Klueless about Kake!

amyj513

Is it typical for a wedding cake in Hawaii to be $9/slice?  That seems ungodly expensive for somethine thats probably not even good anyways.  Our reception is at the Seawatch and for a simple ganach 3 tier wedding cake (45 ppl) with SIMPLE dot detail, the price is $445.  I even have to provide the flowers myself!Is anyone else sick of how fast these wedding people take your money!($25/chair for chair ties!  I am in the wrong bussiness!)

Angelshann

I know how you feel!! Things are so ridiciously expensive when you are planning a wedding. It's like we have a sign on our forehead that says go ahead rip me off just because we're getting married! haha We are going with a cupcake wedding cake....Our cupcakes are $2.00 each and that is with them being customized.

jujubee96

that sounds overpriced.  We did a 3 tier for around the same amount of ppl (they said cake could feed btwn 45-60), and I'm pretty sure our cake (from Oahu) was mid 200s... maybe mid 300s?  But 200 something is sounding more like what we paid.  We provided our own flowers too.  Have you shopped around for other cake vendors in Maui?

carrieoz_76

That is ridunkulous.  We're probably going to have cake at our place with folks after dinner b/c we don't want to get hosed on the cost of the cake *plus* the "cakecutting fee" (aka the "bleed you dry" fee).

amyj513

Jen, with the Seawatch we don't have a choice!  Ahhhh.

aliblu

amyj513: I have the same exact problem you are having! I asked the SeaWatch which cake company I could use, and they said I HAD to use theres. They told me to budget AT LEAST $250.00 for a cake that feeds 20-25 people! Its ridiculous! Thats like $10.00 a slice! I told my family, I know they are paying for it, but its completely ridiculous, and I dont even want a cake if its that much, I would rather just have cake at our condo, and have it be made by someone else.

M&M's_Maui

That does sound a little overpriced.  We paid just a little more than that for our 3-tier cake for 76 people and we had our reception at The Westin.

jaymers99

That does sound ridiculous...especially because you can get a whole sheet cake at costco for about $20!  Adding the word "wedding" to anything automatically increases the price 10-fold.  I still am in shock over how much everything costs!Anyways, back to the cake...the average I've seen is about $4/slice.  I went to Cakeworks on Oahu because I was told they have the best prices, and it wasn't bad...I could get a small, basic 3-tier cake for about $250.  Decorations are priced as a percentage of your base price, so simple dots might add 25%, making it a little more than $300.  Add in the delivery fee and my hotel's fee for bringing in an outside cake (which is VERY reasonable -- flat fee of $30), and we're up to $400.After meeting with my hotel and looking at pictures of the cakes their pastry chefs made, I am opting to go with their cake.  The cake's not that important to me and we'll be having another dessert served with dinner.  I can get a 3-tier cake with dummy (so it looks like 4 tiers) for $230...and that includes simple decorations (dots, tri-dot, or scrolling).  I can also choose stacked or columns.  The only down side is that they don't have as many flavor options as specialty bakeries.

MrsNicole&Brian808

My wedding cake was ~$350 for 3 square tiers that adequately served our 115 guests...plus, we still got to take home the top tier. And my MIL still raves about how d'lish it was. [img]http://tinyurl.com/ycxctqg[/img]

BoBride28

That's too bad that you don't have a choice on who you can get the cake from. Your price does sound high. Since you only have 45 people, maybe you could get away with just a 2-tier cake? By the way, I totally hear you on how quickly everything adds up with this wedding stuff!

kaesha

What about getting a 1 or 2 tier cake and then having a sheet cake in the back? That might cut down on the cost.I paid 220$ for a 2 tier 50 person cake (yes, we had 31 people and yes, I ate the most amazing breakfasts for the rest of the week).

MrsNicole&Brian808

Doing a smaller cake and supplementing with a sheet cake is definitely a good idea.  I would inquire with the Seawatch.  I remember that our venue would do a sheet cake only after we had bought a minimum number of tiers.

maui2011

That price does seem high...I received a quote from Cakes by JoAnn...3 tier...feeds 52...$300. Have you thought about a cup cake display in lieu of a cake...just a thought? J. :-)

MandaB206

I had planned and actually paid my deposit at the Seawatch also.  Then after adding everything up for our 30 people we decided to cancel and go somewhere else!  I am so happy we did.  I was disappointed with the fact you had to use them for your cake as well!  Plus, I asked about doing a cake taste test and they don't even offer them!  It's a nice place though so I'm sure your cake will at least be yummy!The Seawatch is beautiful- if you haven't been there in person it's even nicer looking than in pictures!  )

Samaralynn23

Nope i checked 2 places and were paying just over $400 for our with what i think is bare minimum decorating and yes i too am providing my own flowers. All i have to say is that i am in the wrong business. Even during the cake tasting it was good but nothing mouth watering so i feel ya. We looked other palces and really we were ssaving on so many other things i really just didnt care by that point.

amyj513

Thank you all for responding.  I have no choice but to suck it up and pay that much for my cake!  It really annoys me that they don't offer tastings.  Thats bad customer service if you ask me...