Why do Wedding Cakes cost more?
10 reasons your wedding cake costs more than a party cake
Why are wedding cakes more expensive than party cakes? This is an interesting question and a more complex answer than you’d think. You’re not just paying for the cost of ingredients, there is far more to it…..
Admin
Wedding cakes, do take a lot more admin. Generally, we will go back and forth over several emails or messages, discussing different options about cake sizes, designs and flavours. Couples make changes, ask questions and book in advance which is utilising our knowledge and time.
Our current record for correspondence about a single wedding cake is 64 emails. With around half being sent by us. If each email takes us a minimum of 5 minutes, this equates to 2.5 hours, just replying to emails. How much would you charge for that much of your time?
Most couples pay a deposit and pay the balance later. This is absolutely fine and totally understandable, but most of you need a gentle reminder to pay, and once you do pay this all needs to be processed and updated, meaning more admin again. This isn’t a huge amount of admin, but if each couple takes 15 minutes, over the course of the year this is around 36 hours!
Cake Consultation
A lot of couples attend a consultation. Consultations are not essential for booking your cake, but we understand some couples prefer to meet us face-to-face.
Whilst we do charge for these appointments, if you book your cake with us, this appointment is then free. This is still 45 minutes of our time, with cake samples and our knowledge thrown in for free.
We hold consultation Saturdays where we have back-to-back appointments, which we love to do and meet so many couples. But this is an entire day of our time which is the equivalent of around two weeks per year!
Structure
90% of our wedding cakes are three tiers or more.
Each cake requires 4 boards, a central dowel which we handmake, and between 12 and 18 smaller structural dowels. Far more than a party cake!6″ hardboard = £1.10
- 8″ hardboard = £1.30
- 10″ hardboard = £1.80
- 14″ drum Board = £3.80
- Ribbons = £2.00
- Dowels = £5.00
- Central Dowel = £2.00
- TOTAL = £17 before we even think about the cake!
Quality
Wedding cakes are made with the best of the best!
We use higher-quality fondant to cover wedding cakes, to achieve a better finish.
We use thick cake boards, and higher-quality additions.
Also, if you order a fondant-covered cake, they are almost always covered in a layer of ganache to create a firm sturdy finish, which takes a lot more time and costs more than party cakes.
Ingredients
“Oh it’s only butter, sugar eggs and flour!” Whilst we appreciate you’re not paying for caviar, the cost of ingredients, particularly butter and sugar has risen significantly in the last few years.
Almost a lot of couples have more interesting flavours for their wedding cake. We use fillings such as oranges, raspberries and champagne. All of which increase the price.
Also, it isn’t just purchasing these ingredients from the supermarket, it is preparing them, which takes time, equipment and skill.
Quantity
Most couples don’t realise just how many portions of cake you’re actually getting. You’re effectively buying dessert for all your friends and family. You pop into the supermarket, or a coffee shop (Starbucks, Costa etc) and you see how much they charge for a cake or pastry. A basic mass-produced muffin is around £3.50. You multiply this basic muffin by 100 guests = £350.
Now take all your friends and family to a nice restaurant, where the dessert is handmade, decorated to a high finish, and uses high-quality ingredients. Would you pay £5.75 for a pudding? Now multiply that by 100….. suddenly it might occur to you why your cake costs what it does.
Skill and Knowledge
It is not as easy as it looks! Covering a wedding cake to a high standard takes practice…lots and lots of practice.
Some cake makers cut corners, they don’t cover the board or they leave the board edge exposed. Some use very few flowers and lower-quality decorations. A lot don’t achieve sharp edges and leave them rounded, and some look bumpy and rushed!
Believe us, the more you look, the more you’ll notice!
Achieving so many different styles, textures and finishes is something that has taken us years to master. New ways of working and techniques are being introduced all the time, and most techniques cannot be achieved by home bakers.
Cake Additions
Most wedding cakes are not left plain. Most are adorned with flowers, toppers and textures. Additions such as fresh and sugar flowers quickly add up. Sugar flowers take hours to make. If a large rose takes an hour, and you want 10 on your cake, how much should we charge?
Ruffle cakes are a great example, each ruffle is hand-cut and applied….. a 10″ cake will have about 400 ruffles, and takes hours to do!
Time
We can assure you that most wedding cakes take hours to make, and some take more than a day! We are providing a service and deserve to be paid fairly for our time and skills.
Locksmiths charge £60 an hour to pick your lock in less than 10 minutes.
How much is our time worth when we create a beautiful piece of edible art using our niche skills and knowledge that can take up to a day to make?
Delivery
Want to collect your cake on the morning of the wedding? We didn’t think so.
Your cake will need to be delivered by people who know what they are doing. Some cakes will also need to be assembled at the venue, which requires more time and tools.
You can view our cake information and FAQ page for more details about delivery or drop us a message. We do charge for delivery because this eats into a lot of our time and it costs money in petrol. For every hour we are out of the shop, this is less time we can interest with other customers and work on our business.
We are happy to work with you to create a beautiful photo-worthy cake within your budget. But please be realistic in your expectations of what things cost and their value.
If you want us to quote a cake, get in touch! We are happy to offer free advice, help and suggestions to make your dream cake a reality.
