Hi everyone! I need some feedback on how you all conduct your bridal consults. I'm a hobby baker and have never worked in a professional setting, so I haven't seen the "proper" way to do one.

I had my first bridal consult for a wedding cake recently, and while the client is very excited about the design and I have my deposit, I'm not excited at all about the design or how the consult went. This particular bride didn't have any particular style in mind and liked everything I showed her. I have a very difficult time coming up with the design of my cakes ahead of time - I typically have a rough idea of how I want it to look before I get started, but most of the time I don't figure out the details until I'm actually doing the cake. I'm not sure if this is a flaw in the way I work or if it's just what works for me - but I realized it's really hard to come up with a wedding cake design at a consult if this is the way I work! Any suggestions or tweaks on how to do a consult for this type of bride? Thanks for the help!

Have them bring in some pictures of things that they like, then take them and work on a sketch that you send her only AFTER they give you a deposit. You can talk about ideas at the meeting, but don't sketch anything to give them until they hire you or they'll shop it around town to find someone to make your sketch for a lower price. There's nothing wrong with telling the bride that you'll do a few sketches and send them to her to choose from. Most people do know what they're looking for, though, so this won't always be what you run into during a cake consult.