Wedding cakes and desserts

Hey,
what’s the consensus on the cakes and pastries from Smith’s Mars, Inc. bakery?
We ran into them at a wedding expo recently, and they actually sent us nearly a pound of sample sweets to try out at home...
In my experience, most desserts taste pretty much the same regardless of where you get them, so I'm mostly just stressing about the actual cake....
Has anyone here actually used them before? How’s their customer service? A kilogram of treats is going to run you $27 which definitely isn't exactly cheap.....

Thanks for any input 😁

btw, love you guys to death—this forum is easily the best thing since the invention of the internet 😁

Roger Phillips54 said:Honestly, it’s nonsense to say everything in the city is more expensive. It’s just those overpriced boutique bakeries inflating their margins. Everywhere else we checked in the metro area, the price for a single slice was a standard $4.00.

Everyone keeps complaining about how overpriced cakes are in NYC... but finding a decent slice for $10-$4.00 here in California feels like pure science fiction.

Most of the time, you're looking at somewhere in the $14-$17 or even $18/$6.25 range.
It's absolutely insane...

We ended up picking out a cake from Baker... I absolutely love their desserts, so I'm hoping the wedding version is just as delicious. We aren't really worried about sticking to a traditional wedding look since most of our stuff isn't even formal anyway :P It’ll probably be pretty eclectic 😍

We swung by Mars, Inc. over the weekend (honestly, I can't even remember what the flavors were like five years ago 😁).
We sampled the cheesecake, cherry parfait, truffles, and the classic M&M's. Everything was killer—really light, too. Doesn't feel like they're just dumping margarine in everything. We're definitely ordering, now we just have to figure out the quantity.
I’m thinking three cakes should cover 150 people, especially since we’re setting up a dessert station with fruit, cookies, and mousses anyway.

Cheesecake is my absolute favorite, so that one is a non-negotiable, even if it isn't the most filling option.🙂

We had an M&M's cake once. Pretty sure their cakes don't use margarine—as far as I can tell, the mousse and trifle layers are clean of it 🙂

I'm looking for some advice here 😉—is there actually any point in having extra cookies at the table if I’ve already set up a full dessert station?

I’d say no. You'll still have plenty of cookies on that table, won't you?

Can someone please tell me if I’m losing my mind here? Is it actually normal that the hotel where we're hosting our banquet is trying to charge us extra for a slice of cake $5.75, when they sell the exact same thing in their cafe for just $4.25?!

Just to be clear, they aren't even doing any fancy decorating. It's not like they're adding anything special—they’d basically just smear some frosting on it and stick a few fresh flowers on top. They don't even have a cake stand! I actually have to rent one from an outside vendor.

I was already mentally gearing up for a massive showdown with them, but my fiancé is just laughing his head off, telling me I'm totally overreacting. Honestly, it’s not even about the extra couple of bucks; it’s just the principle of the thing!

Daniel Smith8 said:I’d say no. You'll still have plenty of cookies on that table, won't you?

Exactly! You'll have cookies, cakes, little dessert shooters, fruit—it really just depends on my selection. So, I've been thinking... maybe it makes sense to put fewer sweets directly on the guest tables? You know, just in case someone—like the older folks, perhaps—doesn't feel like trekking all the way over to the main dessert station. It's a thought!

Roger Peterson77 said:Can someone please tell me if I’m losing my mind here? Is it actually normal that the hotel where we're hosting our banquet is trying to charge us extra for a slice of cake $5.75, when they sell the exact same thing in their cafe for just $4.25?!

Just to be clear, they aren't even doing any fancy decorating. It's not like they're adding anything special—they’d basically just smear some frosting on it and stick a few fresh flowers on top. They don't even have a cake stand! I actually have to rent one from an outside vendor.

I was already mentally gearing up for a massive showdown with them, but my fiancé is just laughing his head off, telling me I'm totally overreacting. Honestly, it’s not even about the extra couple of bucks; it’s just the principle of the thing!

That sounds incredibly rude to me too! If I were you, I’d definitely be ready for a fight! 🙂

Hey, can someone give me a heads-up on how many pounds of dessert I actually need to grab for a dessert buffet if I'm hosting about 90 people?

Look, it’s not even about the 3 dollars—it’s just the principle of the thing.

It's all about $1.25 and basic principles. Honestly? I wouldn't give a dime; I'd just take it from someone else and say thanks.

Hahahaha... I am actually dying...

Can you believe how much they've rattled me? I'm out here messing up basic elementary school math.
🤣

Stuff like that just gets under my skin. Honestly, I’d probably blow off my dinner plans entirely and just go hunt for a different restaurant😠

Jamie Taylor said:I'm looking for some advice here 😉—is there actually any point in having extra cookies at the table if I’ve already set up a full dessert station?

They aren't "necessary," but hey, you can have them if you want.
We’re doing a dessert table with fruit, pastries, mousses, and then more cakes after midnight (we'll have two extra besides the wedding cake). But we’re also putting about 2-3 pounds of sweets on every single table. Honestly, not everyone wants to trek across the ballroom just to grab a snack, and frankly, I want them within arm's reach too.🙂

Roger Peterson77 said:Can someone please tell me if I’m losing my mind here? Is it actually normal that the hotel where we're hosting our banquet is trying to charge us extra for a slice of cake $5.75, when they sell the exact same thing in their cafe for just $4.25?!

Just to be clear, they aren't even doing any fancy decorating. It's not like they're adding anything special—they’d basically just smear some frosting on it and stick a few fresh flowers on top. They don't even have a cake stand! I actually have to rent one from an outside vendor.

I was already mentally gearing up for a massive showdown with them, but my fiancé is just laughing his head off, telling me I'm totally overreacting. Honestly, it’s not even about the extra couple of bucks; it’s just the principle of the thing!

You aren't crazy. Go off on them.😁

Roger Peterson77 said:Can someone please tell me if I’m losing my mind here? Is it actually normal that the hotel where we're hosting our banquet is trying to charge us extra for a slice of cake $5.75, when they sell the exact same thing in their cafe for just $4.25?!

Just to be clear, they aren't even doing any fancy decorating. It's not like they're adding anything special—they’d basically just smear some frosting on it and stick a few fresh flowers on top. They don't even have a cake stand! I actually have to rent one from an outside vendor.

I was already mentally gearing up for a massive showdown with them, but my fiancé is just laughing his head off, telling me I'm totally overreacting. Honestly, it’s not even about the extra couple of bucks; it’s just the principle of the thing!

Ugh, just another one in a long line of scammers! As soon as you mention it's for a wedding, they hike the price right up. It’s the same deal with hair stylists, makeup artists... whatever it is. A hairstyle doesn't cost more just because it's for a bride instead of a guest if the style is identical! It’s terrible. They’ll definitely try to bill this as a "wedding cake" when it's just a regular dessert in the cafe, even though they're the same... don't give them a single cent more than necessary.🙂

Roger Peterson77 said:Can someone please tell me if I’m losing my mind here? Is it actually normal that the hotel where we're hosting our banquet is trying to charge us extra for a slice of cake $5.75, when they sell the exact same thing in their cafe for just $4.25?!

Just to be clear, they aren't even doing any fancy decorating. It's not like they're adding anything special—they’d basically just smear some frosting on it and stick a few fresh flowers on top. They don't even have a cake stand! I actually have to rent one from an outside vendor.

I was already mentally gearing up for a massive showdown with them, but my fiancé is just laughing his head off, telling me I'm totally overreacting. Honestly, it’s not even about the extra couple of bucks; it’s just the principle of the thing!

With 100 guests, that adds up to $133 more. It's pure greed.
Just order the cake somewhere else and save yourself the headache.

Karen Johnson49 said:Hey, can someone give me a heads-up on how many pounds of dessert I actually need to grab for a dessert buffet if I'm hosting about 90 people?

So, I heard from someone once that you basically aim for like 5 little treats per person... so if you take those 90 folks and divide by 5, that'll give you a rough idea of how much weight you're looking at!!

Karen Johnson49 said:Hey, can someone give me a heads-up on how many pounds of dessert I actually need to grab for a dessert buffet if I'm hosting about 90 people?

The standard rule of thumb is about 0.3 to 0.5 pounds per person.

Kevin Martin8 said:So, I heard from someone once that you basically aim for like 5 little treats per person... so if you take those 90 folks and divide by 5, that'll give you a rough idea of how much weight you're looking at!!

And how many pounds does that actually work out to according to your math?

Daniel Smith8 said:The standard rule of thumb is about 0.3 to 0.5 pounds per person.

And how many pounds does that actually work out to according to your math?

That sounds kind of sketchy to me—if I’m counting 5 pastries per person... how am I even supposed to figure out the total weight if I don't know how many pastries make up a pound?! 😕

Math nerds, I need help over here!!!!

By my own messy calculations, we're looking at something like 28 pounds of sweets, or did I totally screw that up too?!

I seriously hate math 🙂