O.K. so I have been seriously trying to get licensed so I posted a request on Craigslist asking about commercial kitchen space, and today I get this e-mail. The girl want to know if I can do a dummycake for her wedding next year, I'm thinking AWESOME! But check out the demensions on this cake, she attached a pic of Marcia Cross' cake, the actress who plays Bri on Desperate Housewives!!!! I'm thinking, SHE CAN"T BE SERIOUS!! Please tell me if this is outrageous!?!?!?!?!?
"Hi! I ran across your craigslist ad. How long have you been baking? Do you do wedding cakes?
I am having a wedding in Downtown Sacramento June, 2008 (about 10 months from now). I would like to know if you can use real frosting to frost my styrafoam cake and if the frosting will hold on the cake for the day. The cake will be thrown away after the event. Im looking in getting a large stacked 5 layer cake with a height of 49''. I will provide 5 custom cut styrfoam squares with rounded edges. I just want a smooth white frosting finish but doesn't have to be fondant covered. Buttercream or something similiar is fine if it holds well (that's one of my main concerns). It will be an indoor event. The styrafoam layers that I would like frosted are as follows:
Layer 1: 6x6''square-7'' tall,
Layer 2: 10x10'' - 9'' tall,
Layer 3: 14x14'' - 10'' tall,
Layer 4: 18x18'' - 11'' tall, (in this layer I would like 2 piece of real cake to be inserted on opposite sides, maybe each piece being about 4x4x3'' & frosted so we can have a real piece of cake to cut)
Layer 5: 22x22'' - 12'' tall.
So basically I am looking for a frosted styrafoam cake with 2 small pieces of real cake inserted into it. I will have my florist decorate the cake unless you provide the service at a reasonable price. I have sent a picture to give you an idea of what I am looking for."
Wow..that is an interesting request. What's she serving her guests? Costco sheet cakes? Anyway, it doesn't look like it's too complicated of a design, but I have never done a dummy, so I don't know how much of a pita they are...or aren't. I also don't know how you'd charge to do that b/c even though it's not real cake and she's providing the dummies, it's still going to be a lot of icing and time.
Sorry I couldn't be more help! 
Holy cow! That's a big cake.
I think you'd be taking on too much (maybe) if it was all real cake 
, but if you just have to put two small pieces into styrofoam that she's providing... I think you could do it, and it would DEFINITELY be awesome exposure (and imagine your portfolio!!!!).
Good luck! I can't wait to see the pictures you post of that one!
Erin
Ummm, what would be the point of this?! Why is she not having real cake or a mix of cake & dummy tiers if her guest count is not that many? Personally, I'd say no, what would it be proving, that you can slap some icing on a bit of styrofoam?! The thing that makes this cake a wow factor is the size & the flowers, from what I can see, the cake decoration is minimal. I'd say yes if I were actually making the cakes, so people could taste as well as see my skills, but what she's proposing, no thanks! JMO, good luck if you decide to do it!
The cake seems easy enough, but what about if you make her a counter proposal and have the bottom 2 layers of real cake and the top 2 layers of fake cake and offer to do the sheet cakes - that way you get the opportunity to do this and your cake's great taste gets exposure as well. she has to pay for the sheet cakes anyway, why not get them from you.
I would be weary of that email, if I were you. First of all, she seems to know an awful lot about it. Like - she sais "custom styrafoam with rounded edges". I had no idea until I started decorating that the edges on the styrafoam needed to be dulled. Heck, I didn't even know until I tried, failed and asked CC'ers why. Also, does she have any idea how much this is going to cost? She may think that because it's styrafoam that it will be cheaper. A lot of non-cake decorators think that they're paying for the CAKE, but they're really paying for the ART. Making a cake is no problem or stress for me - it's the decorating that takes a lot of time, patience, etc. Dummy or not, the price won't be much different.
I think it's also worth mentioning that I would never in my wildest dreams allow a florist to decorate MY cake. "unless you do it for a reasonable price"? Would she have gone to the caterer and said, "I'd like to buy some of your food, but I think I'll have my nanny cook it". Nu-huh, no way. First off, it's a bit rude to suggest that the flowers aren't part of the cake decorating process and secondly, if the florist screws up the cake somehow, it's YOUR cake, YOUR reputation.
HTH
It seems like she is going to pay MORE to have this and cakes for her guests rather than incorporating dummies and real cake and still achieving the same effect.
I didn't even think about the fact that you should consider WHAT she is serving her guests b/c people are going to assume the person who decorated it made it. If the cake is not too good, it might not be good exposure for you. (Good point Bonjovibabe)
I think if you are considering this at all, you might ask her the questions that have been brought up. Otherwise, you are just doing white icing. Someone else is doing flowers and someone else is baking and your name might get attached to all of it...whether it turns out good or bad. Jmho 
Even though she will be providing the dummies there is not very much cost in them. Since her dummies are larger than my normal serving sizes of 4" tall then I would still figure my regular charge per serving for that size of cake.... let me explain. Her 6"x6" is 7" tall.. well I don't have to make a cake, but I have to make more frosting... so a 6" x6" serves 18 ppl times my regular price per serving and there is the price for that cake.... I would do it the same all the way down... Except with the ones that are 10", 11", and 12" tall then I would charge more b/c there is even more frosting that what I would normally use...
others brought up a good point too... what will she be serving?
This isn't unrealistic, you just want to make sure you are covered.
I have a feeling this is a bride that has been told Dummy cakes are cheaper and then you can just order sheet cakes to save money... Hello, the money for wedding cakes is in the talent of the decorator, NOT the cake itself...
I don't know about the inserting the cake part, but to me while a dummy cake saves you time from baking you still have all the icing and decorating. And I find the light weight dummies a little harder to ice than real cake.
In the end my price wouldn't be much cheaper than it would be if I was to do that in a real cake, and I'd imagine since this was for a TV star that it wasn't a cheap cake. So tell her sure I'll do it, for oh... $1000+
My initial reaction is that she's another cake decorator who is a) unsure if it can be done (hence she's asked more than once if it will all hold together) and b) she doesn't know how much to charge.
She just has TOO MUCH detail about sizes, about how the dummies will have the edges rounded, about how she wants the real cake inserted into the ends of one of the tiers.
Something definitely doesn't feel right about this.
I'd run so fast from this that I'd leave skid marks!
RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Something is just too fishy about her
Sounds like a very strange request to me. Is she not going to serve her guests cake? And why just 2 small pieces incorporated into the cake? That's insane! I don't know....I think I'd stear clear of this one....
i can see why she would want this.. she wants a big fabulous cake but doesnt NEED all of it.. i thought she was serving the real cake that she requested on the bottom??? I would do this.. but figure out how much b/c you'd need to cover them all... i'd rather do them in mmf.. it would be cheaper and easier.. talk her into letting you do the whole bottom cake real...
I don't understand why you guys are saying you don't get a good vibe about it. Is it because the inquiry came from craigslist? I've gotten good customers from it so far. This is no different than any other decoration that she might be purchasing for her wedding. It's something that she wants as a focal point but not necessarily as a food item. Big deal. It's her wedding, if that's what she wants, so be it.
Now if she thinks it's going to be dirt cheap, then that would be the flaw in her reasoning. In my opinion, I would charge my normal per serving price and back out the cost for the actual materials/ingredients that I would have to purchase/provide if it were real cake. If she didn't like that, then tough, no skin off your back.
I'm with the people who say that it would be good exposure and good for your portfolio. People don't book wedding cakes based on taste first, at least most of them don't. What is the first thing they see? The decoration, that's what brings inquiries. Taste comes later. And any other brides that you might have will taste and they will pass the word on about how good it is.
As for the flowers, I don't think that what she said is offensive. There are some cake decorators who tell their clients specifically that they WON'T place the fresh flowers. I've seen many posts here on CC that go both ways on that subject.
If she was willing to pay whatever price you decide on, I think you should do it. If you're wary about the problem of whatever cake she decides to serve being nasty and you don't want to be associated with it, tell her you'll cut her a deal if you can put a little placard on the table with your name and stating that you're the designer of said cake.
Just my opinion! Good luck!
I personally have had some problems regarding Craigslist and shady people. So if I were you, I'd err on the side of caution here and tell her you can't do it. Or, if she lives relatively close to you, go meet her (with someone you trust coming along, of course) and work out the details of what exactly she wants.
Good luck with this!
RUN!!! RUN!!! as fast as you can... 
It sounds like she's a poser... she obviously wants to scam her guest into believing that she paid TOP DOLLAR for a reproduction of SUPERSTARS cake...
DON'T DO IT 
and if you do, GOOD LUCK 
ps/ she is definately in the industry, how else would she know that edges need to be dulled?
Maybe she's a cake decorator who's been hired to do the cake and sheets but doesn't want to do the styrofoam setup. This way she can pay you less for doing it and pocket the money.
Even to this newbie, this person knows way too much. I think she knows more than me and I've been diligently reading this site for months!
Or maybe she's a wedding planner, as am I. Where's indydebi when you need her?!
Wedding planning is what led me to cake decorating. So maybe she's not a cake decorator, maybe she's a wedding planner who would also know this kind of stuff or she has one that would know it.
I don't know. Maybe I'm not skeptical enough.
Well, it is a pretty cool cake... I don't think I'd charge that much less for a cake that big because you're only cutting out the baking stage and ingredients. From my own experience with dummies, I'd rather decorate a real cake though, much easier.
I don't think it's unreasonable for the bride to know a little bit about the rounded edges. If she's already ordered these parts, she's probably already done that part of the research.
I think you should find out a little more about what she's planning on doing before you make any decisions about it. Maybe she just loved the idea of this huge cake but is just having a very small wedding. I would only want to do it if I were also making the cake to eat though.
I have no problem with how she came across me, I am just curious about the size of the cake and the fact that she only wants a small, very small, part edible. Everybody dreams of having a movie stars wedding cake! It's the size and her knowing EXACTLY what sizes she wants. I don't know what doesn't feel right!
I have no problem with how she came across me, I am just curious about the size of the cake and the fact that she only wants a small, very small, part edible. Everybody dreams of having a movie stars wedding cake! It's the size and her knowing EXACTLY what sizes she wants. I don't know what doesn't feel right!
That sounds to me like your gut instinct is kicking in. If it doesn't feel right to you, even if you can't figure out why it doesn't sound or feel right, then I think you are better off just passing on the cake.
It doesn't seem surprising to me that she knows the exact sizes and about the rounded edges - she has probably already shopped this around to other bakers and they probably gave her this information along with an estimate, and now she is looking for a bargain, hoping that a craigslister will be less $$ than, say, the high-end wedding shop with whom she consulted. She prob. figures if you are looking for a kitchen and thus aren't licensed, you might be cheaper since you're not actually providing an edible product. (I too was one of those brides who'd been told the wives' tale about styrofoam dummy cakes being an affordable way to get the cake you want for a lot less $. We never went that route but my point is, people who think that aren't bad people, just misinformed. Also our bakery did not provide flowers, we HAD to have our florist do that part. So these parts don't seem fishy to me.)
And yep, as to the size/real cake discrepancy I'd be willing to bet everyone else here is right about the sheet cake, or some other way she's providing the cake. But I wouldn't worry about her reasons for wanting such a huge cake and where her real cake is coming from, as much as I'd just say to myself: "Do I want to do this job or not?" Do you want to do it just to decorate an impressive, massive cake, or is it better in your interest to provide the actual cake (and can you get the cake done; can you get your kitchen rental space?). Then if you want to do it, just make darned sure you get an iron-clad contract signed, deposit, interim payments (i.e. amount due 3 weeks before the wedding) etc. etc. including information about nonrefundable parts of the payments, when the materials would be due from her (and what happens if she doesn't provide them or if they are defective), etc. That's where you realy start to get into possible headache zone - liability for working with her materials. What if they break? What if you break one? Etc.
I do agree with watching your back with Craigslist people, but not because they are Craigslist people (at any time, any of us here could be Craigslist people, and you yourself are one right?! ) but just because you should never do that kind of business by "remote," so meeting with her to discuss your prices, her needs, etc. is a good way to make sure she takes you seriously and that you get a sense of her vibe for REAL not just via email. If she's not for real, she won't want to meet with you (i.e. if she's just fishing for estimates) in which case, good, no more time wasted.
And if you two decide to work together, yes I think it would be great for your portfolio! Even if the cake she served is mediocre, you will have a photo of a giant, impressive cake that you have shown yourself capable of decorating.
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