My Cake; The Caterer's Sheet Cakes
Decorating By SweetArt Updated 21 Jan 2006 , 11:27pm by cakefairy18
I got a call today from a bride-to-be and she wants me to make her wedding cake. No problem. Then I find out that she wants me to make a cake about 4 tiers: the top two being real and the bottom two being dummies. I thought maybe she was having a small wedding, but no. The caterer is making sheet cakes to be served, but the caterer doesn't make wedding cakes, that's why I was called. I'm not sure I like this situation. I don't know the quality of her cake and don't want mine confused with hers. I also don't know the deal she has with the caterer, but I think it has got to be cheaper for me to make the whole cake, than to pay me to make dummies and the caterer to make sheet cakes. My price for cakes is $1.40 per serving and for a dummies is $1.20. I have an appointment for a consultation with her on Saturday, I hope to talk her out of it. If she is set on this idea, I don't know. Any thoughts or suggestions?
ALWAYS go with your gut!
If you have reservations, tell her. There's no shame in sticking up for yourself, and not wanting the posibility of another company "ruining" your reputation, if they aren't qualified to make a "decent" cake. Did you think that the possibility that they only do sheet cakes, could be because they would be ordering from a bakery of grocery store?
Not saying there aren't people in specialize in sheet cakes only...
SweetArt,
I was looking through wedding cakes on a site and the decorator addressed this exact situation. She said on her site that she will not provide a wedding cake for someone if they purchase kitchen cakes somewhere else because she worked hard to establish a reputation. I agree with her. You have no way of knowing the quality of the sheet cakes that are going to be served and if they are bad you don't want people to think that they are yours.
Hopefully the bride will just let you do the whole cake...keep us posted
That's excellent advice. However, her catering package may include those sheet cakes...your hands just might be tied. I've had that happen before.
This may be their policy, but I doubt that a caterer would last long catering weddings if they force you to buy sheets and refuse to offer wedding cakes. The bride probably thinks she is going to get a deal this way...
Hopefully, you can make her see the light! She may have to choose between her cake decorator and her caterer. Your reputation is more valuable than this one order! I don't offer dummy cakes because they don't save me much time and they cause me trouble getting them back.
Best of Luck!
Many, many reception sites (especially hotels) that sell packages make the bridal cake a non-negotiable part of their contract. If the caterer is part of a venue's package deal, tough noogies for the bride on bringing in her own cake designer to fulfill the entire order (providing, of course, that the contract has been signed).
I've had to be the provider of groom's cakes for brides who really wanted to order from me but were forced into having the venue's caterer provide the bridal cake. Your bride might be trying to cut corners, but I would err on the side of caution and ask exactly what the contractural arrangement is, and then decide what to do. 
It sounds to me like the bride is trying to cut a deal thinking it will be cheaper to use the cake dummies and a smaller cake but serve her 'included' sheet cakes. If the sheet cakes must be provided by her caterer, but she is allowed to bring in an outside cake made by you, then there#s no reason why she can't just not serve the sheet cakes and have you provide the whole cake. She may have to pay for the sheet cakes as part of her venue agreement, but if she is allowed to bring in an outside cakes, she does not need to serve the sheet cakes.
Usually it is an either/or option with cakes and venues. Either you are allowed to use an outside facility or you are not allowed to. If the cake price is already included in the venue price (most times it is, and lots of times it is not negotiable) but the bride is allowed to use an outside baker, the bride just has to pay the additional cost of the additional outside cake regardless of whether she uses the cake provided with the venue or not.
I wouldn't jeopardize your reputation by having the other cakes served along side of yours. Make sure you get the full story from her before you agree to anything.
Good Luck 
I'd stay out of it. Sounds like she's trying to fool everyone into believing that the wedding cake you make is what they're being served. The guests will think all of the cake is your work.
I know many hotels and banquet halls use their own caterers, but those caterers provide *wedding cakes*. Sounds like the bride is just trying to cut costs and got a caterer who included some cheap sheet cakes in the price.
I agree completely with Bubblezmom--I think she's trying to pull a fast one with you. Not that I'm against anyone trying to save some money, but this just seems like a sleazy, deceitful way to do it.
I personally wouldn't take the order if she is going to be doing that. There are quite a few things that i refuse to do. Some people ask for cakes covered in fondant only so that they can put their own decorations on them, I won't do this, the cake is no longer my creation, I wont decorate other people's cakes and I wont use fresh flowers. I have done many wedding where the couple had a dessert package, but then the cake was made to be had with coffee or to take home in a cake bag, different story. May this be what she is doing? Does anyone do this in the USA, it is a common practice for people to get a piece of wedding cake to take home in a cake bag, rather than eat it at the reception.
Nati
The cake is served to the guests at the wedding. Some people provide boxes so that those who are too full to eat dessert or want to slices home to their kids will have a convienent container for the cake.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I did get her to not go with the caterer's sheet cakes. She was at a wedding that had a small bride's cake and then several sheet cakes all in different flavors. She just liked that for some reason. She didn't like, that many of the guests got multiple pieces of cake because of that. She didn't want to have to provide extra cake, so she just went with 2 flavors. The cake is for over 300 people, and one piece per person was all she wanted to pay for.
When I explained to her that I didn't know the quality of the caterer's cakes and didn't want them confussed with mine she was very understanding. She loved my chocolate cake anyways so it was easy to get her to use just mine. I don't completey understand her idea of why it was going to be the caterers sheet cakes (it was not part of a package), but at least she wasn't too stuck on it. Thanks again everyone.
I'm glad it was that easy for u to get her to do the right thing...doesn't it feel like 1000 pounds lifted off your shoulder...
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