How Much Wedding Cake do I Need? 5 Things to Consider.
There is no easy answer to this question, and I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I have a magic answer. This is probably one of the most asked question that I get, so I thought that I would try to shed some light on the thought process behind choosing how much cake you should order.
Photo: Ashton Kelley Photography, Venue: Antrim 1844
The first thing to consider, is probably the most obvious, how many guests are you planning to have at your wedding? When ordering a cake 6 months or more out from your wedding date, you won’t have an exact number of guests. But you should at least have an idea of how many people you think will attend your wedding. A good rule of thumb, when trying to figure out your guest count is to plan that 20% of the people that you invite won’t be able to attend. So if you’re inviting 150 people, you can safely predict that you will have about 120 attendants. Unless, of course, you are super popular, and can’t imagine anyone missing your big day.
Photo: Snow Drop Photography
Second thing to consider, are you having any other desserts? A big trend right now is to have a dessert table with a selection of small desserts for your guests to choose from. If you are having a dessert table, than you probably don’t need to have a slice of cake for every guest. Chances are that some of your guest will opt for the dessert table instead of cake. If the cake is your only dessert, then I would plan on having a slice of cake for all of your guests. The last thing you want is to not have enough cake for your guests.
The third consideration, do you plan on saving the top tier of your cake? When planning out how many servings your wedding cake should be you need to take into account that you won’t be serving your top tier. A typical 6 inch round top tier serves about 14, so you would need to add those servings into the other tiers of your cake.
Number 4 is something that most people don’t think about. How is your cake being served? There are usually two ways your cake can be served. A Cake Station: This is where your venue cuts up the cake and puts it on a table so the guests can help themselves. With this option, you can usually get away with less cake, because not everyone is going to want cake. Usually at this point of the night, the party is in full swing, and some people will choose to continue dancing, than eating cake.
The other option is having the cake plated and served to your guests at their table. In this case you would more than likely want to have a slice for each person. You don’t want Uncle Bob to not get his slice of cake, no matter how annoying be might be.
The final consideration is the design of your cake. If you are having a wedding for 150 people, but want a huge cake that would feed 300, it is possible, but you might not what all that extra cake. In that case the use of Styrofoam tiers would be recommended. That way you can get the look that you want, without all the extra cake. Unless you really like cake, it’s okay, I don’t judge. The opposite is also possible, if you are having a 300 person wedding, but don’t have a budget for a huge cake, or maybe that’s just not your thing, sheet cakes can be used to give you the extra servings that you need at a lower price point.
The magic answer to the question, how much cake do I need is not an easy one. My best advice is to work with your cake artist , and provide them with as much information as possible so they can recommend the best options for your wedding that will not only make your guests happy, but you as well. To inquire about a wedding cake consultation please fill out my contact form to get the ball rolling. I would love to create an amazing cake for you.
Blue Lace Cakes, LLC is based out of Gaithersburg, Maryland and specializes in custom designed wedding and special occasion cakes. Serving all of the Washington DC Metro Area, Baltimore and Frederick.