You know, especially after the wedding show this weekend.. I really have to wonder about the people who invite SO MANY people, yet want to go so cheap on the cake.
Who knows 500 people, anyway? Isn't that like inviting EVERYONE they've ever met? Sounds like a bit of a gift grab, to me. If you're close enough to someone to want them at your wedding, you should be close enough to them to want them to have a nice cake.. not go cheap and give them nasty grocery store sheet cake!!
I figure they need to make a choice. You have a "budget" wedding for so many, or you tone down your guest list and pull out all the stops - including the cake of your dreams.
My motto is now .. a good cake is not cheap and a cheap cake is not good!
I'm gpong to print that out and hang it in my "shop/kitchen" for everyone to read. 
OMG--less than 50 cents/serving of cake???????????????? I can't even produce a single plain sugar cookie for that kind of money!
I'd tell her that she MIGHT be able to get a nice photo blow-up of the cake for the price she wants to pay and that will have to do!
The next time she calls, if I had the time, I really think I'd go into a tirade about the cost of sugar, flour, chocolate, electricity, etc. and then hang up! Or, maybe I'd let her know in no uncertain terms that if you spend $12,000 on a dress that people will only see, maybe you should consider spending at least $2000 on the cake that all of those guests will eat!
Amazing, really amazing.....................
Rae
There must be some magazine article floating around somewhere that tells brides to "Never pay full price for your wedding cake!"
there IS 
. ask indydebi...she's mentioned this person before. i think its a columnist.
I hope she ends up with a donut king tower for her silly price and lack of notice! That'll impress all her guests!
i dont even think donuts are THAT cheap. twinkies however..... http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tackyliving.com/graphics/food/weddingCake.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tackyliving.com/article.php%3Fid%3D136&h=295&w=250&sz=56&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=pc25dUYOA4FYNM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtwinkie%2Bwedding%2Bcake%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN now thats tacky...! fits the bill though.
Call me stupid or ignorant, but I thought next to the Brides dress the next focal point was the cake??????????????????? I agree, wonder why people don't argue over the dress, photos, dj, and whatever but want a bargain basement price cake to look the Grandest of all? Weird is all I can say.
Melysa--Love the snack-cake-wedding-cake link! Maybe that is something else to keep a picture of in your shop/kitchen for people to see, who want to argue about a cheap price! 
(Someone more clever than I am will have to come up w/ the slogan to go underneath the picture . . . )
Oh trust me, photographers have the same problem with brides. Because of the quality cameras nowadays, the value of a pro has really been diminished in the eyes of many brides. There's a (silly) mentality that any uncle bob can do it.. so many of them go really cheap on the photos.. and really live to regret it.
There must be some magazine article floating around somewhere that tells brides to "Never pay full price for your wedding cake!"
there IS
. ask indydebi...she's mentioned this person before. i think its a columnist.
That would be Ms. Stephie Steward (www.fireyourweddingplanner.com). She's not the only one, but she's at the top of my hit parade.
Understand that I agree with her overall philosophy, but the way she presents things is most of the time on the wrong side.
Anyone who deals with brides needs to sign up to receive her emailed newsletter, just so you can be on top of what she is telling brides. More than once, I've told a bride "Contrary to what Stephie tells you ...... " because I recognize that their question comes directly from the Stephie newsletter.
here's a link with a few links to some of her newsletters http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-234961-providing.html+platesp
Here's the quote from "Dear Stephi's" website:
You walk into a store to choose a wedding cake. At first you're a little bit shocked to learn how much the cake is going to cost, but you finally just accept that this is part of the price of a great wedding. Because you've never bought a wedding cake before, you don't even realize that you could be paying more just because the person behind the counter knows that you won't argue because you don't know any better than to pay full price.
She goes on to push her BOOK:
[/quote] I only wish that I would have been able to buy this knowledge, insight and experience for $39.95 $29.95 when I started. And I know you're going to be thrilled you made the investment once you've had your first success after reading it.
Crikey Ozcake, That is incredible. I have had some customers who cannot understand the words "fully Booked" before, but your story is incredible!
I am curious as a cat though, what did she say to try to convince you to do it in the 8 phonecalls? I mean seriously.. did she offer Hugh Jackman to give you a massage or what?
DID she offer THAT?! I'LL DO THE CAKE! RRRRROOOWWW! Just kidding! Or AM I? 
For the massage from Jack, I'd give her cake for 100 people 
Get to the back of the queue, woman!! I'll pass him along when I'm done! 
Thank you, Melysa, for that link! I'll pass it along to her! Hope the bride doesn't get any filling on THAT dress! 
Indydebi, I'm tempted to order a copy of that book, just to prepare in the future. Do you think she'd accept an offer of $4.99? it's just that I'm on a budget - I've spent all my savings on massage oils for Hugh Jackman! 
Indydebi, I'm tempted to order a copy of that book, just to prepare in the future. Do you think she'd accept an offer of $4.99? it's just that I'm on a budget - I've spent all my savings on massage oils for Hugh Jackman!
ROFLMAO, you guys crack me up! 
Hey can I nominate this for "thread of the week"??!!
I always prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt, you know, everyone wants a nice wedding and yet not to go broke...yada yada...but really...450 guests, a $12K dress, and yet trying to drive an absurd bargain on the cake?! Sheesh at this point what's another few hundred bucks...just pony up and have a nice wedding people!
Although, I'm beginning to wish you didn't hang up on her, she's so entertaining.
lol @ the twinkie/oreo comment
Good point though.
I'm dying to find out if this forgetful bride is actually going to be serving anything but excuses at her wedding!! So what if she does the Twinkie serving!!
At least her wedding would be "talking about" for years if she had Hostess as her centerpiece!!
Brides never cease to amaze me!! I had a co-worker who is getting married Oct. 6th approach me in late August about doing a white on white, fondant accented cake, 14, 10 and 6 plus enough sheet cakes to feed an additional 300 people! They had invited over 700 people to this wedding. So I told her $800 and she said she would check with her mom. Mom is doing almost all of the food. Well, she avoids me for awhile but the next time I worked with her, I said, "I assume that you are having someone else do your cakes?" Yes, someone from the church can do the tiered cake to look like fondant but in BC and she is doing it for barely cost. I wished her luck and hoped everything turned out as she hopes! I did have a momentary lapse though where I secretly hoped the cakes looked hideous!
you know, there are TOWNS that don't have 700 people living in them!!
I spent 20 minutes on the phone with a bride and it turns out she wanted food (FOOD!! Not just cake, but FOOD!) for 200 people AND wanted me to set up and tear down tables AND the cake for 200, but only had $500 to spend. I actually laughed out loud and told her "Honey, you can't get Happy Meals for that!"
you know, there are TOWNS that don't have 700 people living in them!!
Yep, right here. 499 people since I had my son!
But you would be shocked how many people around here have weddings with hundreds and hundreds of people. Because there are all these little towns surrounding the area, and you know everyone from each town. I am shocked when I get a bride from in town here and she tells me she sent out 400 invitations and expects around 600 people or so. I'd have to invite all of YOU guys to get a wedding that big personally!
Forgot the cake??? More likely the original decorator set her loose because of her unreasonable expectations and behavior!
Sugarfrosted, I think miss_sweetstory may be right! I have made enquiries about this lady and her daughter (who apparently makes the term "Bridezilla" sound like an endearment!) No only is the wedding going to be bigger than Ben Hur, but the wedding dress alone cost AU$12,000.00!!!!
AND THEY CAN'T AFFORD A CAKE!!!!!! OMG!!!! Now that's what I call CHEAP! Does her wallet squeak when she opens it? $200 won't even get her 450 petit fours! UGH, the nerve! 
You Go Girl!!!
Who knows 500 people, anyway? Isn't that like inviting EVERYONE they've ever met?
Well y'all do have to keep in mind, there are certain cultures where this is the norm, and it's NOT always at the bride/groom's discretion (to the extent that they want to respect the cultural tradition rather than, say, elope). I had a girlfriend who went thru this; tradition stated that she had to invite ALL of her family, including every extended distant relative, adults and kids alike...and also anyone in the family may invite whomever they please . She had a wedding of about 450 ppl and only personally knew maybe 100. But her family was paying for it (you'd hope so since it was apparently their party!) and she didn't want to make waves or force her parents to explain to distant family why they weren't good enough to be invited. You'd think some of these people wouldn't show up but, no, there are guests travelling halfway around the world to see a couple they don't know get married, all in the interest of supporting their "family." It's kind of sweet actually.
So don't go too hard on folks who have a big guest list . Unless of course they are trying to get a cake for $0.50 a serving!!!
Oh ceshell, I don't begrudge anyone with a huge guest list, I'm just a little jealous!! And hey, if it means a big cake sale for me... no problem there! hahahaha!
Ok, I hope this isn't too off the subject, but what you said makes me think of the movie "Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin. That movie, I love it, but it makes me so mad because who pays for 100 distantly related people you've never met to fly in from Zimbabwe? (No offense to Zimbabwe, I only said that because it sound very far away from where I am right now!) Hehehe. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had the money to have a half million dollar wedding, but I don't, so I have trouble wrapping my brain around it.
Those same cultures are the ones that pay good $$$ for the wedding. None of the people I'm talking about would fit into those cultures, btw.
I guess I was a bit fuzzy in my point.. I find it really rude when a couple invites SO MANY people, but wants to do it on no budget. If someone wants to throw a blowout party for 500 people - cultural traditions or not - more power to em. When they want to have that party for those 500 people (and like I think I mentioned, I'm SURE it's a gift grab, too!).. registering for expensive gifts.. then expect cheap/free dummy cake so they can buy the cheapest cake possible for those guests? Seriously.
I know there are special circumstances that result in a big guest list. Sometimes it's professional associates of the parents .... my nephew married the only daughter of a very well known surgeon, so it was a huge wedding/reception. I had a friend who was very active in some clubs and volunteer work, so they actually did know half the town and most of them showed up at the wedding.
I dont' mean to come across as being hard on them, but I am always amazed at those who know that many people. Wow.
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