How much cake to get?

tiffyguest

I am getting married in October 2013. 290 people will be invited to the wedding not sure what the final count will be. I do not want leftover cake other than our top piece to save. How many slices should I get?

Maggie0829

You will have leftover cake so you should just accept this right now.

When do you need to let the baker know your final head count?

You need enough cake for a slice per guest.  Typically wedding cake slices are tiny, like 2 or 3 bites tiny so I would estimate 1.5 to 1.75 pieces per person so they actually get a substantial slice.

As for leftovers, ask the bakery or the venue if they have to go boxes for leftover cake.  After the cake has been cut and served the catering staff will cut up the rest of the cake (except for your top tier) and box them up in individual slices.  They will most likely place these slices of cake near the exit door so your guests can grab one or two when they leave.

QueerFemme

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_how-much-cake-to-get?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:289b13ac-2fc4-461d-aa00-fc056b3ef2a0Post:512edf25-3344-4dde-a798-02a7f7dcd083">How much cake to get?</a>:
[QUOTE]I am getting married in October 2013. 290 people will be invited to the wedding not sure what the final count will be. I do not want leftover cake other than our top piece to save. How many slices should I get?
Posted by tiffyguest[/QUOTE]

I would probably try to get a cake that serves 400-450 people.  The slices that bakeries use are quite small.    I agree with Maggie, you will likely have SOME leftover cake.  There is no way around that, but people will eat it or take it home if your cake is tasty.

Amanda1443994

Is there a reason you need to know ahead of time how many slices of cake you need? I'm only asking because when we ordered our cake, we told them how many people were invited. A month before the wedding, we gave them a final head count and our baker made a cake for that amount of people. When ordering a cake, you don't usually tell the baker how many slices of cake you want, but rather the number of guests attending. We had 150 guests, bakery made a cake to cover that amount, the slices were very generous in size, and yes we still had leftovers.

db0197

At my first wedding, we ordered a cake that was based on the number of guests but we had over half of it left over.  So personally, I am cutting my final guest count to the baker by a quarter.  I have a large immediate side of family who always wait until everyone else is served so I know I will have no problem.  Alot of people do not eat cake because they are already so full from the meal.