I Made A Comment On Another Post, And I Want To Apoligize.
Decorating By thatslifeca Updated 31 Aug 2010 , 5:05pm by DSmo
Umm, I thought the post was made more in a jokey-horrified--can't-believe-it kind of way because the lady was, in fact, going to be able to make a cake in 24 hours (after all, on the other post, everyone was assuming she was baking them herself, since she was calling them custom cakes), and the price was just under the $150 charged in the other post. OBVIOUSLY it would not leave anything over for labour or other costs, but isn't that also a common thread with new bakers (I figured out I'm working for 50 cents an hour!!! kind of thing). So just the timing of that other thread and then the OP here seeing this at the store was funny. Hence the post (I assumed).
It kind of ruins the joke to have to explain the joke.
Umm, I thought the post was made more in a jokey-horrified--can't-believe-it kind of way because the lady was, in fact, going to be able to make a cake in 24 hours (after all, on the other post, everyone was assuming she was baking them herself, since she was calling them custom cakes), and the price was just under the $150 charged in the other post. OBVIOUSLY it would not leave anything over for labour or other costs, but isn't that also a common thread with new bakers (I figured out I'm working for 50 cents an hour!!! kind of thing). So just the timing of that other thread and then the OP here seeing this at the store was funny. Hence the post (I assumed).
It kind of ruins the joke to have to explain the joke.
That's how I read it, too.
I've been reading your posts and being a new baker even I'm somewhat offended. 
I think of all the practice and all the investment I've made into this business that I love and yes it is frustrating I had a tasting with a client on Saturday who wanted a 3 tier hexagon shaped buttercream cake with quilting and pearls for $150.00. I told her that would only cover my materials and her comment was well I could get a cake from Wal-Mart for cheaper and my response was sure you can but it won't taste like mine and isn't that just as important on your wedding day that it look professional and taste amazing. Needless to say we found a price that we both were comfortable with. I think it's just a matter of the professional sticking by the quality of their product. There are always knock offs in any business but I wouldn't want a knock off purse let alone a knock off wedding cake. 
While I agree that a custom-made, custom-baked cake will most likely taste better than a mass-market commercially produced one, isn't there really a place for both? Not everyone can afford custom prices, so should they just forgo having cake (unless they have time, resources, and skill to bake and decorate their own)? Perhaps the woman who buys all of the premade stuff is filling a niche between that of the WalMart cakes and the $5 a slice (or more, or much, much more) cakes.
The way I see it, you have a certain amount you can budget toward the cake. If you have a fairly limited budget, you have a couple of options. First, you can pare down the guest list. Second, you can make do with a box-store cake. Finally, you can find someone within your budget. That may be using a baker who charges way less than the typical rate (with the associated risks), or it might be contracting with someone who uses premade cakes, icing, and fondant, but makes a gorgeous cake. The wedding pictures will document how gorgeous the cake was. If the taste was acceptable, albeit not wonderful, that may be prefectly fine with the bride and groom. REMINDER: We do not know what skill level of the person at the cake supply store mentioned in the OP of this thread. Maybe she is highly skilled but is not in a position at this time to be able to bake, just to decorate.
I am not a professional, so maybe I don't have a right to comment, but it seems like brides who want an amazing cake for a ridiculously small amount of money incur scorn, but the same scorn is also applied to brides who try to find options within their budget, such as having a commercially baked cake custom decorated. What is a poor bride to do?
As long as the person selling the cake is honest about what they are doing, and not portraying their product as something it isn't, who is hurt?
Amen.
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