I need to establish some rules such as a cutoff date for wedding cake orders.
More and more I am getting inquiries from brides who are waiting until the last minute to order!
I had a lady email me two weeks ago about her wedding on Sept 10. I thought she was already late in contacting someone about a cake and told her that my Sept calender was fully booked already, so it depended on the type of cake and size...
She said she was thinking about something "square" or maybe petite fours or maybe cupcakes.
I sent a price list and never heard from her again, thinking that was that.

Now I am going to deliver her wedding shower cake, and the hostess of the party asked me to bring my wedding cake album for the bride to look at. I was dumbfounded. Now I feel like I have a sticky situation to deal with as to whether I should even consider taking a wedding cake order at this late date.

Do I need to state a cutoff date when I send out a price list? What is the general cutoff date for a large party cake? .

I would love some advice on this as well. I am new at this and don't want to mess something up. So the last two people who have asked me to do wedding cakes I have told them both that two weeks was my cutoff. The first lady never called back. The second was already two days past the cutoff last night when she emailed me to tell me she was sorry for not calling and she would talk to me today. I replied to her to say that I absolutely had to know by this morning and I still have not heard from her. I don't want to keep losing business, but I want to be sure I have plenty of time to do things right as well. Being new at this I really don't think I should push things.

I know that some bakers do not accept anything less than a month's notice. I would say 2 weeks at the bare minimum and that's only IF (notice the big if) you do not have any other orders that week and the cake is not elaborate with the details. The planning is essential because you want to make sure that you have the time to get the decorations and spares, as well as the stands and etc. etc. Also, you may want to be paid upfront with absolutely NO CHANGES to the cake order before the day it is due, since it is so late.

Just my 2 cents.

This is very tricky. If you are extremely busy with cakes and are booked solid, then I would say 1-2 months. I checked around to some local bakeries and most wedding cake orders have to be placed at least two months prior to the wedding date.

Now in my situation since I don't get many cake orders I would take a last minute cake order up to two or three weeks before the wedding date just to get more business.

However, my contract does state that all wedding cake orders must be placed 2 months prior to the event and that last minute orders/rush orders will incur additional fees.

Hope this helps.

Do you state your cutoff date to potential customers up front? I am beginning to think maybe I should...

I think one month should be acceptable, providing you have no other orders for the date they're needing.

Also, two weeks prior, there should not be allowed to be any changes made to anything, without a fee ofcourse nor can there be any remaining balance left.

Good Luck to you for dealing with those people that think we have "cake wands" where we just go POOF.............a cake!!!

I think one of the most important things to also consider with cut-off date/taking last minute orders, especially with a last minute order, is that it needs to be paid for in full when they order and no changes without extra charges being incurred. And no refund if it is 2 weeks before wedding date. This should be included in the contract in writing. Whether or not a baker decides to take a last minute order is a matter of time available and personal preference.

You definitely want to let customers know right up front that you have certain cut off dates that must be adhered to.

Thanks for the great input! I will definately take control of this situation now, so I don't get caught unprepared in the future!

Great Advice! Thanks so much!

I second the thanks! Now I don't feel like I am being unreasonable.

My Personal feeling is if you have time do it if you do not then don't . I would look at your business if you are that busy and this causes a major time crunch then absolutly make sure to start telling brides you need at least a month when you hand them the price sheet if she ordered her shower cake from you she should have hammered out the details then. .

I agree with you. And in the future, I will be more direct about a timeline. I think it should really be a month's notice too.

She didn't order her shower cake. A friend of hers ordered it, and then referred her to me.

At any rate, a valuable lesson learned!

I ordered a anniversery cake two weeks before the event. It was simple and small, a stacked six and ten inch. I had a picture of what I wanted. She must have had time to do it because when I called her shop and told her what I wanted, she told me to come in the next afternoon; I paid in full for the cake at our conference the next day; the contract stated that no changes were allowed after the two week date as well as payment in full by that date. Of course I picked up the cake and delivered it.

My feeling is that if you have the time to do something, take the business, if not just state that you are booked. It is a business pure and simple. You could state on your card that wedding cakes should be booked 8 weeks in advance. Bookings after that would limit the bride's choices. Don't worry about the doofus who e-mails you one day and then doesn't respond, or wants you to bring your sample book to the shower. You don't owe either of them anything. They are more than likely the type to give you grief.

The only other time I ordered a wedding cake, it was from a bakery that only took wedding cake orders on the first of the month the cake was wanted in. Needless to say I was on the phone early (6:30AM) on the first and in the bakery after work the same day to sign the contract and make my deposit. I got a lot of "Wow! How did you manage that?" later at work. (The bakery was well known as the best in the area and, I gather, turned away wedding cake orders regularly.)

The point I am trying to make is if someone wants your service they have to get off their backside and come to you. You can accept or refuse their requests at your choice.

I agree with what everyone has said...it depends how busy you are. This time of year, a couple of months notice. Dead of winter, where you are watching your buttercream get spider webs? Maybe two weeks.

I have in my contracts that there are no changes allowed after two weeks. Period. Its too hard to try to get all those cakes baked to begin with!

Narie, you also hit it on the head when you pointed out that the bakery you dealt with was known as the best in the area. To get your cake there, you were on top of it and called them the first day, first thing. I'm assuming they had a wonderful reputation and their cakes were great, since you were so intent on getting booked with them.

And we should all strive to have the same reputation! "Wow, if you want to book her, you better call her early!" The best word of mouth is "she books up fast, you better call her now!" Telling someone you are booked or you are just too busy to do a last minute order is not a bad thing!

I have names of other caterers and cake decorators that I keep on hand and when I'm already booked, I will refer the bride to someone. Even tho' I couldn't do her wedding, she still thinks I'm "wonderful" because I helped her out with a name of someone who might be available. And the other caterers/decorators do the same for me.