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Wedding cake pricing

post #1 of 3
7/11/08 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
Ok so i made a wedding cake for this girl that works with my mom and she loved it and i need to know what to price it and she is paying mr today and i need help i made my own cake recipe and my own buttercream frosting and i did every thing by myself it was a double laired three tier cake i had to pipe borders and pipe grass but i did use fake flowers so what would yall price it plz help... also transpertation was 1 hour and a half we had to travel on a dirt road for 5 miles which was very dificult....
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I may be only 14 but my future is pastries
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post #2 of 3
7/11/08 at 3:55pm
I see that you have posted this several places and are in a crunch for an answer.

I hesitate to tell anyone how much to charge when I have no idea of what their market will bear, how the finished product looked or what it tasted like. I’m not knocking any skills you might have, understand that it is difficult to give an informed opinion under these circumstances.

All that being said, your profile says that you are 14 years old. You could be a child prodigy pastry chef, I don’t know BUT… your age actually does mean that you are not going to command for your work what someone with more experience is going to, even if the work is comparable. This further complicates anyone giving you an answer. If you look around this forum you will see that pricing on things like this is always a big topic of discussion. The issue just isn’t an easy one.

Add to that you haven’t said if you ever discusses price with the bride prior to delivering the cake, which is a large mistake in business. We’ve all made business mistakes, it’s a learning process. You have put yourself in the position of having to ask a client to pay you.

If you were my child (I’ve got a 14 year old) and in this situation I would recommend that you not charge anymore, and maybe less, than double what you paid for ingredients. If the friend of your mother offers more, accept. But in all reality the bride is in the driver’s seat on this, as she has already received the merchandise.

Keep reading around here because issues about health department regulations, liability and other “legal” aspects of preparing food for the public are always being discussed and you need to keep these things in mind as you move forward with your goal.

Good Luck.
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post #3 of 3
7/11/08 at 9:59pm
I agree with izbnso, but would like to add a little.

If your labor is worth twice the materials cost, you need to charge for the materials as well. If the cost of the materials were $25, your labor would be $50, and your bill for making the cake would be $75. In addition, you should charge for the time, and expense of delivery. With the cost of gas, the two way trip, etc., I imagine that would be an extra $25 or so. It would be fair if you gave part of most of the delivery money to the person who drove you, and to reimburse for materials if someone else bought them for you.

An alternative is to set a reasonable hourly rate for your labor. For instance, $10 an hour. Again, you'll have to charge for your materials and other expenses, including delivery. Use your computer to print out a bill, and make sure your addition and spelling are correct. Nothing screams "amateur" like spelling and math mistakes.

Everything considered, I'd view this as a learning experience more than as an opportunity to rack up a big score. In the future, make sure your client is aware of how you will determine the total bill and that you have her agreement in advance -- preferably in writing.

Good luck with your pastry career,
BDL
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