I agree with Cookie4 - just send her a brief e-mail - wishing her well and thanking her for her feed back -- Some brides get weird after the wedding because they feel let down b/c it wasn't this wonderful thing they had built up in their head. Bottom line is she has issues now and regrets how much she spent. keep your chin up its a beautiful cake! Well worth $600 pleasedo not offer her money back.

I have a friend who is doing this cake and It is more than 600.00. I think you did a real great job. give yourself a big pat on the back. If she thinks that she has right to complain, find out if her complaints are valid, did she take pictures? Does she have proof? Maybe she is just feeling guilty for spending(what she may feel) is alot on a cake.

I again say you did a great job. And I agree with others. Don't back down. I wouldn't even give her a discount on any ohter cakes, because if she's going to complain like that then she doesn't deserve your great cakes. She can goe somewhere else where I'm sure will do a worse job and charge her more for it.


C.C.C.

My son had some complaints about his wedding cake.( I didnt make it . I did make the grooms cake.) They had thought the chocolate was dry ,I hadnt had any of that kind and she also hadnt put the top decorations on like she stated she would. .. Well to get to the point She made them a small cake instead of a refund and they still go and get cakes from her. I myself think your cake was wonderful and dryness is different to different people. Ive had people think mine were too dense? So i guess it just depends on the person. So instead of a refund I would do a small cake.
I was thinking it would show you listened to her and she would proboly recomend you to others.
BUt I repeat you did a Wonderful job!

Sheesh what's wrong with people! You know once you start cutting a cake with decorations on it, stuff happens! If they were that unhappy do they have pictures of what they were unhappy with, I mean if it was a wedding there was a photographer around!

I don't do verbal changes either, people get a quote/invoice from me with a complete description of what they've asked for down to where the message will be, what colours used and whether they or I am providing the candle(s). If she did not state her flavour change in writing to you, then the initial contract must stand! How does she know that any decorations falling off were your fault, it wasn't like that when you delivered the cake. I was watching an episode of Bridezilla's where two family members decided to move a three teir cake and messed up the fondant on the board, the bride was pretty pissed because she had stated to everyone to leave it where it was. Now do you call the cake decoratorand blame them for someone else messing up the cake? That's what it sounds like might be the case here. Do you blame the cake decorator because you are unhappy how the cake was cut by someone else?

Take a deep breath, you don't have to respond straight away. I do like the response about maybe just sending her an email saying thank you for the feedback, you'll take it on board and sorry the cake didn't live up to her expectations. It sounds a little like she's fishing for a freebie or some money back, but from the size and the design I don't think $600 was unreasonable in the least!

I agree with everyone else the cake is awesome! The only real difference I can see is your is backwards from her samples and is on a square board instead of one that is cut to match the cake. I also agree that changing a color scheme changes the look of the cake but she chose the colors. She may be feeling "let down" now that the wedding is over and she is not the center of all the attention and she is just trying to stir up problems where none exist . Take a good look at the cake you made and sit back and be in awe with the rest of us - after all you took some eggs, oil, marshmellows etc and came up with a master piece !
Melissa

She may have not meant the cake itself was dry. She may have still been talking about the royal icing/fondant when she said "it was dry". With such a huge cake there must have been many people at the reception. She should have no problem finding someone that took a photo of the "falling a part" cake for proof....yeah right.

I HAVE BEEN IN THE RESTRAUNT BIZ MY WHOLE LIFE. YOU COULD GIVE SOME PEOPLE YOUR MASTERPIECE AND IT WOULDNT BE ENOUGH. I THINK YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB WITH YOUR CAKE! I LOVE THE LAYOUT THAT YOU USED. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[quote="peacockplace"]

It is actually a version of a cake did in her book Colette's Wedding Cakes.

You are right, it is a Colette design and I am happuy to see her get recognized for it. But the two photos posted were Kathys Kakes and she should have been credited as well. In fact the photos should not have been posted, but a link to her website would have worked.

You asked for honest opinions -

First, I think it is beautifully constructed and put together and well worth $600 (and more in my area) BUT I think compared to the other two pictures the color combination makes it look very "sparce" I think. The other two pictures have very soft, classic colors and the colors she choose are very stark - with the blue against the white. I'm wondering if she's looking at it from that perpective.

Regardless, you don't want her bad mouthing you around town so you might want to appease her somehow - partial refund or something

maybe she's talking about the fondant? It does have a tendency to dry as it sits?????

[quote="ShirleyW"]

Oh.

Wow.

I didn't actually know it was a Colette Peter's cake. I've never actually seen Kathy's website. I posted the pictures that the bride gave me for context with my issue. I certainly didn't imply that the design was mine. I mean, I posted the original pictures, pictures that have the name of the person whose cakes these are. So, doesn't that make it pretty obvious that these lovely cakes were the creation of Kathy's Kakes? I'm so confused?

I guess I didn't know there were more specific rules than that. I'm feeling like I was reprimanded, but I don't really know what I did wrong?

Wow. Now I have another reason to feel horrible about this design.

breath. its ok.

what you need is some fresh air and a nice glass of wine

indeed, a glass of wine helps everything =)

Also don't be too worried about not listing the site for the cakes, a google search turns up more "Kathy's Kakes" then I like to scour for credit =P
The images did have her watermark, so no biggie IMHO.

Your cake is lovely! The bride (as someone mentioned earlier) might be having "wedding let-down" kinda like that Christmas/holiday let-down we're all left with at the end of a big holiday season.

OOPS! alex_98 is my son. I need to check the log in before i reply

[quote="tatania199"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShirleyW

Quote:

Originally Posted by peacockplace

Quote:

Originally Posted by cakesbyjess

I think your cake is GORGEOUS. I have never seen a wedding cake in that configuration, and I LOVE IT!!!!

It is actually a version of a cake did in her book Colette's Wedding Cakes.

You are right, it is a Colette design and I am happuy to see her get recognized for it. But the two photos posted were Kathys Kakes and she should have been credited as well. In fact the photos should not have been posted, but a link to her website would have worked.

Oh.

Wow.

I didn't actually know it was a Colette Peter's cake. I've never actually seen Kathy's website. I posted the pictures that the bride gave me for context with my issue. I certainly didn't imply that the design was mine. I mean, I posted the original pictures, pictures that have the name of the person whose cakes these are. So, doesn't that make it pretty obvious that these lovely cakes were the creation of Kathy's Kakes? I'm so confused?

I guess I didn't know there were more specific rules than that. I'm feeling like I was reprimanded, but I don't really know what I did wrong?

Wow. Now I have another reason to feel horrible about this design.

Ok that is just about enough of that. You have NOTHING to feel badly for, yes Colette did this cake and so did Kathy, and so did you and so did ( I can only assume) a whole slew of other people who bought her book. You CAN NOT be expected to give thanks to every darn person who ever did this cake before you, that is just silly. So do not worry your self over that nonesense.
As far as this bridezilla is concerned I agree with someone else suggestion abotu calling her, or better yet metting with her in person. You do not want someone walking away feeling badly about your cake but at the same time I have a feeling she thought this out very carefully and is looking to get some money back. I'd bet you anything she sent similar letters to her florist, and her caterrer and dj and etc etc.
Your cake is beautiful and you desever full price for it. Do not offer her any money back instead offer her a discount on her next purchase. I can almost gaurentee once she realizes she is not getting any cash from you her attitude will change. Again you have NOTHING to feel badly about...she on the other hand does. Chin up and keep us posted.

You have done a good job. Don't let anyone ruffle your feathers. Some people have to rain on peoples parades. I do agree that color can change alot of how a cake comes out. Perhaps in the near future you could draw the cake and design with the customers color choices, that way they can get a truer perspective of what it will look like. I would not offer a refund, but perhaps a gift certificate for a future cake, just to keep some peace. As far as design, anybody that is a serious decorater knows whose original design it was, I think we all give credit where credit is due.

OMG! YOUR CAKE IS AMAZING!! LIFT YOUR CHIN UP! THAT WAS AN AMAZING UNDERTAKING! YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB!!! YOU GOT IT DONE AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!

I agree about the calling her! I think that she paid too much and that she needed some money back! How far after the wedding did she send this email?? Sounds like she spent too much on the wedding plus the honeymoon and didn't get enough back in PRESENTS!

CALL HER! Write down everything you need to say! It is not dumb to do this! It just keeps your thoughts straight for what you want to say!!
Like put : Q1: What part of the cake was dry?
Scenario 1: The royal icing...explain this, stick to what we talked about
Scenario 2: The cake....explain this.....ETC.
etc., etc., etc.

DON'T LET HER TELL YOU ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT YOU DISCUSSED! You need to call her so you can hear her voice and play off her fluctuation in her tone! You were probably right about that was the most expensive thing in the room! You are a cake decorator...you need to get paid for what you did! You could maybe give her a Free cake replication for their 1 year anniversary if you already didn't! But, give her a discount on her next cake if you see fit!

(I CAN NOT BAKE CAKES WHILE i AM ON HERE! i JUST DARK BROWNED MY CAKE! )

Feel better! Talk to her! You did an amazing job!

I wasn't implying that you did anything wrong. I was just saying Colette did it in her book so that anyone who wanted to could look it up. It was also pretty clear that Kathy's Kakes did the others since her name it on both.

Its beautiful cake....I think people make you think you didnt do a good job so that they can prove that the cake is not moneys worth. Your cake is awesome...you have put all ur effort on the cake...So its worth it. So dont worry about it. People who know your worth will surely keep coming to you. Goodluck.

So sorry about that long post! That woman made me mad!

LET ME TALK TO HER!!!

I think shirley was talking about how all photos are copyrighted. Those pics of kathyskakes are not allowed to be used without her express permission. I realise you didn't know about that and that's fine!!

I think she was trying to explain how to get around showing us the pics without infringing on someone's copyright.

Did you know that everytime you take a photo, it is copyrighted to you and only you? Cool huh?! So you can still show us kathykakes' cake photos only the way to do it without breaking any copyright laws is to go to her website, see the cake pic and post the internet link to that page (you know copy then paste from the http bar up the top).

Copyright laws are not something that is advertised and so most people have no idea how they work, so you are not alone and don't feel bad, we are all learning on this site and you are NOT in trouble!!

I would love to hear how you deal with this bride, I haven't done wedding cakes yet as I am too scared of all the bridezillas out there, and am hoping to learn from situations like yours.
Also, I could NEVER do a cake as beautiful as yours! lol!

I don't think you should stress over any aspect of this cake!!

That is a BEAUTIFUL cake! I cannot wait to tackle one now!!!! LOL Chin up. She is probably in the hole after her wedding and is trying to see if she can put her account back in the black. It will be okay. Maybe she complained that the food was dry too. INDYDEBI-have you had any of THOSE?! LOL

BEAUTIFUL JOB!

I think there's been some really great advice in this thread, I think most of us would admit to being perfectionist's when it comes to our creations and it's hard to take in that no matter how hard we try we can't make everyone happy, even though we want to!

Try turning it into a positive learning experience, once you've decided to meet, email, call her, try to take something from that and as hard as it is, try not to take it personally, I know if feels like an attack on all your hard work, on your "baby" of a creation, but sometimes (and I know I need to take my own advice! ), you need to find the positive out of the negative and build up your reserves for the next time.

Someone else made a really good point, that one person's dry is another person's heaven, personal taste can be hard to quantify. I think it would be worth clarifying some of the issues, like what flavour had she wanted to change to, when did she make that decision, did she tell you verbally, or does she have a copy of the email she sent you as you didn't receive it etc etc, things like that. Then put it to bed and look forward to work on your next new "baby" creation!

Is it possible to talk to the caterer or someone at the reception site that was there that night and see what their impression was? Did the servers pick up bunches of plates with lots of cake that no one ate or were the plates licked clean? Were there leftovers? Did the bride/groom say anything to anyone at that time that they were disappointed?

It may help to have a third party's take on it (you dont have to let the bride know you talked to this person.. it's just so you can get some perspective...)

Okay, just got a response:

"I understand that you are very proud of your work. But I am sorry, to me (and others who have seen what I wanted) it looked like a cheap version of the cake I asked for. The swirls weren't in straight even lines, they looked very broken and bumpy. It is not just the different colors. And what I meant about the icing is all the royal blue decorative icing would fall off. Even if you had not cut it. Swirls were falling off people's cake and I had wanted to keep one of the styrofoam pieces but when I picked it up, all the trim fell off. When we went to peel the cardboard off the get to a new layer, all the icing came off the top so we had some cake with no icing at all! I am just very dissappointed as the cake I had in mind was very glamorous, one people would remember, but all I hear is how it didnt stay together very well and was kind of dry. I hope this makes more sense."

Okay, I don't really know what to say. I mean, royal icing (any icing, for that matter) is not going to survive being cut. But spontaneously falling off the cake? That stuff is like cement.

I wondering if it wasn't really humid or something? But it would have to be severely humid to affect royal.

I had no idea she intended to keep a dummy tier. I'm not sure what could have been done differently even if I had known? Well, I guess I would have made her one separate one. But for the trim to look good, it needs to be firmly attached and as close as possible to the edges it's trimming, right? So, it's possible that it would not, in fact, survive being picked up and moved around. But, as cake is meant to be eaten, who would expect it to?

The only thing that is disappointing is that when they removed a tier, it peeled some icing off. However, that is the result of a super moist cake. All it requires is careful removal of the upper tier, but it does go towards showing that the cake was most certainly moist. I've never had that problem before? Maybe the staff just whipped the tiers apart?

As to the appearance of the icing - well, I'm no Colette Peters. My piping isn't absolutely perfect, I suppose. But I have a ton of examples on my website of my skill level and feel I did a very good representation of her cake. I'm still proud of my work and believe she got a very accurate version of the cake she wanted for an extremely reasonable price. Truthfully, as has been pointed out, I think the colours made it look cheap.

I don't know how to respond?

If the bride thought it looked cheap, she would not have wanted to keep a tier....just my opinion. I had the ugliest flower bouquets in the world for my first wedding and NOBODY kept them!!! That's just silly. I'm not sure what I would do, but I still think she is just trying to get back into the black. Her response just doesn't make sense to me. I think I would offer her to make a lovely fresh dummy tier for her to keep and an anniversary cake...THAT IS IT.