Hey, I thought I'd post an update since everyone was so nice in giving me tons of great advice!
I emailed the lady sometime around noon on sunday (she said she wanted a price quote and some other info by sunday night.) and I STILL haven't recieved any response at all. Am I being rediculous or should she have said something by now? When we met, she said she wanted to start tasting this week... I have the feeling I'm being blown off. Probably for the best in this situation, but I can't help but be a little pissed that she hasn't emailed at all, even if just to say "Thanks, but no thanks. Your prices are too high for me." or whatever. I should probably just be happy that I didn't get suckered into making cakes for her!
Once again, thank you all so much for the great advice! Hope everyone is doing well!
I'd send out an email to confirm that she hasn't confirmed so she doesn't come back with "I thought we could get a cake from you if we waited until two days before...".
So just to make it clear she's missed her window of opportunity, send her a message saying how disappointing that you couldn't do her cake, that you've now booked another project for that weekend (even if that's just cleaning the vegetable bin in the fridge, she doesn't have to know that) and you hope that her cake turns out well. But make it clear she can't come begging at the last second and turn your world into a frenzy just because they couldn't get things in gear.
You do not need to jump - or be pulled - into the insanity.
That's what I'd do, anyway.
Well, no, it's not, I'd probably still think about doing the darn cake if she asked me to, but I'd want someone to tell me I'm off my nut if I think that. THEN I'd do the above 
LOL! Thanks for the laugh! Your last paragraph really cracked me up! You sound just like me... except willing to admit it (wait, did that last sentence count as admiting it? lol).
I think I will email her. Maybe its time for me to stand up and say NO. I know its what I SHOULD do; in this case at least. Thanks for the push!
When we met, she said she wanted to start tasting this week.
Seriously? She's not paying for your time, you say you're poor but you're willing to buy supplies to use to do work for her for free, and you're offering to give her a free tasting in advance, too? And you think all of this is okay??
BaloonWhisk:
I acctually had told her that I don't do free tastings, and she had agreed to pay cost for the tastings too, and I only do tastings after I have a comitment that they will be hireing me to do the widding. I got burned on tastings once, and that won't happen again! She didn't seem to like that idea and kind of tryied to "assure" me that they would not bail on me if I did tastings, but for once I stood firm. maybe that's part of the reason I haven't recieved a return call or email. She might have realized that I'm not going to give her as much as she wated for free, lol!
So, no I was never going to do a totaly free tasting for her. I tried to do that once, and the woman never showed and didn't answer the 5 messages I left for her (one the night before the planed tasting meeting, three the day of, and one 2 days later telling her she owed me for my time and supplies)! At least I learned my lesson about tastings! Now I think I've learned my lesson regarding the acctuall cake! lol, It sure seems to take me a while huh?
How do you present your "tasting costs"? Do you say it's X dollars, deducted from the final cake price (that way if they bail you don't lose out but it's also an incentive to stick with you for the cake)? Or is it a flat, one-time fee for the supplies, time & effort?
Mind if I ask what you charge for a tasting? (Feel free to refuse 
)
Usually I present it as I will not do a tasting until after I have a (partly non-refundable) deposite for the final cake. The total deposite is 50% of the final cost, but $40-60 is non-refundable to cover all the time I put in researching and making samples, along with the ingretient cost. The rest of the deposite is refundable until 2 weeks before the wedding when I will have already started on the cake (I like to bake ahead a freeze due to my college schedule).
In this case I was going to charge her $25 for the tasting, but I really don't like doing this way. Like you said, I like them to have the insentive to stick with me!
waterfallsoygurl,
If I were you, I would back away and go the opposite way.
I know how important it is for you to build your portfolio, but in the long run, you will be the loser.
The time and energy that it will take for you to complete this task could be better spent doing practice dummies or practice cakes that can be given to a nursing, retirement home and the pictures added to your portfolio.
Listen to the old saying "if something smells too good to be true."
Hope everything works out for you and continue to keep us posted.
Just wanted to see if anything has happened? Did she email you back?
I totally understand why you wanted to do this in the first place. I'm new to decorating and very passionate..but don't get many opportunities to make them. But, it's always good to come to CC to get your advice first 
As long as it's nice 
Hey thanks for the interest Robyn!
And the understanding, lol!
She never emailed me back, and (though I porbably should have) I never emaliled her. I'm SO grateful for all the advice from my fellow CCers! It really showed me that.... well I just wasn't thinking straight on this one, lol!
It's really for the best as I'm very preocupied with a sereious family problem right now (my brother was in a vary bad snowboarding accident last thursday); that b**ch and her stupid wedding is pretty much the last thing on my mind finaly. That's how it SHOULD be, family problem or not, she just isn't worth the time and energy to think about!
Thanks again for all your help, everyone!
Screw her and her cakes is right! lol!
Oh, and thanks, I hope my brother gets better soon too, but he has a long road ahead of him. He fractured 5 vertabre, and dislocated and fractured his hip (which he had surgery on yesterday) and fractured several ribs. They still aren't sure if he'll need surgery on his back. The good thing is that he isn't paralized or anything, but he won't be able to put any weight on his hip for 3 months, and will be in a full torso back brase for at least that long as well.
Thanks for the good wishes!
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