Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

What is your cake budget?

I have gotten a couple of prices on cakes and they average about $4-500 for a 2 or 3 tiered cake very simply decorated. Just curious to know if this is about the average cost. Any imput is greatly appreciated.

Re: What is your cake budget?

  • edited December 2011
    It really really varies by location/bakery/cake design, etc.

    We paid about $400 for a three tiered cake with fairly simple cake decorating.
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  • edited December 2011
    I agree with the PP, it really depends on your location. I would post this on your local wedding board for a better estimate.

    we paid just under $800 for a 4 tier cake
  • edited December 2011
    Our cake is $400 for 4 tiers. It has 2 flavors and is a simple white on white design.
  • edited December 2011

    We are paying about 657 for our cake plus a plain side cake to add a bit more to be on the safe side so we aren't short any cake. This is our cake (shown below) but instead of a bow on top we're having fresh dark red roses and black calla lillies the back ground will be ivory instead of white the small flower designs will still be black but the dots around them branching out will be red. The top layer and the bottom layer have a lemony filling and the middle is a hazelnut. its a red velvet cake :)

    When we were trying all the flavors we never would have thought of that particular combo for fillings and such but when you taste them together its amazing.



    So I would say it's a good deal you're getting Wink

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  • edited December 2011
    This was our cake (the leaves are silk, not fondant). Two flavors. The cake was $550, but with set up, delivery, tax and cake stand rental it was closer to $700.




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  • edited December 2011
    We are going to be spending around $250 for a 3 tiered cake for 200 guests....this is on the very low end for our area, and I was lucky to find a baker who is just getting her business started. For a brick and mortar bakery around here it would easily cost $700 for the same cake.

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  • edited December 2011
    Our cake will be $875 plus cake stand rental ($20) and cutting fee ($1/person).  We could have gone as high as $1,000 for the cake itself, and I'm glad we didn't have to, although it will come to just over $1,000 when you include the cutting fee and cake stand.  Most cakes in my area are much, much less than this, but ours is really highly designed with dried fondant mosaic tiles, which are a lot of additional labor and material costs and made most of the decorators we met with gasp.  What can I say?  I'm an older bride with a big cake budget who has very specific tastes.
  • mgietler76mgietler76 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are having a 3 tier all cheesecake wedding cake with 3 different flavors and it is very detailed that will serve roughly 135 people. I agree that it depends on your area and the amount of details and extras (cake stand, delivery, cutting) I am spending $550 and the price is all inclusive even if we want to add more detail (although I don't think that's possible)
  • edited December 2011
    We paid 230$ for a two tier cake that served 50.
  • melissamc2melissamc2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Our cake was four tiers, served roughly 175ish, had a white buttercream finish with black buttercream detailing, and white chocolate roses cascading down the side.  The flavours were simple white with buttercream filling and simple white with mocha and chocolate buttercream filling.

    It was done by a very well known baker, which upped the price - but was well worth it.  With delivery, it was right around $1500.









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  • JensenAdioJensenAdio member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are getting our wedding cake at a local bakery for $300 for a 3-tier cut cake with an anniversary tier for free. The grooms cake is $65. We are getting a GREAT deal
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  • edited December 2011
    Ours is on a per-person basis so it's $2 a slice, for 150 people.
  • edited December 2011
    We are getting an ice ceam cake from Coldstone. The price is $350 and it will feed 150 people. It is 4 flavors and is a single cake with 3 tiers and then two round cakes on each side. The price includes delivery and set-up.
  • edited December 2011
    We don't have to worry about the price of cake as our Venue is providing us with a free cake. But there price is about $2.50 a piece.
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  • edited December 2011
    We weren't going to have a cake, but we ended up deciding to have one. The venue will make us the cake of our dreams for $8pp.... A little pricey, but the convenience of having the venue take care of it, makes it worth it!
  • JustKateJustKate member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are having three tiers, different flavors and up to two fillings in each tier, plus a grooms cake, with delivery and set up for 80 people.  Total: $240. 
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  • JustKateJustKate member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh yea - and a free 1 yr anniversary cake too.
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  • edited December 2011
    A girl I went to high school with does cakes on the side so she'll she doing our 3 tier cake for about $150-$200
  • edited December 2011
    Wow. This is insane. My first wedding was $400 for a three tiered simple cake. This time it's about $20 to feed 150 people with 5 different cakes. Much smarter this time. In the end the cake had absolutely nothing to do with the marriage. So why stress and spend all that money?
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  • edited December 2011
    If it is basic and buttercream, I think that's a bit pricey.  Mine is $250 for a three-tier.  Fondant is more expensive, but it tastes like paste, and I think taste is way more important than looks, because no cake will be ugly.
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  • mmady84mmady84 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As a cake designer, I lucked out and I am making my own cake, because i know for a fact that the 7 tier cake I am making would easily  cost me 2000 in nyc.  And fondant only tastes bad if its the  cheap premade stuff, I make my fondant from marshmallows, which also gives me the option to charge less per slice. 
  • NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We got ripped off on our cake.  We were charged $7.50 a slice for fondant.  I wish I would have done my research, but it was a last minute decision.
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  • rillarsonrillarson member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ours is $3 a serving. For a 3-tiered cake (6-8-10) it is $300. Our grooms cake is going to serve about 50 and it's $150. The grooms cake is a very intricate design and I'm suprised that it is that cheap. But I am so happy with our bakery. 
  • edited December 2011
    caseyandlizzie: Who made your cake? Was it tasty? And do you think she could possibly deliver as far as Lexington?
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_cake-budget-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:7f80e0ab-5f96-4297-a2cd-3afec4d9657fPost:4c26b322-7bab-4e8a-9974-da15260f7ec9">Re: What is your cake budget?</a>:
    [QUOTE]caseyandlizzie: Who made your cake? Was it tasty? And do you think she could possibly deliver as far as Lexington?
    Posted by ReebokJ[/QUOTE]
    The baker is Flying Buttercream.....we did tastings with 5 different bakers and hers was by far the best tasting, and she doesn't charge extra for different flavors for each tier. She might travel to Lexington, but she will charge mileage, so it may be less expensive to find someone in Lexington.
    Here's the website...it wouldn't hurt to send her an e-mail to see about travel fees:
    <a href="http://www.flyingbuttercream.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.flyingbuttercream.com/index.html</a>

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  • lynnmfranklynnmfrank member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We just got cake pricing sticker shock yesterday at a cake tasting held at a prominent wedding cake bakery in our area.  Honestly, the cake wasn't that good and they didn't have the type of frosting we wanted (buttercream.) and they wanted $500, about $100 of which was set-up charges and rental for a base.

    We are checking into the bakery within a high-end grocery store chain in our area where I've gotten wonderful birthday cakes for years, and whose buttercream frosting I have dreams about.  We already know they will provide a full sheet cake for 100 people for about $65--so we are considering going with a simple single-layer for us to cut and  photograph and providing the bulk of the guests with the sheet cake.

    A friend did this and it saved her a lot of money and the guests never knew the difference.
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