Venue Called - Where's The Wedding Cake? Huh?
Business By pastrychef101 Updated 1 Aug 2011 , 1:48am by frostinggalore
Whoa, whoa...wait a minute! If she presents to them an offer of an anniversary cake a year later with the attitude, of 'I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart' I don't think it can be misconstrued as an admission of wrong-doing. It would be a gift not a mea-culpa.
The OP has talked to the MOB and the bride and from what I gather they understand what the mix-up was.
I feel bad for them too even though they were the ones that screwed up. How nice it would be for someone to make an offer like that. I would think kindly of someone who offered.
Whoa, whoa...wait a minute! If she presents to them an offer of an anniversary cake a year later with the attitude, of 'I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart' I don't think it can be misconstrued as an admission of wrong-doing. It would be a gift not a mea-culpa.
The OP has talked to the MOB and the bride and from what I gather they understand what the mix-up was.
I feel bad for them too even though they were the ones that screwed up. How nice it would be for someone to make an offer like that. I would think kindly of someone who offered.
I agree. I think that if she offers this in the rigth way (as in "id love to keep your business even tho the mix up with the vendor happened" or somthing along thoes lines) then I dont see how it could be misconstrued as an admission of guilt but rather a way of keeping their business. Honestly, if it was me and I was offered a discounted cake, in relation to this problem, I would know the bakery felt bad for my situation and wanted to make me happy, even tho they were not at fault, and I would be happy with them.
Maybe it does depend on the person, though. I am a nice and fair person and if I were to find out that the bakery had no knowledge of the cake whatsoever I would then be furious with the venue only. It seems that it may not be the case here.
Anyway, good luck with this situation and hopefully your kind guesture will be rewarded. 
Honestly, if it was me and I was offered a discounted cake, in relation to this problem, I would know the bakery felt bad for my situation and wanted to make me happy, even tho they were not at fault, and I would be happy with them.
Maybe it does depend on the person, though. I am a nice and fair person and if I were to find out that the bakery had no knowledge of the cake whatsoever I would then be furious with the venue only. It seems that it may not be the case here.
Anyway, good luck with this situation and hopefully your kind guesture will be rewarded.
This is me, too. If I were the bride in this situation and you offered me something, anything, I would forever be a loyal customer.
I can still see both sides of it though. That would be amazing customer service, which is definitely lacking these days, but without knowing how much blame the venue is taking, it might not be the best move for you.
I later heard the bride telling a friend, in a victoriously bragging tone of voice, 'She gave me $20 so you know she felt that she did SOMETHING wrong!"
I have so much respect for you! I don't even know what I would have said/done to her. How rude!
Op, I would keep it simple and just give a certificate with like $5.00 off next order over $30.00.
I know you are concerned about your reputation...but the good news is that people have very short-term memories and so often what we see as absolute disasters, most people could care less about. I can almost guarantee that NO one who attended the wedding remembers who was supposed to supply the cake and didn't. Just that they were at a wedding and it wasn't there.
Everyone has their own life problems to deal with and a bakery snafu at a wedding is probably low on the list of concerns to everyone except those that were directly affected by it...a.k.a the MOB, you, venue and bride.
That's why the goodwill anniversary cake is a great idea. The only way this could be a negative for you is if the bride and MOB keep it alive.
I agree! We cakers are pretty much the only ones who pay this much attention to cake.
I don't agree with her having to let the MOB who made the mistake vent at her or offer them anything ever unless they come and sign a contract and employ her cake services. This issue doesn't concern her since there was no contract. If the calls continue... i would go with the leaving her a message that unless she can produce proof that the OP's company was paid or a sign contract that the MOB better leave her alone. While unfortunate and sad and upsetting for the MOB and bride and wedding, this doesn't fall on the OP's head at all in even the smallest way. She was never contracted for the cake.
OP this is totally your decision but I have to agree with the "don't offer an anniversary cake" crowd.
It's up to the venue to make this right for the bride and groom. You were never contracted to work for this couple and while their experience was unfortunate, it doesn't concern you at all.
The venue should pay you to make them the wedding cake they never got, but the cost shouldn't come out of your pocket.
I decided not to offer them anything. I spoke with the owners of the venue, and the MOB has threatened legal action against them and wants a full refund for everything...catering, DJ, photography, cake, flowers, etc. It's best that I not have any further contact with the MOB or bride.
The venue was going to offer her a refund for the cake since the money in the account was never used for a cake, which is the obvious and logical solution. I understand there being a snag with her daughter's wedding, but requesting the venue provide her with a 100% refund for the entire wedding and reception is going a bit too far and absurd.
This may sound crazy, but it makes me wonder if this woman knew what she was doing, and the debacle with the cake was a set up to get her money refunded. It always stood out to me that she understood the process with the other vendors but not the cake. It just didn't make sense as all outside vendors were handled in the same manner. It may be far fetched, but I know I would not be requesting a full refund for the wedding expenses. And I certainly wouldn't allow an issue with the cake to overshadow everything else.
....but requesting the venue provide her with a 100% refund for the entire wedding and reception is going a bit too far and absurd.
Maybe she's related to this lady: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7171416-.html#7171416
This may sound crazy, but it makes me wonder if this woman knew what she was doing, and the debacle with the cake was a set up to get her money refunded. It always stood out to me that she understood the process with the other vendors but not the cake. It just didn't make sense as all outside vendors were handled in the same manner. It may be far fetched, but I know I would not be requesting a full refund for the wedding expenses. And I certainly wouldn't allow an issue with the cake to overshadow everything else.
I don't know about that, it seems like it would be too much of a stretch to assume that you'd get a full refund for forgetting one thing. But you're right to stay out of it entirely at this point. This is one kind of "loyal cutomer" you don't need!
I had a MOB forget to send a cake contract in once. The bride called me a couple of weeks before the wedding to check that everything was okay Good thing she did, because I didn't have a contract on account for her. I called her back and left a message that I didn't have her booked but I could still do it if she got back to me right away. She came in the next day with her mother in tow, they said that she had lost the contract on her desk and just forgot to send it back. If the bride hadn't called I would have been getting a call like you did!
I don't put nothng past anyone now a days. The cake is very important to not have made sure the details were right. I've seen someone do something similiar like that on a t.v. court show recently. It was an engangement party and the MOB wanted a full refund for the entire party, because they misspelled her daughter's name on the cake. The reception hull had all agreed to wipe the bar tab clean for the mistake, which they MOB had agreed. Keep in mind this was a $50 sheet cake. The MOB still turned around and sued them for the entire $4,500. She lost.
The fact that she's threatening to sue the venue for the entire amount paid for the wedding tells you a lot about this woman's character....or lack thereof.
The venue made a mistake, yes, but unless they screwed up every other part of the reception why should they refund her everything just because they forgot the cake? That's nuts.
I'm glad you decided to not offer her an anniversary cake...she sounds like the type that would claim she got sick off the cake and turn around and sue you.
You don't want or need people like her as a client.
I'm happy for you that this is behind you now.
She is just suing for the cake and adding the total amount as punitive damages. It sounds reasonable to me. At that amount, she has to hire an attorney because it is too high for small claims. I think a missing wedding cake is definitely a case for damages. And this is still a very small amount when using an attorney.
I decided not to offer them anything. I spoke with the owners of the venue, and the MOB has threatened legal action against them and wants a full refund for everything...catering, DJ, photography, cake, flowers, etc. It's best that I not have any further contact with the MOB or bride.
The venue was going to offer her a refund for the cake since the money in the account was never used for a cake, which is the obvious and logical solution. I understand there being a snag with her daughter's wedding, but requesting the venue provide her with a 100% refund for the entire wedding and reception is going a bit too far and absurd.
This may sound crazy, but it makes me wonder if this woman knew what she was doing, and the debacle with the cake was a set up to get her money refunded. It always stood out to me that she understood the process with the other vendors but not the cake. It just didn't make sense as all outside vendors were handled in the same manner. It may be far fetched, but I know I would not be requesting a full refund for the wedding expenses. And I certainly wouldn't allow an issue with the cake to overshadow everything else.
You may be onto something. I'd also have second thoughts about working with that venue again unless they stepped up and admitted responsibility for the error.
Thanks for the update. I know you took your time and thought through everything.
Enjoy the rest of your summer without an
y more fruitcakes!
A truly great read! I'm with the OP, I would be very suspicious about the MOB's motive. As a recent MOB myself with an "all inclusive" package with a venue-my daughter and I still had countless meetings with each vendor; ie-DJ needed songs, names, etc...Florist confirmed the final counts for corsages and bouquets-the venue confirmed each of these meetings with me-and required a final head count for the food once the RSVP's were in, my Mother actually made the cake, but the venue did contact me to make sure of the table and placement for it-I wouldn't trust the MOB as far as I could throw her!
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