And now more requests from the same woman. As of last month, the wedding cake and groom's cake were to be delivered to the customer's house. She was going to transport the cake to the venue which is over 2 hours away. Yesterday, she emails me to inform me that she will be staying near the venue the night before the wedding and I will NEED to deliver the cake to the venue instead. I was so irritated with this. I mean c'mon. I already made you 5 cakes with 5 fillings for your tasting held at your house. It took me 7 hours of baking to do this. Now, 3 weeks before the wedding, you want to change the delivery? Well, I emailed her back and informed her that I could not do it. I have to pick my mother up from the airport that morning after I deliver the cake to her house. (Incidentally, this originally worked out perfectly because the woman lives 15 mins from the airport). There is just no way I can deliver that cake 2 hours away and pick up my mother. I haven't received her response back yet.
wow!!its hard making cakes for ppl you are personal with cus somtimes they try to take advantage of the fact that you are someone they personally know..ive had that happen to me in the past and have found out that even family..i let them know up front..whats your budget so they know that im not playing around and its business not personal..change your demeanor when it comes to your cake business that way they know that you want their business but you cant look at it from a friends point of view..cus if you give an inch they will definatly take a yard cus they feel that your their friend and dont mind..never mind all the time or effort you have towaste..and as far as cake tastings..i would charge..i charge 10 dollars for a 6 inch round so if they want 3 different flavors ..they will have to pay for it and if they order the cake..you can take the price off so they are getting it for free anyway..but if they dont..well at least you didnt do it for nothing..and i really dont think you need that many choices..it only confuses them..if they have a preference for chocolate..you can make 2 or three different kinds or if white..which is what they usually go with since the grooms is usually a choco flavor...i will only do up to 3 personally..just take different fillings in a bowl so they can taste it with the different cakes..these are only things you can learn by experience or really take note of others on this website who have been burned..im glad things worked out for you in the end..it just sucks to have to go through any kind of stress during the process!
I reckon, I use samples not so they can decide what flavor but so a potential b-t-b can determine whether my style of baking suits her...some like light and fluffy, some like pound like, some just don't care.
There was a time when I did tastings and provided various flavors and combinations but, when more times than not, they opted for basic vanilla I had to stop.
Ask your friend what flavors her friend is interested in and bake 1 (or more if you decide) of those flavors. Deliver them to her...no in-house tastings.
Sounds like the b-t-b might be feeling deprived of her tasting with the friend buying the cake...
(this is how I would handle it...)
The easy answer is you live in a State (I do too) where it is illegal to sell any food made from home- an unlicensed unsuspected kitchen without a business license or insurance.
I don't make cake for anyone, but my own personal family as gifts. I do work in a fabulous custom cake shop and am in hog heaven now!
But yeah no selling from home. Until a cottage food law is passed and it is on the table, but I haven't been following it too closely, because I have pets and would be not be eligible for selling from home even if they did pass a law allowing it.
I hadn't read through the thread when I posted. You done done it...you gave in to the initial demands...
I had to giggle at the thought of what her response to herself was/will be when she's read the email that you couldn't do it. Does that mean you can't do the cake or you can't deliver it 2 hours away?
Well, then, you can just deliver it to the venue the night before...j/k
i'm still shocked that you baked 5 cakes with 5 fillings. that's insane! i do mini cupcakes for my tastings...the bride gets to pick 3 cake flavors and 3 filling flavors, and can mix and match however they'd like. i typically have leftover batter from the week's cakes...same for the fillings. i do my tastings on sunday afternoons, so everything is still fresh. i bake the mini cupcakes, pipe the filling inside, and top with the buttercream. i've used all of a few TBSP of batter, filling and buttercream (very little cost), and it's taken me 30 minutes to put it all together. plus, they're easy to eat and a bride can try all of her flavors without eating so much she's going to be sick. they look pretty on my china, and usually the 4-7 minis (however many combos they've chosen) can fit on the one plate (less dishes!). for me, it's a win win and the brides rave about it 
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