I got a phone call last Sunday (the only day I usually don't pick up the phone .
The caller was a bride to be, getting married coming Saturday, and she was in tears. Her decorator had stood on her doorstep the evening before, handing over an envelope which contained the money that the bride had paid for her cake. The caker "decided not to do the cake after all", she didn't feel comfortable with the design. She pulled the plug out 6 days before the wedding! Can you imagine?
I was taken by surprise. Didn't really know what to do. I normally would have told her I was sorry, but that I really couldn't help her out. I have a busy schedule, and my weekends book up quickly. Still, I get these requests two to three times a year: brides that are stood up by their cakers and are anxiously looking for any caker that is available. But in all those cases the disaster strikes three to four weeks before the wedding. Not 6 days!

So I really felt for this person. She immediately told me that she would be so relieved if I even wanted to make a cake. Any cake. She realized she could'nt have any demands towards the design, filling, color etc. Just having a cake on her wedding was all she wished for. Luckily the wedding party is small: no more that 80 people, probably no more than 60.
So, I am going to make a simple cake. Really simple because I actually don't have time! I am supposed to arrive at my secret 40th birtday party (that is not secret to me anymore thanks to my six year old ) and I promised NOT to accept any orders on that day.

Are some of you also confronted with, or hear about cake decorators that suddenly decide to return a wedding cake order? After having received the money, signed the contract etc. I think it is so tasteless! I wonder how often that happens.

Wow! Never happened to me, or anyone I know. We have had cake designers go in for emergency surgery or move.

Yes, it has happened a few time to me. We had an incident in my part of Texas of a fake bakery that was stealing brides money, convincing them to pay in full sometimes as much as 18mo. in advance and then either not showing up with the cake or showing up with a cakewreck. I got two calls from the cake jilted brides, and several other area cakers got some of them too. One bride isn't getting married until Sept of this year, and she paid $500 for her cake to these crazies over a year ago! She is coming next month for a sampling and design consult. Poor thing asked if I could give her a discount because she was one of the deceived brides, most I can do is a 5% discount. Anything more will cause me hardship.

I had it happen once, though not with a wedding cake it was with a birthday cake!

The lady called me on Friday morning for a cake for Saturday morning. Said she literally just got off the phone w/ her "cake lady"........the cake lady told her "We are out of business, the economy killed us...sorry" that was it!

the day before the party!!! the woman had ordered a 3 tiered stacked presents cake, I told her there was NO WAY I could do that in one day (it would take 3 days for the bow pieces to dry)

She wound up getting a round cake w/ fondant polka dots w/ a chocolate number on top and cupcakes to match (it was all I had time for) and she was so thrilled that I agreed to make it that she never balked at me charging a $40 rush fee for short notice and even tipped me!! I'm now her "cake lady" lol.

I was already booked up as well, but felt really bad for her!

I don't get them asking for discounts! Why are you supposed to change your prices because they didn't research the company they were giving their money to? Smart people don't just give that kind of money away without knowing where it's going.