I gave a bride a quote on her wedding cake Jan. 26,07 but not contract was signed today she is suppose to come over and sign the contract but the cake design has change and of course i had to change the price and she is highly upset about it. she did put down her 50.00 deposit and the wedding is August 18,07 this year. keep in mind that when i gave her the quote she really didn't know what she wanted so i was going off a picture that her wedding planner had, i feel like she wanted to set me to a price and then she goes out there and pick a cake with cascading roses and roses as the topper using gum paste flowers on a 4 tier stack cake. i told her wedding planner if she thinks i'm cheating her she can go find someone else and i will gladly give her the deposit back which is suppose to be nonrefundable but i will give it back to get her out of my hair. please reply to this i really need to be encourage.
oh one more thing i'm only charging her 150.00 for the flowers cascading around the cake and topper as flowers when local bakeries are charging 200.00 and up.

I think a quote is just that a quote. It's not a contract. If you didn't have all the details you could not have given her an exact price. Perhaps you could let her know the amount of work involved in the second cake and exactly how that has led to a price increase. If she can't understand that I would have to give her the deposit and wish her luck in finding someone to do it for less.

What is your question??

i was asking would it be wrong to drop her and her wedding is coming up in aug.18

Are there a lot of bakeries in your area?? If you think she will be able to find another baker in time then you probably can. If you live in a small town, I would be careful, you don't want her to spread word that you dropped her 2 months before her wedding. I agree that you should offer her deposit back if she can find someone else to do it for less... It really depends on you now. Do you think you can continue to work with her, even if she has been difficult? Good Luck, I hope it all works out-

thank you everyone , i feel so much better. i will see how it goes today when she comes over for the signing.

Sorry, while typing my reply, I missed the question. If you can't get her to see it your way, I would say something to the effect that it is obvious you won't be able to accommodate her changes at the estimated price you gave her based on the design she originally gave you. Give her back the deposit with your regrets.

Once, I was in a similar situation and I offered the bride a "salomonic solution." I did the cake for half the number of people ( so it will take less sugar flowers and less time decorating it) and I've suggested her to go for an additional buttercream sheet cake to go to the kitchen. I've even said to her that the sheet cake could be sliced and be ready to serve the guests while she is possing for her pictures with the "smaller" version of the cake. I also mentioned that the movie stars ask for sheet cakes because they need long photo sessions at their weddings or events

Thanks God, she agreed but to my surprise, she was thriving to have a movie star treatment.

I think you were right to charge her for the additional work and flowers. SHE changed the design and size of her cake, so she should expect the Quoted price to change also.

Good luck with this one!

I agree with the others, but do give her some options. One is she can have the cake for the price you qouted and can buy fresh flowers and have the florist place them or pay you to place them.


I like the idea of giving her the option of sheet cakes in the back, to save some money.

If its a fondant cake, perhaps it can be made in buttercream to save alittle $

But in the end i think i would tell her if you want the orginal cake that you picked out then the price is this. For this other cake that you have picked out the price is this, I always tell my brides that time is money and that is why gumpaste flowers cost what they do.

BTW: I charge between $5 and $6 per full rose.

I agree with the others. A quote is just that, if the order changes to a more complicated cake of course the price has to go up! I would explain that nicely and if she still complains give her the money back and send her on her way. She can find someone else to make her cake with 2 months to go if she needs to or she can understand and stick with you. I think you are handling this the right way Stick to your guns!

She wouldn't be able to go to a car dealership and pick out a car and get a price then go back and pick out a totally different car with all the extras and expect to pay the same price as the first one she picked out!!! People are so lame sometimes, all they want is the biggest and best for the least amount of money!!! I'd stick to your guns if I were you!!!
Carrie