So, the most asked questions in any enquiry I receive is…
How much will this cost?
What if I do this instead…? Will that make it cheaper?
I’ve had cheaper quotes from XY&Z.. why are you more expensive?
There is a very negative and misunderstood thought process when it comes to cake..
If I’ve heard the phrase “sure its just eggs sugar and flour” once, I’ve heard it a million times!
If that were the case, why does everyone just not making their own wedding cake?
So lets get into how a cake designer determines the price of a cake
Yes, of course there is the ingredients. And I’m sure by now you’ll be aware of the absolute ridiculous rise in everything! Some ingredients have tripled in price! Tripled!
But, it is what it is and we have to deal with it along with the rise in everything else in life.
But it’s not just ingredients that have went up in price, its the boards, the boxes.. absolutely everything!
Then there’s things like overheads, insurance.. petrol/travel, gas and electric, disposables.. use of stock products like food colours, paints..
Time..
Probably the one element that will make your cake seem expensive.
But is it really?
How much time exactly goes into making a wedding cake?
It’s not just the baking.
It’s the emailing and messaging, preparing your sample box, design consultations, research and thought for designing your cake, shopping for the ingredients and any other key elements like acrylic lettering or toppers. Corresponding with your venue, florist and photographer and then there’s the baking, cleaning, decorating, cleaning.. again.. delivery, stacking/setting up at your venue. Photographing the cake.
When you add all this up, there’s quite a lot of time that goes into your wedding cake.
And on that, what would you think is a fair hourly rate for a wedding cake designer?
Minimum wage? Slightly more?
I feel, wedding cake designers have a certain skill set… they have worked hard to perfect their own style, their own art.. they produce a top quality product and they use top quality ingredients and source from other suppliers top quality accessories/decorations.
So really.. they should be getting paid and hourly rate that reflects that skill.. wouldn’t you agree?
Exactly the same as a skilled tradesman.. an electrician or a plumber most certainly doesn’t get paid minimum wage.. and wouldn’t do their job for anything less than what they have set their rate at.
Their rate of pay reflects their skill, their experience and their knowledge of the job!
Same applies to a cake designer for their experience, skill and knowledge, don’t you think?
And I suppose it really depends on the individual cake designer for what they feel they are deserving of.
If the cake designer is producing some of the most amazing hand crafted sugar flowers, absolute show-stopping masterpieces of art! Then I’d expect that cake designer to know their worth and value their time and skill with a very decent and deserving hourly rate of pay.
This can be the reason for the big difference in pricing between cake designers.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen some really great cake designers who are producing a great standard of cake, but charging an unbelievably low price! And most offer free delivery too! Crazy..
They either don’t value themselves, their time or their abilities to charge a skilled rate, or they don’t realise the amount of time that actually goes into the whole entire process, and don’t really have a business mind.
Which adds to the recurring question of XY&Z is cheaper..?
There is also cake designers out there, when you see their previous work and the standard they are producing its clear they are possibly at the start of their wedding cake journey, they haven’t built up a specific skill set yet and they haven’t developed into their own style and craft. So their prices, match their product. Which is totally fair, we all start somewhere and we all develop at our own pace.
But what isn’t fair, is comparing this type of cake designer to one who has developed their skills and style and who’s cakes are miles apart in every way possible.
Again, bringing the question of XY&Z is cheaper.. can you match their price?
I suppose what you have to think about as a bride to be looking for a wedding cake is the quality and standard a cake designer produces.. and wether or not you want that quality for your special day.
Since becoming a cake designer, I’ve definitely learned to appreciate and value the work of a creator. Anything handcrafted and made bespoke to order has much more than skill and experience that’s gone into it, it has thought and attention to the finest detail! Love and passion.. the creator puts their heart and soul into everything they create.
And that… is priceless…
So gimme a shout if your now thinking on that wow factor, statement cake!