Im curious....so that Im prepared when I get ready to move forward....but
when consulting with a bride...do you give references....or does the bride ever ask for them? If so ...what do they want or do you give them...phone numbers..or letters??
Don't you have a portfolio of some sort (pictures of your past cakes)... isn't that your references really? I would think you could ask a couple of your past people if they wouldn't mind if you listed them as a reference and then have as part of your contract a place where people can agree to allowing you to use them as a reference.
I haven't had a bride ask for references, but I have them. You need to get permission from a customer to use them for a reference. Or, use any thank you notes you have received.
Some customers will offer, saying, if you need a reference, just have them call me. I generally ask them to send me a note I can use, rather than 'bother them'
Funny you ask this question twins, today I had a bride ask for references and wasn't sure what she expected. I think it may be unprofessional to ask privious customers to do this. I have never had complaints but have yet to recieve "thankyou" letters and would feel unprofessional to request one. Did I mention unprofessional? 
I have only had about 3 brides ask this question. I've replied to all of them that "references are posted on my website", where I have entered the wonderful letters that I've rec'd from previous brides.
If I did not have this on the website, I would have copies of the letters / thank you notes to give them, rather than have a bunch of strangers contacting my previous clients all the time. (At what point does THAT become a pain in the butt? Plus I have no control on when phones or emails will change.)
The only exception was a non-wedding customer who needed references because their company required it. I referred him to my website, but also gave him the contact info to 3 clients, who have already told me I can have potential clients contact them.
But basically, my response is "it's on the website".
Keep it simple.
I like the internet for that reason...they sign the guestbook, or when they send me an email, I ask if I can post it...I dont use last names. I also name the cake after the bride-so when you see a post from "Jennifer" you can see the cake named "Jennifer"-and know which cake she speaks of... and you can tell me which cake interests you by the namesake. If I dont hear from someone after a wedding, sometimes I email them, to congratulate them and say I hope the cake was what they wanted...if they email back, that also gets posted. I do most of my orders by email. They say what, where and when...and I deliver, and rarely meet them. I just love my job!
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