HOW TO HIRE · EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

How to hire a wedding cake maker in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Wedding cake makers need no licence, but they are food businesses. Here is what to check, what to ask and what the order must say.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a wedding cake maker in five steps

  1. Book a tastingTaste the flavours you will serve, and see the wedding cake maker's past cakes.
  2. Tell them every allergyIn the cake and the decorations.
  3. Ask the venueCake-cutting fee, delivery times and where the cake will stand.
  4. Agree design, tiers and servingsIn writing, with a sketch.
  5. Fix delivery and stackingWho delivers, stacks and dresses the cake, and when.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No register or licence applies to wedding cake makers as such in any UK nation, and no cookery qualification is required by law. What does apply is food law: a wedding cake maker is a food business, so the checks below are about registration, allergens and hygiene, not a trade card.

Ask the wedding cake maker which council they are registered with and for a recent reference from a host.

Food business registration and hygiene rating for the wedding cake maker

Food businesses of every size, home kitchens, vans and market stalls among them, have to register with the local authority; in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is due at least 28 days before trading starts. In Scotland a wedding cake maker registers with the local authority too, with advice from Food Standards Scotland. Council food safety officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland score each food business from 0 to 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. Displaying the sticker is a legal duty in Wales and Northern Ireland, and optional in England. The wedding cake maker is rated like any other registered food business; a 5 means very good hygiene, and anything under 3 needs explaining.

Ask the wedding cake maker for the name of the council it is registered with, then check with that council if in doubt. Ask the wedding cake maker for their rating and the inspection date, and look it up on the Food Standards Agency ratings site. gov.uk →

Allergen information from the wedding cake maker

A registered food business must declare the 14 allergens in food law whenever they are in a dish: celery, gluten-containing cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites and tree nuts. For food served loose at your event, the wedding cake maker can give it in writing or by a clear notice saying how to ask.

Send the guests' allergies in writing and ask the wedding cake maker for an allergen list for every dish or item. gov.uk →

Made to order, and cancellation

A wedding cake maker business is a trader, and what it bakes to your design counts as goods made to your specifications. Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 takes those out of the 14-day cancellation right, so the wedding cake maker's own terms on deposits, changes and cancellation are the ones that bind.

Get the wedding cake maker's design, servings, price and cancellation terms in one written confirmation before you pay a deposit. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

A wedding cake sold to you as food is zero-rated (0%). It is standard-rated if the baker supplies it as part of catering, for example cutting and serving it to guests, and chocolate-covered confectionery on the order is standard-rated too. Wedding cake makers whose taxable turnover passes £90,000 must register for VAT and show it separately on the invoice.

Ask whether the cake is sold as food or served as part of catering, and check the VAT line on the quote matches. gov.uk →

“Are you registered with the council as a food business?”

A good answer: Yes, the council named by the wedding cake maker.

“What allergens are in each tier and the decorations?”

A good answer: A list per tier, sugar flowers and fillings included.

“Will you deliver, stack and dress the cake at the venue?”

A good answer: Yes, with a time agreed with the venue and a charge on the quote.

“How many servings will this cake give?”

A good answer: A count for the tiers and the cut you want.

“Can we have a tasting?”

A good answer: Yes, free or at a price that comes off the order.

“Who supplies the stand and knife?”

A good answer: A clear answer — the venue, the wedding cake maker or you.

“What happens if we postpone?”

A good answer: Written terms on moving the date and the deposit.

Getting the quote right

  • Tiers, flavours, finish and servings for the wedding cake
  • Sugar flowers, fresh flower dressing and toppers, itemised
  • Delivery, stacking and setup at the venue
  • Stand and knife hire, if from the baker
  • Deposit, balance date, postponement and cancellation terms
  • The baker's VAT number, if registered, and the rate charged on the cake
  • Who actually attends to deliver, stack and set up the cake, and whether they are employed or subcontracted

Walk away if

  • No tasting before you commit
  • The wedding cake maker cannot name its council registration
  • No allergen list per tier
  • Delivery left vague for a tiered cake
LOW
£250
TYPICAL
£400
HIGH
£750

What a wedding cake maker costs: £250–£750 per cake

Wedding cake makers price per cake by tiers, servings and finish, with sugar flowers, delivery and stacking often itemised. Wedding Cake Maker price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Wedding cake makers near you, with the badges that matter shown

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  1. Tasting and designThe wedding cake maker runs a tasting and sketches the design.
  2. Order and depositDesign, servings, delivery time and terms in writing.
  3. BakingTiers baked and filled close to the wedding.
  4. Delivery and stackingDelivered to the venue, stacked and dressed at the agreed time.
  5. Hand overThe venue told how to cut and serve it.

Tier
One layer of a stacked cake.
Dowels
Supports inside lower tiers that hold the weight above.
Semi-naked cake
A cake with a thin scraped layer of icing showing the sponge.
Cutting cake
An extra plain cake kept in the kitchen to make up servings.
Cake-cutting fee
What some venues charge to cut and serve an outside cake.
Sugar flowers
Hand-made sugar paste flowers.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the cake at the venueTiers, design and dressing against the order on the day.
Keep the orderYour record of what the wedding cake maker agreed.
Store leftovers sensiblyAsk the baker how long each tier keeps.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked jobs, so yours on the wedding cake maker helps the next couple. If something went wrong, the make-it-right step comes first: they are asked to put it right before your review is published.

STEP 1Put it to the wedding cake maker in writingWrite down what went wrong — a different design, a late delivery, an undeclared allergen — and what would put it right, then send it by email or message. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (section 49) the wedding cake maker owed you reasonable care and skill, and if an event cannot be repeated the remedy is money off, which can be the full fee.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the wedding cake maker below four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through, then your review is published.
STEP 3Food safety, or a trader who will not engageIf you suspect food poisoning, see a doctor and report the wedding cake maker to the food safety team at the council where it is registered. For anything else, no regulator oversees wedding cake makers. If the trader will not engage, Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) covers England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) covers Scotland, and Consumerline (0300 123 6262) covers Northern Ireland; each can pass a complaint about wedding cake makers to Trading Standards.
STEP 4Money the wedding cake maker will not returnA claim against a wedding cake maker can go to court without a solicitor: up to £10,000 on the small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in the sheriff court in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a wedding cake maker: questions people ask

No licence applies to wedding cake makers as such. A wedding cake maker must be registered with the local authority as a food business; selling alcohol, or serving hot food between 11pm and 5am at an unlicensed place in England and Wales, is a licensable activity on top.

Get the score and inspection date from the wedding cake maker, and confirm it online with the Food Standards Agency. Businesses registered at home show only part of the postcode.

£250 to £750 per cake, typically around £400. For the factors behind the range, open the wedding cake maker price guide; for real prices, search your area above.

Some do. Ask the venue about a cake-cutting fee before ordering.

Only within the wedding cake maker's terms; made-to-order cakes are outside the 14-day cancellation right.

Usually the baker delivers and stacks tiered cakes; confirm it on the order.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in events & entertainment

How to hire: Cake MakerHow to hire: Cupcake MakerHow to hire: Wedding CatererHow to hire: Wedding FloristHow to hire: Wedding PlannerHow to hire: Chocolate Fountain HireHow to hire: Candy Cart HireHow to hire: CatererAll 701 hiring guides →

Wedding cake makers near you

Wedding cake makers in LondonWedding cake makers in ManchesterWedding cake makers in BirminghamWedding cake makers in GlasgowWedding cake makers in BelfastAll wedding cake makers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — food business registration
  2. Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) — allergen guidance for food businesses
  3. Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) — the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
  4. gov.uk — Temporary Events Notice
  5. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money
  9. nidirect — small claims process
  10. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  11. Food products (VAT Notice 701/14) — 3.4 Bakery products: cakes, including wedding and birthday cakes, are zero-rated
  12. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  13. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register