Ok so here it is...I met with a set of twin sisters to talk to them about a cake..of course...for their parents 50th anniversary...Normal right?? So far so good..they seemed very nice...was on the same day as a party I was at and serving one of my cakes....umm ok...still ok I guess....I knew there would be plenty of leftover cake because I made it as a gag cake for a aunt and it was a freebee so .....their next question kinda got me ...which was .."do you think there will be any of THAT cake left?" Ummm getting weirder.....I said "Should be, how come?" them "Well we would kinda like to taste it TODAY " (Anniversary party not till Oct) Me "Umm ok I'll see what is left after the party and I will (Yes I am a BOOB) deliver it to you" (one big NO NO). So I did, a couple pieces of the white and a couple of the chocolate. They were gonna get back to me. They tried it and called me the next day..."We really liked the c a k e. But not so much the icing...it isn't buttery enough for us. " I told them before hand the icing on this cake was a shortening based bc with heavy cream and ps and vanilla.....not the bc with 1/2 and 1/2 butter. But when we had met they DIDN"T want the buttery type....OK so they changed their mind...they decided they wanted the buttery type......ok so I write that down....one sister calls me...." Christi we decided not to do the sheet cakes we want cupcakes instead" (I haven't done that many cupcakes before at once) I said "Ok but the price doesn't change...that is still serving size pieces and more icing" They were totally fine with that...I GET ANOTHER CALL (now mind you the Anniversary is NOT till OCTOBER) "Can we have the letter P on top of each cupcake done with that shiney stuff?" Im thinking to myself...boy that is a lot of work for 500.00!!!!!! I did say yes I can do that but the price might change..because of all the extra details....They decided to do the WASC cake....but what would the reg. vanilla cake taste like??? 
(reg. vanilla is a box with pudding but I didn't say that LOL)
Does this sound like trouble to you??????? I am ready to back out on my first big order.....A anniversary with a big cake and 100 cupcakes....500.00 ...Im starting to know exactly why I have NEVER EVER EVER NEVER wanted to do a wedding cake.
Where I need the help is here......How can you first tell these people are going to be problems??? Like right now?? I have no clue if I want to except this job or not.....OH OH OH topper of this all...they want a anniversary cake that doesn't look like a wedding cake but with edible pearls and scroll work and this and that but not to look like a wedding cake....hmmm...oh the things that make you go hmmmmm.....
Well, they don't seem too wacky to me...yet. 
If you are doing all that for 500.00 you def need to use those candy pearls I told you about. Much cheaper than the fondant pearls. If they want soft fondant pearls the price should go up cause those ain't cheap to buy or to make (your time is valuable!).
If they want to taste the yellow they can purchase a 6in cake decorated with the buttery icing. You already gave them 2 samples for free AND delivered them so if they want more they need to pony up some cash!
Yep dodi I told them I wouldn't be buying the edible pearls I would be making them myself ...very time consuming...in fact by one of our fellow ccers she told me that she went up I think 35 cents a serving when using those....
Just funny they seemed so nice when I first talked to them now they seem kind of well...hard to please...
I think I'd go up $35 a serving if I had to make a ton of them! When I had to do my sunflower cake I knew there was no way I'd make all those pearls. Would they go for the candy ones? They were so super easy to work with. Just a dab of piping gel on the back and they stuck great on the cake. And cheap too! My time was worth more than the $7-8 shipping.
Christi-
"Just funny they seemed so nice when I first talked to them now they seem kind of well...hard to please..."
Aren't they all like that? lol
Good luck
It sounds like they just want everything to be perfect for their parents. That, or maybe their mother is very critical, and if it isn't just right they will never hear the end of it. 
I think you do need to charge for your time and work, and maybe explain to them they would be better off having you make them a cake, instead of cupcakes, for the amount they will end up paying. (this is just my opinion, of course) That way they feel like they're getting something spectacular, and in the end it will save you a whole lot of work and frustration.
I hope things work out for you, and they make up their minds, then just leave you to work your magic. 
Holly
thank you Holly, they are dead set (Or at least for now) on cupcakes...I know they want the best for their parents...and that is great...I just hope I can deliver what they want. I did however explain to them costs do change when they make changes like this
Look what I found!!
http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1
I'm glad you mentioned they were ivory. Now I know where to look if I need them!d
Oh, another thought-once you get the design set sketch it up and have both sisters initial it for approval. Then they can't gripe later!
Ohhhhh Dodi you are awesome!!!!!! Thank you for finding those and man they are so cheap!!!! What size would you recommend ??? Do you think the 6MM would be big enough? Im gonna find the picture of what they wanted and post it for you so maybe you can give me a hint....Im sooooo happy that I won't have to roll all of these out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You're welcome! The reason I suggested those is my lesson learned. The pink cake with all the pearls on it was such a pain in the tootie. I should have spent the $ to order them and saved myself so much time.
I'd love to see a pic! I used 5mm pearls on the sides and 8mm on the border of my sunflower wedding cake if that helps give you some perspective. d
Thank you dodi!!! Im off to look at your pics now...I have a pic of the cake that I got off of here...I apparently had it my favs but now it's gone and all I have is a copy 
...
lets see if this works
http://img.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/32480/40th_Anniversary
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_73973.html
LOL This one should work
oh yeah Dodi forgot to add, remember the cake I will be making will have a 14 inch base not a 10, I hope it will look alright....I have to practice with the number 18 tip to see if I can get the scroll work right ...oh pray for me lol
And your cakes are awesome!!! When I get back up in the morning Im gonna check them all out!!
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