My client just left with her wedding cake.

I work 3rd shift and I'm on this week. I decorated this cake after I got up Thursday evening. It has all the elements she specified. She called and asked me if she could pick it up at 11am Friday instead of noon. I said sure.

I came home, went to bed for 2 hours, and got up. I laid down on the couch waiting for the doorbell to ring. She didn't show up until 12:30. I'm exhausted. I opened up the box so she could see it, and there was no reaction. She said she couldn't see the sides as well as the top, but could see the swags....she never asked me to take it out. She did say "so pretty" but otherwise there was no reaction. She took it and left.

I'm afraid she hated it! I have never had such a flat reaction before. What should I do? I did give her a customer survey. I guess I just have to wait for her to fill that out, right?

Here's the cake...

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1242374

Don't worry too much about it - it is a very pretty cake! She probably has a lot on her mind getting last minute things ready for the wedding, and compliments and standing around talking about the cake perhaps were not high on the list. Wait to see if she fills out the survey.

She's probably been running around trying to get everything ready for her wedding, don't worry! Your cake looks great, that icing is so smooth. It looks likes it tastes great too, what flavor is it?

Some people just don't gush. I know it's great to get the ones who do because then you don't have to wonder about whether they liked it or not. It sounds like you gave her what she requested, so try to relax!

Yeah, I agree. You can't always go by customers. Some people don't gush and say how they feel. Recently I had someone pick up a cake that didn't make many comments about it but the daughter looked happy. I called her up 3 days later to ask how the cake made it to the party. She gushed then and told me how much they loved the cake, how tasty, how pretty, etc...

Someone wise on Cake Central once said "If you feel good about it yourself, you did a fine job. If you didnt feel confident it wasn't your best foot forward, just chalk it up to experience, take a deep breath and remember your next cake will be even better for the experience."

well it IS a very pretty cake. I think she didn't see the details though,i love what you did with the sides and the yellow flowers just pop.

you did good work. don't sell yourself short.

What do you mean "what do I do?"??? What can you actually do? It's cake...most people don't go nuts over it like we all do!

As someone said, not everyone gushes.

Hubby drives me nuts .... he sets his expectations SO high that he's always disappointed ... but he set expectations that NO ONE can meet. When he gives a Christmas gift to someone, and they open it ... get a big smile on their face ... look at hubby and say, "Wow, this is great! Thanks!" .... hubby is disappointed and whines about "well, I guess they didn't like it".......

Because what he wants to see is this person jumping off of the chair, then clap their hands, jump up and down, run over and give hubby a big giant hug, all the while proclaiming how this is the best ever most wonderful and thoughtful gift in the WORLD, how did you EVER know how much I would just LUV this gift oh my gosh you are the best!

But because all they said was "Wow, this is great, thanks!" then he thinks they hated it.

I just want to slap the snot out of him.

someone made the point about her being busy- and that it ts probably true- think of all the details etc she has running through her mind - i know it happens to me all the time. I truly think people generally do not know how much heart and soul we pour into these things , nor the time and effort either.
I labored and worried over a graduation cake and we e-mailed back and forth for weeks and then it was just " oh how nice" and no report after.
did a wedding cake on the house for friends and then got a run of the mill thank you card- everyone I ran into from the wedding gushed though- so people are just funny.

I jnow I expect a reaction like Indy's husband-rarely get it ,but sometimes you hear through the grapevine.

I am getting better accepting it and peoples differences.
My hubby explained it this way people see it as a service and as such tend to complain more freely than extend gushing compliments -just the nature of the beast.


regardless you should be pleased it is a lovely cake !

You really can't know why she didn't gush about the cake.

It could be that the cake is not a big deal to her...just something to check off her "to do list".

She could be really stressed...after all, she was just about to get married.

Someone could have just done one of those out of character, week of wedding things that they would never do under other circumstances. If you had a wedding, you know what I mean. People say or do things that are thoughtless under stress.

She could be having cold feet.

She might have been thinking about the next thing on her "to do" list.

Another vendor might be worrying her.

She just might not be an expressive person.

She obviously was stressed out, she already came to your house later than she expected. I think your icing looks so smooth. The colors don't quite jump out @ you but you had nothing to do with that I'm sure. Why didn't you like it? I saw your comments on the gallery page. You should be confident with icing that smooth

You guys are right, as usual.

I guess I was so befuzzled that it seemed worse than it was. Working 3rd shift is going to kill me.

It is just what she asked for, so if she doesn't like it, well......I did do my part.

I'll just chill and wait for the eval. Thanks for the support!

Well, my sense of forboding was reinforced today. I sent her an email reminding her about the cake support, and "hoping that she enjoyed her cake". She is dodging the question. Or the implication of a question. And she returned the cake support by leaving it on my doorstep, without the customer eval I generally include (with a SASE).

Something was wrong, I can feel it in my gut.

If she does say she didn't like it, what do I do? If it's a design issue, like "it was too plain" or "the roses looked like crap" or "the color was all wrong", do I do anything? Or just remind her of the contract and say I'm sorry she was disappointed in the design she chose?

If she says the cake tasted bad, I'll know she's full of crap, because I tasted it. And if it fell during transport, that's on her, too.

I'm just gettting some reeeaaaal bad vibes, here. Can't shake it. What would you advise? Whiskey? Valium?

It's the purple one with yellow roses in my photos.

At this point I don't think I'd do any more. You contacted her and she didn't say one way or the other. I don't see the need to contact her again she's had more than ample time to let you know if she wasn't happy. If she really wasn't happy I'm sure she would have told you or filled out the form.

It's gonna be o.k.

Personally, I wouldn't bug her. She did say it was "so pretty". And so many people say it's "just cake", or "We're just going to eat it." She's not complaining, and I'm sure she would if she were unhappy.

Geez.... LET IT GO!

Don't hound her about the cake.

Now, if she doesn't return your equipment, you can hound her about that, but not about the cake.

I think all of us put our hearts and souls into our cakes and we try to do our very best, especially for a wedding cake. We need that validation that it was acceptable or we go crazy wondering if they liked it. I think you did a good job and you did what the bride wanted. I think it was a big task for the bride to pick up her own wedding cake and I'm sure she had a million things on her mind and probably not any extra time to talk to you. I had someone (not the bride, just an attendee) recently say a wedding cake of mine was "cute". This cake was 4 tier, fondant covered, each tier different, set on a silver stand, surrounded by beautiful stargazer lilies and other flowers. It was not "cute". But you know, the comment still bothers me, like-what did I do wrong? Why do we do this to ourselves?

Can I tell you a story?

I delivered a wedding cake a couple of years ago..the bride was helping with the setup of the reception and was there when I set up the cake. When it was done, she came over and kind of nodded at it and went about her business trying to get tables done. I thought Oh well, I thought it was pretty.

I got a note from her a few weeks later, with a thank you card, and a tip of $20.00 in it. She said loved the cake, it was all she dreamed of, and it was her favorite part of the wedding!

Since then, when I see a bride during setup, I don't expect much reaction (some of them are hyped up and will jump up and down, but most of them are so concerned about everything going right they can't think past that...Now GROOMS, I have had them go nuts and hug you and tell you how great it is! They don't seem as concerned! haha Especially if the champagne has already started to flow...

So basically, don't worry about it! Its a beautiful cake, very well done, and the color purple is my favorite color!

I know how you feel and have gotten this before as well. A lady picked up my hydrangea cake yesterday (see gallery) and her words were also, "so pretty." I expected a "WOW" b/c I worked hours on that cake, but I think many people have NO idea how much work goes into a cake. Almost like they can do it themselves. I do think she liked it, but it just wasn't the expression I expected to hear.


Yet, the lady who picked up my chocolate beer cake (not a pretty cake) raved and asked me all kinds of questions about how I decorate. She was all excited.


I have also learned there are people out there who are never satisfied with anything. I did a baptism cake (blue cross in my gallery) for this lady and she didn't say much when she picked it up. She was the same person who asked me if a filling would cost more. DUH! I have since learned that this girl complains about everything. She and her husband go on vacation and they get partial refunds b/c things were not up to their standards. I can't stand people like that.


Your cake is VERY pretty and your swag is perfect. I can't even get the guts to do a swag b/c I think it would be a disaster. I do agree that she probably couldn't see the sides in the box so therefore, she couldn't have a big reaction. Hang in there....the next cake will make you feel better.

I don't mean to hound her. I just have my "spidey sense" going off. And I wanted to be prepared with what to say to her.

I'll let it go and quit bugging you guys. Thanks for the support....I guess I need thicker skin.

I think it is great. Its not what I would choose for colors for a wedding cake, but it IS what she chose and that is probably the part that is bugging you. Your roses are amazing, BTW. So crisp and beautiful.

When it comes to this job, those feelings are very rarely valid. I had a camera cake that I did for someone and it was an acquaintance . I didn't get to see her reaction b/c DH dropped it off to our preschool (where she would pick it up). She called before picking it up and I told her to let me know what she thought and how it was. She didn't call at all. I was so sick all weekend about it and just had a bad feeling that they didn't like it. Well, by Monday (the cake was delivered on Thursday) I was a wreck, I just cried all day and decided I was a failure. I got through the day and worked it out on my own and got back up to decorate again. Tuesday morning I got an email from the person the cake was for (not even the person who ordered it) thanking me for such a wonderful cake and gushing about how much she loved it and would try to think of excuses to use me for more cakes. I could have used that on Monday, but I think for me it was actually character building. I had to work it out on my own.

Your cake is beautiful and your icing is so smooth. She probably just didn't think twice about it. I didn't gush about my cake. I just didn't really care. We planned our wedding in 3 months and I had a ton to do and as long as there was a cake that wasn't falling over and tasted pretty good, I was happy.

The way I worked through my feelings before hearing back from the camera cake people was to think about what I do when I buy something (take for example getting my haircut). It doesn't even cross my mind to call my hair girl and let her know that I loved my haircut. She's a pretty good friend now, too. I guess I just assume that she knows I love it. I'm not a gusher. I never will be. I hate showing emotion at all. Anyway, this got really long, but I hope you will know that your cake is beautiful and you are a very good decorator. If my icing ever gets that smooth and my roses that beautiful, I will be a happy girl.

The cake looks lovely. As long as the colors are what she asked for, then I can't see that there's anything she could be unhappy about. Like the others said, some people just aren'that expressive. And, though it's hard for US to believe, for some people the cake is just not a priority. I've had some brides for whom the cake was the most important detail of the wedding, after their dress (and I just LOVE those girls, LOL!). But for some, the cake is just not important and they just get one because it's just one more thing on the list of things they are "supposed" to have. These brides aren't as much fun because they just don't get that into the cake design or excited about it, but on the flip side, they are also much less likely to notice mistakes or imperfections.

So I wouldn't take a lack of compliments or excitement to mean she was dissatisfied at all. If they don't say anything negative, then don't worry!

I understand how you feel. I ALWAYS question my cakes, even when the client smiles and jumps up and down. Like yesterday, I delivered a cake that was neat, but all I could see were the flaws. THEN, when I delivered it, it slid around and I had to fix it when I got there. She paid me and seemed thrilled with it, even with me fixing it. But, I still doubt what I did. I always think, I should have charged less because I am a hack. I knwo I can't compete with most everyone on this site. But, we have to try and get over the nervous feeling and get confident in our craft.

Not everyone has the cake and viewing it as the priority or "exciting part" of planning their party, and plus, you have to understand she had a thousand other things to do that day. There is no way in the WORLD she didn't think that cake was beautiful!

My own daughter is not a "gusher", you could give her a puppy riding a pony wrapped in a million dollars and all she would do is smile pretty and say thank you without any emotion what so ever. she always has been that way. Now, she'd play with the puppy riding pony while spending the money.....

Not worrying is easier said then done. I know we all pride ourselves on our work and when there is no reaction we tend to take it personal...at least i do. I dunno, i guess i just expect a little more than, 'nice cake' when you've been working on it for hours. That being said something similar happened to me not long ago. My son's teacher called for a last minute cake. I busted my butt working on it and when he arrived to pick it up all he said in a very unenthusiastic tone was, "cute'. When he left i was so upset at his lack of his reaction i could've cried. When i sent his change with my son to school in an evelope i was not expecting for it to be returned with a kind note ontop saying, "that cake was wonderful! Keep this as a tip". So i guess it goes to show you some people just don't react the way we think they should. till this day, i keep that note on the fridge to remind me of this very thing.
Please don't take it personal.
suz