Hi all....
here is the finished cake, i hope you like it. For some reason the picture would not show in the thread.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1531510
Lovely cake - but you made that fruit cakes weeks ago right?! Glad you got paid in the end - some people huh?!
People's lives have all culminated to this crescendo event that's been prepared for and anticipated since birth...
Am I the only woman in the universe who didn't do this? I always chuckle when I hear this statement because I did not daydream about wedding dresses, or cakes, or ceremonies when I was growing up or even as a young woman. When I got engaged, I had a lot of fun planning the wedding and reception, but for me it wasn't the culmination of some fairytale moment I'd dreamed of for years.
I have a theory that this is why so many brides are disappointed with their weddings and all the details therein. They've cultivated this impossible scenario in their head about how it's supposed to be, and when it can't be replicated they think they've somehow been cheated.
I'm not criticizing - I'm just always mystified that people spend so much time fantacizing about their wedding for years on end. It's telling that people fantacize about the wedding and not so much the actual marriage.
I mean 'anticipated' doesn't really infer fairy tales to me either~~I din mean that.
But maybe so--I mean maybe our parents gave it a fleeting notion, his parents, our aunts & uncles, grandparents etc. I mean maybe it crossed their mind on our behalf yes?
Perhaps one of our teachers thought for a moment we might make a good wife or mom or maybe they shuddered involuntarily at the thought--I mean it's lifes great crochet chain--families have families who go out and raise families.
If you have kids didja never think about it in advance? Like Oh Dear God please don't let that one be The One!!! 
Stuff like that?
It's anticipated in many ways.
It's a crescendo event becuase of the crochet chain effect of begatting begetting more begats bladeebla yada yada I'm saying it's the song that never ends.
But because I've done wedding cakkes all my kids' lives they have been planning their cakes & weddings at least since they could think about it. Probably more so than the average bear.
I mean we wrote a letter to our Daughter's future spouse when she was an infant...stuff like that...
I know people plan and plan their weddings...I think that's great.
But man...they are one of the hardest events to look forward to as far as being a guest! I mean....Snooze-city!! Get me outta these clothes, my feet are killing me and my eyes are bleeding from ugly poofy dresses!
May it's just me. 
Kate - Seriously?! That is the cutest thing I've ever heard! What sort of things did you put in the letter? Did your husband go along with this? I just can't picture my husband helping me write such a letter. I'm still waiting for him to fill in the "Letter from Daddy" in her baby book....she's seven.
K8, I think you're right that it's probably a lot of things that influence that. My parents' marriage was a bad one, and I didn't grow up thinking marriage was such a sweet deal for women. When I stumbled upon my DH, I was actually rather surprised to think, "Huh, I think I'd like to live with this guy forever..."
We were also kind of poor, so I wasn't encouraged to fantasize about material things in general, much less an expensive wedding.
The main fantasizing I did for my daughter was more about what she would like and who she would be. Would she want to be a Girl Scout, would she like sports, where would she want to go to college and what would she want to study? What kind of work would she do?
I didn't really start thinking about the kind of husband she'd have until she started dating. I figured any influence I'd have over that was already done by the time she started to date because she already had a well formed self image (the what she liked and who she was part), and her own goals that she knew were important to her.
Sorry folks. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Probably an interesting topic for the Lounge! I like the crochet chain image. It's like the Carole King song, "...my life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the everchanging view..." Great song.
I am amazed that after all the years of payment horror stories that have appeared on CC, that this is still an issue. Repeat after me: "I will always require payment in advance"; "I will always require payment in advance".
This is BUSINESS, and in order to be respected as a business person, we must act like business people.
My contract requires a 50% non refundable deposit; the balance due 3 weeks before the reception date. If contracted within 3 weeks of an event, payment in full is due at the time of reservation--credit/debit card or cash only.
I send an email reminder exactly one week before the balance due date (a courtesy that I am not required to offer, but that acknowledges people DO forget). There is a $25 per day late fee imposed for every day after that day up to one week before the due date. I also reserve the right to cancel for non compliance of the contract. I make NO additional contact.
After 12 years I have NEVER had a bride play the 'avoiding' game with me.
I'm with Jamie--chasing down customers is a NO-NO!!
3G--too funny--eyes bleeding from ugly dresses!!
AboveAverage--well he wrote it--I mean we din get special parchment and a plumed pen dipped in fine ink or anything--it was just one of those 'moments'--he wrote it on the inside of the torn off lid of the disposable diaper box and it's resided in the keepsake box for decakes--survived the house fire even. Geez I'm getting all misty--quick gimme some Tylenol sinus
Yeah--romanticism flows through the family like hot water through the radiator pipes, kinda clangy/noisy but warm nonetheless --one man's day old paper recycling bin fodder is the next guy's poignant 30 year old letter to his kid.
So anyhow he wrote about loving God and the guy for her will be real special and how he'll love God because that's how relationships survive because each person looks to God--so they stay turned to the same direction to something greater than themselves--stuff like that.
Ruth--yes me too--similar background. Yeah that crochet chain has a very strong relation to how it all works in reality huh??!!! 'Nuff said!!!
I am amazed that after all the years of payment horror stories that have appeared on CC, that this is still an issue. Repeat after me: "I will always require payment in advance"; "I will always require payment in advance".
This is BUSINESS, and in order to be respected as a business person, we must act like business people.
My contract requires a 50% non refundable deposit; the balance due 3 weeks before the reception date. If contracted within 3 weeks of an event, payment in full is due at the time of reservation--credit/debit card or cash only.
I send an email reminder exactly one week before the balance due date (a courtesy that I am not required to offer, but that acknowledges people DO forget). There is a $25 per day late fee imposed for every day after that day up to one week before the due date. I also reserve the right to cancel for non compliance of the contract. I make NO additional contact.
After 12 years I have NEVER had a bride play the 'avoiding' game with me.
I'm with Jamie--chasing down customers is a NO-NO!!
This is PERFECT advice. I kept thinking as I was reading this post, "This is a conversation I would have had with this bride one day after the two-week in advance final payment that I require. I would have given her ONE e-mail and ONE phone call requiring payment within 24 hours, and if I didn't get it, I would have sent ONE more e-mail and phone call confirming cancellation of the cake order. In business, just as in personal life, we tell people how to treat us.
This is a business transaction, not a friendship. I don't care if the bride has a cake at her wedding. I don't care if she's frazzled, busy, or stressed. I don't care if she's out of money. I don't care if she forgot. She signed a contract and if she doesn't live up to it, I cancel the contract, keep the deposit and move on with my life. You cannot afford to invest yourself in customers personally, most of whom are complete strangers, as if they were family or friends. Trust me, this bride was not losing sleep about whether you'd be able to pay your mortgage.
I'm not trying to bust the OP's chops here, but this story is a good learning experience for her and others who are naively too nice to customers who don't have any respect for them.
Your cake is very pretty!! I'm glad it all worked out for you. I wasn't meaning to sound critical earlier. It sounds lie you have your ducks in a row with your contract, I just hate to see a bride take you to the line like that. I'd sure be stressed to get a wedding cake done in a day. I too am a perfectionist.
When I met my dh of 40 yrs my older sister was in the midst of planning her wedding for later that month. All I remember ever thinking about my future wedding was that I wasn't going to be the pain in the tush she was being. Ten months later when I got married I had a check list: chapel, dress, veil, shoes, slip, cake, flowers, tuxes, gifts for attendants. I found a lovely chapel with a strip mall (they didn't call it that then) behind with a bakery, flower shop and tux shop. I found my dress at Penney's and the chapel the same day and made all the arrangements. My thoughts were on finishing my senior yr of hs and the exciting new life I would be living as a farm wife halfway across the country two weeks after graduation. I have no idea how much it cost my parents, but I know I was thinking of keeping the cost down for them, just because. My daughter's wedding 15 yrs ago was much more involved and fun to plan, and really more important to me than my own was. She had ideas of what she'd like from doing a class project on weddings in high school. I made all her dreams come true. It was a wonderful family experience. Some girls dream about weddings, some don't. I actually dreamed more about my daughters future children than anything. Eight yrs ago she had the exact little girl I had always seen in my dreams. Oh my........ that still chokes me up. Sorry............
[quote="Ruth0209]
This is PERFECT advice. I kept thinking as I was reading this post, "This is a conversation I would have had with this bride one day after the two-week in advance final payment that I require. I would have given her ONE e-mail and ONE phone call requiring payment within 24 hours, and if I didn't get it, I would have sent ONE more e-mail and phone call confirming cancellation of the cake order. In business, just as in personal life, we tell people how to treat us.
Thanks Ruth! I was not my intent to bust her chops either, but you're right. We do tell people how to treat us. When we take money for a service we're conducting business. It's important to learn to that as well as we learn to bake and decorate our cakes. I have never purchased a computer from Dell that wasn't prepaid. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me
I am so greatfull for everyone's advice on here and I am so glad that so many have offered there own advice. I've always taken the good with the bad as well, its the only way I will learn, and as I am still relativley new to the business side I will take everyone's advice on board. I do have some great news on the subject though, the place that hosted the wedding reception were impressed with my work and have asked if they can feature my business on their brochures as well....more business for me.
I am so greatfull for everyone's advice on here and I am so glad that so many have offered there own advice. I've always taken the good with the bad as well, its the only way I will learn, and as I am still relativley new to the business side I will take everyone's advice on board. I do have some great news on the subject though, the place that hosted the wedding reception were impressed with my work and have asked if they can feature my business on their brochures as well....more business for me.
That's awesome!
.... the place that hosted the wedding reception were impressed with my work and have asked if they can feature my business on their brochures as well....more business for me.
That is really great to hear!
This is a business transaction, not a friendship. I don't care if the bride has a cake at her wedding. I don't care if she's frazzled, busy, or stressed. I don't care if she's out of money. I don't care if she forgot. She signed a contract and if she doesn't live up to it, I cancel the contract, keep the deposit and move on with my life.......
I'm not trying to bust the OP's chops here, but this story is a good learning experience for her and others who are naively too nice to customers who don't have any respect for them.
Just wanted to put a big "DITTO!" on these comments. If she doesn't care about her cake, then neither do I.
In my contract is a clause of "Any payment not made on schedule will constitute a cancellation on the part of the client and Cater It Simple will NOT show up at the event."
I've also sent the ONE email with the message "Final payment has not been rec'd. Unless we hear from you in the next 24 hours, we are assuming you have made other arrangements and the order is considered canceled. Please refer to contract clauses #9, 12 and 14."
It works.
We paid all of our vendors in full when we booked. We could have done a deposit and then paid the balance later, but we didn't want to have to remember to go back and pay those balances. Was MUCH easier to just pay everything when we booked. Booked. Paid. Done. 
I am so greatfull for everyone's advice on here and I am so glad that so many have offered there own advice. I've always taken the good with the bad as well, its the only way I will learn, and as I am still relativley new to the business side I will take everyone's advice on board. I do have some great news on the subject though, the place that hosted the wedding reception were impressed with my work and have asked if they can feature my business on their brochures as well....more business for me.
That is such great news! Then it was worth all the hassle after all. See, if you'd been a hard @$$ like me, you wouldn't have made the cake and you wouldn't have had this opportunity. It's your good karma for being a good woman.
I am so greatfull for everyone's advice on here and I am so glad that so many have offered there own advice. I've always taken the good with the bad as well, its the only way I will learn, and as I am still relativley new to the business side I will take everyone's advice on board. I do have some great news on the subject though, the place that hosted the wedding reception were impressed with my work and have asked if they can feature my business on their brochures as well....more business for me.
I don't know if you realize it, but your cake made it onto Most Saved Cake Photos Today list. Congrats.
I know this is a bit of an older post, but I wanted to make one point that I don't remember seeing in the responses.
As a business/artist your reputation is based on how well you are able to bring to life the design you and your clients discuss. When you let a client postpone like this bride did, you leave yourself with less time to make the cake show your full talent and abilities. Possible future clients will make decisions based on how it turns out, not on what the current client put you through. So, another reason to require that full payment be made in time is so that you have sufficient time to work on the cake and make it up to your standard so that it is an advertisement for future business, rather than an advertisement against it.
- Leisel
I know this is a bit of an older post, but I wanted to make one point that I don't remember seeing in the responses.
As a business/artist your reputation is based on how well you are able to bring to life the design you and your clients discuss. When you let a client postpone like this bride did, you leave yourself with less time to make the cake show your full talent and abilities. Possible future clients will make decisions based on how it turns out, not on what the current client put you through. So, another reason to require that full payment be made in time is so that you have sufficient time to work on the cake and make it up to your standard so that it is an advertisement for future business, rather than an advertisement against it.
- Leisel
EXCELLENT Point! ! ! 
I am a bride and I also decorate cakes. So I am giving my reply coming from both sides. We are NOT giving anyone FULL payment until we actually get the final product. This goes for our baker, our photographer, even our wedding planner. This is not unreasonable and our suppliers have added this clause into their contracts. I'm assuming this situation is different because it sounds like you were very clear as to when payment was due. But for myself, I don't feel comfortable paying until I get the final product...that's what the deposit is for.
I agree totally. What I did was negotiate with everyone to pay a deposit and make final payment in full in cash at the reception venue. The few who did not agree, I searched until I found someone else who did agree to my terms. Everything worked out just fine. I can't tell you how many times I've seen on our local news where a bride pays for a cake only to find out later that the bakery went out of business, paid for the dress and went to pick it up and the dress shop had closed, etc. I'm just not that trusting any more. There was a well known window company that had been in business for 50 years and advertised heavily on TV. One day workers went to work and they had gone out of business without any warning. They were taking customers orders and collecting money up until the night before they went out of business. In this economy, it's hard to trust anyone.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%