I have a lady that asked me months ago to make her daughter's wedding cake and cupcakes on July 24. They are having 500 guests. I made her some cupcakes over Memorial Day and they loved them. Today she brought me some pictures of cakes and we got that figured out. I asked her how many cupcakes they want, and she told me that they decided to get grocery store sheet cakes because they are easier. I told her I can make them, and she wanted to know how much it would be. I said I would get back to her. I am uncomfortable with having grocery store cakes with mine, since grocery store cakes are not nearly as good as mine, and there are 500 people who may think that I made them. I can't afford to make my cakes for grocery store prices, and I wouldn't want that to get out to others if I do it cheaper. I thought about telling her that I can't do the tier cake if I don't do it all. Would that be bad? The wedding is only a few weeks away now. Has anything like this ever happened to you? Am I overreacting.?

Do you have a contract?

Without one with a sole provider clause, there probably isn't much you can do... Other than refuse to make the cake then...

I am sorry to hear you are in a dilemma... 

Even with a sole proprietor clause you have no control over that because they could hide the sheet cakes until you leave then whip them out. You can either choose to not do the cake at all, or do it and not worry about it too much. If there's no contract I personally wouldn't do it because of the reasons you mentioned. I might also back out of it if it really made me nervous, but I think that most people are pretty smart about seeing the difference between a custom-made, 4-5" tall slice of tiered cake and a piece of sheet cake from the grocery store.

I can't offer much on the legalities regarding the sole proprietor clause, however, I did have something similar happen to me. Some years ago, I was asked to make a skate cake for my friend's niece. So, I made the cake in the shape of a skate according to a picture she sent me. She proceeds to bring me a sheet cake already iced from another bakery (one that she used frequently) to put the skate on top of. I noticed when doweling the cake with straws that the sheet cake was very dry. When it came time for the party, they cut the sheet cake, served it to the guests, and decided to take the skate home and eat it themselves. My husband (who is my biggest promoter lol) made a HUGE point to tell the guests that I did not make the cake they served....only the skate. He told me that a couple of guests said that they are glad he told them that because the cake was dry and wasn't very good. I would never, ever, knowingly mix my cakes with another baker's. I wouldn't want the reputation of having poor quality...especially since I take great pride in the way my products taste. Just my 2 cents from experience. 

500 people????? !!!!!  Good Grief, that's an army!  

Sheet cakes will require logistics:  cut the cake serving, place serving on plate, put fork on plate.  Cutting/serving cannot be done "ahead of time" [like cupcakes], or the edges of the cut pieces will begin to 'stale'. 

Will the venue be cutting the cakes?  If so, will the venue charge for cutting/plating?

Cupcakes require far less in the way of logistics:
Each serving is ready to go (no need to worry about the edges going stale/hard]

guests can simply pick them up from the serving/display area,

or they can be placed on each table for the guests to pick up after dinner,

or they can be added to trays which can be taken to each table by a server. 

I also had a similar situation yrs ago.  A gal came for consult.....did not book then. I had a sole provider clause.  Months later this gal comes bake.  I thought I had seen her before but didn't remember exactly why.  This time she orders a small 2 tier cake.  When I delivered it there were 2 full sheet cakes from WalMart sitting out.  Even though I said in contract cake would not be left I did leave it.  Did not attend so don't know how it all went over w/guests.

Apti:  You are soooo right!  Why in the world do people think sheets are easier?  You layed it out very well!

@kakeladi -- My first huge cake project was for a 100 year old birthday at a church following a pot luck buffet.   Anticipated attendance was about 200 (actually had about 160-170 people).   I cut the cake and a friend helped me serve.  Sheesh.... that one glorious project offered up about 95% of my cake education gained the hard way.    Trust me--a second event at the same church two years later (retirement party for Pastor) went seamlessly.   I had learned my lessons!!!!

That was when I learned  that cake baking/decorating has 2 parts:  Baking/decorating AND Logistics.

Logistics:  "the detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many people, facilities, or supplies."

@cpianolover --There is a basic term in sales:  Features and Benefits

Each [feature and benefit] is a feature-a factual statement about the product or service being promoted. But features aren't what entice customers to buy. That's where benefits come in. A benefit answers the question "What's in it for me?," meaning the feature provides the customer with something of value to them.

This is an opportunity for you to "SELL" the customer on the benefits of YOUR cupcakes vs. store bought sheet cakes.   Tell the customer the benefits of your cupcakes for a crowd of 500 people vs. the perceived [false] benefits of sheet cakes.

If you wish, I'd be happy to talk to you on the phone or share a detailed sales pitch you can share with your customer.  Send me a private message and if you don't hear back in 24 hours, post info on this thread and I'll get back to you.  (Sometimes cakecentral can mess up attempts to communicate via private messages...)