The following advice is offered on the website of a company designing and making wedding cakes to order.

Costs involved in making a wedding cake:

Wedding cakes come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Cost is calculated per slice depending on ingredients and labor involved in creating your design.

Average prices fall between $1.50 and $5.00 a slice, but an elaborate creation can run three to four times higher! That means a five-tier cake that feeds 200 guests will cost at least $300 and could run up to $4,000 for a ‘couture’ creation like those modeled in the bridal magazines.

You are primarily paying for the designer’s time, but the ingredients you choose can also influence the price.

Check out Ways to Save for ideas on taming this budget buster. Be prepared to leave a substantial (and usually non-refundable!) deposit to reserve your date. Many bakeries are booked up to two years in advance.

Fortunately, you won’t have to make your design selections this early. You are simply reserving the date.

Final payment is usually expected two weeks or more prior to the wedding. Ask your designer about delivery and set-up fees. Those costs are often – but not always –

covered by the per-slice cost. Make sure you get a written breakdown of all services and fees!

Ways to save:

Decide on a particular style and size of cake before asking for quotes. You can always decide on a different design later, but you want to be sure that you are comparing the same costs.

Ask about slice size. You can’t compare per-slice costs unless the pieces are the same size.

You may get more for your money with a 2-inch rather than a 1-inch slice of cake.

Be realistic. The magnificent cakes you see in the magazines are usually in the $10- to $15-perslice range. Ask about modifying designs or substituting ingredients. For example, buttercream icing is very tasty and quite a bit more affordable than the fondant style.

Substitute fresh arrangements for expensive sugar flowers. Ask your baker to coordinate designs and duties with your florist.

Be aware of hidden costs when making price comparisons. You may have to pay a fee to your reception site if you hire an outside designer. Or, you may get a great deal on the cake only to find out later that you’ll be paying almost as much again to cover the serving fee.

Order a smaller display cake and then serve your guest slices of sheet cake or a ‘side cake.’

You can do the traditional slicing of the cake in front of your guests and then have the side cakes served from a back room.

If you want to impress, consider ordering a smaller cake that will sit on top of fake tiers.

Order a wedding cake that will feed at least half of your guests and then offer several more-affordable desserts.

You pay for excessive variety in additional ingredient expenses, design costs and service fees.

Many couples are opting for sleeker, less-expensive creations.

Questions

1 Why is job costing particularly suitable for a business making wedding cakes?

2 What information would you expect to find in a job cost record for a wedding cake contract?