How much does a wedding cake cost?

Frequently I receive e-mail inquiries from brides about my pricing. I'm not trying to skirt the answer to questions about the costs of my cakes, but this is always a difficult questions to ball-park because there are so many variables.

Here are examples of some of the basic information I (or any other cake designer) will need, beyond number of guests, before being able to give you a comprehensive quote:

1) Do you want a buttercream iced cake or a fondant covered cake?

2) How much detail do you want on the cake? Will I be replicating a design or other detail from your wedding? Will the frosting or fondant on the cake be white or have color to it?

3) What flavor enhancements do you want? Single or multiple cake flavors and fillings?

4) Would you consider a smaller wedding cake for photography purposes and the traditional cutting of the cake, while serving the majority of guests from sheet cakes that have less design work?

5) Will you provide a topper for the cake (if you want one) or will I need to create one out of sugar or another edible material?

6) Do you imagine that your cake will have a special shape or be round?

For these reasons and many others that come up during our consultation and design sessions, I've found that it's actually best that the bride trusts me enough from the beginning to be honest about her established cake budget and her "dream cake". From there, I can either conceptualize something for her that fits both parameters or, equally honestly, inform her of what her "dream cake" would actually cost.