Sometimes it's not "prefer" .... sometimes it's just "that's all they know". Sometimes, they don't want to be perceived as "bothering" you about the cake. Sometimes they don't want to be a leach and be one of those who are always asking for a cake.
And sometimes they are just being a b*tch about it! 
Recently, my husband's nephew got married in a simple, just parents and grandparents ceremony. They bought a small cake at the one and only local bakery and we were told it was so bad that they didn't use it and went and bought a walmart cake (a friend told me, "wow, when a WALMART cake is considered an UPGRADE.......!!!! 
) 
Anyway, groom's mom asked bride, "Why didn't you ask Debi to make the cake? She would have been happy to!", new bride said she would have felt funny asking for a cake and then saying, "oh yeah and by the way you're not invited to the wedding."
Well hubby and I got a good laugh at that one, god luv her little heart and soul! I'm never offended when someone makes alternate arrangements for their cake ..... and the poor thing suffered thru a cake disaster at her wedding because she was concerned about offending me.
She's going on my list of favorite nieces. 
It hurts a wee bit, when a friend or family member doesnt ask you to make a cake, but like Debi said you have to consider the their reasoning behind it.
I have a friend who did something very similar to me. She is a VERY good friend who is always telling me that I dont charge enough for my cakes. She is my biggest advocate, and I love her for that! She asked me to make her son a smash cake for his birthday. She never asked me to make the main cake that everyone else would be eating, just his personal one.
Well I made it, and it turned out wonderfully, and I refused to let her pay me a penny for it, even though she offered over and over again. I wouldnt even let her reimburse me the cost of ingredients. Fast foward to the party day, and the birthday boy was LOVIN his cake. All the other kids and adults were eating Walmart sheet cake. I kept a smile plastered on my face after several party goers asked me why I didnt make the main cake, because I wasnt sure what to say.
My shining moment came when the aunt of the birthday boy (who is also a friend of mine) starting digging into the birthday boy's leftover cake with a spoon. The mom says outloud "J, why are you eating BB's cake? There is plenty of this cake over here?" And the very outspoken Aunt says fairly loudly, "That crap? I wouldnt eat that Walmart crap, after tasting Kim's cake. Thats just plain nasty compared to this!" She continued to embarrass me in front of her family, and a bunch of our friends about how good my cakes are, etc.
After the party my distraught friend explains to me why she didnt just let me make the main cake, even though I would have charged her next to nothing for it. She told me that she couldnt afford to pay me what I was worth, and she refused to order $200 worth of cake, and only be able to give me $40, because that is what she could afford to spend on her son's cake. It almost brought a tear to my eye.
Ahhh, Jayde. I'll bet she was embarrassed to not have the money to pay you, especially since she is your biggest supporter. Aaaah. That is just very touching.
She slipped $40 into the Thank You note that she sent for the present. This money was supposed to be for the smash cake that I made for the BB. I bought him a little scooter thingy with the money, and gave it back to her son.
I mind when my friends are taking advantage of me, but when someone actually has the balls to say "I just cant afford to pay you what you are worth, and I dont want to take advantage of you" I consider that the bigger compliment.
My SIL recently got married and my well meaning DH said "Oh YOU can make the cake!"...RIGHT! That would be the WRONG answer!
1. because we'd have to drive it 9 hours away or I would have to leave 3 days early to do it there!
2. THEY didn't ask me!
Turns out the cake was not great. They had a friend do it and well, it was FREE so I am not gonna complain! I went to the wedding with Z-E-R-O stress! IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So don't stew over why Walmart got to make the cake and not you. Go have a great time and share the day with them and remember the cake lady rarely gets invited to the PARTY!
I mind when my friends are taking advantage of me, but when someone actually has the balls to say "I just cant afford to pay you what you are worth, and I dont want to take advantage of you" I consider that the bigger compliment.
My daughter tells her friends, when they are apologetic for not ordering their kids birthday cake from me, "Don't worry about it! My kids wouldn't have those great cakes except that gramma makes them ... beause I can't afford my mom either!"
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