A Guide to Wedding Cake Sizes and Servings

Obviously, a lot of people attending a wedding are expecting a delicious meal, fun music, and scintillating conversation. They may also be looking forward to a slice of wedding cake!

Even though it’s really a day about you and your relationship, following through and creating a positive memory for your guests is also a good thing.

A wedding cake is an iconic symbol of the big day and something you can wonderfully customize for your flavor and design preferences. However, how do you make sure that everyone gets some? Keep reading for everything you need to know about wedding cake sizing.

Ordering Your Wedding Cake

The first step to sizing your wedding cake is obviously to get one! A wedding cake can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but first you need to talk about what you want with a baker or cake maker. This usually starts at the tasting, which you can read more about here.

It’s also possible and more common than you think that you actually don’t want a wedding cake. While this is definitely less traditional, it’s totally okay to forgo the wedding cake if it’s not what you want. There are other dessert table ideas you could use instead. However, if you’re sure about cake, keep reading to make sure all of your beloved guests get a piece.

 

Determining Wedding Cake Size

As you can see in the above infographic, the size of your wedding cake is measured in inches, and determined by the number of layers and the size of each layer. You can use these factors to determine how many slices are in each.

This is something you can talk to your wedding cake provider about– they will want to know how much cake you need, and you can design the look, including number of layers and size, with them. The layered style is very traditional for wedding cakes, so it’s a great place to start when determining your cake vibes.

 

How Many People Does a Wedding Cake Serve?

Obviously, the number of slices you want for your cake is dependent on how many people are coming, since the idea is that everyone gets a slice. This is definitely the best way to determine the size of your wedding cake, because the last thing you want is more guests that want cake than cake slices available.

Naturally, a very large wedding would require a very large cake, and a very small wedding can use a smaller cake. This is an easy way to think about how large your cake should be, accounting for the needs of all of your guests.

 

How Much Is Your Cake Budget?

However, much of this depends on how much you’re willing to spend on your cake. Like every element of your wedding, the larger your guest list, the most expensive things will be. If you’re interested in planning your wedding on a budget, you can read all about how to plan your wedding for under $5000.

According to our average wedding cost guide, the typical wedding cake is $500. Quite a pretty penny! Part of sizing your wedding cake is about talking to your provider about cost based on size and determining how much you can swing.

 

Cake Size Based on Design

The size of your cake also depends on the specific design you want. For example, this is a very standard sized and tiered cake that can feed many people!

However, if you’re very attached to the design of a small cake like this, you can go for it, but you will not be able to give very many guests cake.

If you still like the one-tier look, you could go for something a little wider to feed a larger amount of people than the petite one above.

If you want to feed more people, but like the broken down look, doing three separate tiers on a cake plate is super-cool and perfect for a larger wedding!

Note: If you love the look of a small cake, but you want to feed all of your guests, there is an easy solution. You can ask your baker to make an extra sheet cake with the same colors and flavors, which your venue can have cut up and ready to serve. That way, you can enjoy the cake design that you want and still share it with everyone!

 

How Do You Know All of Your Guests Want Cake?

However, while you’re accounting for guests, you don’t want to overreach and assume that guests who don’t want cake count for a slice! While it’s usually safe to go for one piece per guest, you also may want to know who exactly will eat one to avoid leftovers.

One thing you can do is have a check-off box about the cake on the RSVP flier. This can include their ideal dinner order and if they want cake or not. This way, you’ll know exactly how many guests want a slice of cake. However, you should probably still go for getting a few extra slices in case someone changes their mind.

 

Supplementing with Other Desserts

If you find yourself with a small cake, you can have that just for a few people and then different desserts for others. You can supplement with cupcakes, pies, cookies, or really anything else!

This is a great way to make sure that everyone gets dessert without breaking the bank on a cake or sacrificing your design ideas.

For example, this cake has a tier of macarons. By forgoing an extra tier of cake, you can supplement guest’s hungry bellies with these delicious cookies.

Instead of a three-tiered cake, you can do a single one-tiered cake with several cupcakes. This is an easier way to account for all of your guest’s dessert needs.

 

Non-Cake Dessert Portioning

If you are leaving the cake in the dust, you may be wondering how to properly portion other kinds of desserts. This is a similar principle to the cake, where it depends on how many people you’re hosting and the budget you’ve set aside for your wedding dessert.

While a pie’s portioning may be very similar to that of a cake, you may want to have more cookies than one per person, as many people will likely want more. However, something like a cupcake can stay with the one per person rule.

 

More About Wedding Cakes

Here at Yeah Weddings, we have a ton of great ideas about wedding cakes. From wedding cake decor and flavor ideas to the perfectly cute topper, keep reading for everything you need for the perfect big day. Don’t forget to add cake cutting music to your wedding playlist!