I had a bride call me for a trout cake for her wedding ( her and hubby to be are big into fishing) but it's in 2 weeks. What is the etiquite for this? Do you charge extra for it being last minute? Do you have a clause in your contract for this?
What should I do?
For many decorators, a last minute request would require a minimum of:
1. A quick decision on a size and design--THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED ONE IOTA.
2. Payment in full upon signing the contract.
Rae
yep, short notice equals extra charges.
At the post office, if I need it there over night I can't mail it with a regular stamp. I have to pay big bucks!
mommachris
There's no set fee. You can charge whatever you feel would be fair to yourself and the couple. You don't even have to disclose the fee, if you don't want to--you can just roll it into the quoted price.
If you expect repeat business, or referrals, disclosing the fee then allows you to re-set your prices back to normal without implying that future orders are somehow being discounted.
If you would normally buy some ingredients on sale and now have to pay full price, perhaps a 25% upcharge would be fair. If the 2 week deadline is really tight for the design, maybe a higher upcharge would be in order for the amount of midnight oil you'll be burning.
Rae
I agree that there really isn't a set price. I normally would like more notice but if I didn't have anything going on and I felt comfortable with doing it I wouldn't charge them extra. I always look for repeat business. If it required alot of running around finding items yeah I think I would tack on an extra charge. Good luck.
I love to see fish cakes so make sure you post it. 
i think it would depend on how big of a headache short notice is for you. its really not a headache for me, probably because i don't have kids, i have an extremely supportive husband and a flexible schedule. so 2 weeks notice, wouldn't be such a big deal to me that i would need to charge extra as long as:
1. im available already
2. they pay up front
3. the design isn't so complex that i need to practice first.
however, if its really a big deal to you and is going to cause you some problems, then i would increase my price by $.50-$1.00 per serving. for me that translates into 15-30% more.
hope im not too late to be of any help! but i guess for future reference this is my opinion, LOL
My contract states that full payment must be received within 7 days and no changes made after 14 days prior. So in this case, I personally would say the design had to be set in stone and I may require more of an up front deposit (like 75% instead of my normal 50%) but not necessarily and additional charge for being last minute especially if I wasn't booked for that day.
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