Posts
Can I find a good wedding cake baker at a bridal show?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
, Posted by WeddingCakeOrg at 3:12 PM
The overwhelming answer according to our brides is YES! However, when we surveyed bakers as to
whether they were involved with at least one bridal show per year in their trade area, 80% said no!
This means you won’t
see
or meet 80% of the bakers
in your city at any shows.
Let me give you a little inside scoop about bridal shows. The smallest bakers or the ones whose sales are slacking the most are usually the ones you’ll find at smaller bridal shows.
Why? For two
reasons; first, they don’t have a way for most brides to find them. Many of them work out of their
homes, a shared
catering
facility, or small shop.
At a bridal show, they
hope
you will judge them on their artistic
work and form an opinion before you actually
see where they produce your cake.
A bridal show brings the brides to them. They cannot afford to pay $1000
or more a month for yellow page advertising, advertising in local bridal magazines or on local Internet sites.
A bridal show gives
them an opportunity to shine.
Larger bakers typically
represent themselves at larger or major bridal shows. Their strategy for being in
bigger shows is to “brand” themselves in your mind.
They don’t get that kind of “bang-for-their-buck”
at smaller intimate bridal shows. They want you to remember them when it is time to start shopping for your wedding cake. They know it is hard to sell you at a bridal show, so they try to entice you to come
in and visit with a wedding cake consultant
at
your leisure.
If 80% of bakers don't use bridal shows to demonstrate their expertise, you'll have to combine this method with other search methods to seek for a more diverse selection of bakers.
If you've attended bridal shows to look for a baker, please share your experience.
I
Can you negotiate your wedding cake price?
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
, Posted by WeddingCakeOrg at 10:41 PM
In most cases negotiating a price for your wedding cake doesn't work...except for two circumstances.
As a case in point, if you price a wedding cake at a grocery store or a wedding cake bakery with written prices, most of the time their prices are set in concrete.
Most of the the bakers you'll visit have photos and displays of their previous wedding cakes. Those particular wedding cakes have been previously priced based upon the experience of creating those certain cakes.
They price
them according to how much skill it takes, the time it takes and materials.
With that being said, there
are two situations where you can attempt to negotiate a better price.
First, anytime a wedding cake designer says they can
create something “original” for you.
Second, when you bring in a picture from the web, a magazine, or maybe something you snapped at a bridal show.
In both of those cases, the wedding cake designer has to estimate their price.
The fact they need to estimate the price of your wedding cake gives you a chance to negotiate the price.
Let me and other brides know how it works out by posting your experience.
How Bakers Price Their Wedding Cakes
Monday, September 24, 2012
, Posted by WeddingCakeOrg at 2:19 PM
In this post, I'll discuss two ways the majority of wedding cake bakers price their cakes.
Around 86% of designers price their bridal cakes by the slice, while 14% charge by time and material or what is described as total servings.
"Charging by the slice" is a easy way for you to comprehend pricing and it keeps it straightforward for the designer.
As an example, if you are undecided about buying a cake that serves 75, 100, or 150 servings at $5 per serving, you can quickly calculate prices of $375, $500, or $750.
If a wedding cake bakery charges by "Time and Material," the calculation of cost for the same three cakes of 75, 100, or 150 servings could be dramatically different.
A an example, the cake could start out at $5 per serving for 75 servings as in the first example, but at 100 servings the price drops to $4.50 per serving and at 150 servings, the price drops to $4 per servings.
Using time and material for a wedding cake for the same cake in the first example would be $600 instead of $750, a savings of $150.
A time and material baker drops their prices as the cake gets larger, due to the fact a 150 serving cake doesn't take two times as long to create as a 75 serving cake.
In essence, they feel you're getting a better deal by being more fair to you.
In essence, they feel you're getting a better deal by being more fair to you.
To put this example into perspective; a 75 serving bridal cake with a moderate amount of decoration may take 4 hours to create, while a 150 serving bridal cake with the same decoration may only increase the overtime time by 1-2 hours for a total of 5-6 hours...not 8 hours.
The bottom line: Whether they charge by the slice or time and material, it's still the final price that matters.
Go into a wedding cake consultation with a price range in mind and you'll be fine. You might even leave with a few extra dollars in your purse.
Go into a wedding cake consultation with a price range in mind and you'll be fine. You might even leave with a few extra dollars in your purse.
Have a question about wedding cake prices? Post it here.