Hi, just starting out and haven't created any type of contracts. But I feel that I need one now that I am starting to do large cakes for weddings and quinceanera's. Does anyone have one that I could look at?

Also, do you all charge deposits for items used such as displays, plastic cake stands, etc.? And do you give the deposit back upon return of the items. I 'm asking this because I did a wedding cake 2 weeks ago and haven't received my items back. I didn't go to the wedding because it was out of town and 2 hrs away. They picked up the cake and set it up themselves, which was very easy. when I called the bride to ask her for my items back, she said she didnt know when she was coming back to my town and could I meet her 1/2 way. What do you al think or suggest?

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=62429

here is a form that I use that I found on here....I opened it in a picture editting program and erased the "Cake Order Form" and put my own info...I'll show you mine.

Then I also got my wedding cake contract from www.cakeboss.com and just changed a few things to suit my needs but it's a nice basic place to start

For deposit items they have to bring them back to me, I don't go meet them anywhere. If they don't bring them back within a week of the wedding they forfeit the deposit. I'd tell her to put the stuff in the mail to you, because it isn't worth your time or gas money to drive for an hour to meet her, most likely. When you get them make sure everything is there and in usable condition... she shouldn't get the deposit back for whatever's missing or damaged. What I've been doing recently is adding the cost of the plastic pieces into the total cost of the cake in an itemized line, and I don't call it a deposit. I tell them that if they bring back anything within a week of the event I'll reimburse them for that item, but that it's up to them whether they want to make the effort or not. For most people it isn't worth the aggravation, so I never have to deal with it. Unless it's something like a fountain or the really large plate systems, people won't bother with it. Just make sure you give them a time limit or you'll get stuck with people trying to bring things back after you've already replaced them. For large stands I also charge a rental fee, so after a few uses I've made back the cost of it, and if it disappears it's not a huge loss.