Wedding Cake for $200 to feed 250

I would do a smaller cake a with a cutting cake to make up the servings.

That’s a fabulous idea!!! Thanks Sugarpixy! :)

Yes, I did this for a good friends daughter. Very small budget. A dozen cupcakes & a small 6" cake for show & to cut. 2 slab cakes with b/c to cut & serve at buffet.

Cake for less than $1 / serving – yeah, that’s pretty outrageous! I think sometimes we have to educate our customers and really make them think about what they’re buying. I like to ask the client "If you took 250 of your closest friends to {Insert Bad sit-down restaurant here} and bought everyone dessert, how much do you think that would cost? Now imagine that the dessert you bought was a beautiful, custom made creation made to your specifications… " Sometimes I ask them “If you bought a hamburger big enough to feed 250 people, how much do you think that would cost?”

But to answer your question, unless you just feel like “gifting” your time and ingredients to this person, tell them you can’t sell cake that cheaply without losing money. Tell them to shop around and see if they can get that much cake anywhere on that budget. My guess is that she couldn’t get 250 cupcakes from the grocery store for $200.

I personally wouldn’t do it. You’ll be losing money and you’ll regret it.

I agree with Jennifer White 100%.

Thanks everyone! JChuck, I had suggested a 6" cake with a mini cupcake tower but she said no cupcakes! I thought that was the best option for her limited budget. Jennifer, I totally agree, people don’t realize how much time and effort goes into a cake. It’s really frustrating actually! I love your analogy! Thank you!
MSGF, yes I was thinking I will totally regret it but she messaged me this morning to say that she is “working on” increasing the budget after I gave her options but also told her to shop around. Let’s see…thank you everyone for all of the suggestions! They are all greatly appreciated! :)

Well YumCakes if you offered that simple option, and she said No…then I’m in agreement with the others. Heck, I made a 2 tier cake with ribbon border & supplied fresh roses…and I charged $250…..SOooo guessing when she shops around, she’s going to get a big surprise!!!!

What if you asked her about a display cake option? I’ve heard some places will set up a fake display cake for show and just have a couple sheet cakes in the back to cut and serve. It might not be the best option but you could always make the top tier of actual cake if they want to save that for the 1 year anniversary. Just an idea…