First time making a wedding cake

by Elva Baez
(Whittier,CA.)

Hi, I was recommended by a friend to do a wedding cake for someone at church. This is my first time making a wedding cake.

The bride would like a 4 tier fondant cake with a lot of specifics. (red velvet cake, lime filling, 160 people and octagon) I'm not sure of what I'm getting myself into and it seems a bit much since she is on a "budget"!

I would like to suggest to her that she try and make something a little more reasonable, but I don't know since she is the BRIDE! How can I cut corners to make it less expensive. She got a quote for 850.00 her budget is 500.00.

Hi Elva,
Did you quote her the $850.00? or someone else? I think you will need to tell her what you can do for her for $500.00. Just lay it out. You can use my pricing chart if you want to see how much I am getting. Wedding cake prices vary greatly depending on your location. Fondant should be extra.
Octagon pans will be costly to buy if you don't own them. Three tiers versus four will cut the cost. You can always make a small un-decorated back up cake.

Fondant is out of the question at that price and especially for an octagon four tiered cake. The amount of work is tremendous especially when trying to cover an odd shaped cake.

Being this is your first time making a wedding cake my suggestion is to keep it as simple as possible and stick with what you can do well. If you have never worked with fondant don't do it on a wedding cake and especially a first time one.

I hope this helps. Good Luck.