ADitto to the above ^^^

Glad it all worked out in the end and think we can ALL learn a lot from what you went through...!

I really do think you would have needed a Bex and good lie down after all that Razz.  Your cake was lovely , certainly more lovely than a scatty disorganised, bill avoiding bride would deserve. Bet you wish you had real ivy to pop into her piece.   

Now repeat after me   NO MONEY   NO CAKEY. NO MONEY NO CAKEY . One month in advance fully paid. 

Good luck with your next cake. 

Chelle. 

Ok guys here goes sorry to keep you all in suspenders(suspense) but I am ready to update you all on the wedding cake debacle. 

AHi Razz,

I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble! However, I'm very happy you received payment, and the cake is beautiful! So I haven't quite gotten started with my business, but I'm definitely working on it and based on your story, I'll be drawing up contracts/ agreements. In addition, I'll make sure I include EXTRA for set ups and deliveries and more for a set up that was not prearranged with me. My brother and his fiancé is getting married this August and I'm doing the cake as a gift to them. I really hope they accommodate my requests, as I've already had a couple. If this experience goes well with family I'll definitely look into doing more wedding cakes in the future.

What a ride Razz, all well that ends  well you'll be a tough talking mogul from now on won't you? You wee lamb xx

Oh so glad you got the money! I have been checking my email for a notice that all is over and went well. In a way it sort of did, you got the money in hand prior to delivery even though it got down to the wire. I'm sorry everything wasn't ready when you got to the venue but that happens once in a great while, not really often though.  Do keep making wedding cakes as yours look wonderful. In the future I would not send anyone a copy of your drawings or photos as you did of the dummy cake.  They could take them elsewhere and possibly have your design made for less money.  It has happened, Oh Heavens people do that? Yes they do.  Besides all of this, your cake is very pretty and you should be proud of your work.  Keep growing them sweetie, after this ordeal you are well on your way! 

AOh my goodness Razz! Firstly yay for getting paid LOL! :grin: But good grief that wedding sounds like it's totally disorganised! I wonder if the caterer disappeared to try and find someone to pay them?! I'd have loved to have sneak peeked into how the rest of the day went........!

So pleased it's all sorted now though and the cake looked lovely!

AGreat to know you finally got paid! What a mess at the venue but you did the right thing by making your cake look as nice as possible.

AOh...my...god...i missed this whole thing until now.

I know you probably don't need to hear this again, but here's my list of "suggestions."

-get payment in full three weeks before the event or there will be no cake, and deposits will be forfeited by the bride. Don't turn the oven on unless you've been paid.

-verify all location and delivery information when the invoice for the balance due is sent to the bride.

-if you get to the venue and the place isn't set up, set the cake up on whatever sturdy table you can find and take a photo. There should be on your contract about the bride being responsible for providing an appropriate table for the cake, that way you're not left trying to set the venue up.

I'm getting yelled at to get off this site because it screws up my son's internet for some reason. But if you want to see a copy of my contract send me a message. It won't cover the legalities of where you are since every area has different things that are and aren't coverable, but I have a whole section in ere about what the bride is responsible for and when payments are due etc.

A[@]costumeczar[/@] If its ok could I have a copy too?

ASend me a pm if you want a copy, but remember that there are things in it that might not be enforceable in your area, or that don't pertain to you personally. I'm a BBB member so there's a section in there about using their arbitration services, but that won't apply to everyone. I do have a lot of stuff in there that you probably never thought needed to be in a contract before, though. Like "put the cake on a level table thqt's not sitting in the sun." Duh

aww thanks so much too kind. I would love to see a copy of that contract as I may have another cake order.eek!

Oh Razz, I'm so glad it's all over. Thank goodness you got paid in the end! xxxx

Good grief!!!  What a saga!

I'm so pleased you got your money and that you got to deliver the cake.

It says more about you than her that even after EVERYTHING she put you through and the absolute debacle setting up, that you still went back in to move the table and put the cloth on!  Plenty of people WOULD have just left it and gone.

Now, spend some time doing an order form.  It doesn't have to be too fancy.  Just something you can print out. 

Customer's name, address, land line, mobile, email.

Date required.

Venue address (for delivery)

Cake size / shape

Cake flavours

Decoration detail

Price

Deposit

Balance

Balance due by

For wedding cakes, I take £100 non-refundable deposit, with the balance due 3 weeks before the wedding date.  For smaller cakes, I take around a third to a half as a deposit with the balance payable in CASH upon collection.  Or they can pay by cheque if they let me have it at least 10 days before they collect.  Or they can pay by direct bank transfer, as long as the money is in my account before they collect.

i too am pretty confused by the "viewing of the cake"  what is they want to change things ?  also   that would be a big up charge..   And.... you make the cake fully decorated 4 days before a wedding?

that aside... i have in my contract that the cake is the artists rendition and not an exact replica of what they show me if the pic is not of one of my cakes.. also my final payment is 30 days before the event... what if after you make the cake, do all that work, and they don't pay? 

The cake was all fruit hence the reason why it was decorated 4 days before the wedding. I typically bake rich fruit(Caribbean-black cake) at least 3 months before a wedding and leave it to mature and feed it with rum every couple of weeks until the big . Obviously if the cake was sponge there's no way it could be viewed before the wedding as I'd be working on it pretty much up until the last minute. The viewing was only arranged  as the bride was coming to see me to pay me the balance and I thought i'd show her the cake at the same time.

ahhhh now i understand, it was a fruit cake...  what a relief its over!  

AMy sentiments exactly! :)