They Got The Cake They Ordered! This Is Long..sorry
Decorating By Katie-Bug Updated 15 Sep 2006 , 4:15pm by lonestarstamper
Oh, me...I met with this couple from my church about doing the food and cakes for their wedding. Okay, we meet..they like nothing that I suggest and want PLAIN food and decorations, fine. She brings cake pictures with her, a hexagon brides with bows and flowers and a gift grooms cake. I tell them the price per serving and draw out how many each tier will serve, bring all this down and write the total. All is good for about two weeks (By this time the wedding is a month away)I get a call saying they have decided to do the food themselves, whatever-thanks for the notice and the grooms cake need to go from a 6', 8', and 10' square to a 12' and 14' square. I said I would do that, and make it look as much like the original as I could.
Here it is Thursday @ 4:30, and I get a message saying they wanted drop the 12' square off the grooms cake, didn't want to spend that much. Okay, here is how it broke down- the stupid tier was only costing them $75.00. I told her she didn't have to get it, but I would need $35.00 to cover cost. I had already made the icing and just got done baking the cake! First, she said that was fine then 5 minutes later calls back and says, "If I'm paying for cake, then I will pay it all and get cake!"
The BIG day arrives, I am pleased with cakes at this point and off I go! I get to reception site and NO air! It is so hot it melts the logo sticker off my camera! I go get an employee and have a large commerical fan set up for the cake and set it up. I stay with the cake as long as I can, which is at 4:00, when the wedding is starting. I haven't got my money at this money, extremely worried about the cake, it starting to shine and the corners are rounding. The topper is bigger then the cake, can't sit on the cake, the list goes on!
I got my money the next day, from the farther. I asked how it did and I got nothing from him. Saw the brides family twice since this and nothing and the bride once and she didn't even speak!!!
After all this, here they are! What do you think? I know the cake stood, so what did I do? I can't hear anything from the cake, I don't know if it tasted bad, looked bad, what???
These people are insane to keep making changes and I have to agree with alot of the people who write everything down and get paid in advance with a clause regarding a cut off time about changes... you are too kind. 
As for the A/C, mother of God, did she not realize the cake would melt sitting in a 90 degree room? As for you wanting feedback from them, I would give it up. Sounds like the A/C thing may have had disastrous effects and they will not want to accept responsibility so instead, they will try to make you feel bad and it is not your fault! Don't even give them the opportunity 
These people are insane to keep making changes and I have to agree with alot of the people who write everything down and get paid in advance with a clause regarding a cut off time about changes... you are too kind.
As for the A/C, mother of God, did she not realize the cake would melt sitting in a 90 degree room? As for you wanting feedback from them, I would give it up. Sounds like the A/C thing may have had disastrous effects and they will not want to accept responsibility so instead, they will try to make you feel bad and it is not your fault! Don't even give them the opportunity
Cut your losses and thank God you got out of that room alive! However, you should contract that final payment is due 1 week BEFORE the wedding.
I agree on being hardnosed about being paid and having that in your contract- what a nightmare for you to have to walk in that room and have that happen and then now sit there wondering what happend. but yeah dont give them opportunity, At least you got paid and you will never do business with them again (if they ask dpending on what happened to the cake)
You know I always like to see all perspectives on an issue- but I also know that re: the 90 degree room- no wedding has to end up that way- no situation period. There are enough resources out there and professionals out there to ask for guidance on how to and how not to and how to plan appropriately and long enough well in advance for the big day so it goes off without a hitch. There is ABSOLUTELY no reason in my books that something like the weather/temperature in the room could not have been planned for or foreseen. Anyone who DOES go through the expense and time of planning a wedding, or doesnt research certain items, and has something like that happen- ie the cake melting - I wouldnt say deserves it, but they have no right to complain.
Obviously there are contigent situations that occur but again, the resources are out there to get help- not like nobody has ever gotten married in hot weather before and documented or planned for it.
Sheesh lol
Bitchy as it may seem to some people- again I say this from a business perspective and not to sound harsh or whatever: except for business transactions wher people work into the contract net 30 or something like that (have up to 30 days to pay after the transaction, in full), any busines you go and do a deal with you pay and you get your service. Food industry for instance. Any other examples too. You dont eat your dinner and then say I''ll pay you next week. That's just the proper way to do business.
Again with the planning- Joe schmow starts planning a wedding a year in advance. They work out over time the cake and other details. They have to figure out a budget. They KNOW they're going to have to pay for the cake so it's just common sense to budget for that and not have the knowledge a year in advance or 6 months in advance going ok I wont know if I can pay the cake lady on time or not, or it'll just be a week late. Again, contracts. People should understand those and respect those,. and if they dont. You have their cake. It's leverage. Use it. I'm serious. Whoever is in charge of cake at a wedding is in charge of working out the money. You're doing business with someone, they pay you. Very simple. If they dont like it, bring everyone together in the wedding party and scrape together the money to pay the cake lady. And then square off later. ANother example. Pizza delivery. You know the pizza will get there in an hour and it'll cost X amount of bucks. What are you going to do, go omg I'm sorry we dont have the money right now, but can we have the pizza? I'll pay you next week? Sure they're thinking well it's not like they're going to sell the pizza to anyone else. So what it goes in the garbage. You dont pay, you dont get your pizza.
Put it in the contract and stick to it! Owe it to yourself to do business that way and maybe as a lesson to humankind who thinks that it's acceptable to muck around with proper busienss practices. Sorry Joe, this is not how it's done. No money, no cake! It's in the contract!
You know what? Even though you haven't had any feedback and things didn't go as smoothly as possible, I have the silver lining...
YOU GOT PAID!!!
I've read so much on this board about people getting JACKED for their cakes...I thought that was where this post was going. But, seriously, I'm glad you got paid for your work and time. The cakes really are beautiful.
Do you want to know what they thought?
They thought you're services were not in their price range--they fired you as their caterer, and tried to get less cake so they could pay you less money.
Then after that they thought, "Son of a B! It's friggin' hotter than Hades in here!!!!!!!!! 
But seriously, The idea of the customer is paying you so she should get what she wants........If she doesn't want the quality that you have to offer and isn't willing to pay for it...let her be someone else's customer.
The cake is beautiful.
I don't sell any cakes so I've never had the experience of dealing with the general population. But, everything I've read says a contract is the way to go. Put it in writing and have all parties sign it. Save yourself as many problems as possible.
Please make more cakes. You do beautiful work!
I totally agree with everyone who posted. I just finished my first wedding cake and grooms cake last week. Not too many issues but very stressful week. Anyway, the bride's mother went into M's and spoke to my instructor who no longer wants to make cakes and refers everyone to me (yipee for me). Her cake decorator had backed out two weeks before the wedding. The bride's mother was frantic trying to find someone who would 1. take this on with such short notice, 2. be able to create the Saints logo (it's just a fleur-de-lis for crying out loud) and 3. work with fondant and make fondant flowers. So anyway, I figure the cost and call her and explain that I will need payment in full one week before delivery (two days later). She is perfectly fine with that and didn't even bat an eye. I don't have contracts yet or even receipts but she was nice and didn't mind. And I think like everyone else has said that it's standard in the wedding industry to pay for everything in advance. I know I didn't have to hand out checks or money during my wedding eleven years ago. Everything had already been taken care of.
BTW, I saw the pictures of the cakes and you did a wonderful job. Chalk this up to a lesson learned.
Yvette
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%