Yesteday, my assistant and I delivered a wedding cake. Okay, nothing big. Same old same old. Well, as we're waiting for the cake table to have linens placed on it for set up, someone brings in one of those "cooling" bags from Sam's...with a sheet cake in it! I didn't want MY cake to be "judged" along with their cake, but what to do? The couple had mentioned the possibility of needing additional servings. I told them to simply let me know...sheet cakes are fairly quick and easy to do. Anyway, I was rather upset at this. I definitely DON'T want people thinking that I did the "OTHER" cake, too. Should there be a policy in my contract for such a potential problem??? I'm simply thinking of my reputation...

What was so difficult that they could not call you and simply request more cake?! Some people have nerve ( or better yet, lack of!)
YOU have good right to be upset....and yes, I would have a clause in my contract stating that if you get a cake from ME, that's it......no other outside cakes. What a mess......sorry it happened.....but am sure that your cake was worlds better than that sheet!

People outside the 'cake ring' just don't get it all............

Awww... next time make sure it is in the contract..... NO OTHER CAKES....

There was a thread on this awhile back and the consensus was-no outside cakes. If there are outside cakes when I get there, I take my toys and go home and you get no wedding cake and no refunds! and they put it in the contract.

My thinking is that some people will just hide the other cake if they can until after you leave but with all the chaos of a wedding day that might be hard to hide

This happened to me on my very first wedding cake I did. She mentioned having sheet cakes cut in the back and I told her to let me know and I could make those. Well, what do you know....she orders Sams Club cakes. I was a guest at the wedding as well (someone I go to church with) and they served up the Sam's club cake to everyone and barely even touched mine. Then she has the nerve to tell me how much cake they had leftover, how delicious it was, and that they can't stop eating it.
NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

OH my gosh...ironic that you would mention this. This happened to me last year at a big wedding. I thought nothing of it until two days ago. A bride who had booked a few months ago called me, panicked because she heard that someone who had attended that wedding was going around saying my cake was dry. I now have a policy that I am going to incorporate into my contract that says if there will be sheetcakes at a wedding, they have to be from me. I will not deliver a cake to a place where they have someone else's sheetcakes. I don't want someone confusing my moist cakes with some cheap dry sheetcakes. Becky from "About the Cake" has the same policy. ..it's a smart move.

Well I hope everything will work out in the end. I know now that if I do Wedding Cake I know to put that into my contract. Thanks for the information, I am just starting out doing little cake for now, but sometime down the line I will have to keep this in mind when I do my contracts up for special occasions.

cakesbyamym ~ I think that was a horrid thing to do. You were commissioned to do her wedding cake(s). Some people are just so dense and have no sense of protocol.

What ''dodibug'' wrote is a good thing to have in a contract. ''If there are outside cakes when I get there, I take my toys and go home and you get no wedding cake and no refunds!'' PERFECT!!
I doubt very seriously if you would ever run into something like that again.

ellepal & MommyEdzards ~ Sorry it happened to you too!!!!

That just happened to us yesterday. My mom and I delivered a dummy cake with a slice of real cake in it. (bride payed very little for it). There were 2 Costco cakes in the fridge. I find this very insulting to us. All that work to decorate a dummy(she took 4 hours) for them to serve Cosco cakes. Yuck.

Thanks to each of your for your responses. Here I am thinking that I've been over-reacting. I was so insulted. Seriously!

Anyway, I'm working on the wording of this addendum to my contract. Any thoughts on how to tactly incorporate, "If I arrive to set up your wedding cake and see a Sam's, Costco, etc., cake, I'm out the door!" LOL.

Really...any wording suggestions (tactful...LOL) would be appreciated.

Thanks!!! You guys are awesome!!!!

In a response to the previous discussion on this, I wrote:

I guess it's time to add another caveat to the contract:

"All cake(s), edible or display, for this event MUST be supplied by me, XYZ. If cake(s), edible or display, are provided by anyone other than myself, I will NOT deliver my cake(s) and THERE WILL BE NO REFUND OF ANY MONIES. The undelivered cake must be picked up from me the day after the event or I will dispose of it at my discretion. "

Have them initial it and then explain the reasons about liability, the need for consistency, retaining your reputation, etc.

Given ellepal's experience, this seems to be pretty necessary for avoiding confusion.

Rae

I love the wording. Simple, sweet, to the point, direct. Thanks so much! It's a shame that we even have to add something like this into our contracts.

Thanks again!

Here is my contract clause...

"Couture Cake is to be the sole provider of cake and/or confections at the event. Failure to comply with this clause will result in a loss of completed cake and/or confections and entire payment at no compensation to the purchaser. In the event another LICENSED, AND approved (see 1a.) bakery is providing a portion of the cake/confections for the event, it shall be disclosed at the time of first deposit before the event. Disclosed licensed retail food handler must also deliver cake/confections to the venue.
a.  Disclosure: _________________________________________
b.  Item(s)provided:____________________________________________________"

This way, it tells them that I'm willing to work with them if Great Aunt Ethel (or cousin Moydear) is making FI's favorite treat, but that I HAVE to know about it... Plus, Walmart, Costco, Super Target, and Sam's don't deliver so they're automatically OUT! I also go over this clause with a fine tooth comb so there is no question or surprise about the consequences... NO CAKE FOR YOU!

This has really got me thinking about how "safely" I am covered under my existing contract. Are there any other "special" circumstances that anyone can recommend as having covered in their contracts? I thought that my contract was exact and thorough, but after yesterday, I realized that it wasn't.

Thanks CoutureCake for your contractual quote!

I'm just starting out, and this is good to know. I didn't even think about this issue.

I have never had this happen before, but I can tell you one thing I would be very insulted!!!! Sam cakes are not even in the same race as far as looks or taste!!!!! I won't even let a customer set up their own wedding cake because I don't want it to reflect on me... I understand completely!!!!

I for one am not going to tell a bride what she can or can not do at her own wedding unless I am footing the bill. If she wants to have outside cake the only thing I would ask is that they make sure to put up a sign or something saying where other cake is from. Once I set up and leave the premises I have no control over what goes on and am surely not going to sweat it. Lifes to short.
I respect your right to your opinion, this is just mine.

Hi,

I work as a cake decorator at Sam's club. Don't worry I did not take offense because I know what goes into real wedding cakes. We have specific ways to decorate cakes and we really can't do what we want. That is why I still do cakes on the side. I make my own icings and such. I do not buy them from Sam's. The clause is a great idea. If they are going to hire you then your cakes and such should be the only ones there. I do have my cakes posted in the gallery so please feel free to view. I am not a basic Sam's Club Decorator.

Thank you for listening and good luck on your wording within your contract.

Kandi

I think its a good idea to discuss with the bride and even to have in the contract that wedding cake is provided only by you. That should nip it in the bud.

But I would never in a million years follow through with refusal of delivery if I saw a Costco box. How could you sleep at night knowing you messed up someone's wedding?--I get the whole thing about misrepresentation of your cakes--but it would be even worse to have your name spread as the lady that refused to deliever the wedding cake, but took the money anyway!

Okay I'm getting nervous here because I don't understand the deal... If I get paid $700 to deliver a wedding cake, then I deliver it...I have my money, they have their cake. I am not sure why it would matter if they did not eat it, or poked fingers in it, or threw it away...I got my money and did my job. I can fully understand some brides wanting to get cakes from Sam's to lighten the budget and I would not mind at all if a bride decided to do that at a wedding where I made the main cake.

Am I missing something?

cat633 - could you please tell me about your dummy cake with a slice of real cake. I have an order for this and don't know where or how to put the real cake. You could PM me if you would like.
Thank so much for the help

I'm sure it is pretty obvious to you and I and pretty much anyone here on cc, but I know lots of people who don't pay that much attention. Also, I know some grocery stores that will put two sheets together and fill to resemble wedding cake. That would make it much more difficult to tell you were not being served the a slice of the wedding cake.

True.

I guess I don't know how you can stop a person from buying Sam's cakes if they really want to. Most people I know want to "one stop shop" and get all their cake from the same person...and the few that would want to bargain shop probably wouldn't tell you, even if it was in the contract.

You think?

I'm sure they wouldn't! Maybe a clause in the contract is enough to keep most people honest!

Okay well that makes sense then. I still probably would not be "offended" or walk out with my cake.... I would probably only be concerned about my reputation, but by the time you find out, there's really nothing that can be done.

I can see both points...that is why I have not made a sheet cake clause before. However, after my reputation as a baker was questioned, I feel that I have to protect myself. My answer is to give the client a fair price on the sheetcakes. They would be foolish to go to Sam's and serve crappy cake with my offer. They can get a fresher, much better tasting and quality cake for an extra 20 bucks, plus I'll deliver it with the wedding cake. They don't have to arrange for someone to pick up their cheap cakes. That is how it has to be offered...from a positive point of view. The bride has to feel that she is winning. I don't want her to feel that I am some rigid cake maker with all of these rules and regulations....so if it is phrased as, "Look at the great deal you'll get!", she may be willing to oblige.

Our cakes aren't crappy, cheap yes, it depends on how they are stored before they are iced. Ours are moist. I have had nothing but compliments on our cakes. And they love the decorations. They really love it when they tell me to do what ever I want. I don't know where you live but in Roswell we are the best decorated in town. Sorry but I did get offended by that. I know you make your cakes from scratch and Sam's comes in ready made. We just get to decorate them. Yours will always be better because they are scratch.

I found this on the web for About the Cake, Inc...

simple wording and to the point...



Please note...as with many other decorators, I will not provide a wedding cake when kitchen cakes are purchased or provided by a different baker. Please realize that I have worked very hard building my reputation on great tasting cakes and I can't have your guests thinking that a cake from another baker is something I produced. This protects the reputation of both bakers.
This applies to Groom's Cakes as well.