I made a four tier chocolate buttercream wedding cake with fondant circles of varying pink shades on the sides on Sat. (The look seems to be pretty popular right now.) It turned out really cute and the bride was really happy. It was the first wedding cake I've made that I was truly happy with.

Anyway, the cake was for my best friend, so I was the chief cake server at the reception. As the first few guests arrive, this 4 yo girl marches up and demands a piece of cake. I explained that it was the bride's cake and she got to have the first piece with her new husband. I said the bride hadn't even seen the cake yet, so we should wait for her. "WHY??? WHY DOES SHE GET TO HAVE THE FIRST PIECE?" the little girl cried. When tears didn't work on me, she proceeded to stamp her feet and demand cake. I sent her back to her parents who were watching these proceedings with a "Oh, how cute." attitude.

A few minutes later, the bridal party arrives. This girl comes back over and tells me how much she likes the cake and generally buttering me up. NOW CAN SHE HAVE A PIECE? No, says I. She cries some more and refuses to leave the general area of the cake table. Oh, and she demands that my cake serving partner remove her pearl necklace to let the little girl wear. Nuh-uh.

Later, when the minister was praying over the meal and everyone had their heads bowed, we realized this little girl had swiped her fingers (which she had just had UP HER NOSE) through the back of the bottom tier. She also picked off several fondant circles.



Then she burst into hysterical tears because she knew her dad had seen her do it. Dad rushes over to the cake table, bumping it in the process of scolding her. Grandma rushes over to say that it wasn't a big deal and kids love poking their fingers into cake. "I'm sure the cake lady doesn't mind," she said, smiling at me.

"Actually, yes, I do." I said, cutting the infected nose-fingered area away from the back of the cake and throwing it away. Meanwhile, Dad spots a little spider hanging from Grandma's hair and tries to swat it away, simultaneously wrestling his daughter into a submission hold. His rapidly moving elbow was centimeters from the cake the entire time. and the table starting jiggling.

I had to leave the room, catching the mother of the bride long enough to tell her that I needed her approval of the cake ASAP before her guests knocked it over. I added that I was not responsible for people who can't control their children ... or elbows.

Later in the reception, this same kid fingered all of the buffet foods and jumped into all of the dance photos. She sobbed hysterically when she didn't catch the bouqet, picked a bunch of flowers out of the centerpieces and tried to hand them to the bride while the bride was posing for a photo with the young lady who actually did catch the bouqet. She refused to get out of the shot until the bride posed with her in a special photo in which little girl held the bouqet.

OMG that is an evil little girl. My kids would be dead if they tried to pull that stuff. I'm sooooo sorry you had to put up with that. What time was the reception. The parents should have know if the little girl was tired enough to be crabby or to have a meltdown. It's scary to think this spoiled girl will grow up to be a spoiled adult.

I hope you cake survived at least until the bride had her share. There was a time when I would blame the child, but now I just look at the parents. (I have a child of my own).

Who was this girl to be behaving this way? Was she a close relative of the bride or something, maybe the flower girl?
Sounds like this kid is a spoiled brat.

Good for you for speaking up and not taking any guff from this kid. Those parents need to give her a serious time out or something. (I won't say spanking since that is a whole other can of worms.) I think you were very professional in how you handled it. I would be upset too if I knew my creation may meet it's demise at the hands of a little brat whose parents just watched and let it happen. Most adults have the common sense to know to be careful around a work of art like a cake. We all know how much time and work goes into these cakes, but some people--and parents-- are just so dense. It probably took an extra helping of patience on your part, but congratulations on getting thru that one!

Wow! Doesn't she just remind you of the bratty little "blueberry" girl from Willy Wonka?

Wow. What a piece of work. Stories like that remind me not to get offended at the "Adults Only" invitations.

I would have been on the edge watching the events unfold. The story is better than any scripted scene you can even make up!!

I'm glad you survived!!
Angie

Seems to me that this little girl is going to be a great candidate for a guest shot on Dr. Phil some day soon. It is so easy to point a finger at this poor little kid (that's right, I'm going to defewnd her!), but what we need to realize is that this little girl was not born this way. Her parents need to be horsewhipped for allowing her to become such a terror. And Grandma? Well, she's Grandma.

Sounds like a rough day. Not to take away from that, I myself have a special needs child and who knows what's going on with that little girl. That said, the parents should know the risks of taking her to such an event and gotten someone to care for her or something. If it was a relative or something and the bride and groom wanted her there, they should have made sure someone was with her at all times, or at least aware of what she was doing and escorting her from the room when necessary.

I'm glad the cake didn't come tumbling down!

Oh, my goodness! I just got married in May and I can't imagine how embarassed the bride must have been that the other guests saw this little girl acting so horribly! In addition to almost ruining the wedding cake, I hope she didn't almost ruin the wedding for the bride and the other guests!

I love children and am forgiving of most behaviors...but that is a little rediculous. I think a spanking was in order...FOR THE PARENTS!!!!

I think you handled it well too. I am amazed at how people let their children speak and behave towards other adults. (this is a hot topic with me - I had an incident Sat. night at a football game ) I would pull my kids into the bathroom for a "time out" (I guess you can call it that _
Right after I had them apologize to everyone that saw / heard them acting up.
Good job keeping your composure. Sorry you had to deal with it though!

Mel

I have to agree about the way parents let their children act. I have two and they would never ever do something like that. They know all too well that I would not in any way put up with that. I was with them in Walmart one day and saw a little girl screaming at her grandmother (girl was about 10). She was demanding that she buy something for her and buy it RIGHT NOW. My kids jaws dropped. They were appauled.

You handled it beautifully. I honestly do not think I could have done that well. I really would have ended up marching her butt to her parents and telling them to handle their child.

This is exactly why my friends had a no kids policy at their wedding and reception a while back! They didn't want to deal with certain family members that choose not to keep their kids in line!

You handled it great though!

I would've marched that kid right over to the parents and then found someone that knew the parents and asked them if they could come with you to speak to the parents.

Nicely inform them that the cake was worth..( and here you double the price! hahaha) and if by any chance the cake was ruined by their offspring, they..not you would be responsible for giving the bride back her money.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD, and he was a TERRIBLE little brat! so, I made sure to only take him to "KID" friendly places or not go!

Thank goodness his father and I ran a good tag team with him! The last major event he misbehaved at was a family funeral. Even though his dad and I took turns outside with him...YES, we didn't bring him in, he would've been too disruptive...he did manage to "escape" a few times...with us running after him..lol...

The Uncles and Aunties are still talking about that day...the day they thought my son would eighter climb into the coffin or knock it over...and he is 20 now! lol

He finally outgrew it...thank goodness. And we were VERY on top of him...ALL the time in public...even as far as "WEARING HIM IN A BABY BACKPACK TILL HE WAS 2"

just because he was my little darling..didn't mean I had to inflict him on others!

"Missycompoc, I don't know about your kids, but just the threat of visiting the bathroom with me is not a happy thought. I've never really had to take them to the bathroom so I don't know what I would do, but as long as the threat works......."


That's even better than...

"Just wait till we get home!!" hahaha

This little "princess" sounds like a Bridezilla in the making.
You had more patience than I would have.

And this is why kids should not be allowed at the reception!!! sorry, but that's how i see it. When i got married i also did an "adult only invite". It was all family and the only one offended was my sister. Deal with it, I was not going to have 18+ kids running around acting crazy. There's a time and place for that. And I agree it's the parents fault for not putting them in place. My kids are no angels that's for sure, but I'm strong with them. I would have given the lady a seriously look after her comment about cake lady not minding. Are you kidding me?! YES, YES we do mind! Sorry, this kids and poking cakes really irritates me. as i mentioned in another post, way, way before i started decorating cakes i've felt this way.

that girl sounds like my neighbor, she's the kid from hell...really! she's anoying, she screams a lot for no reason, she cries a lot for no reason arrgg!!!

I certainly understand peoples desire for "adult only" weddings and receptions, but with that being said they have been some of the dullest weddings I have attended. I have been lucky that the kids in my "circle" are for the most part well behaved. Children at the wedding are a great ice breaker for people who don't know each other, they inevitably do something absolutely adorable and they always look so precious dressed up! Who doesn't like to see a little girl dancing with her daddy?

The worst I have seen is the upset baby who needed to be taken outside and changed/nursed/comforted. I know I (or rather the brides) have been lucky, but I LOVE KIDS AT WEDDINGS!

I applaud your self restraint.

This little terror of a girl didn't get that way overnight. Children learn by observing, and act up only as much as they know will be tolerated.

When my twin sister and I were very young, about 10 (a LONG time ago) we were antique shopping with a neighbor. (She was a great, cultured lady who "adopted" us after our Mom died.)

Anyway, there was an antique shop that had signs posted, "No childen allowed" which we didn't enter - but the owner came into the shop we were in and asked our friend to come over with US because we were so well behaved. We were taught to Touch with our Eyes not with our Hands, and to always say please and thank you when offered any treats, etc.

This upbringing always made us welcome and I raised my sons the same way.

Just my $.02

Wow she sounds like a terror....but who knows what her deal was...and like others USUALLY i love kids at weddings....my niece was on the dance floor at my cousins wedding all night (so yes I am sure she was in some of the dancing pictures) but she would just be twirling and laughing and having a ball.....everyone thought she was just the cutest (including the bride and groom who tried to get her to dance with them...but she was strictly a solo performer...haha..she was probably 2 yrs old)......

OMG, what an awful thing to happen....My daughter gets married next oct and I will be making her cake of course. But the other day she came to me and announced she wanted an adults only reception.....I felt a little upset thinking of family members who have small children......but after hearing this I will definately BACK HER UP on what now seems a very sensible idea...but all the children will be most welome at the evening reception

did anyone ever see the movie " The Bad Seed" well, sounds like this little girl from the wedding was the Star in this movie.
Irene

Oh yes, these parents will be on Dr.Phil or Maury crying about how they have no idea how their child got like this...how she hits them and curses them and they have no control. 4 years old and she's already at this stage. I never understand the parents who think that type of behavior is "cute".

You handled it very well. I hope the bride got to see it and have the first piece. Did you serve the little girl last?

You know, when the grandma said, "The cake lady doesn't mind." that was just giving her permission to be a brat. That told that little girl what she was doing was OK because people don't care if she acts that horribly. What a terrible message for this lady to be sending to this kid! I hate when people excuse bad behavior like that! There are obviously no consequences for this child or she wouldn't act this way. That's the parents fault. If they're embarrassed by the way their kid is acting, I can certainly relate. My own kids have pulled some pretty bold stunts in public, only to have me apologize to whoever was near and quickly haul them off to a very UNpublic place for an attitude adjustment. My kids are usually given "the talk" before we go somewhere and they are very good becuase they know what will happen if they're not. I used to be offended when people had the adults only rule becuase I knew my kids would be able to handle it, but I can understand the reason for it. In a way, you don't want to offend parents with the naughtly kids by making them feel like you are singling them out, even if you are. It's sad to punish the rest for the behavior of a few, but it also saves hurt feelings, and that's to be commended. It's better than telling someone their kid isn't invited, but everyone else's will be coming. Although, it could be a much needed wake up call for some cases.... I'd love to be brave enough to try that myself sometime

I served her and treated her just like I would anyone else. I didn't want to be rude to her in kind. But I also didn't want her maiming my best friend's cake more than she already did.

I don't know who she was, friend or family. I tried not to make a huge deal out of it as having a vendetta against a 4 yo isn't really something to recommend me to new customers.

They are everywhere. Fast forward for a few years and this is what this little girl will be:

Get this.....my daughter and I were shopping this weekend. We were in a dressing room. Apparently there was a mother and her daughter in the next dressing room. We heard the mother say, I think that's just a little too grown up for you. The girl said....I AM 17 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE SEXY! AND YOU ARE A MILLION YEARS OLD ANYWAY AND SUCH A BI*%@

My daughter and I dropped our teeth!! Her mom never said anything but just sighed.