Understanding how much a wedding cake should cost is tough, as you tend to only order one of these in your lifetime! Here we break it down in a few different ways for you; wedding cake cost by tiers, cost per slice and what you can expect for different wedding cake price ranges. We’ll also dive into what factors affect the price of a wedding cake, so you can understand where your money’s going and also how to adjust your cake to your budget.
How much should a wedding cake cost by tier?
The size of your wedding cake will greatly affect the price; more tiers means more ingredients, equipment and work, so the price will increase accordingly. Not only does an extra tier involve more baking, but also more construction to make sure your cake stands tall on your big day. Cake makers aren’t just bakers and artists, they’re also architects and engineers when it comes to adding tiers to your cake without it collapsing!
As a rough guide, you can expect a two tier wedding cake to be in the £250 range, three tiers to be around £350 and four tiers will normally set you back around £500 for an average wedding cake. This will get you an iced cake that has some decoration, but nothing too over-the-top. Once you start adding intricate or large amounts of decoration, these average prices will start to go up.
What do you get in each wedding cake price range?
Another way to look at how much a wedding cake should cost is to break down what you can expect within different price ranges. Let’s look at four different bands to see what size and level of decoration you might get for your money.
- For £100-£250 you’ll be able to get a 1-2 tier cake with anything from a naked to a fully-iced finish. For a single tier you’ll be able to include a few handmade sugar flowers too. If you prefer fresh or artificial flowers, you can add plenty of these to a single tier in this price bracket
- When you’re paying £250-£400 you’ll easily get a 2-3 tier wedding cake. Again you can choose from a naked or iced finish. However, you’ll have to weigh this up against the number of sugar flowers you’d like. You can have fresh or artificial flowers in abundance for this price range
- A wedding cake costing £400-£600 will be either the 2-3 tier cake of your dreams with pretty-much no holds barred on sugar flowers, or a more modest 4+ tier cake with likely a naked finish and minimalist flower arrangements
- If you want to go all-out on your 4+ tier wedding cake then you’ll fall into the £600+ price range. Here is where you’ll be able to have any finish and flower arrangement that you like on a fully iced multi-tier cake to feed hundreds of guests.
How much does a wedding cake cost per slice?
Another way of assessing how much a wedding cake costs is by looking at the cost per slice. Normally wedding cakes will range from £2 to £6 per slice. Depending on how many people your cake serves, you can calculate and compare the cost this way. It’s a great way of taking size out of the equation and understand how much your design is affecting the wedding cake price.
The main factors that impact the cost of your wedding cake
There are lots of different elements that impact how much a wedding cake costs. Let’s look into each of them here so you can understand more about how to control the cost of your cake.
- Size
- The size of your cake has a big impact on the price – the bigger the cake, the more ingredients and the more time to make it
- Remember that each guest just needs a 1×1 inch finger slice of wedding cake, not the birthday cake style triangle slice
- A great way to ensure you’re not over-ordering is to ask your wedding cake maker for advice. Let them know how many guests you have/how many people you’d like the cake to feed. They can advise you on the best size of cake
- Finish
- The covering on a wedding cake is a big part of the cost. It’s cheaper to have a naked or semi-naked cake finish than it is to have a fully fondant-covered finish
- This is down to the cost of the finishing ingredients as well as the cake maker’s time and skill needed to complete it
- Decorations
- Once you have a baked and finished cake you then have to think about the decorations you’re adding to it. The more expensive the decorative elements or the more time consuming they are to make then the greater the cost.
- If you’ve got a dream image of your wedding cake in mind, but need to reduce the cost of the decorations then ask your wedding cake maker for advice. They will know lots of handy tips and tricks for achieving a similar design without the cost; they do this every day!
- Flowers
- The type of flowers you choose for your cake (if you’re having them) will greatly impact the price. Handmade sugar flowers require a high level of skill and enormous amounts of time to make and therefore come with a hefty price tag
- Using fresh or artificial flowers will greatly reduce the cost of your wedding cake. You can even work with your wedding florist to match the cake flowers to those in your other arrangements
- Toppers
- This is yet another decorative element that will add cost to your wedding cake. All of the items you add to your cake will add to the cost, including the topper
- The size, material and design of your wedding cake topper will all affect the price, so check with your cake maker about ways to get a similar topper for a lower price
- Stand
- Don’t forget your wedding cake stand! Many venues offer a cake stand as part of the wedding package. However, some don’t or you might not like the style of theirs
- You can usually hire a cake stand from your wedding cake maker, but this will come with a price tag. Cake stand hire normally requires a refundable deposit to insure against any damage as well. Ask questions about how long the hire is for and when you have to return it, whether you have to take it back or if it’s collected from you
- Delivery
- Finally, having your cake delivered to and set up at your venue will often incur a charge. Setup is usually free, but delivery may be charged according to how far the cake maker has to travel. Check in with your wedding cake maker about these costs before you commit.
Marie Makes Wedding Cakes
At Marie Makes we are passionate about being clear and transparent about our wedding cake pricing. We are happy to work to any wedding cake budget. We’ll always give advice on how best to bring costs down if needed. Get in touch on our bespoke wedding cake page for more information on Marie Makes wedding cakes. We’d love to help you get the dream wedding cake for your big day!
Marie Sanders
Hi, I’m Marie and I love to make cakes! I started baking professionally after I was made redundant during lockdown and decided it was time to do what I love for a living. I’ve got many years of experience making cakes for family and friends and can’t wait to make them for you too! I also want to share tips and tricks from all I’ve learned over the years, so I can help you on your baking journey too.
