How Much Does a Wedding Cake Cost?
For most couples, choosing your dream wedding cake depends heavily on budget. As the cost of living gets harder for everyone and prices are push ever higher, it’s important to stick to a budget that feels comfortable for you both. Choosing a cake designer that feels like good value, and simultaneously discovering a design you love can be tricky - so it’s a good idea to think about what your wedding cake maker is offering you, and what is included in the price.
There are so many routes you can take to find the perfect fit for you - but remember your wedding cake is more than just dessert. It’s a centrepiece, a fantastic photo opportunity and a chance to share delicious cake with your loved ones. Employing an experienced wedding cake maker will help make the whole process a breeze, which is usually well worth the slightly higher price tag.
Wedding Cake Price Breakdown
Wedding cake prices are hugely dependant on the number of guests you’d like to feed and the level of design you desire. More intricate wedding cakes take much longer to design and create. If you’re not fussed about the overall look, and you’d prefer to just have something to share with your guests, then a shop bought or pre-designed wedding cake might be for you. These are often very simple, covered in fondant and follow the traditional style. There’s no design process, and often no cake tasters. This means they are generally cheaper, but can often lack soul.
As couples are leaning towards smaller weddings that have more meaning and heart, bespoke wedding cakes remain a very popular choice. While these wedding cakes often come at a higher price point, you get tend to get a lot more for your money. You’ll have a dedicated cake designer, ready to listen to your plans and preparations, taking notes of wedding day colours, flowers and themes. I often love to see snaps of wedding invitations, wedding dresses and suits and any handmade items couples have been working on, to draw inspiration for a well rounded and cohesive wedding cake design.
You’ll have the opportunity to taste some wedding cake flavours and choose your absolute favourites. This often means couples go for more exciting flavours, rather than sticking to the generic vanilla, because they’ve had a chance to try a bespoke bakers offerings. While Vanilla and Wild Blueberry is a firm choice with my couples, Sticky Ginger and Caramel and Passionfruit and Orange are just as popular and receive such lovely feedback. What’s more - if you’re looking for a vegan wedding cake, shop bought flavours are usually quite limited - dedicated vegan bakers will have a lot more choice.
If you’re looking from some rough answers, below is an estimated price range for around 76 wedding guests.
Making a Wedding Cake Yourself, or asking a loved one £150 - £200
This figure can be a lot higher depending on your design and how much equipment you already have. You’ll need a stand mixer for large quantities of batter and buttercream, as well as large wedding cake tins and tier supports. It’s also worth thinking about how much time you’d need to put into it, as well as baking and decorating, researching how to make it stand up right for 4+ hours isn’t an easy feat!
Shop Bought Wedding Cakes £200 - £300
Usually very basic, fondant icing, traditional. Many high street shops offer them with a limited range of flavours and varying in quality. Make sure you check how it will be delivered, and whether it needs setting up, or if it will come fully assembled. Some are delivered frozen and need defrosting before hand. Shop bought wedding cakes can come as blank canvases and require decoration, others are considered finished.
Basic Wedding Cakes £300 - £350
: Think vanilla, a few fresh flowers, and basic flavours. Simple. These can be very pretty cakes, however please be mindful of the flowers that are placed on your wedding cakes as decorations. There are many toxic flowers that shoul dnot be used around cakes as could make your guests ill! Speaking to an experienced cake decorator or florist is a must. Particularly if you’re putting the flowers on yourself.
Mid-Range Wedding Cakes £350 - £450
A little more flair - maybe some flowers, unique flavours, and a design that’s a bit more intricate. Still, it might not steal the spotlight, but they do take more time to create. These are often based on designs that are already floating about, with some more wriggle room for customisation.
Bespoke Wedding Cakes £550 +
Unique and personal designs created by designers that have taken the time to get to know you. These can range from beautiful hand-painted details to fondant flowers baked using premium ingredients. They won’t base their designs off of other brides cakes, they’ll create something just for you. You’ll usually receive a mood board and cake sketch so you know exactly what to expect, and a consultation so that you can tweak anything that doesn’t feel quite right. At the end, you’ll have a real showstopper that is completely unique to you and your wedding day. These do come at a higher price point, but the extra work that goes into your wedding cake can be well worth it.
What goes into the price of a bespoke cake?
It’s not just sugar and flour - here’s what goes into the price. If you consider the below as an hourly wage for a baker, your bespoke wedding cake price suddenly becomes a lot more understandable. 20+ hours is the minimum a baker expects to spend on your cake - and they deserve more than minimum wage. It’s a very skilful job.
Customisation: Custom designs take hours (often 20+) of communicating, planning, sketching. A skilled artist deserves a decent hourly wage for this, as we work exceptionally hard. Building a clear idea of your dream wedding cake takes time, research and creativity.
Ingredients & Tools: Premium ingredients (like organic cocoa) and specialised tools (palette knives, edible gold, quality colourings) aren’t cheap, and most cake designers won’t skimp of quality and it takes time to find the right stuff. As well as this, your cake will have a well thought through internal structure, to make sure your cake stays standing until you’re ready for your cake cutting moment, and a lovely display board so it looks professional.
Overheads: Rent, water, gas, new mop heads, baking paper, kitchen roll... boring, but it all adds up.
Communicaiton: A surprising amount of time is spent emailing, discussing the finer details, sending invoices, phone calls etc
Tips for Saving on Wedding Cakes
Minimalist: A minimalist bespoke design can still be stunning and will cost a little less. Not all of the cake needs to be covered in intricate design. Plain middle tiers, and a simple floral or leaf design can look stunning. It lets the cake breathe and have space to show off the detail it does have.
Choose Dessert: To save on costs, you could choose to serve your wedding cake as dessert. Then you won’t be paying for both dessert and cake. Ask your baker if they think you might need a slightly bigger portion size if you’d like your guests to get a good chunk of cake, however a wedding sized slice of cake will still hit the spot.
Ask for advice: Ask your experienced cake designer to help create a cake that matches your budget. Be upfront and honest about how much you would like to spend. Good designers will never push you to spend more than you’re comfortable with, and neither will I.
Local Bakers: Choosing a wedding cake bakery that is near to your venue means that you will likely save on set up and delivery costs. These can be quite expensive as you’re not only paying for someone to drive it to you, they often stack and decorate your cake on site. If you choose a cake designer that’s within a reasonable distance to your venue (usually 1-2.5 hours), you can expect to pay less
Conclusion: Choose what’s right for you.
Whether you go basic or bespoke, wedding cake prices reflect the time, effort, and quality of ingredients involved. The cake is often the bit everyone remembers (especially that sweet cake-cutting moment), so find what feels right - a cake artist that fits your vision and your budget. After all, it’s an investment in your future happiness... and your Instagram feed. 🍰
If you’d like to find out how much your wedding cake could cost, head over to my Wedding Cake page for estimated prices.
Alternatively, why not give me a message? I’m always happy to help!
