How much does a wedding cake cost?

All cost guides

Wedding cakes are priced by the slice - commonly $4 to $9 - so a cake serving 120 guests usually lands between $500 and $1,000. Detailed sugar work, hand-painting and metallic finishes push the per-slice price up quickly. A common and sensible move is a smaller decorated cake for cutting and photographs, with plain sheet cakes in the kitchen to actually serve the room.

What you get at each price

These are what couples actually pay, not quotes we can make on a vendor's behalf. Every wedding cake baker sets their own prices, and the ones on Lazo publish theirs where they choose to.

What actually drives the price

Guest count and tiers

You are buying servings. A dramatic-looking cake for 80 people costs less than a plain one for 250.

Decoration technique

Sugar flowers are made by hand, one petal at a time. This is where the price lives, not in the cake.

Fondant versus buttercream

Fondant holds sharp edges and costs more; textured buttercream is fashionable and cheaper.

Fillings and flavours

Multiple flavours across tiers add cost. Specialty fillings more.

Delivery and setup

Typically $50-$150, and worth paying - a tiered cake is not something to transport yourself.

Cutting fee

Some venues charge $1-$4 per slice to cut and serve a cake they did not supply. Ask before you order.

How to spend less without regretting it

Display cake plus kitchen sheet cakes

A two-tier decorated cake for the photographs and cutting, with sheet cakes of the same flavour served from the kitchen. Saves 40-60% and no guest ever knows.

Choose texture over sugar flowers

Textured buttercream with fresh flowers from your florist looks expensive and is not.

Go smaller, not plainer

A beautiful small cake photographs better than a large dull one.

Check the cutting fee first

At $3 a slice for 150 guests, the venue's cutting fee can exceed the cake.

When to book

Four to six months out, with tastings around three months. Cakes are among the last vendors you need to book and one of the easiest to arrange late.

What to ask before you book

• What is the price per serving, and how many servings am I actually buying?
• Is delivery and setup included, and when will you arrive?
• Does my venue charge a cutting fee?
• Can we taste the exact flavours and fillings we are ordering?
• How will the cake hold up in the temperature at my venue?

More questions to ask a wedding cake baker — and what a good answer sounds like →

Common questions

Why our prices aren't sponsored

Most wedding sites earn money from the vendors they list, which is why their "recommended" wedding cakes & desserts and their cost advice tend to point the same direction. Lazo takes nothing per lead and nothing per booking, and rankings can't be bought at any price. Every review comes from a couple who proved they actually got married with that vendor. So the ranges above are what we believe couples pay — not what anyone paid us to say.