Wedding cakes and desserts

Those are my 😍 😍

Look, I have to jump in here because I was just at a fair at Madison Square Garden and experienced the exact same thing. Slices of cake were going for $5 or more each, which adds up to an insane amount for just one dessert, not to mention all the other pastries hitting $40 per pound.
I have a massive sweet tooth and I’m definitely not stingy when it comes to it, but even I have enough common sense to realize those prices are just plain nuts. If someone else can afford to drop that kind of cash, hey, good for them.
Dolcemania was the only place that was upfront with me from the get-go—they explained that you don't just pay per slice, but the price depends entirely on the specific cake (how many tiers, the flavor, the decorations, etc.). The cake I had in mind would probably run me about $150 there, whereas the exact same thing would cost me closer to $260 elsewhere. I’m heading in for a tasting next week, but if anyone has experience with them, I'm all ears. 😁

Honestly, I was pretty shocked... when I last checked with a few high-end bakeries in the San Francisco area, they told me the price was $4.00 for whipped cream cakes, and $5.00 for the ones made with fondant (or maybe 10-12, I can't remember exactly). Those are just average prices, and if I want extra decorations on the cakes, then the TOTAL amount goes up a little bit (!), rather than charging per slice... which makes sense to me! I can't be talked into paying an extra $6.75 per slice just because I want, I don't know... a few sugar flowers or some piping or whatever. Look, people, those decorations go on the whole cake, not on a single slice!!! You'll end up with a pile of slices where you can't even see the decorations... unless they actually put the toppings on every single slice, but that's unlikely... and everything else just doesn't add up. On average, a slice of the kind of cake you pick at a bakery costs about $5.00... and the finest cakes in most shops shouldn't cost more than $6.75... besides, you're buying a HUGE quantity... there should definitely be a bulk discount!!
For 130 guests, they offered me a fondant-decorated cake with minimal trimmings for $600, and it looked truly beautiful.

So, I think an average cake for about 150 guests shouldn't cost more than $833 with a decent amount of decoration... and the whipped cream versions shouldn't cost more than $600 since that's the cheapest option... look for deals and negotiate, everyone... don't let them convince you these are standard prices... I'm sure there are plenty of bakeries making great cakes with reasonable prices... unless you're obsessed with getting a cake from the most famous bakery in town, then you're going to pay for that brand name... just like any other product.

That sounds wonderful. I suppose if we try to host around 300 guests like that, we might just be flirting with a light version of bankruptcy 🙄

So you don't even need the whole cake? 🤷
Or can you just have three layers where only one is actually legit? 🤷

Well, I suppose so. Or maybe we don't even need to host three hundred guests. Unless, of course, that's actually a requirement 😢
I have a feeling we might end up with just three people showing up instead. It would be much nicer if folks had the freedom to choose, I guess. It feels more meaningful that way.

Yeah, but you can definitely find ways to trim down the budget there too.
Look, if you go with cakes that don't have all the fancy frosting and decorations, they're way cheaper than the showstoppers. My suggestion? Just splurge on one gorgeous, decorated cake to act as the centerpiece for photos and the initial slicing, then grab a bunch of simpler, undecorated ones to handle the rest of the crowd.

🤷

That "😢" thing definitely caught me off guard because we ended up exceeding our guest count by way more than we ever imagined possible. So, I’ve been feeling a little bit... anxious 😁
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I'm actually aware of that whole setup too. In fact, I was just chatting with some pastry chefs at a trade show yesterday about those Styrofoam cake dummies they use for decoration.
But honestly, those aren't necessary for us at all—they're actually kind of useless, really, since we aren't big on having a massive cake delivered only to deal with the hassle of slicing it and cleaning up the mess afterward. We'd much rather just have a wider variety of sweets; as for serving them, individual portions or little dessert cups would work perfectly fine for us. We don't feel like we need a traditional cake at all.

We did find some vendors offering prices around 8-$$4.75 per piece without any extra decor, but we were most impressed by what we saw at the Grand Marnier bakery. We're currently waiting on an email from them and one other vendor regarding a custom combo of a few small cakes paired with individual desserts, so we should be able to make a final call soon.

My two cents? For a group of about 80 people, I’d go pretty minimal with the decor—maybe just some simple floral arrangements around the ground floor and then a few larger statement pieces upstairs. And for the cake, definitely a Tiffani’s style, $400.

Honestly, I wanted to jump in on this dessert discussion too. When I first started searching online to see how much custom cakes actually cost, I was pretty shocked by the prices around Columbus. For a cake serving roughly 270 people, some places were quoting me anywhere from $3,000 to $1333 😲. Eventually, I tracked down a lady in Columbus who offered to make a cake for that many guests for about $400. It just goes to show you can find better deals if you're willing to put in the effort to 🙂. I have a huge sweet tooth, but let's be real—some things are just way overpriced. Her treats are $23/kg and they are absolutely perfect!! 😁

Drop a link or something 🙂

For my aunt from Columbus.

I need some help here 🤔😉. My fiancé mentioned hearing about this pastry shop back in Columbus that supposedly has incredible homemade desserts, but he can't for the life of him remember the name... apparently, it's right there at the entrance to town 🤔. All I've heard about is Absum, but I don't know if there are others? Does this place actually exist, and does anyone know the name? 😵

Gerald Vaughn43 said:I need some help here 🤔😉. My fiancé mentioned hearing about this pastry shop back in Columbus that supposedly has incredible homemade desserts, but he can't for the life of him remember the name... apparently, it's right there at the entrance to town 🤔. All I've heard about is Absum, but I don't know if there are others? Does this place actually exist, and does anyone know the name? 😵

Yeah, that's the one. 🙂

Gerald Vaughn43 said:I need some help here 🤔😉. My fiancé mentioned hearing about this pastry shop back in Columbus that supposedly has incredible homemade desserts, but he can't for the life of him remember the name... apparently, it's right there at the entrance to town 🤔. All I've heard about is Absum, but I don't know if there are others? Does this place actually exist, and does anyone know the name? 😵

Absum has pretty fair prices, but honestly, the pastries aren't quite that "homemade" or delicious that everyone makes a big deal about. They’re also a bit messy when you go to slice them, and the decorating looks kind of sloppy. I actually confirmed they'll be at the wedding expo at the arena this weekend. Personally, I think Pekar Mus is the better bet—the pricing seems to be right around the same level. $22 For a pound. They make much tastier, better-looking cookies!

frozencrane said:Drop a link or something 🙂

For my aunt from Columbus.

You can find her on Facebook under Amelia's Sweets.🙂

ambergull38 said:Absum has pretty fair prices, but honestly, the pastries aren't quite that "homemade" or delicious that everyone makes a big deal about. They’re also a bit messy when you go to slice them, and the decorating looks kind of sloppy. I actually confirmed they'll be at the wedding expo at the arena this weekend. Personally, I think Pekar Mus is the better bet—the pricing seems to be right around the same level. $22 For a pound. They make much tastier, better-looking cookies!

What a nice little hidden advertisement 😉

This isn't an ad, I promise. Just sharing some thoughts from the wedding expo🙂

wiredranger10 and ambergull38, thanks for the heads-up.😉

wiredranger10 said:What a nice little hidden advertisement 😉

I can vouch for that. I've mentioned it before—we picked up a cake and some pastries from Mus, and everything was gone in an instant. We barely had a pound of sweets left to bring back to the office. Everyone was raving about them; usually, I’m a skeptic when a crowd starts praising something, but this time, the evidence was undeniable. 🤣

Cienna was actually quite lovely!

I'm thinking about adding our initials, M&K, to the top of the cake, but I'm not sure where to find them. Does anyone know where I can pick some up?

I'm looking for something a bit larger and more elegant than the standard lettering.