AI delivered a five tier wedding cake that I thought was going to be safe enough to stand thru the reception. I used the SPS support system but the middle tier didn't seem to be holding itself up properly on one side. It seemed to be sinking in a little bit, making the cake look like it was leaning too much. Someone else was to come in and place tons of fresh flowers on it, I have never been able to agree to place fresh flowers on a cake so I tell my brides that their florist is responsible for that. I took pictures of my cake and it was leaning just a bit. The wedding planner has been screaming at me for two days telling me I owe the couple a full refund, that she does 80 events a year and has never ever seen an uglier cake. In my opinion I didn't the the cake would fall over but she insists that it was ready to hit the floor. I feel awful and I guess I will apologize to the bride and groom, makes me want to toss my aprons. I have a ton of wedding cakes coming up but having this happen brings your confidence level so far down you doubt your ability as a cake maker. The more cakes I do, the more I learn from each cake. I will post a picture of my cake when I get to my computer. I am on my iPad right now. Thanks for letting me pity party on myself.

I've never had a cake fall with SPS.  If the cake tiers weren't level, though, it could get wonky looking, and part of a tier could get squished if there was cake supporting cake.  Even with a great support system, tiers still have to be level and the SPS plate has to be *just* on top of the tier - never below the top of the icing.

That said, while I'm not a fan of fresh flowers on my cakes, I ALWAYS put them on myself.  Or let the one florist in town who I trusted help me if it was a lot of flowers.  My contract had a long warning clause about using fresh flowers on a cake - which brides had to initial separately, that put all the risk on them and the florist for choosing appropriate flowers.

I've witnessed florists poking flowers into cakes willy nilly, pulling them out if they didn't look exactly right and poking them in again.  The poor cake was Swiss cheesed.

Has the person who actually paid for the cake complained?  I agree with what Leah says above- don't let someone else stick stuff in your cake- but I wouldn't freak out yet until the actual end customer complains.  Stop taking the wedding planner's calls, then you won't have to deal with the screaming.  I would reach out to the couple in the form of a courtesy follow-up and see how they liked it.  If they complain, then you can worry about refunds.  If they didn't notice, or don't have any complaints, then no worries.

Here is a picture of the cake.  As you can see, the left side middle tiers is sinking.  After everything started happening (the yelling and screaming) I watched a couple of videos on the SPS system.  I have not been cutting the pillars right!  Leah, you are correct (of course), they need to be level with the cake and I was cutting them about 1/4" below the surface.  I am still new to the system and I felt confident about the support they give a stacked cake.  I still feel like the cake would not have fallen completely over, like you said it looked wonky.

ANot that wonky. Let her scream.

I agree, it is not that wonky.  Also, if the florist was going to put flowers on the cake it could easily have been covered and you would not notice.  I also agree that you never let anyone else touch the cake.  I am curious what it looks like once the flowers were put on.  Maybe the flowers make the cake look bad and that is what she is talking about.

AThese kinds of things really piss me off. The cake looks fine from what I can see. If the bride did not complain tell the event planner to kick rocks!

Don't beat yourself up, learn from it and move on.

Edited cell phone keys suck, lol.

I've seen cakes proudly posted on here by CC members that were leaning much more than this!   I would like to have seen it with the flowers on it.  You can cover up a lot of flaws with flower placement!  Then again, you can cause a lot of problems with them too.  Perhaps her placement made it look worse.

Maybe if the bride was unhappy she went through the wedding planner instead of dealing directly with you and that's why she's screaming.  If you feel responsible for any problems then give them something but certainly not a full refund.  The cake was cut, consumed and did not collapse. You have not seen the cake as described by the wedding planner.  I'm sure pictures were taken.  I wouldn't do anything until you saw the final product.
 

ADo you have a better pic - one that is more closer to the cake?

I don't think the cake is even when I zoom on it. The bottom three layers are not even and it looks more pronounced without the flowers.

Of course the flowers will hide a lot of that. IMO the cake does NOT merit a full refund AT ALL. If the bride complained, I might refund 20%... at most. Did you deal with the bride directly or was the event planner your go-to person when ordering the cake?

I don't think it looks bad at all.  The tiers aren't all the same height, though.  If you're buying the GC-4S - the legs that are 4" tall, you shouldn't even have to cut them at all.  Even if they are above the cake, that ribbon would have covered it.  Squirt some bc into the airspace created when the legs are tall and slap that ribbon on there.

Your cake isn't perfect, but it isn't a failure either. I think the consultant has a problem and is acting unprofessional. I think she's over reacting playing the money card. Unless the party consultant hired you, it's none of her business. If she did hire you, she probably won't use you any more............but that's how consultants work....they don't recommend you again to their clients.

ADid you see any photos after the flowers were on? Maybe the florist pushed a little to hard while putting the flowers in? I would want to see proof of the cake before it was cut. Someone bump into the cake table? There could be other reasons.

Ok...here it goes......if I was the bride ..I would've had a fit if I saw how wonky that 3rd tier is.     Regardless of your support system....SPS or dowels....you should've known how to cut them.  Wedding cakes and first birthday cakes will send you to prison if not done 100% correct.   Just sayin.....I would''ve been pissed.    It is the wedding coordinators job to represent the bride &  groom.   She is just doing her job.   Cheerleaders...do not beat me up...I feel differently than previous posts.

AYou need to be very careful about letting others make arrangements to your cake, from the time you left to the time the bride and groom come you don't know what they'll do and you will be the one they point their fingers at! I get contact info for the florist and make sure the flowers are safe and make arrangements to put them on myself. I realize they were still setting up but that huge bucket in front of the cake with all those long seemed flowers-you both should have discussed how and where the flowers would go so you can at least make the proper adjustments for them to add the flowers. Where are they putting the flowers? And how are they putting them in?

Sps is a great system and your cake isn't terrible but it is wonky and crooked. You left the venue with the cake already sinking that's just asking for trouble! You need to practice making your tiers and layers level, make sure you let them settle before covering them in fondant, use boards between tiers, and you already realized the mistake with cutting the sps. When I do cakes, I put a board on top and then use a level to make sure everything is even, I do it with each tier. It's very helpful because you can't always see it.

You cant practice on someone's wedding cake or custom order! If you need to step back and practice the basic stacking that's ok, it's better to do that now then have this happen again!

AAlso, your top three tiers aren't centered on the bottom two-that will also cause sinking.

I'm not trying to be hurtful- just honest, constructive criticism

Hey guys, this is an old thread.

Sorry, I can't get past those HIDEOUS chair sashes !!

 

I think you should request that she provide you with pictures of the cake with the flowers and compare with your pictures then you can decide from there whether to give full or partial refund.  Do you know if the Bride/Groom is requesting a refund or is it her?  Agree with everyone else don't let anyone put anything in or on your cakes, if you are doing wedding cakes more often it's not enough to just explain the risks involved using fresh flowers because at the end of the day you will feel bad if something happens to someone who eats your cake regardless of whether it's your fault or not.  You need to find a system that works for you so that you can use fresh flowers -some wrap the stems of flowers with floral tape others use the straw method and others purchase the flower spikes which is included in the clients price. Either way find a method that will protect the client and their guests from ingesting anything toxic and also to keep you from having others mess around with your cakes.  The florist might not have positioned them nicely making it appear "ugly" to the WP.   

A

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Leah_s & Smckinney07:   This is the type of calm, problem solving, professional advise that I read CC forums for. You've already solved the problems, before I've even had them (someday I'll stack, but not yet).

Thanks to all of you that have replied to this topic.  I am over this cake, it was truly a learning experience, I am well aware of what I did wrong.  I have done many wedding cakes but it was my first time using the SPS system.  I also know to get someone's signature before I leave it for who ever does anything to the cake.  Never just drop a cake off.  No, I never dealt with the event planner only the bride and groom.  I have moved on.  Thanks again for all of your replies and words of wisdom.