I just wanted to have someone who would understand to vent to. My mother and I do cakes and catering together who were all set to a wedding for someone at church the end of May. We were giving them a great deal we thought we asked for a $230.00 deposit and $500.00 at the wedding$730.00 for a 4 tiered bride's cake,a 10 inch fondant grooms cake to look like cheese with cheese cake between cake layers and hand molded mice,plus handmade chicken salad sandwich cutouts,cheese balls, hand made mints, a chocolate fountain with 20lbs of chocolate and dipping items. We were also going to set up everything decorate the tabled and serve. When we told them the price they just didn't understand what the $500.00 was for. They no longer wanted us to the wedding if they had to pay that,but the bride said(this was the last straw) that she had someone through the school cafeteria that could get chocolate cheaper and wanted to know if she could borrow my chocolate fountain for the wedding. Needless to say that answer was a big NO. The nerve of some people.Sorry this ran long ,THANKS for listening to me vent.

You mean to tell me that they thought they were going to get all of that for $230?????

What planet are they from?

Being the most non-churchy human on the skin of this earth I would have told her to cram that fountain up her @$$ sideways, and then I would have bitch-slapped her right on into next week.

That really took some chutzpah!

You poor thing, sending friendly hugs your way.

There will always be people who go the cheapest route because their only criteria is the lowest cost and not the best value.

As has been said before, you don't want to become known as the "cheap decorator" or caterer in your case... (After all you gave them a great deal; and then they forget the remaining balance.)

There will be clients who will recognize the value and true worth of your offerings and appreciate the made-to-order service you provide.

You were right in standing up for your business by declining to allow your fountain to be used without your "fountain package" which would have included the chocolate, etc. (I'm sure indydebi would be proud of you, too!)

HTH

P.S. Might want to include a condition when accepting a deposit at the time of booking in which the contract states that if they change their mind; you keep the money....

Wow! And I thought you were significantly undercharging them to start with.

Good grief the ingredients were more than 230.00

sounds like she should just go ahead and get married in the cafeteria

Maybe she is too dumb to realize that you need to make a profit after you purchase the food, make the cakes and other food, serve it, deliver it, and clean up. Not to mention you have business expenses like the cost of the fountain.

If she's lucky they will serve tacos instead of fish sticks in the cafeteria on the Friday before the wedding. Because she is so cheap, all she can afford are the leftovers the kids don't eat.

Good for you for standing your ground. Would be interesting to see what type of wedding she ends up with.

I love how you guys can make everybody feel better about something that has happened to them. I am sitting here by myself laughing about the fountain up her ___ . Maybe they can make fish tacos if they have some of each leftover

My GD paid $750 just to have a chocolate fountain at her wedding. So you were doing the food, cake, etc for less than that & she thought it was too much. She better wake up & smell the roses! ( Oh, she probably can't afford them either!)

I charge $600 per 100 guests for my fountains. That's 2 small fountains, the chocolate, 4 dipping foods, plates, forks, napkins, skewers, tablecloth and tableskirting and a crew member to set it up, man it, clean it up and tear it down.

"WOW, that's not just a cheek that's the entire backside"

Here's yer sign...........

Are you joking? The nerve some people leaves me speechless. All you can do sometimes is shake your head and laugh.
I would have told her "I don't loan out my fountain, however you can rent it for $730 !!!!!

Some people expect to get everything free! If they can afford a wedding they should not do it to beging with, don't feel bad you did the right thing and I completely agree with JanH "KEEP THE DEPOSIT!!!!!"

I agree she could have rented...you just vent you deserve it...

Wow, people's stupidity never ceases to amaze me! I'm paying more than $730 for my venue to put freakin' mints and nuts on the table (which I don't want!) and have coffee service with the cake! It's $4.75/person (I have 150-200 guests), but you HAVE to have this "package." And I'm looking at spending $500 JUST on my cake! My FI's first wedding cost more than $230 and it was in someone's backyard, his grandpa smoked a brisket, there wasn't any music, and people ate off plastic plates. This was 5 years ago. That hillbilly bbq would cost double these days. What does she think she's playing at? You vent all you want, but remember, now that day is open again so you can book a REAL wedding!

P.S. Wanna come do my wedding?

I just want to thank everyone for their kind words I really appreciated it.

ugh that really urks me! i was in a similar situation just last week, the bride had asked me to do her wedding and grooms cake and because it was a friend of a friend i was going to do both for $300 (mind you the wedding cake is a 4 tier that no other baker in richmond would touch and the grooms cake was a 3 tier COVERED in fresh strawberries) but she thought that was too much so she is going with a friend that offered to do it for free (not the same cake, just a cake) but she still wants me to do her bridal shower cake... now i just have to make that one as amazing as i possibly can! i'm incredibly spiteful though. haha

I Just wanted to let you know how the wedding turned out my mother went they were trying to dip strawberries and finish other food the morning of the wedding the bride had friends bring food in who knew nothing about cooking for 150 people they ran out of food. The wedding party and the lady doing the decorations along with my mom where ready to strangle the bride..KARMA,KARMA,KARMA!!!!!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry the bride's wedding day was a disaster, but on the other hand, you get what you pay for!

And yes, I absolutely believe in Karma ... nice to see it pans out the way it's suppose to!

Thanks so much for the update! This sounds like a story on www.etiquettehell.com !