I'm extremely curious if this has happened to anyone else.

Have you ever arrived at a venue, with your cake, only to find another cake by a different decorator has already been delivered?!

It turned out the customer had ordered TWO (almost) identical tier cakes for her daughter's Sweet 16 Birthday party - on accident. She paid me for the cake, I set up my cake on the cake table and left. SO BIZARRE. The other cake was in the fridge still when I left.

It's not a huge deal, because I got paid and the cake turned out beautiful in the end. BUT, the amount of time and effort that took to make that cake? Wow. I can only imagine what the other decorator would think if she knew a second cake showed up and took the cake table (and who knows if mine stayed there).

Its difficult to see how somebody could accidentally order two cakes...and I really can't imagine somebody accidentally PAYING for two cakes...I hope the other decorator got/gets paid too!

I could see it happening. Rare - but I can see how it might happen.

I would assume she paid the other decorator first, since she was actually present when that cake arrived. When I showed up with my cake, a mutual friend of the client and myself was there setting up for the party. She wrote me a check for the client (at the client's request), and the client paid my friend later that night. ALL VERY STRANGE.

Maybe they were having 2 parties...some people like to celebrate the heck out of everything. A party for friends and such and then a family one maybe.

Maybe they have a close friend or relative that is a hobby baker and they felt obligated to have them make the cake. But ordered a cake from you as well to use for reals. Who knows the person who made the other cake may not have stayed for the party so they may be under the assumption that their cake was displayed and eaten, while all the while theirs stayed in the fridge while a professionals was order and eaten.