How big should my wedding cake be?

Question

I need some help here. I have a big wedding coming up, I have a total of 47 people in the wedding party plus a guest list of over 500 (estimated, probably end up more if everyone brings their entire family). On top of this huge number of people, they are big eaters, all of them so for each person it is like feeding 3 people. I found my dream cake and it is 6 tiers- the top which i will keep and not serve. we are trying to figure out how many 'side' cakes we should do. I was thinking have the main cake and then maybe 4 side cakes, but do you think those should be two or even three tiers? I just do not want to run out of cake for my guests!!! I have no idea how this works. Thanks!!

Answer 1

Massive, ike 10 tiers...

Answer 2

I would probably get at-least 3 more, in order to make every-one happy and besides this is only once in a life time~! :) congrats

Answer 3

how should I know, am I a baker?  ask your baker or caterer, whoever is doing the cake.  they'll know exactly how many cakes to bake for the number of guests you're having, but you'll have to give them a hard head count about a month before the wedding after everyone RSVP's.  why are you feeding all these people x3?  if they're pigs it's not your responsibility to stuff them full of food, give them one plate and if they want more, they can have an after party at Dennys.

Answer 4

try a bride's cake and a grooms cake, both at least 3 tiers. God Bless your union!

Answer 5

Huge...

Answer 6

A- the baker should know how much cake it takes to feed 500 people and B- it's not like the same amount you need to feed people for dinner- you get one piece of cake, it doesn't have to be huge and people generally shouldn't be asking for seconds.  

I would do whatever the baker suggests for 500 reasonably sized portions- however- your decorative cake should include the keepsake tier that you mentioned and however many additional tiers you want for the "wow" factor, but it need not be the entire cake that you intend to give your guests. In fact, you should have the baker design the cake to acheive whatever visual effect you want, which itself may not be enough for 500 people- but then also bake additional sheet cakes with the same cake flavor, filling and icing to be served from the kitchen.  This will allow the cake you serve your guests to be pre-cut which will have everyone served much more quickly than if someone were to stand and cut the enormous structure into slices. It will also save you money because sheet cakes are nowhere near as difficult to assemble or transport as a tiered cake.  Some people actually have some of their decorative cakes made of foam with the same decorative icing and have the whole cake served from the kitchen.  Nobody ever notices this- nobody watches as all the cake gets torn down and served.

Finally- get enough cake for your 500 reasonably sized portions but if you are concerned that your "big eaters" want more sweets- have a dessert buffet in addition.

Answer 7

Have it pretty big. Do what you think, its your wedding! LIVE IT OUT!

Answer 8

It's your wedding so do it anyway you want to.  I would have whatever cake you love for the bridal party and then get some sheet cakes kept in the back for the guests.  They don't need to see what their cake looks like just have yours out for the guests to see and have the servers bring cake from the back to feed the guests.  Don't worry about what is right or wrong just do what makes you and your man happy.

Answer 9

You need to ask the person making the cake how many it is supposed to feed. Different sizes feed different people (cake circumferences can differ.) Then get enough side or sheet cakes to make up for the difference.

As far as worrying about them all being huge eaters and "eating enough for 3 people" I am sure you are already providing a boat-load of food. I would say one piece of cake per person. That will probably be an odd number and leave you with an extra half a sheet cake anyway. A few people won't eat cake, and if someone starts gorging out on multiple pieces that is just rude. And gross.

Answer 10

you could throw in a cookie bar for your guests... they can eat lots of cookies and sweets, and load up on that...   then you could serve dinner, and then do the cake thing.

you could do a huge cake, do a few side cakes, but if you're really worried, i was told that you could do a sheet cake and keep it in the back that your guests don't see. our country club for our reception takes the cake back and cuts it then brings it out and serves it, so if you hide a cheap cake in the back that matches the cake (the batter and filling), your guests will never know. it's also a lot cheaper and if you have left over cake, just have them cut it and display it on a table for any guests who want mroe than what was served after the cake portion of the night is over... but add things that will fill your guests up.

we're doing a cooktail hour with veggies and dip, then a cookie bar for the guests while we're mingling before the actual dinner, and for after dinner or throughout the evening, plus the cake...

that's always an option! or you could make cupcakes, decorate them, and set them out with the cookie bar so if for some reason you supply just enough cake and someone wants some more of it... you have cupcakes that are out that are similar and maybe you could get them from the same bakery so you can offer the same icing and batter/filling? the more tiers you add and side cakes, the more expensive... so i would check with the bakery that you choose your wedding cake from. go on their webistes and find out how much they charge PER SLICE... and then meet with them for a taste test cause some fillings cost more per slice... then if you decide on one, ask them what they do about sheet cakes to add extra peices to the reception...

Answer 11

ok so i had the same problem; when me and my sister were planning her wedding; what we did was we went to a bakery that specialized in wedding cakes and just asked questions as if we were going to use them but just wanted to know numbers and prices. We went to 3 different bakeries and they helped give us a number of how many side cakes we would need to have. They know by just looking at a cake how many it will serve; so you can take a picture of your cake; and let them tell you how may it will serve and then tell them that you have xx amount of guest, so how many side cakes will you need. They should be able to tell you. The bakers we went to were so helpful we had the perfect amount of cake. I know way sounds kindof sneaky but it was the only way we could think of and they actually ended up giving us a better idea of what she wanted for her cake.

hope this helps.

good luck