Of course we charge more for weddings

"As soon as you mention it's a wedding, the price triples..."

"Don't tell them it's a wedding cake and they might send you a lower quote."

These are just a couple of quotes from wedding industry sources that imply that us greedy cake makers are all rubbing our hands together at the thought of fleecing brides and grooms on their happy day.

Given the average salary of a wedding cake maker is currently around minimum wage, greed doesn't come into it. But, it's correct that we do charge more for wedding cakes, at Three Little Birds at least. And here's why...

With the exception of our Ready for You! weddings range, wedding cakes generally cost inordinately more to produce than other celebration cakes.

Firstly, due to the enormous amount of admin involved. Our record is 38 emails exchanged with a bride before we even got to the tasting appointment. Because a wedding cake service includes delivery, set up, and the cake being displayed for hours before it's cut, a lot more logistical research must go into the order well before you've turned the oven on. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, we'll make phone calls and exchange emails with wedding planners, florists and venues. Sometimes we have to supply paperwork such as insurance certificates and sign waivers. And all this time and overheads costs money.

Secondly, the stakes are high. The pressure is on with a wedding cake: not just with the look and the taste of it, but as mentioned above, with the professional expertise required in transporting it at the correct temperature without any damage, setting it up securely and ensuring it will last sturdily until the cake cutting. Comprehensive allergen information must be supplied as the cake is often being eaten by over 100 people who may have complex dietary requirements. The amount of care and time that is taken to ensure happy clients not only takes extra time, but requires skills and experience that goes beyond what celebration cakes generally require (obviously there are exceptions). And the fewer people who have the skills to produce a product, the higher the cost will be.

Often wedding cakes have to be transported already stacked, depending on the design choice, and again this is something that has to be done carefully and with the correct tools - a giant chill box and in our case a van that keeps the cake level.

Thirdly, if a bakery is known as a wedding cake supplier first and foremost, they will often be more in demand for wedding cakes than celebration cakes and get fully booked quite far in advance for these. The rule in business is that if demand outstrips supply, raise your prices. This not only means you don't take on too much as it regulates demand, it means you make more of a margin on the orders you do have which shores up the business and stimulates growth. It's also right that the more years experience bakers and decorators have, the more they should get paid, and this can only happen with increased prices. (Photo credit Freya Raby Photography).

Fourthly, the problem fundamentally is that all other occasion cakes tend to be undercharged for and undervalued. So the perceived gap between weddings and birthdays is wider than it should be because actually in many ways, the same ingredients, materials and skill go into lots of celebration cakes. The sad fact is many bakers are making way less than minimum wage for these cakes, and that's what everyone has got used to.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life. Your photos and videos will be treasured for the rest of your lives and by your children and grandchildren. The cake is central to that. So of course it's going to be a premium product with premium prices, because you and your day is worth a premium. As Stella Artois say, it's reassuringly expensive.

To enquire and book your own premium wedding cake, simply visit www.threelittlebirdsbakery.com for cakes in Yorkshire and beyond.