Ok, so I had my big wedding this last weekend. I have been working on Cala lily's and ideas for weeks. I was very pleased with the outcome of my wedding cake and grooms cake (tuxedo cake). Here is where I have the problem. I worked so hard on these cake to make them elegant and as perfect as I could, soooooo, I go to deliver the cakes Saturday to reception and I was appalled at the choice of table and decos they had for the cakes. It totally took away from the elegance of the cakes, I was so disappointed, I would have decorated the table myself had I known what it was going to be like. I tried in advance to find out exactly what the table etc. was they were using for cakes but never really got anything but vague answers. Do you all decorate your own cake tables when doing weddings, just wondered if anyone else had this problem. Oh, in addition, when I got there I asked them who was cutting the cake and they said, "Oh, we don't have anyone"! So she chose a lady that was there helping and I explained how to cut the cakes etc. Well my daughter was at the wedding and she said they absolutely butchered the wedding cake. Oh well, I tried!!! My daughter did tell me, that everyone absolutely loved the cakes, so I guess there was something good that came from all of this. Thanks for listening just a little disappointed.
The cakes are beautiful. Don't be upset by the choices the bride and groom make. They chose your cake but if they wanted them on tin foil that would be their choice too. I don't decorate the table but I deliver the best cake I can and the rest is up to them. Sometimes it's better not to know 
Your cakes are perfect and beautiful! I can see tea lights and petals around the cakes, but that wasn't your doing. People try to scrimp on certain things, but I have told brides that she is the center of attention at the wedding but the cake is the center of attention at the reception and she should not scrimp on decorations for that table. You need to frame the art, right? Your cakes are beautiful and I'm possitive everyone there thought the same. Try not to let it get under your skin, though I know it does. It does me too sometimes. I've even gone for table decor on my own and w/ my $ just to make it perfect. I try really hard not to overstep my bounds like that these days as I shouldn't spend my money on someone else's decor. I just want my part of it perfect!
The cakes are beautiful. Don't be upset by the choices the bride and groom make. They chose your cake but if they wanted them on tin foil that would be their choice too. I don't decorate the table but I deliver the best cake I can and the rest is up to them. Sometimes it's better not to know
I couldn't agree more! Your cakes are gorgeous!!!!!!! Sometimes people don't spend time on the small details that make a big difference.
Angie
love the cakes, your flowers are great! The tux cake is lovely too... don't worry about other peoples lack of concern over what their table looks like, you can't be responsible for their not caring 
You did what you could and what you were paid to do, great job!
No, I don't bring table decor .... I will scatter the rose petals the bride provided; I will light the candles she has set on the table, but I dont' impose my decorating views onto her wedding.
What if she is going after the "simplicity is elegant" look? What if she believes the cake itself is a stand alone decor? What if she thinks add'l decor would detract from the cake, which is THE reception centerpiece?
Whatever she provides is enough for me.
I think table decor is as important as the cake itself. I bring all my decor, and I do charge extra, and brides are always happy to pay. I don't like my cakes direct to the table so the cake-base rent fee is included in the cost, meaning my cakes costs more but comes with an added bonus. I put a lot of effort in to this, and i have invested in many different bases for my cakes, I even have my own tablecloths in different colors.
Most brides don't mind to pay more for a better setting
Bottom lines is
You make bake and decorate THE CAKE.
They are responsible for the rest. Your cakes look good and you said the guests and couple loved the taste.
YOU DID YOUR JOB, unfortunately we cannot a test to nor change for the "better" our customers choices for anything else at THEIR event.
Our lovely cakes may be our babies when with us but after delivered, much like our children, their someone else's problem. 
You need to frame the art, right?
I agree with this statement, which is why I address it with my Brides when we meet. I will ask them how they want their cake presented: on greenery, with illusion, rose petals, etc. We then discuss the "look" they want for their cake and we go from there.
When my Bride leaves, she not only takes a form that lists her cake, its tier sizes/shapes and flavors, icing preference, colors, decoration, price, etc., but she also leaves with another sheet that tells her what she will need to order from her florist (if anything) to finish off her cake. I generally advise that I do not want their cake to look as if it was an afterthought, but that it should coordinate with all the other decorative elements at the wedding and reception. By telling them exactly what they need (florally), they can order only those items. That way, they will match with the rest of the wedding in color, style, and freshness. There is nothing worse than having your cake presented with red roses you had to buy that are 3 or 4 shades off from what the Bride carried ... makes it seem like an afterthought!
As for the cake cutting ... I ALWAYS go back to the reception and cut the wedding cake. My reasons are twofold: first, the Bride will get AT LEAST the number of servings she paid me for (and generally she will get more as I make sure the cake is balanced ... if I have to bake a cake for 365 when they only needed 340 servings but it will now look balanced, so be it ... small sacrafice of some flour, sugar and eggs to have a good word of mouth result); and second, I get back all of my equipment with minimum exertion on anyone's part! I don't charge an equipment deposit, so I build the cost of cutting into the price of the cake ... no one else touches my cakes, so there shouldn't be anything lost or missing or broken. If there is, I probably did it and I'll just eat that cost for replacement ... no big deal. I will cut the entire cake, serve on plates what will be eaten at that time and wrap the remaining servings in luncheon-size napkins (which the Client provides also). I almost never have a Client refuse to have me cut their cake (I frequently tell them there is a bonus: they don't have to have a guest "up to their armpits in icing". That's usually a big selling point!)
If someone doesn't want to pay you to cut their cake, then they will have to suffer at the hands of someone who may be inexperienced. I have been to venues where the staff started cutting the wedding cake and were cutting the slices so thin that you could read a newspaper through it! The Bride and Groom would have ended up with tons of extra cake that they had no way of getting home! Since I bake my own cakes and plan tier sizes based on how many servings I can get from each, it just makes a lot of sense for me to cut the cake the way I know to work best. It's rare they don't use me. Another point you can make to them is that if they ask their caterer or reception staff to cut the cake, they had better plan to pay as much as $5.00 per serving (or more) for that service. Plenty of caterers have told me that they HATE to cut wedding cakes, so they will price the service incredibly high to discourage it.
As for the cake table, I advise that it needs to be covered and skirted when I arrive with the cake. Anything else they want on their cake table should be left on one side of the table and I will deal with it after setting up the cake. I will arrange any florals or napkins they may need, based on what is provided and space considerations. I make sure they have this in writing as well so there is no question as to what my expectations are, AND I make sure to point it out when we go over the final paperwork.
Beyond that, let me say the photos of your cakes were lovely. You did a wonderful job. Don't let the social clods get you down; you provided a service to them and they paid you for it. You now need to realize that there is only so much you can do with someone else's vision and you made it as perfect as you were able with what was provided.
Keep on Baking,
Odessa
i agree, you did a fab job and you should be proud of that.
It happens so often I decided after this week end to include to include it in my cost. Some one order a cake from me which was just plain basket weave finished with floral arrangements. When I arrived they did not have the arrangement. I have done the cake design before at my sister's wedding and it was fantastic. I was ready to cry.
I would have added the price for decorating the cake table previously but my customers do not like to spend the money on decorating the cake table after what they believe is a costly wedding cake. However after this week end I am adding the cost. I have done some beautiful wedding cakes and then the display ruins it. I am the one end up feeling some how at fault for the horrible table display. As well as the fact I do not wont to any one to attach my name to the work after seeing the display. I would lose customers.
So I decide to go online to look at how people display their wedding cakes. See if i found some simple and not necessarily expensive ways to enhance the table. My friend suggested I come up with a few standard design for them to select from which I provide at a basic cost to my customers
You can try rose petals and candles for the display table. Or clothe to ruffle around the cake base or as a back drop to the cake. Or tulle using the colour theme of the wedding. Or Setting up the Wine glasses for the bride and groom on the table with the cake lifter and knife set and of course the cake plate.
Best bet is sticking with flowers whether wildflowers or the others exotic ones.
The good thing about using the material or candle holders is that they can be kept on be used again. Do no limit yourself to votive there are some many candle holder design ou there
Wanted to post the cake but my pixels are too large
If you are going to provide candles for the cake table, be sure you are aware of the facility's policy on open flame. There are a number of places that only permit chafer fuel cans or the flame must be completely contained inside glass (glass is taller than the flame) or some places permit no flame what so ever .... not even chafer fuels.
The cakes are gorgeous, I can see why you would want them to be showcased. However, I think they still look beautiful even though the table could have looked better! The great thing is that people loved them! I can see why you were disappointed though in the table.
Rochelle1, try this site to shrink pictures for posting... http://www.shrinkpictures.com
(in the voice of an excited child) OOOOOH!!! those cakes are soooo pretty!!!... Honestly, they are very beautiful(I'm so envious right now)...Please keep up the excellent work
First of all, your cakes are beautiful!
Secondly, I got married two years ago and was totally ignorant about the cake table. I had a small round table, covered with a white tablecloth, and that was it. When my cake lady asked about the table, I said, "I don't know. What do I need to do?" She volunteered to bring some satin/tulle to wrap around the base. I was very thankful that I didn't have to worry about it, and it looked very elegant. She didn't charge for it, but she was a friend of a friend, and a home baker. I washed it and returned it to her later.
I think it's a nice touch to offer, but be prepared to charge for it, or at least get a deposit--you might not get it back.
Your cakes are absolutely beautiful. My sister is renewing her vows next Saturday and I wish she could have seen this cake. She is using calla lillies the wedding.
7yyrt - Thank you My sister had shown me years ago but i had forgotten things I do not use often i some time lose
I know how you feel
Here is the picture of my sisters cake the lovely one with floral arrangement and the other without much was the one this week end
I think your cakes look beautiful! A colored tablecloth or even a different color background (if there was a wall that was painted different or had wallpaper, etc.) would have shown the cakes off better, but there was nothing you could have done about that.
We had a plain round table set up against a wall that was papered, and then had a few candles and extra rose petals sprinkled around, and I think there was a vase for one of my bridesmaid's bouquets on that table too (my girls carried silk hydrangeas and at the reception we had vases on different tables for them to set them in for decorations around the hall; cake table, picture table where there were pics of our parents and grandparents wedding pictures, and I think one on the gift table. The vases were from the florist and this was a cheap way to decorate the room). It was nice and simple. It did help that the background wall wasn't white.
Long story short.......your part looks great and nothing you could do about anything else. Maybe have that as an add-on with your cakes. I've seen pieces of lattice hinged together that is then decorated with silk flowers or has fabric draped on it for some background color. Those would be cheap and fairly easy to construct. Could even use a room dividing screen and dress it up. Something to think about....
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