How much dessert do I need for 200 guests?
The rule for dessert bars: each guest should get 2-3 pieces of dessert (even if you do end up serving cake as well, people eat with their eyes first and will still grab more than 1 piece of dessert from your bar!).
For 200 guests at a wedding you should order 200 cupcakes. If you are offering more than one variety of cupcake, for 100 guests at a wedding you should plan on having 150 cupcakes.
The standard guideline at Allison's bakery is one slice per person—with the assumption that people who eat more will balance out people who don't eat any.
Using our recommended three cupcake flavors and 1.25 cupcakes per guest, you should budget between about $650 for a 100-guest wedding cupcake table.
Cake Size & Servings
A simple trick: if you're working with small, individual desserts (cookies, cupcakes, petit fours, donuts, etc.) in lieu of a typical tiered wedding cake, multiply the number of guests expected by 2.5 to determine the number of desserts you'll need.
The general rule of thumb for any event is to have between 3-6 cookies available per person (a good 'handful').
It's recommended that you order 1.5 standard size cupcakes or 3 mini cupcakes per guest.
I'm having 150 people at my wedding. How many cupcakes should I get? We recommend one standard-sized cupcake per guest. If you prefer minis, we suggest two to three minis per guest.
Choose another dessert.
Choosing cupcakes, pies, or doughnuts for your wedding can be cheaper than getting a wedding cake. While the actual pricing will depend on your bakery, these items don't require much decorating time, so you'll be saving on labor for your wedding dessert.
Average of $4 per guest
Desserts are a little different to budget for since they are based more on your guest count. In the Knot's survey they found the average spend to be $582 on wedding cake and the average wedding guest count at 141. That averages out to about $4 per serving.
How do you plan a dessert buffet?
Plan a menu with a variety of desserts that are both chocolate and non-chocolate. Bake ahead and freeze desserts if possible. Serve smaller items so that guests can taste many different bites. Take help from the store and friends/family, don't try and make everything yourself.
We normally recommend 3-4 mini desserts per person if your guests aren't eating a slice of cake. As far as options go, you don't want to overwhelm your guests with too many choices so we typically say only do 2-3 more options than the amount you are allotting each guest.
| Guests | Tiers* | Average cost |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | 3-Tier | $460 – $820 |
| 175 | 3-Tier | $540 – $850 |
| 175 | 4-Tier | $570 – $850 |
| 200 | 4-Tier | $600 – $1,300 |
