Ok, so this isnt really a disaster, but it ticked me off so Im putting it here.
Anyways, a friend of my husbands and I , well more of my husbands friend got married and he decided we should offer our cake services to them, free of charge as our wedding present to them. Needless to say I am DONE with giving out free cakes. She contacted me wanting a 3 tier stacked cake made of carrot cake, for 200 people. OK. So I am 2 weeks out and I am thinking there is no way I am going to fork out that much money for home made carrot cake, so I email her telling her that if she wants to give me some money then Ill do the carrot cake, but I would prefer her to pick something from a box. So she picks red velvet, Now I could have swore they sold red velvet boxed mix, well they dont anymore. GGGRRRRRR So I just made the dang red velvet with cream cheese frosting anyways.
So we get to this wedding , the cake turned out great. (Its not in my photos yet by the way.) It was white with red scrolling on the sides. And I am not even joking there is not but 30 people that show. The wedding was in a tiny town hall, there is no way you could even fit 60 people in there it seems. Sure enough the occupancy only holds 80, I checked. So theres no way she invited some 200 people.
When they went to cut and serve the cake, I knowticed that they had also bought 2 other huge full sheet cakes. The only bite that was taken out of my cake was for the bride and groom. And her mother in law served everyone the grocery store sheet cakes. The huge cake I made was completly a waste. I know I sound like a grouch but Im just venting. So If your still reading this, thanks for listening.

Do you ever feel like brides just want a big cake just because Its big, not because It needs to serve a certain amount of people? I mean If that was the case, why couldnt she just say so and that middle layer could have been a fakey. Doesnt that make sense?
anyways, Im done, sorry to ramble!!

So sorry this happened to you! It seems very rude of them to have sheet cakes there and why??? They had to have known your cake would be enough, but why serve the grocery store cakes first? Anyway, I agree about giving away free cakes. People seem to appreciate what they pay for. Just remember, you gave them a great present!!!

I'm sorry to hear that. At least you gave them a great gift

Btw, I saw DH red velvet mix at the grocery today so your store may just be out of them when you shopped.

I would be ticked off too. You just gave them gift worth at least $500. I doubt anyone else spent that much on their gift. The bride should be ashamed of herself.

Shame on them for doing that to you. Such an expensive gift - and the damn cheek of it! You didn't deserve it ...

Wow ... I would not have been happy! I think that bride has NO idea on how much making a cake like that costs. I'm sure she thinks it cost you like $50 or something. Not to mention your time! Very inconsiderate... Free cakes can be a pain sometimes...I think even doing a wedding cake for cost is a good present to a bride!

in with good OUT WITH THE BAD the nerve of some people! I agree with you...definately don't do anymore free cakes! but don't let such a rotten thing someone did "harden your heart" so to speak either. just chalk it up to bad judgement on THEIR part... NOT yours! that was a VERY kind, generous gift of your time, talent and $. I'm sure the cake was beautiful...great for that portfolio

I always offer the wedding cake as our gift to my family - brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews - and it would pi$$ me off if they took my FREE cake and let it go to waste!

It would be the last free cake I ever did!

So when the first born comes along and they ask for a cake---That will be $300. The price for the baby cake and the price for all the money you ripped me off for your wedding cake"

I agree with mkolmar - charge $300 then buy one of the store bought cakes they seemed to have liked for them!

OH....MY.....GOSH!
Just goes to show that common sense isn't all that common, and some people are SO TACKY!
You should submit them to etiquettehell.com!
I notice that "he" decided about the gift. Tell him next time, "HE" can make it! Grrrrrr!
Okay, I'm going to stop now before I say something I'll regret...

Damn Debi you're a mean cookie girl friend! Gotta love the big ones on you lol. I'd had never been able to get my husband to pay that lol

I think I would have been tempted to go to the cake table, grab my cake & walk out with it. If someone said anything, let them know it was for free since they have a store bought cake there's no need in letting your go to waste.
Indydebi,
I'm with you girl. My husband now simply says " You have to talk to Lisa, she does the cakes not me."

I had a thread last year titled "Nobody rides for free" just because of a similar situation. Nobody (well, almost nobody!) gets a free wedding cake from me anymore. Like dh said "50 bucks in a card would have been so much easier" I offered to make my sil's cake thinking it would be for 100-150 but nooooo it went from 150 to 175 to 200 which turned into 250, yep 250! Plus the anniversary tier!!! Never again! And I thought it was the ugliest cake design I ever had to do!

It's a valuable lesson that unfortunately alot of us learn after the fact.

For friends I have decided I will give my time to make the cake but they pay for all supplies.

lmfao my husband does the same thing lol I'm in charge of the money and the bills and everything lol he don't get to do anything! lol

Except work and earn the money

This is why I now have a clause in my wedding cake contract that states all cake and/or confections must come from me & if I walk in and see a Costco sheetcake box I will leave with their cake and not refund a dime! I explain to the brides that I must protect my reputation because guests will assume all the cake comes from one source and I don't want my cake to be confused with the dry, nasty supermarket sheetcake.
I have also decided NO MORE FREE CAKES for anyone, unless I am testing a new recipe and want feedback. Even friends and family must at least pay me for ingredients/supplies, ESPECIALLY for a wedding cake or large tiered cake.
As far as the bride ordering way too much cake, you probably correct in believing that they wanted a large cake for show and they didn't even know that they could have ordered part or all of it to be fake.

The nerve some people have. The kicker is they probably have no idea they did anything wrong.

As I go through and read all these posts I think about the wedding cake I am doing this weekend for free... 4 tiers + 6 satelite cakes + spare cake for grandfather who's allergic to chocolate. Did I mention they picked 3 different flavor combinations and its all done in chocolate MMF with pink accents! Oh I am a sucker, just cant say no!

Chefrinny, me and my hubby are getting remarried next year and I'm wondering since we are so low on money would you do my cake for me? I want a 3 tier round with white and purple fondant (I have pictures but they aren't mine lol) and white and purple roses all over it... can you do it for free? lmao just kiddin hun but wouldn't it be great lmfao

If my husband ever volunteered me to make a cake as a gift, he'd be doing it himself, or he'd have to buy one at the grocery store. As it is, he orders cakes from me like everyone else, and though he doesn't have to pay full price, he does because he wants to. I am a mean cookie too, I guess.

Now THAT is a GREAT idea! I am going to add it to my contract right now!

I have decided that you and I must have been twins separated at birth! We think so much alike! Nobody gets anything for free anymore, especially after someone "assigned" a cake for 50 people to me, when others brought a bag of chips or a 2L Coke.

indydebi, I thought my husband was the only one who reacted like that to threatened/pretend tickling...he becomes a quivering mass...it's just crazy

Ladies , you guys are great! NO MORE FREE CAKES!

Chefrinny- I have a feeling this will be your last free wedding cake too!

And you know what? Ive asked twice, going on three times if she could please send me a picture of the wedding cake over the net. I get no answer. The part that pisses me off is that I write to her over myspace and you can see when they were online last and shes online like 'EVERY DAY'! Ungrateful.

It sounds as if they wanted to take your cake home and eat it. NOT serve it.

In a sort of twisted way it is a compliment... I guess...

Wow...
So sorry for your experience.
I've only made one wedding cake for an extremely close friend...and she paid me for my supplies. Pretty generous too..it wasn't a big cake..and she gave me $100.00
I didn't have to use much because her granny baked the cake..it was fruit cake and I don't do fruit cake.
My hubby knows better than offering my services for free. He's a mechanic and would slaughter me if I offered his services for free. A tit for a tat..so they say!
Debi...I think you are hilarious!

My God, how rude and tacky, I would be so affended, but then again they probably have no idea that they did anything wrong.

sure - sample him again!

just explain that the first sampling is free, but that there is a $100 fee for the second sampling!! hehe!!

If anything else you can chock this one up to "Hindsight is always 20/20"...

O.k. for the future what have we learned...
1) If the cake is being done for free, you have 100% say on every detail but will accept an invitation, photo of the bride's gown, and information on the theme/decoration/flowers/etc. along with the dinner to be served to help you design the cake and its flavors. Beggers can't be choosers.
2) As Duff would say "I'll do my friend's wedding cakes for free, but if they want it done a certain way, I charge 'em for it!"... If they want it done a certain way, charge 'em!
3) Control is harder to give up than money is! I have an option for all brides and party cakes (since my pricing doesn't change) "$2.80 per slice and I have COMPLETE design control"... Or going rate for their specific design. I have yet to have ANYONE take me up on the $2.80 per slice offer..
4) The exclusivity clause that your cake is to be the only one there. I had this happen for a coworker, I did up the cake (on my website, the worm with the b-day hat) comp because I always do her b-day cake, then went to deliver it and was told that they already had a cake for her but that I could just leave it there... Sorry!!! Nope, the cake is com'n with me! I turned around and left (a bit PO'd and my doors on the car were DEFINITELY shut that day), but it was a Steel Magnolia's moment of TO WANDA! because how many times have we all regretted NOT walking out with a cake when the situation warranted it.
5) Outside of close family, never give a cake for free. Always get the cost of materials out of the deal, and even if you plan to not charge them in the end at least they will know exactly how much their cake is worth in materials alone even though that doesn't include a second of your time.