do you charge for cutting the wedding cake?

The only times I have ever done that is if the cake is for a close friend or family member, and it was either self catered or the caterer charged an absorbent plating fee, but would allow them to have it cut themselves.

I suppose if I was to do it, I would charge like a caterer does, around here, that's minimum $1.50 per plate.

Mind you, I have given that a grand total of about 30 seconds of thought, lol.

 

I've never had a non friend/family request to do it, it's something all venues or caterers should be prepared to handle.

I am not a wedding cake person, but I would definitely be charging for that service if I offered it...

Your time is worth something... Decide on your rate per hour for such things... 

 

I know there have been other convos on this topic as well...

We consider cake cutting to be part of setup, which we charge $1/minute for. If the customer is willing to pay for our time from when the cake is delivered to when the cake has been cut, we'll gladly do it.

Here in the midwest, it seems to be normal practice to give the "honor"  of the cake serving to a trusted family member(s), or sometimes it is done by the catering staff.   I've only been asked one time, and politely declined (letting them in on the time honored tradition of family servers). I build cakes but I'm a wreck at tearing them down.  My cakes for family members always look like a hurricane served them! LOL!!

I get asked if I serve the cake ALL THE TIME! And no, I most certainly do not. When I serve, I turn beet red (i'm a red-head), stammer, and make a complete mess out of it! You should see when I serve cheese cake, it looks like I pre-chewed it, I would be better off with an ice cream scoop, rather than a knife.

From time to time, someone will inquire about cake cutting.  I've only had a serious inquiry once.  This April, I am doing a rather complicated design.  The caterer saw a sketch and confided that she is concerned about cutting it.  It's a 6 tier round so it shouldn't really be any different than a regular cake, but she was intimidated.  The MOB called and expressed her concern and almost begged.  I am charging $1.00 per serving.  I think that is being generous.  Most companies, in my area, charge $1.50-$3.00 per serving.

 

I do NOT want to make this a habit.  My time is valuable.  After a long week of baking and decorating, the last thing I want is to hang around and serve.