Last Saturday was a first for me. I had a bride that ordered a cake to serve approximately 140 guests. It was a 3-tier cake...8", 10", 12" tiers separated with a fountain and stairs, which I hate by the way. There were two 2-tier stacked cakes on the sides. The design contracted had a castle topper on the large cake, and carriage and bride & groom toppers on the side cakes, of which the bride was to provide per the contract. During the consultation I went through my speech informing the bride of the support system in the cakes and that because the toppers were so heavy, each would require a support system in the cake to support the weight. I let her know that we would put approximately one or two dowel rods to support each topper.

It's wedding day, and my partner and I deliver and assemble the cake. Everything looked great. Low and behold the bride did not provide the castle and carriage toppers...just the bride & groom topper. The wedding planner said the toppers never arrived (or the bride never purchased them), and the bride was content with it. We were instructed to place the bride & groom topper on the main cake, and the florist would decorate the fountain and side cakes with flowers. We received feedback from the the event planners and guests that everything was wonderful, and the bride loved everything. The guests were even coming up to the cake table as were disassembling everything after the wedding to get whatever scraps were left.

So Sunday I get a text message from the event planner saying that the bride was unhappy with her top cake that was to be saved for the 1st anniversary. What? I give the bride a call, and she said, "There are holes in my cake". I reminded her about out discussion regarding a support system for the topper. I explained again that the topper was so heavy that if I didn't put dowel rods in the cake, her cake would have collasped. It was one of the heaviest toppers I've come across. Then she went on to say that the design wasn't what we discussed. What?! She was supposed to provide the castle and the carraige, and failed to do so. I reminded her that the contract specifically stated that she was to provide the toppers. Of course she didn't care. She said that even though she didn't purchase them, it was my obligation to make sure her cake looked as we discussed, and I did not provide the design that was contracted. I guess I was supposed to pull a carriage and castle out of thin air...lol.

Anyway, the bride went on and on about there being holes in her cake, and that she couldn't freeze it. She said that we destroyed her cake and ruined her wedding because of the holes in her cake. She went on to say that we owed her a new cake because of the holes, and that we needed to provide her with an entire new cake immediately. Of course my response was sorry, but we held up our end of the contract. Not only that, the entire cake was consumed. Therefore, she would not receive a 140-serving cake or a refund of any sort. She was well aware of the need for a support system for her topper.

I will now be adding a paragraph to my contract regarding the support system in the cake and the need for support for heavy cake toppers...including that there will be holes from the dowels. It's amazing what people will attempt to get away with these days and how some people want something for nothing. The was a first for me after 5 years of doing cakes, and I will definitely cover myself in my contract in case any future brides want a refund due to the "holes" in their cakes.

No Cakey..You Atey it all up...Period!!! Tell her Go Blow!!!

The bride is too stupid to (rest of sentence was deleted by me.)

Let's hope she doesn't add to the population.

Wooooowwww.....

...so...what about these holes makes it impossible to freeze the cake, anyway? Just wrap it in plastic wrap.

Clearly, trying to get something for nothing there!

Tell her to pound sand. You gave her all the nessesary information. If shes to stupid to not pay attention to her contract then OH WELL!!!

What nerve! Glad you held your ground though!

Holy cats! What is she smoking?

I can't believe the nerve of some people. I wonder if got a spot on her dress if she'd try get a refund for it. I'd would just remind her she signed a binding contract and since the cake was consumed she is out of luck.

Tell her to buy some Puddy from HomeDepot and fill the holes.

She doesn't have a clue. I would have asked her if she would have preferred her cake to come crashing down! Brush it off and forget it, you didn't do a thing wrong!

That is just CRAZY !!!!

Maybe she was just broke after the wedding and she figured she tried to get her money back from the cake lady.

She knew she wasn't gonna get her money from Caterer, so she tried the next BEST thing.

Im telling you people dont give us bakers credit. My mom tells me my friend wants a cake like the one you did for Damiens Bday (my son) I told her $50.00 I was like MOM!!!!!!!!!

Thats the cake I did for my sons 2nd Bday Western themed. Can you believe that.

Tell her for a fee you'll make her a top that she can freeze/then she can get a new top and stick where she wants!!

very relieved to see you did not give a refund.

It's like someone buying a house and then demanding a refund because you had to nail the studs together and it left holes!

Trying to get her bridzilla in.

I'm glad you stood your ground.

Did I read that right...she wants another 140 serving cake? What's she gonna do, have another wedding? People never cease to amaze me

OMG, I thought I had heard everything, boy was I ever wrong, this bride really has some nerve. It always amazes me what people will do. I also am glad you stood your ground.

Holy moly. Where do these people come from? Please tell me that they're just as crazy with the florist/caterers/decoraters because it seems like it always comes down on the cake maker!

Some people just weren't raised right.

wow. she texted you on her honeymoon? it must not be going well. lol

she's so... stupid. it's just...unreal how stupid she is. but yeah no refund since they ate all the cake and as far as her "holey" cake... man... she's one crazy bride.

That is just plain out ridiculous! The cake has to support the weight of the topper, which there has to be an internal system, but yet she doesn't want holes in her cake. Maybe she should have frozen the topper along with the cake and then she wouldn't have had noticeable holes. LOL. Some people...

I'm still a little confused as to why she was obsessing over the holes in her cake rather than her new husband. It would have been the last thing on my mind espsecially since the guests loved it, and there wasn't any cake leftover. I'm not sure if I was more PO'd at her making an issue out of the holes, which was laughable or saying I didn't provide the design we discussed. I couldn't believe she threw that out there when she was the one who didn't follow through by providing the toppers. Come to find out, there was even more to the story. Whoever transported her anniversary cake from the venue to the bride's house left it in the heat of the car, and the icing started to melt. So eventually that got thrown into the mix. She was upset because her the icing melted off the cake, said it was our fault, and it was another reason to provide her with a new wedding cake. Oh, and she then said that the support system didn't work, and her cake collapsed. I will continue to stand my ground, but I'm sure she's bad-mouthing our business all over town because I didn't provide her with any sort of compensation. She had over 200 guests at her wedding, and I think she had buyer's remorse after all was said and done. Another scenerio where the cake designer is the easiest target to recoup some money.

[quote="Joffy"]Tell her to buy some Puddy from HomeDepot and fill the holes.[/quote

My thoughts exactly!!!

When her marriage ends in divorce, will she go back and demand refunds from everyone who had a part in her wedding day? You can not do much to stop people from badmouthing you and often, it is an empty threat. People of good character will politely listen to her but people of strong character will form their own opinions.

Her guests will recall that the cake was beautiful and delicious. They may also judge her on the time it takes to receive a thank you, if they gave a wedding gift. Other than that, people don't care to relive her reception in their minds. Remember, we are a society of short attention spans.

Your clients will judge you based on their experiences with you directly. People of no character will take the word of this girl and you don't want or need them as clients; they're probably cut from the same cloth and will be future PITAs for you.

Politely and professionally inform her you stand by your contract and she will not be receiving a refund. No further explanation necessary.