kinda long, sorry.

so, im getting ready to make a wedding cake on june the 23rd. i still need to get the payment from the bride before i begin, but she's marrying into the family so i gave her a huge discount and am trying to give her plenty of time to get the money together (i know they are on a tight budget for this wedding).
i went to visit with one of my uncles today (who is also an uncle of the groom) and we were chatting about some family reunion that was set for that date. i asked him if he was going to the reunion or the wedding and he replied that the wedding had been moved to the 26th!

THANKS FOR TELLING THE BAKER!!!!

i still need to call the bride and ask to make sure this is the plan, but i plan to at least explain (in the nicest tone i can muster) that she would NOT want to serve 3 day old cake to the guests.

i understand she has alot on her plate, but come on! apparently they decided this a week or so ago.

Boy that's enought to get ya steamin'...especially since she's marrying into the family and the family member didn't think to tell you.

They probably have no idea what kind of planning a wedding cake takes! It's REALLy nice that no one in the family even thought to let you know. Good Luck with this one. I hope the rest of it goes more smoothly!!!!

It sounds like you're gonna get something bad from this one way or another. I hate to say it, but it's totally inconsiderate to not let you know the day had changed, she could make payments on the cake for you.. twenty dollars every paycheck, but instead has made no arrangements for payment at all... just sounds like bad ju ju

I had a friend call me the other day asking about wedding cake to feed 150 people. I quoted her a price.. which was a VERY decent price compared to what she'd get from any place else. She said ARE YOU SERIOUS? I said very.. I make cakes from scratch butter, eggs, cream chocolate doesn't come cheap. I said if it's not in your budget... after a ffiteen percent discount I'd decided to give "friends and family" then maybe you need to reconsider. I said well what i your budget? She says well about a hundred dollars. NO WAY NO PLACE NOOOO HUH is she getting a wedding cake to feed 150 people for a hundred dollars. I don't even think that wally word can make her a deal like that. So I sat, feeling bad because she's a "friend" and trying to figure out how i could meet her budget.. well I'm thinking I can if I use boxes.. don't add hardly anything use crap frosting.. instead of the really good expensive stuff I usually make.. and well very little time.. she says well I'd like to have a 3 tier cake... I was like umm not for a hundred dollars unless it's like four inches high.. So finally I told her that I was very sorry but I don't make low quality walmart type cakes mass produced, and there was no way I could do a cake for that type of budget and give her what she wants. I won't undersell my time, my effort or my materials any longer.. not even for a friend or family member. I'd rather just make it, and give it to them as a gift, and that is ONE expensive gift... for someone I talk to once a year... more of an aquantaince..

So your situation has me a bit worried already. Maybe you could call her, get her on track and offer to have her set up a payment plan so that at least HALF of the price of the cake is paid for at the time of the wedding... and then she can pay for the rest of the cake out of what they get as gifts.. because, you know people rake in the money at weddings. Make her sign an agreement stating that by such a date... the wedding date half will be paid for, if that means twenty dollars a week or whatver... and if it's not paid for, she ends up getting her money back... and can go to the local bakery/walmart grocery store and buy what she can afford with the money that you were so kind to "save" for her... and then the agreement could also maybe say that it will be paid in full at the end of the reception or the day after the wedding or whatever... I'd just be real careful to cover your butt here, because it's bad when family members stiff you. You either end up angry and having problems or you go into it thinking, it's not a big deal if I don't get the full amount I will NOT be angry. It's really up to you, but if it were me i'd tread carefully
Jen

i had already told her ahead of time what the price will be and that i need the full amount before i even start to buy stuff for the cake. i also told her that i needed the money to order pillars and plates (i dont have a large stockpile yet, im kinda new) at least a month before to make sure they get there in time. well she gave me the pillar money (and they have been ordered and came in already) and i informed her of that.

i made sure to tell her that she was not getting that money back because it was spent. she said that was fine and would be giving me the rest of the money from the next paycheck (that was a week or so ago) but they had car trouble. that i can deal with. i did tell her again tho that i wasn't getting the supplies until i got the money, and that had to be a couple weeks in advance.

i'll be calling her tomorrow, and if i cant reach her, im going to her house and sitting on her doorstep until she gets there. i'm going to get the info from the source one way or another. lol

I think I'd almost be tempted to take the immature route and act like I thought the cake and wedding was still on the 23. I'd call saying I just wanted to confirm the details, when I can expect the rest of the deposit etc, because the 23 comes fast when you still need to order supplies. See if she clues in ... next thing you know you'll be doing the flowers too - LOL!

I'm confused on why they would have 3 day old cake just because they changed the date? Are you only able to bake it that early? Sorry - maybe I just missed what you were saying...lol

Gotcha - Sorry!! Sometimes I just don't get the simple things...lol

I would just call the bride and ask if the date has changed. Your uncle could be miscommunicating a conversation he overheard and how long ago he heard it. I am sure they intend to call you and let you know the date has changed. Maybe the date change isn't definitive yet.

That would be kinda weird for them to change it to the 26th, Who has a wedding on a Tuesday??

As far as refunding any 'payments' previously made but unable to finalize before the wedding date, I would hold back a portion that is non-refundable as you might have already turned away other orders for the original date because you were planning on focusing on her cake. You can't possibly call back and say, wait, I had a cancellation so now I can do your cake... very unprofessional if the customer is new.

I had a similar situation. I was going to make my dear friends daughter's wedding cake as a gift. 5 tier cake for 150 guests. It was for July 8th and I was just thinking about ordering the fondant when I heard through the grapevine that she was rescheduling the wedding to December. When I heard this and said I knew nothing about it this person said he wasn't sure if he was soposed to say anything so I was not to know . GREAT!
So to be discreet I decided to email her and ask her if the guest numbers had changed because I was getting ready to order 15lbs of fondant. A week later she told me the wedding was postponed...I don't think people understand how much is involved in a cake. It was a good thing I had heard it through the grapevine but I would have been really mad had I ordered all of that fondant and then found out it was postponed!

Jacqui