I just have to vent...had a bridezilla this weekend (it was for the calla lily cake I just did).

It started last year when she came to me for an appointment. She wanted a fondant cake with calla lilies and ribbons/bows, etc. She signed the contract, put 50 bucks on the cake. I was about to have my baby, so I did not charge her the normal 30% down payment that I usually charge. (she did not have it at that time anyway). I told her to send it in during January. It never came.

She then contacted me a few times for questions and just to keep in touch. Well, in March, she called in a panic because someone told her that my cakes were dry. The person who claimed this was never my customer, only a person who was a guest at a wedding where I made the cake (and where there were cheap sheetcakes from a different bakery). I found this to be outrageous, because my cakes are never dry. I always use high fat in my batters...butter, whole milk, etc. I think the person did not like the fondant. So the bride came back for a tasting to make sure that my cakes weren't dry. I had a feeling at that point that she was going to be bridezilla. I had 5 samples to pick from....all of the other brides who tried said how moist and delicious they were. She chose the butter rum cake because it was a poke cake with a drizzle, just to ensure the wedding cake would not be dry.
Fine......she was supposed to call me to finalize the cake 2 weeks before and to pay the bill. I stupidly kept making an exception for her. Well, she never did. I had to call her ..... and finally got in touch with her 1 week before the wedding to finalize the cake (of which she never paid the down payment or the balance). We went over everything...her price went up because she got the butter rum. I asked her, "Are you sure you want fondant? Let's just be sure and do a buttercream cake. Fondant is not like buttercream; it is drier, but I do put a substantial amount of buttercream underneath it.". I told her I adapted my recipe to soften it up, but it is still not soft like buttercream, especially after sitting out for several hours. She said, "Oh yes, I want the fondant for sure." I said, "Ok", gave her the new balance on the cake, told her that she needed to drop it in the mail that day, because I don't deliver without payment." She agreed to send in the payment.
Thursday morning early before the wedding came. She left a message saying, "I did not get the check in the mail yet." I called her back and said, "Ok, but just drop it in today early and it will get here by tomorrow." She said, "Ok."
She then calls me on Friday to say, " I don't have the check out yet." She said that it was a money order and could I meet her to drop it off. (she lives about 45 minutes away). I told her, "No, I can't do that today." I have a baby, other cakes, and other plans. I can't just drop what I'm doing to meet her 25 minutes away from my house to pick up a check that was her responsiblity to get to me in the first place. I then agreed to accept the check at the reception when I delivered the cake....it was for $546.00. I figured that if the money order was not there, then I pack up the cake and go home...and lesson learned.
Saturday, I got to the reception hall. I delivered her cake, and a woman working there gave me the money order. I was ok with that, set the cake up. I thought it was really nice...and all of the ladies working there loved it as well. I left in good spirits. She also ordered an extra sheet cake in the back which I delivered in a box. I did everything I said I would, and the cake was exactly as she had specified.
Well, this morning, I get a call from this bride. She is ticked off because I did not leave a .50 cent box for the top tier. (I had forgotten to pack one in the mad rush, but figured they had the sheet cake box if they needed a box, and was better than nothing). She was going to send her sister 45 minutes to pick one up from me. I told her, "There is no sense in that. You can super wrap the fondant tier in plastic wrap, and it will be fine. Or you can pick up a box close to home...it wuold save you the 3.50 cents a gallon to pick it up." I then asked her if the cake was good. She said, "The fondant was really dry." I reminded her about our conversation, and that was not something I control...it is the nature of fondant icing. It is not like buttercream. I reminded her of the conversation where I suggested that she opt for buttercream because she probably won't be happy with the consistency of the fondant, and she was adamant about having a fondant cake. I then asked her if the cake part was good, and she said, "Oh yes, it was delicious, and very beautiful." UGH!!!!!!! So even though she happy with the cake, she is still unhappy. Are some people ever satisfied? She forgets to mail a 546.00 payment, and I am nice about it. I forget a .50 cent box, and she is all sorts of ticked off. My competition would have charged her 1200.00 for the same cake!!!
Sorry for the long rant..........it is so rare that I get a difficult customer; I just had to get it off my chest.

Ellen

You are a jewel!! Normally if someone hadn't paid that kind of balance, anyone else (i.e. a big time bakery) would tell her she'd better get on the horn to Wal-Mart and order her sheet cakes right away or she wouldn't have any cake!! You went well beyond the call of duty, and should feel good about everything you've done. She doesn't deserve you!!!

And look at that beautiful baby in your avatar!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! What a sweet little gift from above!!!

OMG!! I am so sorry you had this darn bridezilla!! Some people are just never happy!!!

Hope you have a better day today!

I can only imagine what that's like. I'm doing my first wedding cake for a wedding on Sunday just one week away. I'm not really nervous....yet...but I have to admit I do wonder about things like this. I've only been doing cakes for a couple of months now mostly birthday and baby showers but I'm enjoying it so far and nothing ill to report but it is good to hear that it does happen (I hate that it happened to you) but at least it's reassuring to know if it ever does happen to me that there are others out there who can sympathize and listen. Keep posting

Gosh, I just luv reading bridezilla rants! It restores my faith that a lot of people are just plain stupid!

Isn't that always the way? BRIDE can't make a decision, BRIDE drops the ball on payment, BRIDE is disorganized, but anything that goes wrong (perceived or otherwise) is YOUR fault! Over a box, for cryin' out loud!

My favorite story was not a bride but one of the (three) mothers. They ordered food for 100, up'd it to 125 three days before the wedding, I brought food for 150, they had 170 show up. Bride's father and step-mother paid for buffet .... groom's parents paid for choc fountain. Bio-mom didn't pay for anything. We had plenty of everything except meatballs .... ran out of those .... and the bio-mom, who never handed me a check, said that *I* should have planned better! (I'm sorry, who are you and why are you calling me????)

Mine ended on a good note .... I got a wonderful email from step-mom, who apologized for "the ex's" actions and told me they were very happy with the reception and the bride "....would be devistated if she knew I had rec'd an email like that...." (from the bio-mom).

It takes all kinds, I guess.

I sorry you had to go through that. I feel even sorrier for her husband though!

that bride was a nightmare! you are amazing to even do the cake with out being paid, first. i would never had!! nor do i know anyone who would have. she doesnt realize how lucky she was.

your baby is beautiful!!!

I guess it goes with the old adage, "you can please most of the people most of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." I am learning that........I usually get happy customers, but there is always somene! The bad part is that I don't want her ruining my reputation or talking smack unnecessarily about our company. I try very hard to be accomodating, but lesson learned!

The cake is beautiful and you were more than accommodating. All the fuss over a box! Why isn't she busy getting ready for her honeymoon and opening gifts and just generally being a happy new bride? Ugh.

I saw that cake when it was on the homepage- it's spectacular! If I were the bride I would have been overjoyed!

I just don't get people. It's so unfortunate for them- that they can't appreciate good things, and aren't respectful of other people's time, talent and work.

When people are like that, others (at least those with whom I would want to do business) don't respect what they have to say either, so I wouldn't worry too much any blemishes on your reputation.

Sorry you had a customer like that. That's awful.
So lesson learned: no more exceptions right?
I don't want to make any generalizations, so please forgive if this sounds the way it does. I get the sense in a lot of these kinds of bridezilla posts, that you people (and I cant speak from experience as I have only done one cake for money and it was for a friend) on here who make cakes for a living, are just too damned nice! lol. Maybe a perceived notion that a wedding should go perfectly and is ok to bend over backwards/make exceptions to your normal 'rules' to make brides happy. That's just an impression I have anyway from reading many of these stories.
In your story, Ellen, she ended up freaking out over a 50 cent box after all the trouble she was causing? That doesnt seem fair does it?
Ok now picture you were dealing with a client for anything other than a wedding, or cakes for that matter. You are a business, and you have policies for a reason. Sounds also like word travels (not necessarily the right/accurate word-in the case of dry cake panic).
I dont know, maybe I wont get any orders this way lol, but if a customer signs a contract that says so much due by such and such a date, they're the ones who need to be organized with the money- you want what I have to sell you, you pay me by my specifications, because this is MY business. If you dont like my specs, you'll have to shop elsewhere. Yes some sayrules are meant to be broken. I can see it would be different if this were a customer you had a 10 year long businesse relationship with or something. Making exceptions at the outset to keep a person from potentially going elsewhere, well you're not doing yourselvse any favours. You're keeping customers that are manipulative and are career manipulators, who go out and whine and try and make excuses about not having money at the time they're suppoesd to or whatever. Do you really want those kinds of customers on your portfolio? There are enough straight and narrowr people out there to keep you guys busy- you know what I mean? You guys do OUTSTANDING work. The people who recognize that and are willing to pay for it and by your policies, wont squawk about it to get a discount or a deal or make excuses they cant pay you the downpayment.
Sorry lady, this is your wedding, there are hundreds, if not thousands of books and websites and consultants out there telling you how to be orgnaized WAY WAY WAY Ahead of time. If you want to get married, you jump through their hoops, not the other friggin way around lol

ok and that's my two bits worth lol.
STand tall and proud for the AMAZING work you do and turn away people who try shite like that again from the outset. You have integrity. Keep it. Those people evidently dont.

Thanks, ocean........that's great advice. You are right.......when my shop opens, no more monkeying around!! Business is business!

For some people it is "all about them". You made a wonderful cake and were EXTREMELY accomodating (more than I would have been for sure) and in the end she was happy with the cake which is what you were paid to do. I think if she talked "smack" about your company over a 50 cent box she would be the one left looking stupid so I wouldn't let a 50 cent box bother me at all. Since she just paid $546 for the wedding cake I'm sure she is feeling pretty dumb right now obsessing over 50 cents.

Sorry you had problems with the bridezilla! I looked in your gallery...Your cakes are gorgeous!!! She should have been praising your cake instead of spending time over the missing $.50 box. Guess she still needs to learn to let some of the little things go...Maybe she was looking for something to complain about, and that was all she could come up with, you know, to save "face" after all of the problems she caused. I'm going to have my future DIL look at your gallery. She wants fondant and your cakes are so perfect!

Indydebi,
That is exactly right. You summed it up perfectly. I normally do give a box, but I just forgot to bring one yesterday. Oh well......you almost wonder how people make it this far in life if they melt down over things like a friggin' cake box!

Wonder how long the marriage is going to last, don't you. The cake is just lovely.

At this point, in my opinion, she is making herself look pretty stupid complaining over the box and I'm sure everyone around her is sick of hearing about it and realizing what a selfish self centered petty b***h she is. That's what I would think if she complained about it to me anyways. Someone needs to give her a wakeup call and remind her that the wedding is over and she isn't the centre of attention anymore. Let it go and move on. Everyone at the wedding saw your beautiful cake and know what great work you do. Leave it at that. If it makes her feel better and for you to have a peace of mind mail out the cake box and let it go.

Thanks guys for all your support! The saga continues. The sister of the bride just called 2 hours ago. She said that they never cut and served the sheetcake we delivered, and now is questioning whether or not I brought it. I told her, "I absolutely brought it.....and the ladies decorating the hall helped my husband put it in the kitchen." Supposedly the sheetcake was never cut and served.....and I suggested contacting the caterer, because I did deliver it. She then said she'll call the caterer and talk to them. It is a good thing I know the people who own the hall! I don't want to be accused of this!

You don't have a Bridezilla...you have a Familyzilla.

Thank goodness someone else saw the sheet cake!!

man thats crazy b/c you are too nice b/c for that amount if she didn't have the check by at least 2 weeks ahead of time then she wouldn't get a cake and thats it go somewhere else and see how it works .

ellepal,

I just took a look at your cakes! Oh my gosh you are sooo good! Your cakes are all so perfect!

Ok, so I'm dying to know...was the mystery of the disappearing sheet cake ever solved?