Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi all!

I am finally… FINALLY! Set for my very first wedding fair next week and I have one more question in mind, hoping you can help…

How do we go about wedding consultations? Do we offer them FREE or we charge first, then deduct the amount paid when couples decide to push through?

I saw a lot offering them for free, but I just did 1 with a colleague and took me the whole day to prepare. I don’t think I can afford to give out that whole lot of time and effort for free everytime couples wanted a taste of my cakes.

What do you think?

-AC

I don’t think many people charge but I do. I charge £20 for a tasting and design session, maximum 3 people and no guarantee which flavours although I will try and accommodate requests. The £20 goes towards the deposit if they place an order worth £100 or more. It means that anyone who books a tasting is pretty sure they want a cake from me and none of us are wasting time!

The tasters are a little square of sponge (from a selection in my freezer) with a blob of buttercream or ganache on top presented on a pretty plate. No icing and no decorations! Usually 3 or 4 different flavours and tea or coffee. In my experience most people really only want a small taste, they don’t want to eat four cupcakes in fifteen minutes 🙂

There are some answers here which might help with how to make a consultation more time effective.
http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/cake-samples
http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/can-i-freeze-wedding-cake-tasters
http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/tasters-for-wedding-cakes

Also google search ‘what to charge for wedding cake tasters’

I’m sure other members will help out with up to date practices.
Congratulations and good luck!

Thanks doodlecake for your expert answer. I never charge for tastings because all my cakes are for friends and family, I’m not in business. I think I would do the same as you if I was, after all you’re using ingredients and giving your time. Brilliant that you’ve included how much time is spent on the tasting.
I’m off to a wedding fayre in February as a guest. It’ll be interesting to see what these are all about. I’ve never been before so a new experience to learn from. 🙂