Wedding cakes and desserts

We had about 150 people coming through—give or take—so between the individual boxes and the stuff we grabbed for home, we walked away with 66 kg of pastries. You can see how it went... there wasn't much left, just enough to grab a few more to bring back to the office. Honestly, I’d highly recommend Bond for treats—they're delicious, feel totally homemade, and the price is actually reasonable (kg $16).

placidjackal14 said:I'm also wondering how many pounds of dessert I should get for about 170 people... including enough to fill up those little favor boxes! Please help me out...😍
😘

When I was picking out treats for a friend at Sweet Secret—their stuff is top-tier—they told me to budget about 6 to 8 ounces per person for the venue. Then you just tack on whatever you need for the house or the party favors.
Seems like overkill to me. Usually, I'm the only one actually eating the sweets at these things 😁, but apparently, people insist that a plate looks more "elegant" when it’s piled high rather than half-empty..

Regarding the dessert situation, we packed up 8-ounce boxes for guests to take home, which turned out to be just enough. As for the reception itself, we had ten tables of twelve, each featuring three massive platters overflowing with sweets. I actually worried we’d overdone it at first, but seeing how little was left by the end of the night, I was relieved we didn't skimp on the order...
I wanted to check if anyone here happened to pick up treats from the Sweet Secret bakery over by the Mississippi River. We used them for our wedding, and when my husband and I stopped by recently, the owner mentioned a few ladies from the Forum had been in to grab desserts for a wedding too.🙂I hope they lived up to expectations.😘

We ended up having about 200 pounds of dessert for a crowd of 150 people, which honestly felt like an absolute mountain of sweets... For the goody bags we sent home with guests, we packed about a third of a pound per person—people were actually commenting on how generous the portions were—and after that, there was still enough left over for the staff at the venue, so we managed to clear everything out perfectly in the end... everyone walked away happy and well-fed...

So, we were thinking about ordering roughly 220 pounds of dessert for about 150 guests...
I mean, my mom is totally obsessed with sweets, and she basically threatened to murder the catering staff if there isn't a constant flow of treats on the tables throughout the wedding...

Roughly how much cake should I plan on per guest?
I feel like 220 pounds for 150 people might be a bit overkill 🙂 especially since we'll have such an extensive spread of other food... Personally, when I attend weddings, I tend to be one of those guests who eats the least amount of dessert—even though I actually have a sweet tooth. Still, I certainly wouldn't want to run out too early...

northernhawk87 said:Roughly how much cake per person should we plan for?
100 kg for 150 people feels excessive 🙂 considering there’s going to be plenty of other food. Personally, I tend to eat the least amount of cake at weddings—even though I have a sweet tooth. Still, I wouldn't want to run out..

We ended up with 50 kg of sweets total—splitting it 25 kg for him and 25 kg for me. We had 120 guests, none of whom were family, just people at the venue. You wouldn't believe how much was left over; I even brought some to my office and spent the next week tucking leftovers into my fridge. 100 kg is way too much. People don't just eat dessert all night.😘

Well, I find myself agreeing with that sentiment... if I sit down and calculate roughly 0.4 pounds per person, then for our group of about 300 guests, we would need approximately 150 pounds total, which seems quite substantial.. and that’s being conservative, considering how much he usually prepares versus how much I tend to account for, not to mention what will be set out in the banquet hall itself... or am I missing something?
I suppose my primary concern is avoiding unnecessary waste. We all have a certain weakness for sweets—certainly, most of us do—but when there is such a vast array of other food coming, I feel a genuine pang of regret at the thought of throwing things away.. yet, I certainly wouldn't want to run short either. It is quite the dilemma. 🙂

The restaurant told us the standard is about 7 ounces per person, so for a crowd of 120, they suggested we aim for somewhere between 55 and 65 pounds. That’s not even counting those little dessert boxes we're handing out.

Totally agree. They told us 3 to 4 pounds per person for dinner too—just a guess. Not sure about the takeout containers since we aren't even doing those.

Splendid, so it appears our calculations using 20kg were quite accurate... perhaps we should just throw an extra 10kg into the mix—purely as a precaution, of course... and we certainly won't be having any boxes available either.

And we’re going to have those little dessert boxes...
Plus, I need enough for both his place and my house. It’s kind of a tradition on my street—once the guests head out, whoever was "watching" the house invites the whole block over for a snack and some treats. If we're looking at about 7 ounces per person, then for 150 people, I'd need roughly 65 pounds just for the reception. If we package that same amount into individual boxes, that’s another 65 pounds. So we're talking 130 pounds total... plus him, me, and my mom all having to lug that stuff around to work...
But hey, what do I know...
I still have this nagging phobia that we aren't going to have enough food. :-D

We’re cutting the dessert spread down to the absolute bare minimum—mostly because I can't stand those typical wedding cakes, I don't know what it is about them... 😕 I bake all kinds of treats and pies and stuff all the time, so it's definitely not a lack of skill...
Basically, we'll just grab a tiny amount of store-bought sweets on the way, and instead, I'm going to bug all my aunts, cousins, and sisters to whip up one signature dish each. That way, we’ll have a little bit of everything, and more importantly, they'll be the crowd-pleasers we've all had at family reunions for years! 😍

Meli - A TOTAL DISASTER!!
Service - A DISASTER
Cake - A DISASTER
I honestly don't get why everyone hypes up this Meli place; it is pure garbage. At least when it comes to birthday cakes, it's a joke.
I placed my order about three weeks ago, and the woman told me they’d give me a call a day or two before. Fine. Nothing happened. Not a single word until the actual pickup day. Then I try calling, and the line is busy for two hours straight—I couldn't even get through because there was just some dog barking in the background on the other end. I finally tracked down a number by searching for the owner's info online around 1 PM because I was getting desperate. My husband thinks I'm overreacting and says everything is fine, but I was supposed to pick that cake up at 2 PM.
I ordered a ladybug design, and it was packaged so poorly that it got smashed twice during the drive home because they clearly don't have proper boxes for it. It doesn't matter though, as long as they make the sale. Half the cake was practically hanging out of the box.
And the cake itself? Absolute trash. For that kind of money, it's insulting. It looks nothing like the original photo; instead of the topper, you get cheap gummy candies, and there's this dark brown lump mixed in where you can actually see what looks like fingerprints. The parfait was terrible too—way too runny and melted almost immediately. Even a day later, the dye from it is still stuck on my hands and won't wash off.
For that price...
I guess I was stupid, if I'm being honest, because I should have just gone to the Ritz. They are easily eight times better, higher quality, and actually cheaper than this Meli crap.
So, there it is. I'm sharing my experience so maybe someone will think twice before heading there for a cake. And you might want to hold off on seeing if she shows up for your kid's first birthday.

😕 😕 😕 😕 😕 😕

Look, Meli...
I’ve been grabbing treats from them whenever my partner and I have a sweet tooth, and they’re always FANTASTIC. Even at my office, we often order their cakes and pastries for birthdays, parties, or big presentations since they're right around the corner from us. We’ve got about 50 people in our crew, and everyone’s been stoked so far. If their bulk cookies aren't too pricey—say around $100-$35 per pound—I’d honestly grab them for a wedding because they’re just that good.
Also, their strawberry cheesecake? Hands down the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Period. That’s just my take on them.

I won't get myself involved in the drama... but isn't this $100 all getting a little excessive?
I picked up a parfait cake from a bakery in Chicago for my grandparents' golden anniversary—(and let me be clear, I’m not usually one for their stuff, but since I realized on Saturday that I needed it for Sunday, I was basically backed into a corner)—and honestly, it was both delicious and stunning to look at, even if it did set me back $67.

Hello... does anyone happen to know if it's possible to take a photo and a recipe for a specific cake to a bakery—basically asking them to recreate it? I mean... I actually have everything ready, but I feel a bit awkward even suggesting it. What do I know, though... perhaps they might find calculating the cost a bit of a hassle or something... although, in my view, it seems like a win-win situation—I get the exact cake I'm craving, and they get the profit plus another unique creation for their portfolio

restlessmoose18, I am inclined to believe that this course of action is indeed the correct one to pursue... just as you suggested, you ultimately secure exactly what you desire while they gain the benefit of having something fresh to offer the market. And as for those pricing structures, I suspect they won't be able to maintain them for very long, certainly not indefinitely 😉

I’ve decided against a mountain of cookies and I'm going with a chocolate fountain topped with all kinds of fruit instead. Since the wedding is this summer, I figure it’ll be a total hit—what do you guys think? Mmm, just thinking about dipping strawberries into melted chocolate... I can't wait! :klap: 👋 🙂 🙂

Regarding cakes, how far in advance are you guys actually planning to settle on a wedding cake?