" The full amount of the cake balance is due one month before your wedding, which can be paid by cash or check. Payments made after the four week deadline may only be made in the form of cash. If payment isn't recieved in full by at least one week before the wedding date, no cake will be made and your order will be cancelled. "
I already had the discussion with her on the changed contract, when she mailed it to me last month. She also told me last week that she got paid on the 14th, and that she would mail me the remaining balance (which she typed out the complete amount due) along with the contract that has the correct date. She would have then explained that she planned to pay the remaining balance the week before in cash. Also, it is now less than 4 weeks to her wedding. She paid with a money order. She is completely going against me, and I agree with everyone else that she will try something else. I have already bent for her, and I am going to send her check back, and make sure she has to sign for it. I lived in Baltimore when I planned my Virginia Beach wedding also. I was on time with all payments. I also saw that episode of Bridezillas. I thought the same thing about this bride.
I responded to the original post without looking at the date(embarassed). Had I taken the time to notice the date of the original post, I would've read the remaining thread contents before posting(embarassed still).
After posting, I seen that you were well on your way to resolving the issues.
I apologize for posting without reading the entire thread.
Don't be embarassed. Thanks for your response, because that paragraph on my contract worries me, and needs to be taken off. or changed slightly...
The full amount of the cake balance is due one month before your wedding, which can be paid by cash OR check. Payments made after the four week deadline MUST BE PRE-APPROVED BY ME AND CASH WILL BE THE ONLY FORM OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED. BALANCE ON ORDER MUST BE FULLY PAID NO LESS THAN 7 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT OR your order will be cancelled AND DEPOSIT FORFEITED.
I'm confused................if your final payment is due 4 weeks before the event than why would you even consider approving final payment after that 4 wk. deadline? You're letting the client run your business.
For wedding cakes my policy simply states final payment is due 30 days prior to the wedding date. If final payment is not in hand by this date all monies except deposit will be returned to the Bride/Groom and this order will be canceled. No exceptions.
We have contracts for a reason and my main reason is to protect myself and to get paid. I'm not in the business of letting my clients tell me when and how they'll pay me. If they cannot afford to make the payments they shouldn't be ordering.
It concerns me that the original poster's client has to wait to be paid before she can pay for her wedding cake 
Maybe she can't afford to be getting married if she has no savings, my God, now I can see why people are in such a terrible financial crisis in this country.
I have the following terms on my invoice, I point this out to each bride and then they sign below it that they have accepted my terms.
Terms: Balance to be received no later than 30 days prior to event date or this contract will be considered void and will be cancelled. Any monies paid on account are not refundable. A $25 charge will apply to any returned check. Customer is responsible for all costs and fees incurred to collect payment by legal avenues. If for any reason an unexpected condition beyond our control should arise and the ordered product(s) cannot be delivered, cfao shall only be liable for for the balance which has been paid on the product(s) by the customer. This company and anyone acting as an agent may not be held liable for any other damages or losses. Cfao is not responsible for any product not supplied by us. We reserve the right to substitute if necessary. Heat and humidity will cause product breakdown during an outside reception.
Make them sign AND date it and you should be covered for anything. I have never had anyone refused to sign it in 19 years. You should not be refunding anything once they have reserved your services. There is no way for you to book another event to make up for your lost income. About 10 years ago, I didn't stick to my terms and I refunded all but the deposit to a bride who said her wedding had been cancelled, he left her sob story I bought into. I then find out a relative had offered to do her cake as a gift, the wedding had gone on as planned. I then received a notice she was taking me to court for her deposit to be returned. It was only $50 back then, but I let it go to court to see what the judge would say. I fully expected to have to return it since I had broken my own terms. The judge told her she was very lucky I had returned the balance to her as I didn't have to. He also told me to never "be nice" again, stick to my terms.
ps That marriage didn't work and she actually came in 2 years ago with cash in hand for me to provide her cake for her 2nd wedding.
Ok this is kind of tricky so please dont kill me for my opinion michele but I think you asked for opinions right? 
Ok here goes. I read your contract carefully and it states:
The full amount of the cake balance is due one month before your wedding, which can be paid by cash or check. Payments made after the four week deadline may only be made in the form of cash. If payment isn't recieved in full by at least one week before the wedding date, no cake will be made and your order will be cancelled
1. There is a huge discrepancy. First you said all payments MUST be made one month before date. Then the next sentence says if you pay AFTER the four week deadline you must pay in cash.
2. Is the 14th after the four week deadline but before one week before the wedding.
So that means that she has to pay before 4 weeks by check or cash and if not she still has one week before wedding to pay in full by cash. If you dont have payment before one week NO CAKE. I totally understand you are upset that she changed your contract. That is understandable but the date listed on the contract should reflect both dates the four week deadline and the one week deadline. Also if she is out of state do you really want her to mail cash? Money order sounds like the best bet. You can cash a money order easily and you know that you have the money for sure because its not a check. I dont get what is going on and I'm sure she is confused also. If she gives you payment 1 week before isnt the contract still being enforced. You also mentioned:
What happens if you don't collect your money at least 2 weeks prior, and the bride cancels? You could have booked another cake in that spot, and now your out a couple hundred dollars.
If you feel this way you should change the contract and say that all monies are due 2 weeks before the wedding period or the cake is cancelled. I'm sorry if I am getting this wrong but as long as you have the payment one week prior what is the problem besides her writing on your contract? I think you should make her cake and consider a money order cash since she is out of town. You should tell her that you have to have the last $25 7 days before or she gets no cake.
When I got married I didnt have a savings for it and paid vendors as we got paid in the order they needed it. But we got a cake homemade from a friend for $75 and we had a really small budget. We didnt over indulge because we knew we didnt have $300 to put on a cake.
Karema
I had a similar situation with a long distance bride about two weeks ago. She lives in Chicago and will be getting married here in Puerto Rico. After sveral e-mails (she is very, very pushy), having a tasting with her future in-laws (that were pushed by her to do the tasting even though they didn't want to), I sent her the contract. After about two weeks she e-mails me telling me that her fianceé wanted me to add to MY contract (written and revised by MY Attorney), the following:
"DELIVERY AND MOUNTING OF THE CAKE WILL BE DONE BY 4:30 P.M.".
The contract stipulates that my company will make all the necessary arrangements to deliver the cake on time, however we will not be responsible for any delays out of our control such as traffic jams, acts of God, weather problems, etc. I politely explained to this young woman that we do not make any alterations to our contract since any delays after 4:30PM, regardless of the reason, would position my Company in a breach of contract. I then advised her to start looking for a new baker.
Ditch her now. Don't let a customer tell you how to run your business. That's my humble advise.
Well, I am on my way to the post office to send her money back. I had given her until last Friday to send the remaining $25.00. She had told me that the best way to contact her was through email, which I did to give her the new due date. You can never get through to her if you call her. Anyway, she sends me a sob story email stating that she just got this email (a week after I sent it) since she has been so busy at work. She said she knows I am running a business and understands if I send the checks back to her. She said she hates to try and order a short notice cake but understands. Well I am done with it, so off I go to send a certified letter. I have also changed my contract so that this will never drag out this long again. Thanks everyone for helping me deal with this.
Yuck-sorry this happened! Unfortunately, she is a total flake. Who doesn't read their emails for weeks at a time when they are planning a wedding and use that email to contact vendors? Whatever. I'm glad you dropped her like a hot potato!
Michele,
Running a business is a learning experience...and you just learned an important but inexpensive lesson!
I am sure the ladies here who do this for a living could tell you how they learned the same lesson (iron-clad and unambiguous contracts, sticking to your rules, walking away when necessary) when it REALLY cost them!
JMHO, but I think OP was a little harsh to this bride. I didn't read the whole thread, just the original post & several after it. The way the wording was in the contract made it seem like it was ok if she paid after the 4 week deadline.
If all she owed was $25, OP is not going to do her cake? I feel bad for this bride. There was too much confusion going on here.
mom2spunkynbug, What was said in the later posts, was that the bride said she would pay the total, on time in cash, and then proceeded to send a money gram- in the wrong amount no less! She knew the proper amount and didn't send it, so in my opinion, she didn't deserve to be taken seriously. If you can't pay for a cake when the decorator specifies, and in the manner she specifies, then you need to find a decorator that will let you pay when you want to pay.
It may sound harsh, but she was given chances! It's not that hard to get things done on time. You need to pay if you want a service. 
Nicely put Kelly Marie. Yes, I did feel bad about dropping her over $25.00, but she has been pushing it all along. I shouldn't have to keep bugging someone every week to pay for their wedding cake. If you are getting married, it is your responsibility to pay your vendors in a timely manner. I bet she didn't hesitate to pay her reception hall in full when it was expected. Why should the baker be any different?
Don't feel bad about this situation. I agree that are many people outside that tries to get away like the deserves it. Don't let them run your business, anyways theres two ways to learn, and you learn the hard way. Now you have your contract review, and your lesson learn. At least you will not have a bouncing check, or a fake money gram after delivering the cake...good decision.
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