The Question NOT to Ask: "How much are your cakes?"

Sounds too simple. A bride is researching costs for her upcoming wedding and it just sounds simple to call a baker an ask "How much are your wedding cakes?"

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. It's like calling a home builder and asking, "How much are your houses?" and expecting to get a one-price answer. We all know the price of the home depends on the square footage, how many rooms, size of rooms, type of extras like fireplace, air conditioning, cheap or expensive carpet, if there is a dishwasher or not and the quality of the dishwasher, ultra fine wood cabinetry or cheap buy-em-in-any-home-improvement-store caliber. This list and more affects the final cost of the house.

Cakes are the same way. A baker's version of square footage is "how many people does it need to feed?" How many rooms and the size of rooms can be compared to the number of tiers and what size those tiers are. And dont' be mistaken. Many bakers charge more for small tiers (sometimes also known as "mini cakes") because these are harder to work with and therefore incur higher labor costs.

"Extras" on a cake include things such as hand-made gumpaste flowers or fondant figures, some of which are VERY labor intensive and can take hours to make for a wedding cake. As I've pointed out in other columns and other writings, some sugar flowers can take an hour to make just one, so a cake with a small assortment of just 20 flowers will incur 20 hours of labor and if we assume $15/hour for the sugar artist, the bride is looking at $300 JUST in the labor costs. This doesn't include the costs of materials and any overhead the bakery must cover. For a cake for 100 people, this breaks down to $3.00 per person JUST FOR THE FLOWER WORK.

Another example of "extras" can be cake and filling flavors. A white cake with plain white buttercream icing as the filling is pretty quick, simple and easy for a baker. Customized and exotic cake flavors and fillings can have higher ingredient costs and additional labor costs.

This is why bakers encourage a one-on-one consutlation appointment with brides so both of them can have a conversation about the bride's vision for her wedding cake and the baker can get a better idea of what the bride is looking for, enabling the baker to offer a more accurate quote for the bride.

But to address the original problem of a bride trying to find out a general price range so she can determine her budget, I DO recommend calling bakers to ask the preliminary questions. Bakers are happy to help brides who are working to see what things do cost.

I recommend the bride tell the baker she is in the prelinary planning stage and is looking for an idea of what cakes to serve 100 will cost. It's helpful if the bride explains to the baker "I'm aware there are many factors that affect price, but I'm just looking for a general price range right now so I can establish the budget I'm going to need."

Being prepared with accurate and current pricing information greatly reduces the stress of planning a wedding for a bride!
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Do You REALLY Need a Wedding Planner? I say, "Heck, YEAH!"

In this era of cutting back and pinching pennies, it’s only natural for brides to look at what costs they can cut from the budget. And since most of us have been planning our wedding since we were, oh I don’t know …… FOUR!!!! …… we tend to think “oh, it’s just a wedding! Anyone can throw one of those together!” So it’s also natural to think a wedding planner is just an extra expense.

Want to know what I think? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.

“In today’s economy” (a phrase I’ve come to hate more and more each day), it is more important than ever to have a wedding planner.

Planners are the ones who actually SAVE you money:

· They review your contracts to be sure that what you THINK you’re getting is what you’re actually getting.

· They have a huge Rolodex of wedding vendors and can match you up to the ones who can do what you want on the budget you have.

· When touring a venue, the bride is caught up in the emotion of the moment and is only seeing how pretty everything will look. The planner is looking at parking spaces, what condition the restrooms are and where they are located, how and where the bar and the caterer will set up, and are there enough outlets for the DJ and the caterer’s carving station?

· When a bride is talking to the caterer, the bride is in turmoil trying to decide between chicken and fish. The planner is asking what the server/guest ratio is and how much is the cost of each server?

Let me share some stories on how planners have helped brides.

- Bride hires wedding planner after selecting the venue but before signing the venue contract. When planner reviews the contract, she finds the bride has contracted for the use of the building ONLY. Bride thought she was getting tables, chairs, linens and lots of other things that the bride thought “were always included” at a reception. The planner saved the bride over $6000 on a bad contract. Well worth the $2000 the bride paid the planner.

- Bride decides to forego the professional planner and use her best friend, who after all, was a bridesmaid three times, so she knows ALL about planning weddings! The friend failed to take note of the facility’s $2000 fee for turning on the air conditioning and the newly married couple had to come up with this money at the very, VERY last minute, which was a severe cut into their honeymoon fund.

- The band hired by the bride was telling bride and planner where they would be setting up, what time they would be there and where the wives’ table would be. Planner corrected band member by showing him the already-decided place they would set up, giving him the actual time he would be there and asked him what he meant by a wives’ table? Band member says, “Oh the wives always come to all of our gigs.”

Planner told him this was not a “gig”, this was a wedding, the wives were not on the guest list, and there would be no wives table because there would be no wives. Band member began to argue the point. Planner fired the band and hired a professional DJ. Bride was relieved.

When times are good and people have good jobs, they don’t worry about costs as much. I’m not saying they don’t comparison shop, but they tend to buy bells and whistles instead of staying in a budget. It’s easy to plan a wedding when you’re not paying attention to every penny.

When times are tough, a couple just can’t afford last minute surprises. But they’ve never planned a party for 200+ people before and there are questions they just don’t know to ask. An event planner knows those questions and when he/she asks them, the bride saves money.

As a caterer, I’m always relieved to see a professional planner walk into the room. I know the details are going to be handled, things will run on schedule, and it will be a very pleasant event for everyone.

If you have a tight budget, you NEED a wedding planner. Today, more than ever, it’s the best investment you can make in your wedding.

Remember, it’s your wedding. You have ONE SHOT to get it right. Get a professional on your side who is going to be looking out for you on your very special day.

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What's the latest cake trend?

I'm frequently asked, "How long does a cake stay "in style" and how do you keep up with the current cake trends?" I don't keep up with current trends. I actually detest the word “Trend”. Why? Because they are merely promotional tactics by the wedding industry to try to sell a bride whatever gizmo they are promoting at that time by calling it a trend and hoping the bride wants to be just like everyone else and have the very same thing that everyone else is having.

I had a cake decorator tell me that I should remove my square cakes from the website because "....square cakes are not "in", especially the baskeweave design, and brides are not ordering those." I didn't have the heart to tell her that I counted up and out of 19 consecutive wedding cakes, 15 were square and about half of those were basketweaves! These are REAL cakes ordered by my brides.So much for "expert" opinions!

Don’t be fooled by the claim of “everyone is doing THIS kind of cake”. Here’s why. A bride, who had been doing some good comparison shopping, came to me and was asking about cakes with ribbon wrapped around the bottom and scrolls/dots on the side of the cake. When she found out that I don’t charge extra for practically any design she wanted, she got excited and began looking at other designs. Her sister asked, “So you’ DON’T want the ribbon thing? I thought that’s what you wanted?”

Bride said, “I was looking at that because that’s all I could afford at that other bakery!” Turns out the other bakery was charging her $65 just to wrap ribbon around the base of the cake and was charging for every little thing the bride inquired about. The bride selected the super simple design for budget reason …. not because it’s what she wanted.

So my question to you: The cakes you see at weddings …. Are they really what the “current trend” is, or is it what the bride settled for because it’s all she could afford?

Don’t settle based on current “trend”. Shop around and get the cake you want.

What's "in style"? Whatever kind of cake the bride wants to have! Don't listen to so-called industry experts who are trying to tell you what you SHOULD want ... go with your own preferences and get what you DO want.

I had another bride, referred to me by a photographer friend, who did not want a wedding cake. She wanted just a big dessert bar. She went to all the bridal shows, talked to all the cake people there and told me that all of them told her, “Oh yes you DO want a cake!” She tried to convince them, “No….we really don’t want a cake” just to be told how sorry she’d be and she HAD to have a cake. No one was willing to do what she wanted.

So we did a fabulous dessert stand for her, made of glass and mirrors and small lights, covered with mini cheesecakes, chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, brownies and other fabulous desserts. We made a small 8” cake to sit on top for their cake cutting photo.

She and her guests just loved it! And it’s been a big hit with clients ever since. (See photo at top of this article. See series of photos at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/2930064470/in/photostream/ )

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Debi can be reached at info@cateritsimple.com
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www.cateritsimple.com
www.bannascookies.com
www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/

Watch the placement of your wedding cake

Where are you putting the wedding cake?

Just like in real estate, the key things to consider are “location, location, location”.

Obvious things to watch for are backgrounds. I've seen cake photos that were spoiled by backgrounds such as fire extinguishers, basketball hoops, bulletin boards with kids construction paper crafts all over it, kitchen pass thru windows (which were open so you could see the kitchen clutter!), and yes, even men's room doors!

Do not put the cake table next to the DJ and do not allow the DJ’s speakers to be directed toward the cake. I’ve heard too many stories from cake designers all over the country about wedding cakes that collapsed due to the vibrations from a loud speaker (especially those with lots of bass pulsing out of it!). Many cakes aren’t put together like Lego’s, with nice snap-together parts. They are sitting on dowel supports or plastic pillars, and a loud constant vibration from a speaker IS enough to cause the cake to vibrate its way right onto the floor.

You wouldn’t think I’d have to explain this one, but if you’re planning an outdoor wedding, it’s pretty accepted that putting the cake in direct sunlight is a bad idea. Bad. Very bad. Oh let’s call it what it is … it’s downright stupid. A cake that’s covered in icing made from butter and someone thinks, “Oh let’s sit it over here, where the 85 degree sun can beat down on it for hours and hours! Yeah …. THAT’S a good idea!” (Shoot me now. Just shoot me now.)

Listen, if you ARE one of these folks who thinks it’s a good idea to put a wedding cake outside in the direct sun, let me give you another good idea. Do NOT call your cake maker and ask for a refund when your cake icing melts and runs down the side of the cake. You won’t get one. I swear, you won’t.

Oh .. and indoor weddings have the same rule. Do not put the cake table next to a big picture window where the sun is beating in thru the window, directly on the cake. Do not place the cake table over a big heat vent in the floor, or under an overhead heat duct. Not only is the heat a bad thing, but odds are good there is dust and other air particles settling on your cake as it blows out of the vent/duct.

Once a cake is set up, it really REALLY shouldn't be moved. Some cake designs can be moved, but play it safe and assume yours can't. So don't set up a reception with the idea of "oh, we'll put the cake here for now and move it later." Stacked cakes sometimes can be moved......cakes set up with pillars really shouldn't be moved.

In my never-so-humble opinion, the wedding cake is the centerpiece of your reception, so display it front and center! Don’t hide it in a corner somewhere! For 30 years, I’ve been working wedding receptions and I can tell you that people don’t line up to take photo’s of the table linens or the centerpieces or the banner behind the Head Table, but they DO line up to take a photo of the cake. As they enter the reception room, they are looking for the cake. So put it in a place of honor.

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Introducing Ourselves!

Well, at the recommendation of a number of friends and fans, we are jumping on the blogging bandwagon!

It will be nice to have one central place to collect the ideas, tips and suggestions that we share with our brides and clients that helps them have a successful wedding or event. It might even help keep me a little organized!

I have 30 +/- years in the wedding business, starting out making wedding cakes back in the day before the internet, before the Food Network, before fondant! The method to learn was to buy a book and follow the step by step directions, and then it became sink or swim! My family, friends and co-workers either enjoyed or suffered (depending on how you look at it!) through my practice cakes that helped me hone some skills and turn my hobby into a business.
Catering was added and the business grew in unbelievable bounds. Our purpose stayed constant, though … we want to help a bride see that she can have a wonderfully elegant wedding without getting a second mortgage. We “Keep it Simple” for her by sharing our tips and suggestions, by making vendor recommendations, by letting her know our favorite stores where she can get great deals.

We got serious about it being a business and about sharing our experiences when I planned my own daughter’s wedding 10 years ago. She and my soon-to-be-son-in-law were in the Army, stationed in Washington, D.C. and we were planning a wedding in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since I’d been in the wedding industry for 20-some years, I didn’t think it would be any big deal to get things organized.

Oh. My. Gosh. Did I learn a lesson. I ran into barrier after barrier, and attitude after attitude as I went around trying to SPEND money with vendors in the wedding industry. The only thought I had was “And I know what I’m doing!! What are those poor brides and moms, who DON’T have the experience I have, going thru? How are THEY dealing with this?”

At that point, it hit me that it doesn’t have to be this complicated …. there had to be a simple process to this whole thing. And thus was born the idea of “You don’t have to cater it expensive …. You can Cater It Simple.”

I get very frustrated with untruths, exaggerated half-truths and the flat out lies that brides are told by the ‘experts’ in the industry. I also have a low tolerance for the regurgitated articles written by free-lance writers who just cut-n-paste the latest un-truth and exaggerated article that was printed somewhere.

I will warn you now that I tend to tell it like it is. I’m not good at sugar coating things that irritate me; I’m passionate about things I love; and I can talk non-stop about weddings and catering and cakes! I warn my friends frequently, “If you don’t want to know my opinion, don’t ask me …. But even THAT won’t stop me!” I don’t claim to be an expert …. I just claim to be someone who has been involved in weddings for 30 years and I’ve seen, learned and experienced a lot of situations and information that I share with my brides/clients in the interest of saving them money. For every blog/article that you read about one way to do something, you’ll find 2 or 3 that claim the opposite.

Our purpose is to try to give brides/clients an alternate point of view from someone who has been-there-done-that for 30 years. Feel free to take our suggestions and advice …. Or just hit the delete key.

In addition to our blog, we also have a monthly newsletter that goes out. Sign up now on our home page of our website at www.cateritsimple.com so you don’t miss a thing!



Our websites:
www.cateritsimple.com
www.bannascookies.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/

Debi Brim can be reached via email at info@cateritsimple.com