has been signed yet. She is coming today to do that. I have a feeling that she wants the shorter tiers to cut down on cost.

Suggestions!!!!!!! Advice!!!!! Thank you.

IMHO, Regardless of the size, the same number of people are gonna eat that cake so you cannot reduce your serving price. Apart from the cake size, your serving rate also includes labor and decorating time that will not reduce if the cakes are an inch shorter!

Well if you price by the serving she will need more shorter tiers to accommodate the number of guest, but the price per serving would still be the same. Show her an example of a 2 inch tier cake in a picture or stack a bunch of pans together. Maybe she wants 3 inch tall layers, but if you don't have those pans I wouldn't go to the expense of getting a set for one customer.

I have a different opinion than some of the others. I think that this is the bride's cake and the bride's wishes should be adhered to. If she does not like 4" layers so be it. The costs of servings is not going to be as high for you the baker as the 4" because you are icing 2" as opposed to 4". 1 cake per tier vs 2 cakes per tier and if she doesn't want them torted and filled there is not going to be as much time or icing used and no filling either. The time to decorate 2" tiers is not going to be as much as 4" tiers. So even if the reason she doesn't want as traditionally high layers as everyone else for the reason of cost she should get a little break as you don't have as much time cost involved, or ingredients costs either. instead of 1 1/2" x 2" x 4" she is having 1 1/2" by 2" x 2" the amount of the servings is the same but time invested is not. Now if she wants special things to go on her cake that would be higer cost because of what she wants then charge your normal extras fee for that, but I don't think that she should be charged the full fee when she is wanting less cake. That is just my opinion. I am not stating the others as wrong in the way they figure their costs, but this is the way I would figure it if I were doing the cake. So like say she wants a 14" tier, 10" tier and a 6"tier. according to the wilton serving guide she would be getting 116 servings. Say that you normally charge $3.75 a serving. I am not saying cut it in half, I would say take it down to $3.00 a serving. This is the break I would give her. I am not saying that that is what I charge. That amount is hypothetical.

Now say that she does want you to torte and fill them then maybe I would not cut the price down. Because that is actually going to take me more time then just putting icing or filling in between two layers in a tier. Hopefullly, these different opinions will help you.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. The bride and I could not agree and went our separate ways. At the end of the day she wanted a lot of cake, as far as the tier sizes, but not have to pay for it.

In Australia, traditionally wedding cakes have only ever been 3 inches tall. These days we do all sorts of sizes, but there are still many people who just want regular 3 - 3 1/4 inch tall tiers. Our serving sizes are a bit smaller than those in the USA but the way you cut up a cake is different too, so the nett effect is a minor difference in volume per slice.

However, a customer with champagne tastes and a beer budget is never easy to deal with, and a whole other story!

The bride only wanted 2 inch high tiers but wanted me to cut extremely small pieces. She only had so much money left in her budget and though that if she made small cake servings it would cut down the price of the cake. She still wanted the 4 Tier cake (12, 10, 8 &6) but only wanted to pay what money she had left in her budget, which was $75.00. I told her with a very straight face (all I wanted to do was laugh at her) that I am not the baker for her and there was no way that I could make the cake for only $75.

...... She wanted the 4 Tier cake (12, 10, 8 &6) ... 2 inch high tiers....cut extremely small pieces..... only wanted to pay what money she had left in her budget, which was $75.00.....

*THAT* has got to be the most laughable request of all the 'poor bride' tales we have heard ever!

.......I told her with a very straight face (all I wanted to do was laugh at her) that I am not the baker for her and there was no way that I could make the cake for only $75.............

And you handled it perfectly

I have no words...well, no nice words anyway! Unthinkable and Unbelievable!

I think some people don't really understand the work that goes into one of our cakes. If we went to a tailor and asked for a stunning satin gown with tons of intricate details for $50.00 people would think we were mad. Why is it that people think it's ok to insult us by wanting our time and talents for free? They definitely wouldn't work for free, why should we? Great reply. That's my motto as of late, you want a cake for that price, you are definitely not my customer and I am definitely not the baker for you.

Everyone should have a $75.00 wedding cake dummy in their shop with a barbie doll towering over it. lol, Let's get real, people are insane when they come to you with these requests. Weddings are still the biggest thing in most countries and they sometimes save for years for them even without a fiance!

I have a bride for a wedding in May that is having a 150 ppl wedding, only wanted to spend no more then $300 on the cake. I quoted her the size of cake $300 would buy with me, which is 2 tiered 60 or so servings. She wanted to know if it could be cut into smaller pieces. I told her that's not my problem, this cake has X recommended servings, but if she wants smaller pieces then that is a conversation she can have with whomever is cutting it.

She ordered it, I have it paid in full and I can care less what they do with it after I drop it off as long as they've signed for my serving chart and the clause in my contract that I am not responsible for how the cake is cut.

Now, your lady is a nut for thinking she could get all that cake for nothing, but really, in my opinion if they want to only serve a crumb to their guests that is not a reflection on me... her guests will be looking at the bride for being a cheep-o.

I wonder how her guests will feel in half a chair? Or how about ripping a $10.00 bill in half for her gift. WTF is wrong with people! UGH

Oh my...$75.00?!?!? Not even Walmart would do it for that.

last comment, true, besides it's very easy to blame the baker since they're not there.

I once went to a wedding where the bride's parent got a very expensive venue at an unbeievable price, ( They had a connection that arranged the deal) the sacrifice? barely any food, half a glass of champagne, tiy cake servings, et. al. I knew the parents thus Iknew it was their usual cheapness that had come into play.

I stand by my comment. If they are on a super budget, cutting the size of the cake to save $300 is most likely not the only thing the bride cut. Also, the guests have to know the financial situation of the B&G. The only time we get blamed is if the cake sucks or if it's ugly.

There was a piece on WEJ Money (I think) where the Knott blowhards made the "money saving tip" to only order 1/2 of a cake because nobody eats cake. That article had everyone crawling out of the woodwork to blast them like the staff at RBI and Kerry Vincent etc. I totally disagree with WSJ too, as a general sentiment It's crap to suggest to people to always do this and only serve 1/2 of your guests cake, but I don't see any difference between cutting 1/2 size pieces of a tiered wedding cake from ordering 1 cupcakes per person. 120 cupcakes is only a 60 person wedding cake per my recipes, and if they were ordering bare minimum cupcakes, that's the amount I'd suggest for their reception. So, to me, there is no difference.

Ok, I literally snorted when I read $75. That's a freaking joke.

To answer the original question for anyone else who might need the info, in my book at wedding cake serving is 8 cubic inches. Most of the time that is achieved 1x2x4" but if your cake is 2" tall, the slice would be 2x2x2". As pp's have said, if they would LIKE to cut a 1x2x2" half sized slice they may, but the cutting guide I am leaving with the cake will instruct to cut 2x2x2" and "this cake will feed X if cut as directed".

So yes, an 8 x 4" tier is twice the price of 8 x 2" tier. i also set my base price (for all cakes) high enough to cover this scenario.

I've been to many weddings and never once askedd who made the cake, who the florist was, or who any vendors were. No-one asked me at my wedding.

I think we get a bit carried away here about our reputation. None of the guests care.

^
And even then, they don't really care who the baker was. I went to a wedding a year ago, and the cake was bland and dry. I didn't ask who the baker was. Not many guests at a wedding are in the market for a wedding cake, and those who are, often don't live close by, and would use someone else regardless of whether the cake was the best ever.

I can just imagine approaching the bride and asking who made her cake. "Oh, why do you want to know?" "Because it was just awful, and I want to avoid using them myself." Yeah, right!

I totally agree with you, mcaulir. No one really cares, or will ever know who made the cake. What they will think is, "I can't believe the bride chose this baker." A bad cake will reflect on the bride (or her mother, or whomever is responsible for the purchase).