Next up on the guest blog is Nicola Hall and she’s telling us all about wedding cake! Yum. “With a passion for history and a love of architecture Nicola felt there was a gap in the market for what she considered really ‘traditional wedding cakes’. Cakes with the most intricate piping detail and the most exquisite sugar flowers. Skills that seem to have been lost somewhat over the years”
So grab a cuppa and enjoy reading all about cakes and join me in wishing I has a piece right now…
Andrea
Nicola will take over now…
‘What sort of wedding cake do I choose and how much will it cost?
The best starting point is to work out what you can spend. But, before you set a budget for your cake, do some research and think about what you want. Many people call us and ask ‘how much is a wedding cake’. This is pretty much the same as the asking ‘how much is a house’
It depends on what you want. On the amount of tiers, the size of the tiers, how much cake you need and most importantly, how much detail is on the cake (as this is the key factor in determining the ultimate price)
An average 3 tier cake (with a minimal amount of detail) to serve around 100 is likely to cost around £400. Then, the delivery cost will be additional – calculated on a round trip to your venue. However, this same cake covered in sugar flowers and petals could cost £800. Why? Simple. It takes double the amount of time. Every single flower and petal we make is made by hand and this takes time. So, essentially you are paying for someone’s time – and of course, their expertise. Not just for the cost of the ingredients in the product.
Also, it is not just the ‘cake’ you are paying for. There are lots of other costs for a cake company to factor it. We have the same business running costs as everyone else, staffing, transportation, website, electricity.. the list goes on. It is a million miles from simply adding up the cost of some eggs and icing sugar.
If you are looking for something more special with sugar flowers and lots of piping or lace work this is going to be significantly more. The average cost of one of our four tiers designs with some beautiful sugar flowers, piping detail and/or lace work is usually around £795-£850.
For our much grander designs – 6 tiers and above, the minimum spend is usually around £1800. There is much more worked involved in one of these cakes. Not only the making, but the transportation, the set up.. A lot of the sugar work (flowers) is often done in advance and then applied to the cake when it is finished.
Many people ask us how much discount we offer by including some ‘dummy/fake’ tiers. The answer generally is ‘very little’. Fake tiers have to be made to order and then decorated in just the same way as a real cake. So, whilst there is some cost saving (in time) the actual cost of the product is pretty much the same.
Lastly, as with any product or service, you generally get what you pay for. Sadly, we hear terrible stories from venues about cakes collapsing during the wedding breakfast or being completely wonky – usually when the cake has been made by a well meaning friend or family member. Whilst a very kind gesture if someone offers to make your cake, check that they have experience in wedding cakes. There is far more to making and structuring a wedding cake than meets the eye! And, remember, if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is..
Nicola Hall – Hall of Cakes
