Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

How much cake to order?

I have ordered enough cake for every guest. But, I read (can't remember where in one of my books) that only about half the people eat cake these days. And that as a wedding budget tip only order cake for half the guests. Is this true? What if everyone wants cake, then what send out someone for cupcakes? LOL!

Re: How much cake to order?

  • The only time I could see ordering less cake than guests is if you had other dessert options available.  Sure, not everyone is going to like cake, but it's better to have plenty than risk guests not getting some when they want it!

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  • I've been to two weddings where I got no cake because they ran out. I was seriously annoyed. I know it's way more common to have extra, but if we have extra I'm sure we won't have any trouble finding people to take home a few pieces. If not, I'll eat cake for a while, I guess! Too much cake is ALWAYS better than not enough in my book!
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  • The only way I could see this being a good idea is if there were back-up sheet cakes in the kitchen.  Maybe the tiered cutting cake (that's often pricier per slice) won't serve everybody, but there should be a serving of cake for each guest.

    And every time I see the small-cake-plus-sheet-cakes suggestion I want to add that the sheet cakes should be of the same quality as the tiered one.  In other words, the cutting cake shouldn't be an elaborate confection with flavored fillings and delicious buttercream while the sheet cakes served to some guests are plain, dry and topped with sweetened Crisco, kwim?
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_how-much-cake-to-order?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:afde8953-49b1-4137-b586-4561eb74e2d6Post:7caffe6f-c027-4edc-b2c3-20d42e63563c">Re: How much cake to order?</a>:
    [QUOTE]The only way I could see this being a good idea is if there were back-up sheet cakes in the kitchen.  Maybe the tiered cutting cake (that's often pricier per slice) won't serve everybody, but there should be a serving of cake for each guest. And every time I see the small-cake-plus-sheet-cakes suggestion I want to add that the sheet cakes should be of the same quality as the tiered one.  In other words, the cutting cake shouldn't be an elaborate confection with flavored fillings and delicious buttercream while the sheet cakes served to some guests are plain, dry and topped with sweetened Crisco, kwim?
    Posted by reppunzel[/QUOTE]

    Sorry I don't know what kwim means? I totally agree I do not like sheet cake thing. Also, DD wants to have the cake be more of a wow factor, which makes, bigger the better in her eyes. I am going to stick with what I have. Square bottom and three rounds with black and white pearls. Thanks. :)
  • A lot of the bakers around here say to get at least 1.5x your guest count in cake (not including any tiers you may be saving).  Sure it's easy to say they're in it for the money but I can see where they're coming from.  Standard sizes for cake slices are SMALL - about 1" by 2" by however tall your tier is (most wedding cakes are torted to about 4" tall, but height may vary).  Unless you have someone who knows how to cut an 8" round into 24 slices (for example), most people are going to server bigger pieces of cake.  Therefore, how many the cake can potentially serve, and what the cake actually ends up serving can be different amounts.
  • Our cake served 100, we had 73 guests and about 30 slices left (uncut, half the bottom). I know for a fact people went and had second pieces because it was so good.
  • Kwim = "know what I mean?"  So sorry ... I'm usually careful, even in my texting, not to use a lot of abbreviations, that one slipped by.
  • edited August 2012
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_how-much-cake-to-order?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:afde8953-49b1-4137-b586-4561eb74e2d6Post:b29fa853-021c-4e72-b63a-0c8b170e81c7">Re: How much cake to order?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Kwim = "know what I mean?"  So sorry ... I'm usually careful, even in my texting, not to use a lot of abbreviations, that one slipped by.
    Posted by reppunzel[/QUOTE]

    I have been texting with DD for years I find myself correcting my writing that just her and I know. LOL!
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_how-much-cake-to-order?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:afde8953-49b1-4137-b586-4561eb74e2d6Post:838c9957-bc1d-4deb-b485-408b7e80cea4">Re: How much cake to order?</a>:
    [QUOTE]A lot of the bakers around here say to get at least 1.5x your guest count in cake (not including any tiers you may be saving).  Sure it's easy to say they're in it for the money but I can see where they're coming from.  Standard sizes for cake slices are SMALL - about 1" by 2" by however tall your tier is (most wedding cakes are torted to about 4" tall, but height may vary).  Unless you have someone who knows how to cut an 8" round into 24 slices (for example), most people are going to server bigger pieces of cake.  Therefore, how many the cake can potentially serve, and what the cake actually ends up serving can be different amounts.
    Posted by ummeiko[/QUOTE]

    Well, I am sure we will want to keep a tier. And I suppose your slices depends on the cutting of your venue and their skills. I find it interesting that I found something saying 1/2 and you're saying 1 1/2. I would rather be prepared than running for cupcakes! LOL!  At this point I have 150 I think. We are going to see a mock up on Monday. Then we will confirm everything. We are just doing vanilla and chocolate, they are both filled with custard type stuff. Any reason why I should add or change a flavor? Any ideas?
  • We are ordering a small cake that serves 40, and we are going to buy an extra sheet cake to keep in the back. We're also going to offer a couple extra desserts. That being said, I'll be surprised if 40 people end up at our wedding! 
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_how-much-cake-to-order?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:afde8953-49b1-4137-b586-4561eb74e2d6Post:255c5393-4cb7-4695-a631-086acf1f7948">Re: How much cake to order?</a>:
    [QUOTE]We are ordering a small cake that serves 40, and we are going to buy an extra sheet cake to keep in the back. We're also going to offer a couple extra desserts. That being said, I'll be surprised if 40 people end up at our wedding! 
    Posted by insanityofamom[/QUOTE]

    Well, we were "lucky" LOL! 90% of our guests r attending, and my Aunt has kindly offered suggestion to invite other people whenshe heard of one couple not making it. Ugh! <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />
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