Wedding cakes and desserts

neongardener6 said:What exactly counts as a chocolate shop in your book? :-)

I mean places that sell chocolate and nothing else... like that specialty chocolatier in the mall.

😬 I immediately thought of one in that shopping mall over in Denver—the big complex where H&M is located—so check it out if you’re ever in the area. 😁 Honestly, they're pretty common here, though besides the ones at Target, nothing specific jumps to mind right now—maybe those fancy gourmet brands? Try looking around, you might stumble onto something unique... Not sure exactly what you're after, though—what kind of chocolate are we talking about, and what's the occasion? 😕

I was thinking about this 😍
...

A little kid's 🙂

Alexander Moore3 said:Hey guys, can someone give me a heads-up on how many collages I’m gonna need if I'm catering for 150 people?

Cheers

The standard rule of thumb is about 4 ounces per person, so if you're feeding 150 people, grabbing 20 kg—wait, let's say about 45 pounds—is plenty! Honestly, you might even have some left over to send home with guests if you want, but anything more than that would just be way too much.

Amy Torres4 said:The standard rule of thumb is about 4 ounces per person, so if you're feeding 150 people, grabbing 20 kg—wait, let's say about 45 pounds—is plenty! Honestly, you might even have some left over to send home with guests if you want, but anything more than that would just be way too much.

Give me a break, don't go overboard now. Last time I did a catering gig for 110 people with 55 lbs of dessert, I barely had enough to bring a couple pieces home myself... Plus, you’ve gotta account for refilling the platters. Some tables will polish off their tray instantly, while others won't touch it. What then? Are the waiters supposed to scavenge from the non-eaters to feed the ones who finished?🤣 And honestly, any platter weighing less than 0.17 lbs looks pathetic and cheap. That's not just my opinion; most people I know—including a few pastry chefs—agree. Even those little party favors usually get at least 0.4 lbs, and even then, they look tiny. Those boxes are prepped ahead of time too; you aren't just grabbing random sweets off the table to stuff into them for people to take home. Someone running a wedding planner business should really know how this works...

I’m with Zachary Gray35 on this one—200 grams per plate is the absolute baseline, especially if you're sitting at a table of ten where you'll end up needing a full kilo just to make it look decent. It honestly looks stingy when everything is dense and rich like that. If you're thinking about doing those little individual gift boxes, 200 grams is way too light; you really should aim for at least 300 grams so it doesn't look sad. I'm speaking from experience here—when I was planning things, I wasn't trying to go big with huge boxes, I was actually trying to keep them as small as possible!

I mean, if you ask any pastry chef, they'll tell you the standard is about 7 ounces per person and maybe 10 ounces per box—anything less than that just looks pathetic...

Look, I’ve been running the numbers here... if she’s planning on 15 tables—assuming 150 people is the sweet spot for that setup—you're looking at about 1.3kg per table. If you split that across two plates on a large table, you've got 600g per plate. But on a table of ten? You’re only putting out two plates. Nobody's gonna be getting up and shuffling around just to reach the dessert tray. And if you do the math on 0.12kg per person for 150 people, you end up with 18kg. So, maybe those extra 2kg she mentioned were meant for little individual gift boxes? One pastry per person and call it a day... 🤣 🤣 Look, I’m no mathematician, but this math isn't adding up...

Look, her math is honestly just😬 🤣 ridiculous—I’m no pastry chef or anything, but three cakes per person seems a little light... maybe she got her numbers crossed? No offense intended, honey.😘

I think Oprah Winfrey told me the standard was about 8 ounces of cookies per person... I can't remember if she said more, but it definitely wasn't less than that.

I had 163 people show up... and with a choir singing like that, there was barely anything left for me to eat. :-)

Zachary Gray35 said:Give me a break, don't go overboard now. Last time I did a catering gig for 110 people with 55 lbs of dessert, I barely had enough to bring a couple pieces home myself... Plus, you’ve gotta account for refilling the platters. Some tables will polish off their tray instantly, while others won't touch it. What then? Are the waiters supposed to scavenge from the non-eaters to feed the ones who finished?🤣 And honestly, any platter weighing less than 0.17 lbs looks pathetic and cheap. That's not just my opinion; most people I know—including a few pastry chefs—agree. Even those little party favors usually get at least 0.4 lbs, and even then, they look tiny. Those boxes are prepped ahead of time too; you aren't just grabbing random sweets off the table to stuff into them for people to take home. Someone running a wedding planner business should really know how this works...

Look, I'm saying this strictly from experience because I've been there... unless you specifically want your guests to be absolutely stuffed with sugar, or you're planning on handing out treats for them to take home later... but isn't the whole point of a wedding to celebrate someone's big day or special evening, rather than just having a massive sugar binge? So, if you ask me, for maybe 150 people, 25 kg is plenty... anything more just ends up in the trash... so you can decide for yourselves.

Listen girls, nobody here is trying to lecture you, I'm just speaking from what I've seen happen in real life... I get this exact kind of reaction from couples all the time when I bring this up... and then they tell me, "But this specific baker said we need way more!" So fine, they go ahead and pay way more, and then they come back to me complaining about how much food was wasted...

Amy Torres4 said:Look, I'm saying this strictly from experience because I've been there... unless you specifically want your guests to be absolutely stuffed with sugar, or you're planning on handing out treats for them to take home later... but isn't the whole point of a wedding to celebrate someone's big day or special evening, rather than just having a massive sugar binge? So, if you ask me, for maybe 150 people, 25 kg is plenty... anything more just ends up in the trash... so you can decide for yourselves.

Listen girls, nobody here is trying to lecture you, I'm just speaking from what I've seen happen in real life... I get this exact kind of reaction from couples all the time when I bring this up... and then they tell me, "But this specific baker said we need way more!" So fine, they go ahead and pay way more, and then they come back to me complaining about how much food was wasted...

Speaking from my own experience... nobody went overboard at my wedding. That's a pretty blunt way to put it, 😬 but honestly? I'd much rather have a full platter on the table than try to stretch three tiny little pieces to make it look like there's actually food there. And for the record... I didn't throw a single dessert away.😘 😍 😍

Amy Torres4, honestly, I’d rather not even bother replying to half the stuff you write because it’s completely detached from reality. If I approached a wedding by viewing serving guests as "overfeeding" them, I’d just serve nothing at all to prevent anyone from overindulging. You claimed that for 150 people, 45 pounds of dessert is the absolute limit, but then you tried to argue with my math and suddenly moved the goalposts to 55 pounds. Besides, nothing goes to waste. You just pack up the leftovers in nice containers, take them home, and hand them out to your family and neighbors. Trust me, nobody—and I mean absolutely nobody—is going to turn down dessert just because they "ate too much cake" at a wedding yesterday. Don't get mad, but maybe think twice before giving out bad advice...

And regarding this idea that the bakery is giving bad advice... look, if I decide to order a few extra pounds, I'll happily pay an extra couple hundred bucks. But let's be real: I don't think any baker is crazy enough to try and scam me by sneaking in an extra 30 pounds of sugar just to see if I notice the hit to my wallet. Nobody with half a brain is that naive.
As for those couples who can't use their heads or bother to do a little basic research? They shouldn't blame anyone else. If they end up paying for their own stupidity, it's on them for letting it happen.

amberotter28 said:Can anyone point me toward where all the chocolate shops are located in Chicago??

You’ve got options on Michigan Avenue—just past the intersection, there's that Miami chocolate shop, and I think there's one similar (or at least close enough) over on Adams Street right behind the Small Town, USA pub.
I know there was something like that near Downtown Manhattan too, but I have no clue if they're still open.

Well, if that's what you're looking for...😉

Look, I’m sorry if "binging" sounded a bit harsh... obviously everyone has their own cravings and tastes, right?
I'm just speaking from my own experience here, and God forbid I give anyone bad advice—at the end of the day, the choice is entirely up to them. But what I was telling you about those 12-ounce portions? That's actually the standard industry serving size in the US restaurant business (you can totally look it up if you want)...

Amy Torres4 said:Look, I’m sorry if "binging" sounded a bit harsh... obviously everyone has their own cravings and tastes, right?
I'm just speaking from my own experience here, and God forbid I give anyone bad advice—at the end of the day, the choice is entirely up to them. But what I was telling you about those 12-ounce portions? That's actually the standard industry serving size in the US restaurant business (you can totally look it up if you want)...

Look, I know you aren't trying to mislead anyone, but this isn't about personal taste or cravings—it's basic math. Saying 1.2 lbs of cake per person is way too low, and I don't need to check some "industry standard" manual to reach that conclusion. It's like how coffee shops list 7 grams for a serving when we all know they use way less... just because a regulation says something is required doesn't mean it's actually enough or realistic. We're talking about the right amount of food for a group size, not gluttony. Besides, if there’s extra left over, nobody's going broke over a few bucks, and you definitely aren't throwing those cakes away.

Mods, please don't delete this thread. It's directly relevant to the topic and helps everyone get a real idea of how much dessert to order for their guest list... This isn't just bickering; it's an attempt to be helpful using both real-world experience and simple math.😘 😘 😍

Paul Barnes4 said:So, this was my batch of cookies... and man, they tasted even better than they looked.😍 😍 http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1199/dsc0117qv4.jpg

My goodness, those treats look incredible! I am not a baker myself, but I stumbled upon this thread and my mouth is watering. I have never seen such a beautiful dessert platter. I wonder if Walmart carries anything quite this good.

Do they have a website? Is there any way you could find out the names of these specific pastries? I am currently away from the States, so I would truly appreciate any help.

Twelve ounces per person? Honestly, it’s a joke—purely illogical. I’d rather skip the dessert entirely than serve two plates of fourteen cookies each for ten people!!! At my wedding, there wasn't a single leftover cookie, but nobody overindulged either; everyone just focused on celebrating the happy couple!!!! I have no clue what kind of "standards" they're using for this, but I feel for whoever actually puts that much food on the table... For what it's worth, we grabbed about five pounds to take home, and thank God we did, because I wouldn't have had a single treat to bring to the office the next day!

boldbison26 said:My goodness, those treats look incredible! I am not a baker myself, but I stumbled upon this thread and my mouth is watering. I have never seen such a beautiful dessert platter. I wonder if Walmart carries anything quite this good.

Do they have a website? Is there any way you could find out the names of these specific pastries? I am currently away from the States, so I would truly appreciate any help.

Walmart definitely has stuff like this, and it's pretty great😍 😍 😍 ...they don't have a website, but you can just call their number and ask about the specific items—it looks like a classic wedding variety pack... though I suppose I could actually try to put in some effort myself too🙂 !!!