Hi guys,
I'm super pysched becuase I got my first wedding and groom's cake order! It's a friend of a friend, but that means the word is finally getting out! Hooray!

But, here's the question: When does the bride pay for the cake? The wedding is in September so I have plenty of time, and the cost isn't huge, but I'm not exactly sure when payment should be due. Also, what about a contract? I hate to go overboard, but then I also want to be professional about it all. I'm not 100% sure what exactly the contract should cover and state.

One more question: for the groom's cake she was thinking of something with a ski boat. Now I have a few ideas, but am open to any that you may have. She's on a very tight budget so it needs to stay simple. One idea was a BCT of a ski boat on a rectangular cake, another idea was having the cake and then getting a plastic ski boat and making waves out of frosting... any other ideas?

Any help would be most appreciated! And as soon as I make them, I'll be sure to post pics!

Thanks guys!

I think most people ask for a third down........and then the remainder two weeks before......that way if they pull out at the last minute.....you don't have to "eat" the cake profit wise LOL (laughing at my little pun..sorry)

I usually get the bride to pay ahead of time too. It is also a good idea to get a small deposit. As for the contract, I think it is a good idea to put in it that once the cake is set up wherever it is going to be, you are not responsible for what happens to it. I had a situation where I got an angry phone call from a bride, livid that my three tiered cake fell over. I was of course mortified. I rushed and baked and decorated a slab cake in the same style as her wedding cake. I also gave her some of her money back. Later I found out that it was one of her guests that had knocked into it and had nothing to do with me at all. I wasn't impressed. And that was my very first wedding cake order. So I just thought I'd mention that.

Good luck,
Elauria

Hi nocent! I always try to get half of the cost of the wedding cake from the bride when they book it. I haven't had any brides pull out of a cake/wedding yet, but I figure if they do, then at least the cost of all my fillings, flavors, liquor (for amaretto & bailey's irish creme cakes), either mixes or scratch ingredients are covered as well as my time for going and getting all the stuff. I may be asking for too much but no one has said anything otherwise yet. This is my 2nd job so my time is at a premium in my book