How much wedding cake do we need?
“How much wedding cake do we need?” is a question I’m often asked by my couples and I’m afraid there’s a somewhat frustrating response. It depends. It can be as simple as basing your cake size on your guest numbers, but there’s often other factors to consider. So in this weeks blog, I have attempted to break them down into five factors to consider when determining how much wedding cake you need.
1. Are you serving your cake as a dessert during your reception, or with your evening buffet?
Traditionally, dessert portions are larger than coffee portions (dessert being 2” x 1” whereas coffee portions are typically 1” x 1”) so when you are serving your cake will have an impact on the size of cake you need. For example, if you were serving 100 guests with your wedding cake for dessert, I’d recommend a 5 tier cake, whereas if you were serving 100 ‘coffee’ portions with your evening buffet, you’d need a standard 3 tier cake.
2. How many guests are you catering for?
How many guests is perhaps the most important factor to consider. Here’s a handy table to illustrate the approximate number of tiers you need based on your guest numbers. Numbers are based on standard depth, round tiers.
| Small 2 tier (4”, 6”) | 30 ‘coffee’ portions / 15 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Standard 2 tier (5”, 7”) | 45 ‘coffee’ portions / 20 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Small 3 tier (4”, 6”, 8”) | 70 ‘coffee’ portions / 35 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Standard 3 tier (5”, 7”, 9”) | 90 ‘coffee’ portions / 45 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Standard 4 tier (4”, 6”, 8”, 10”) | 130 ‘coffee’ portions / 65 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Large 4 tier (5”, 7”, 9”, 11”) | 160 ‘coffee’ portions / 80 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Standard 5 tier (4”, 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”) | 210 ‘coffee’ portions / 110 ‘dessert’ portions |
| Large 5 tier (5”, 7”, 9”, 11”, 13”) | 250 ‘coffee’ portions / 130 ‘dessert’ portions |
3. Are you keeping the top tier?
More and more of my couples are opting to keep their top tier to enjoy after the wedding. Couples are often so busy chatting to their guests and enjoying the evening festivities that they don’t get the chance to enjoy the catering and the cake in the evening. Asking the venue to put aside your top tier means that you can enjoy the cake in the days immediately after your wedding whilst reminiscing about your special day.
4.Are you opting for a dessert table as well as your cake?
Dessert tables are set to be a popular feature at weddings again this year (read my recent blog on dessert tables for more info on what they are). If you’re considering offering these delicious sweet treats, you should factor this into the size of cake you need. Having a dessert table may mean that your guests don’t need as much cake.
5. Do you want a big cake but only have a small guest list?
The good news is there’s options if you want a statement show-stopper cake but don’t need lots of cake because your guest list is relatively small. You could consider including ‘fake’ tears in your wedding cake design, which are decorated with sugarpaste to look like real cake – your guests will never know! Alternatively, you could opt for a ‘spacer’ between some of your tiers to give your cake extra height.
In summary, deciding on the size of your wedding cake can be as straightforward as basing this on your guest numbers. However, I would encourage you to consider all of the above elements so that you are not only have enough cake for your guests but that you are also getting the wedding cake design that you love.
Image credits:
Meghan Claire Photography
Megan Daisy Photography
Jamie Edward Photography
Hannah Argyle Photography