Once you have decided on your flavor of wedding cake it is time to place your order. The #1 question is how much cake do I need to order? There are a number of things to consider when making this important decision.
Guest List Size
This is the most obvious point of consideration for cake size. You want to make sure you get in the ballpark of enough cake for your guests. You can order enough cake for everyone to have a slice or if you know that you have guests who will not partake you can order enough for 85% of your guests.
Other Desserts
If you are offering a sweets table or late-night snacks you can assume that not everyone will not eat everything offered. When you plan your sweets table and your wedding cake you could still assume that 75-85% of your guests will have dessert and of those half might eat cake.
Service Style and Portion Size
If the venue is cutting and serving the cake they will drop off a slice to everyone and you should assume that you need enough cake for everyone. If your cake is being sliced and served buffet style you can assume not everyone will take a slice so plan for 75-85% of your guests to eat cake.
You should also speak with whomever is slicing the cake to dictate portion size. This means asking your baker what they consider a portion and make sure that is how it is cut.
Here is a handy cheat sheet giving some size recommendations found on easyweddings.com
14 – 25 guests
Tiers: 1 Width: 10 inches Height: 3 inches Portion size: 2 fingers
25 – 30 guests
Tiers: 1 Width: 10 inches Height: 3 inches Portion size: 1 finger
30 – 60 guests
Tiers: 2 Width: (7 X 10) Height: 3 inches Portion size: 1 finger
60 – 120 guests
Tiers: 2 Width: (9 X 12) Height: 3 inches Portion size: 1 finger
120 – 190 guests
Tiers: 3 Width: (6 X 9 X 12) Height: 3 inches Portion size: 2 fingers
180 – 250 guests
Tiers: 3 Width: (6 X 9 X 12) Height: 3 inches Portion size: 1- 2 fingers (depending on whether your wedding cake is square rather than round)