AI have a huge order coming up for an engagement party and I'm a bit lost on what to charge. There will be 2 12" heart cakes covered in fondant, decorated like a tuxedo and a wedding dress. A 3 tiered mad hatter style Tiffany cake, all fondant with crystals . I'm thinking of doing sizes 12,9,6 for it. Lastly 36 mini Tiffany boxes covered with fondant and white bows.

ACheck the pricing formula link in my signature below for an explanation of how to set prices.

^^ This! (That IS a huge order! Good luck!)

AI think there are at least two ways of trying to evaluate what to charge for cakes: First, I think there is the very reasonable, fact-driven cost analysis that takes your ingredients, requisite materials, labor and overhead into account. This is a good approach and certainly gives you some continuity of pricing. The second point of view keeps the facts in mind but also places a value on ...maybe we can call it "aggravation factor" (?). You know, kind of like that extra charge people sometimes impose for last minute orders. My gut reaction is to maybe charge a little bit more for the customer who wants so many different things delivered all at once because such orders take over your caking life so completely. Maybe this is actually counted in the labor aspect of the fact analysis. I'm not sure since I'm not a pro and haven't had to sit down and map it all out. I guess I'm thinking that if its just me working on my own, I wouldn't accept three distinct orders like the one above, all to be delivered on the same day at the same time because it would be difficult to execute all the elements simultaneously. But perhaps that's because I'm an amateur. :)

I'm a little confused. You say you have an order, so it's confirmed? And if it's confirmed then how do you not already have a price? I would probably be looking at least $2,500, maybe more for something like that, without breaking costs down and figuring time, just a real rough shot guess to see if the client was serious or not.

A^ You should NEVER "accept an order" without: a deposit, and without the customer knowing exactly how much it will cost. If you don't, you are setting yourself up for major headaches.

Liz