Wedding cakes and desserts

Or maybe Jeffrey Castillo8 should just scroll through the middle of this thread...🤣 🤣
Come on, Sam Kim12, don't be like that... If we're talking about age, my husband could basically forget he even has a wife on a daily basis if it came down to it...🤣 🤣 😬 😁
Man, if I could actually hear him... I’d be set...🙂

I’ve gone through everything, I really have, but somehow I must have missed something 🙂

Sam Kim12, if you could possibly share any insight, I would be incredibly grateful. Honestly, I don't have anyone else particularly sharp to turn to for advice on this. I visited two local bakeries recently, and they started acting incredibly shady toward me. It feels like they're being intentionally vague and withholding details until we officially sign a contract to have them handle all our dessert catering 😢

Thanks.

neongardener6 said:I had 163 people at my wedding. The cake was round and had four tiers. I can post a photo if you actually want to see it.

neongardener6, please post it! Honestly, every little detail helps me figure this out.

Jeffrey Castillo8 said:I’ve gone through everything, I really have, but somehow I must have missed something 🙂

Sam Kim12, if you could possibly share any insight, I would be incredibly grateful. Honestly, I don't have anyone else particularly sharp to turn to for advice on this. I visited two local bakeries recently, and they started acting incredibly shady toward me. It feels like they're being intentionally vague and withholding details until we officially sign a contract to have them handle all our dessert catering 😢

Thanks.

Just tell me what shape the cake should be, and how many slices you need—also, do you want them all uniform in size, or should they taper from largest to smallest?😉

So, I finally sat down yesterday to nail down the cake details.
It’s gonna be two tiers, square-shaped—probably a chocolate Black Forest on the bottom and maybe some light parfait on top? Plus, some butterfly decorations on top to tie it all together.😍

mellowridge, how many people are we talking about here, and just how bad is this gonna blow up in your face?

Sam Kim12 said:Just tell me what shape the cake should be, and how many slices you need—also, do you want them all uniform in size, or should they taper from largest to smallest?😉

They’ll all be uniform in size, except for that "top slice" we always end up eating—but honestly, I don't even count that one. And just to clarify, we aren't stacking them in some sort of tower, one on top of the other; they'll be spread out normally. I'm planning on making them mostly equal sizes, though I'm not entirely sure what the industry standard is. I'm thinking a 10-inch round pan is probably the go-to for most cakes, or maybe an 8-inch, but that's usually what people use for standard round cakes.

Thanks so much, really!

neongardener6, thanks so much for the photo! It really brings back memories of that cake—honestly, my bad, I completely blanked on the fact that you were the one who made it.
Did you actually have enough to feed all 163 guests, or did you end up with a mountain of leftovers?

mellowridge, where on earth did you find those little butterflies???

neongardener6 said:

neongardener6, thanks so much for sharing that photo! It really brings back memories of that cake—honestly, my bad, I completely forgot it was yours. Did you actually have enough to feed all 163 guests, or did you end up with a massive surplus?

Sam Kim12 said:Just tell me what shape the cake should be, and how many slices you need—also, do you want them all uniform in size, or should they taper from largest to smallest?😉

They’ll all be roughly the same size, except for that "top layer" slice we usually snag for ourselves—though, honestly, I don't even count that one. We aren't doing some vertical stack where they sit on top of each other, either; they'll just be spread out on the platter. Mostly uniform sizes should work fine. I'm not entirely sure what the industry standard is, but I'd bet a 10-inch round pan is the go-to for most cakes you'd see at a typical American bakery, or maybe an 8-inch one. Either way, whatever is most common works for me.

Thank you so, so much for all the hard work you're putting into this!

Benjamin Hill10 said:mellowridge, how many people are we talking about here, and just how bad is this gonna blow up in your face?

It's for about 130 people. The cake is actually a gift from this lady I know who does baking, so... yeah, I pretty much just need to grab some butterfly decorations or whatever else I want to put on top.

Jeffrey Castillo8 said:neongardener6, thanks so much for sharing that photo! It really brings back memories of that cake—honestly, my bad, I completely forgot it was yours. Did you actually have enough to feed all 163 guests, or did you end up with a massive surplus?

Hard to say if there was any left over.🙂

mellowridge said:It's for about 130 people. The cake is actually a gift from this lady I know who does baking, so... yeah, I pretty much just need to grab some butterfly decorations or whatever else I want to put on top.

mellowridge wait, where did you find those butterflies?🙏

Help me out, please... I went to see a lady for some baked goods last Friday—she’s actually a friend of my mom's colleague—and her treats are truly wonderful, but she weighs $30. Is that considered excessive? I'm only asking because my mother "accidentally" mentioned yesterday that her coworker's sister lives over in St. Louis and does wedding catering and supplies two local bakeries for about $17 per pound. Now I'm torn; I feel like backing out of my order with this lady, but I'd feel terrible about my mom. Still, the price difference is quite significant in terms of $13! What should I do? Is it even fair to cancel now, considering I only just placed the request? My dad always says you get what you pay for, but I can't help but hesitate 🙄
...

rustyowl7 said:Help me out, please... I went to see a lady for some baked goods last Friday—she’s actually a friend of my mom's colleague—and her treats are truly wonderful, but she weighs $30. Is that considered excessive? I'm only asking because my mother "accidentally" mentioned yesterday that her coworker's sister lives over in St. Louis and does wedding catering and supplies two local bakeries for about $17 per pound. Now I'm torn; I feel like backing out of my order with this lady, but I'd feel terrible about my mom. Still, the price difference is quite significant in terms of $13! What should I do? Is it even fair to cancel now, considering I only just placed the request? My dad always says you get what you pay for, but I can't help but hesitate 🙄
...

That definitely sounds expensive regardless of how you look at it. Honestly, at the hotel where I stay, they serve pastries for about $22 a pound. You should probably just be upfront with the woman and explain that the price was higher than you anticipated, especially since you realized there are much better deals out there and you're trying to keep your budget tight. It's a tough spot to be in, for sure, but that price just seems excessive. Is this more of a hobbyist thing or a professional business?

Arthur Ramirez4 said:That definitely sounds expensive regardless of how you look at it. Honestly, at the hotel where I stay, they serve pastries for about $22 a pound. You should probably just be upfront with the woman and explain that the price was higher than you anticipated, especially since you realized there are much better deals out there and you're trying to keep your budget tight. It's a tough spot to be in, for sure, but that price just seems excessive. Is this more of a hobbyist thing or a professional business?

Yes, it sounds like a home business! Honestly, I wouldn't feel bad bringing it up to my wife (regardless of what my colleague thinks), especially since we aren't making this decision a few days before the event, but two months in advance. If we could find a better rate with this woman, I could put those savings toward some beautiful flowers instead...

rustyowl7 said:Help me out, please... I went to see a lady for some baked goods last Friday—she’s actually a friend of my mom's colleague—and her treats are truly wonderful, but she weighs $30. Is that considered excessive? I'm only asking because my mother "accidentally" mentioned yesterday that her coworker's sister lives over in St. Louis and does wedding catering and supplies two local bakeries for about $17 per pound. Now I'm torn; I feel like backing out of my order with this lady, but I'd feel terrible about my mom. Still, the price difference is quite significant in terms of $13! What should I do? Is it even fair to cancel now, considering I only just placed the request? My dad always says you get what you pay for, but I can't help but hesitate 🙄
...

Arthur Ramirez4, I think that's a bit pricey. If you save $13 per pound, that actually adds up to quite a bit given how much you need to buy 😲 Maybe just try telling her that the price is a little higher than your budget allows—especially with all those wedding expenses piling up—and then just give her a nice thank you for the offer

rustyowl7 said:Yes, it sounds like a home business! Honestly, I wouldn't feel bad bringing it up to my wife (regardless of what my colleague thinks), especially since we aren't making this decision a few days before the event, but two months in advance. If we could find a better rate with this woman, I could put those savings toward some beautiful flowers instead...

Look, if you feel like saying something, then just say it. It's not like you're being rude; it just gives you the freedom to put that extra cash toward something else entirely, and let's face it, the price difference is actually pretty significant. Besides, around here, when you buy homemade treats from local bakers, they practically charge you by the $13pound!

Henry Sanders3 said:mellowridge wait, where did you find those butterflies?🙏

Haven't picked them up yet... I'll probably find them somewhere...😍