How Much Extra Food/cake Do You Order?

For cake - I'd add another 20-30 servings to your RSVP count if it's your only dessert. Some won't eat any, some will eat several pieces. I'd rather have too much than not enough for those who want. Some may not have RSVPd but show up. We're doing a small cake, but a lot of cupcakes and some cookies to offset. I may end up with a lot of cupcakes, but that's fine as long as the guests get their fill.

Food - it depends on what you are serving to guess how much you'll need. Buffet vs plated as well.

I'm not really ordering extra. We told the baker approx. 200 guests, so she is making a cake that will feed that many. We told our caterer the same, and she said she always makes a little extra just in case.

We didn't order any extras of anything. (We had a plated dinner provided by the venue - 5 courses plus a plated dessert). Our guest list was just short of 200. Our cake fed 100, and our dessert table made up for the difference. We had exactly enough food for everyone - and we STILL ended up taking most of the desserts home!

Your caterer and baker should be experienced at this. Once you tell them the number of guests they will make enough so that there is enough food and cake for everyone even if some people eat more than others. However, for a buffet, the best way this works is if you have servers serve guests the food versus having guests serve themselves. I have been to weddings with buffets where the food ran out due to people over-serving themselves.

Do you have a caterer? Our caterer plans for people taking more, so they have larger portions at our buffet. Plus they plan for every person taking chicken & beef & both sides, which won't happen for everyone. We are planning on 2.5 cupcakes per person, they are mini cupcakes.

Is it going to be served to guests as part of a plated dinner or can they grab as much as they want from a dessert table? If it's a sit down plated dessert then you don't need extra. If it's the dessert table or something, then I would order maybe 25% more than you think you need. PP's are right that some people will take more than one, but some won't take any, so that will be enough "padding"

None, I trusted my caterers knew what they were doing when I gave them my guest count. As it was, we had leftovers.

I wouldn't (and didn't) over order at all. Also, my mom didn't want a buffet b/c food always runs out (we had a caterer) but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had a buffet and everyone had plenty of food. We actually slightly under-ordered cake, didn't have any leftovers, but everyone went home full and happy. I strongly recommend NOT over-ordering cake. I used to cater weddings and there was almost always cake leftover, and even if you take it home, do you 50 pieces of cake?? If you let others take it home, they really don't. Can't tell you how many boxes of packaged to-go cake we threw out when I used to cater. Wedding cake can be amazing, but it can also be OK. Plus, when people are eating, drinking, dancing, etc. they don't always feel like eating cake. Not everyone will eat cake, let alone you needing an extra 40 servings. With food, order for the number of people who RSVP. Most likely, a couple of folks will no-show at the last minute. Plus, caterers are professionals and should be good at serving the right portion, and preparing the right amount.

I’m not sure about food, but my cake is large enough to feed 250 and I’m expecting about 250 guests and my wedding planner AND the events coordinator at my venue recommended cutting the cake amount by half. They said not Everyone eats cake 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m not comfortable with this so we’re keeping the cake but we are providing plastic takeout boxes for people to bring cake home. I think you’ll be more than fine with a cake to serve 180.

My mom is the same way-she's always afraid there's not going to be enough food and we end up having WAY too much. It's good to have a bit of a buffer since some people will have a few pieces and like to take some home. But I wouldn't go overboard with it since it just go to waste

You should not have to order anything "extra." Caterers and bakers are professionals who do this kind of event all the time. They know how much food and dessert they will need to feed the number of guests you have.

BTW, of all the many weddings I've been to and participated in, there is always leftover cake. It never gets eaten.