Average cost of a wedding cake

Kate!!! · 11-05-2014 2:26pm #1

What is the a average cost of a wedding cake ? What fillings are most popular ? Does a wedding cake get eaten at a wedding or is it a waste to get a big cake (more than 3 tiers) ?

amdublin · 11-05-2014 5:00pm

You can get plain white wedding cakes in Marks and Spencers for very reasonable.

How many guests are you having? Do you need more than three tiers?

Some people like traditional fruit cake. Some people like more modern cakes like chocolate biscuit cake.

You could look up some local bakers on the internet and ring them and get a quote from them for what you are looking for.

Pang · 11-05-2014 10:15pm

When I was researching some of the popular wedding cake suppliers, the average was around 400 for a simple 3 tier. Chocolate biscuit cake was very popular and I remember red velvet was mentioned quite regularly.

In the end I went for macarons, because they are easy to eat and you can get them in so many different colours and flavours. I was able to have four different flavours and they matched into my colour scheme perfectly.

I find cake can be quite messy and often isn't eaten.

michellie · 11-05-2014 10:36pm

I'm just looking for something simple covered in buttercream icing and I've been quoted between 100-200. For 2/3 tiers with flowers on top from my florist.

jlm29 · 11-05-2014 10:54pm

The cost will vary greatly depending on what you want. I've made wedding cakes, and people don't realise how much work is involved. If you're looking for something simple, like the last poster,€100-€200 sounds reasonable- buttercream is very quick, and so easy to work with that a cake like that would not be labour intensive. The same covered in sugarpaste or royal icing would take a while, and I would expect to pay around €300. If you're looking for lots of sugar flowers, lace work, or piping, you could get into big money quite quickly. Plain icing with Fresh flowers looks lovely and is straightforward, so shouldn't cost too much.
It will probably vary too depending on where you are, and on how well Established the cake maker is. I've known people to spend €750 on a wedding cake, from a very reputable local cake maker,

ABajaninCork · 11-05-2014 10:57pm

Check Healy's in Blackpool. They did one of my side cakes in chocolate, and did the cake for my friend's wedding a couple of years ago. They're excellent and very reasonable. PM me if you need the number.

pwurple · 12-05-2014 6:38am

Try Bitesize in midleton as well. http://www.bitesize.ie/patisserie they did chocolate cakes for my friends wedding which were very tasty. They served them as dessert, rather than keeping the cake for years.

lazygal · 12-05-2014 7:09am

We skipped the cake entirely. I've never eaten a cake at a wedding I thought was memorable and I hate the cheesy cutting the cake photos. No one even noticed.

Jerrica · 12-05-2014 7:12am

lazygal wrote: »

We skipped the cake entirely. I've never eaten a cake at a wedding I thought was memorable and I hate the cheesy cutting the cake photos. No one even noticed.

Same here, it was top of the list of "things to easily cut out to save money to spend elsewhere". If your heart is set on a cake then go for it OP, but it's definitely not a necessity.

amdublin · 12-05-2014 7:45am

Cupcakes seem good to me...cheaper...can do big tower...no cutting....can bring unbeaten ones home and freeze...

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 12-05-2014 7:54am

What about different types of chocolate biscuit cake slices or chunks? Milk, dark, white and/or a mixture arranged on a cake stand of some sort. Cheap and cheerful to make and most people only want a taste of a wedding cake anyway. Arrange on a 3 tier cake stand. Mix in some cupcakes on the stand? You can make the slices of chunks bite size so to speak (to minimise waste). I think it can look great.

IMHO I think a huge amount of a wedding cake goes in the bin, it's such a waste.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Gatica · 12-05-2014 8:42am

agreed, wish we didn't bother with the cake. Was at a wedding recently that didn't have a cake either. I kinda noticed there was no cake cutting, but honestly couldn't have cared if there was no cake later on in the night as I prefer the savoury sandwiches to do the soakage.
Neither I nor my OH like fruit or chocolate biscuit cake. I find the chocolate in the biscuit cake is usually not very good quality and it feels like you're eating chunks of cheap soy chocolate with a bit of crunch.
Less than half of our 3 tier cake was cut and served. I gave out chunks of the rest of the cake the next day. It was really lovely tasty cake, but not the kind you could keep very long.
If you want the cake for photos, I think some places hire out dummy cakes and then you can serve something else.

ABajaninCork · 12-05-2014 8:55am

I think my friend paid Healy's about E300 for her cake. It was a chocolate biscuit cake which was lovely, but very rich...I can't remember the price for my side cake. I had a traditional Barbadian 3-tier fruit cake with two side cakes - one was Bajan fruit again in the shape of the island of Barbados, the other was a chocolate cake in the shape of a shamrock which was done by Healy's

If you're looking for different other than the usual tiered wedding cake or cupcake towers, then you could try a croquembouche like this:

Faith · 12-05-2014 9:31am

I'd happily leave out the cake actually, but I'm known by most of my guests as an avid baker and I've already had people asking me about it. I feel like it would be pretty noticeable if we left it out but I'm definitely going to think about that further.

pwurple · 12-05-2014 9:34am

Is that croquembouche in a dog kennel? Weirdest backdrop for a wedding cake ever!

michellie · 12-05-2014 9:34am

This is the kind I am going for, quoted €120 from one girl, I will probably go with her and my florist will make flowers for the top for €10. I don't care about cakes so I'm not spending much on them.

ABajaninCork · 12-05-2014 9:35am

pwurple wrote: »

Is that croquembouche in a dog kennel? Weirdest backdrop for a wedding cake ever!

It is strange. But I wanted to show what one looked like, and didn't really look at the background...

Faith · 12-05-2014 9:41am

I think it could be a van that it's being transported in...

jlm29 · 12-05-2014 10:24am

Faith wrote: »

I'd happily leave out the cake actually, but I'm known by most of my guests as an avid baker and I've already had people asking me about it. I feel like it would be pretty noticeable if we left it out but I'm definitely going to think about that further.

I'm the same. Though the more I think about it, the more I think I might just bake a cake and give it into the hotel to cut up in the evening, and not worry about the cutting of the cake part of things... That way, it wouldn't matter too much what the cake looks like, so it could be done the day before, with no great hassle

Addle · 12-05-2014 10:29am

jlm29 wrote: »

I'm the same. Though the more I think about it, the more I think I might just bake a cake and give it into the hotel to cut up in the evening, and not worry about the cutting of the cake part of things... That way, it wouldn't matter too much what the cake looks like, so it could be done the day before, with no great hassle

Check with hotel first. Some won't serve homemade goods.

jlm29 · 12-05-2014 10:38am

Addle wrote: »

Check with hotel first. Some won't serve homemade goods.

Have done! I've made a wedding cake for a wedding in this hotel before, and they're fine with it. I think most hotels will now take cakes that come from non- haccp certified kitchens. Wedding cakes seem to be an area where a lot of people are making savings and making their own cake

Gatica · 12-05-2014 10:38am

I think it's usually to do with cream cakes though, due to H&S rules. Iced cakes have less hassle, but yeah, check with hotel. I've a few friends that made own cake or had a family member or friend make theirs and it was fine with the hotels in question.

I think once the cake is cut-up it could've come from anywhere/any cake, so no one would ever know if it was the wedding cake or some random bit of cake at the back of the hotel.
I think we have 2 nice photos from the cutting of the cake, but I think it was my most awkward bit of the wedding. I didn't mind the walking down the isle or the first dance, but the whole walking up to cut a piece of cake, it just didn't flow and didn't feel all that natural at all.

Roddylarge · 12-05-2014 11:48am

My sisters wedding cake was made of polystyrene, then iced over.
After they did the cutting into it bit, the cake was taken into the kitchen.
The cake that everyone ate at the evening food bit was just cheapish cakes from Dunnes or Tesco, cut up into slices.

Saved her a small fortune.

eviltwin · 12-05-2014 3:50pm

Roddylarge wrote: »

My sisters wedding cake was made of polystyrene, then iced over.
After they did the cutting into it bit, the cake was taken into the kitchen.
The cake that everyone ate at the evening food bit was just cheapish cakes from Dunnes or Tesco, cut up into slices.

Saved her a small fortune.

I know someone who did this, they only had one tier and the rest were fake, I wasn't at the wedding but saw the pictures and it looked amazing.

I didn't have a cake but my brother got married a few years ago and paid 400 for a three tiered chocolate biscuit cake. It looked nice but I don't know if it was value for money. Only about half the bottom tier was used on the night, the rest they gave to various people but with that thick icing on it, it wasn't very easy to eat and I think most of it ended up in the bin.

Markcheese · 12-05-2014 3:56pm

pwurple wrote: »

Is that croquembouche in a dog kennel? Weirdest backdrop for a wedding cake ever!

In the back of a car ? (was in a bakery in cork and saw a croquembouche going out,looked fantastic but precarious ,nest of spun sugar on the top , didn't envy the family picking it up ... !

Markcheese · 12-05-2014 4:02pm

My mam did our cake (baileys and white chocolate) in three tiers, and that was the dessert...( Most people came back for seconds). Decorated with fresh flowers in little posies , quick, easy and looked great...

Kate!!! · 12-05-2014 4:02pm

michellie wrote: »

This is the kind I am going for, quoted €120 from one girl, I will probably go with her and my florist will make flowers for the top for €10. I don't care about cakes so I'm not spending much on them.

Cake looks fab !!! Can I ask who is making that for you ?

Kate!!! · 12-05-2014 4:04pm

amdublin wrote: »

Cupcakes seem good to me...cheaper...can do big tower...no cutting....can bring unbeaten ones home and freeze...

Cupcakes are a great idea it's probably what I will go with I think . I don't want a cake to go to waste . Was thinking of getting little take away boxea for guests to take some home if they like

Toots · 12-05-2014 6:05pm

Markcheese wrote: »

In the back of a car ? (was in a bakery in cork and saw a croquembouche going out,looked fantastic but precarious ,nest of spun sugar on the top , didn't envy the family picking it up ... !

Yeah you'd want to make sure you weren't in any way clumsy carrying one of those!

Millem · 14-05-2014 1:53pm

michellie wrote: »

This is the kind I am going for, quoted €120 from one girl, I will probably go with her and my florist will make flowers for the top for €10. I don't care about cakes so I'm not spending much on them.

That is a great deal. The fake cakes are very easy to ice and decorate as they are perfectly shaped! They look amazing. Some people get them as they like the look of extra tiers without the price tag!

rainbow kirby · 14-05-2014 2:09pm

We'd love a lemon cake of some sort - it's the preferred type of cake for both of us. Do many bakers actually do them as wedding cake?

anamaria · 14-05-2014 2:12pm

rainbow kirby wrote: »

We'd love a lemon cake of some sort - it's the preferred type of cake for both of us. Do many bakers actually do them as wedding cake?

I'm making my own but got a wonderful book with great recipes and decoration ideas, and there's a lovely lovely lemon recipe in it!

Faith · 14-05-2014 2:38pm

rainbow kirby wrote: »

We'd love a lemon cake of some sort - it's the preferred type of cake for both of us. Do many bakers actually do them as wedding cake?

You could easily get a lemon madeira cake - like a lemon drizzle cake. You can have pretty much anything you want as a wedding cake, but if you want it covered with sugarpaste, it can't be too light (the cake would collapse under the weight of the icing). So madeira cake, CBC, fruit cake, red velvet etc all work just fine. You could have a lemony buttercream too if you didn't want sugarpaste.

pwurple · 14-05-2014 2:59pm

Kate!!! wrote: »

Cupcakes are a great idea it's probably what I will go with I think . I don't want a cake to go to waste . Was thinking of getting little take away boxea for guests to take some home if they like

That's a great idea, and cupcake tasting is fun! In cork, the best tasting commercial ones are from the shop on anglesea street I think. Cupcake cottage. My friends had them for their wedding, yummo.

Toots · 14-05-2014 5:13pm

rainbow kirby wrote: »

We'd love a lemon cake of some sort - it's the preferred type of cake for both of us. Do many bakers actually do them as wedding cake?

I had lemon Madeira for my top tier, I think most bakers do them. The only thing you need to bear in mind is if you're having more than one flavour, the Madeira will most likely need to be the top tier because it'd be lighter than a fruit cake or chocolate biscuit cake.

michellie · 14-05-2014 7:52pm

Kate!!! wrote: »

Cake looks fab !!! Can I ask who is making that for you ?

Sorry for the late reply, probably going to go with Dee Vinci cakes. Deirdre is fantastic, she's on Facebook.

kkcatlou · 16-05-2014 9:05am

I've done lemon a few times as the middle layer and never had any issues with it. Once it's properly dowelled you can put the layers in any order you like! Well maybe not chocolate biscuit on top, but other than that....

I've done cakes for friends as a present. I'm no expert and I do find it very stressful, but the cost of the ingredients (including icing, dowels, bases, etc.) would be around €70-€100 and then the baking and icing would take about 1- 1.5 days, so if you take all that into consideration €300-400 is not that outrageous! Although I'd imagine a pro would probably do it all quicker than I do!!

Millem · 16-05-2014 9:46am

kkcatlou wrote: »

I've done lemon a few times as the middle layer and never had any issues with it. Once it's properly dowelled you can put the layers in any order you like! Well maybe not chocolate biscuit on top, but other than that....

I've done cakes for friends as a present. I'm no expert and I do find it very stressful, but the cost of the ingredients (including icing, dowels, bases, etc.) would be around €70-€100 and then the baking and icing would take about 1- 1.5 days, so if you take all that into consideration €300-400 is not that outrageous! Although I'd imagine a pro would probably do it all quicker than I do!!

I would absolutely agree with you regardless of flavours good quality ingredients are expensive whether it's a fruit cake or chocolate. Tins are another cost (if you haven't already gotten them). Some people just ice the fake "dummy" cakes for display and make cakes for guests to eat that are cut up "behind the scenes" so they don't have to worry about the stress of icing them etc

Gatica · 16-05-2014 9:55am

To be honest few people like the sugary icing on a cake, so it may even be better serving up un-iced-over cake. I've heard fake layers can be rented (presumably as long as you don't cut them), must be much cheaper for something that can be re-used again and again.

Milly33 · 16-05-2014 10:51am

Going all out and getting a cheese wheel as the cake, cant wait..

Went to a wedding fair not too long ago, and some of the cakes were starting around €500

Gatica · 16-05-2014 10:56am

Great idea if that's what you like. One of our friends did that and it still looked nice and we had cheese and crackers the next day

Milly33 · 16-05-2014 1:06pm

Yeah that's what I was thinking, the cake normally doesn't get all eaten but with cheese (not just because I love it) but its so versatile haha toasties, nibbles, and mmm more toasties win win

omni_cube · 16-05-2014 1:11pm

Has anyone ever done the cake pops idea? Mini cakes on a stick?

Milly33 · 16-05-2014 1:19pm

Have just seen them in pictures but it would be lovely I would think. Spotted lots of different packs in Homestore and more the other day for making them. Would be something different and I would think they would all be eaten

omni_cube · 16-05-2014 1:26pm

Yeah, they can be pretty cool. I've seen them on stands in the shape of a tiered cake which fits in. We're thinking of going down this route as it'll be a little less formal and plenty of younger people and kids around

Average cost of a wedding cake

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