I had this bride contact me hoping I could do a red velvet wedding cake. No problem. She also wanted ganache filling. So for premium from scratch red velvet and homemade ganache plus my really nice wedding buttercream icing I make (its really creamy) I quoted her $4/serving, plus she may have to add more if she wanted alot of decoration, etc. That also included free delivery about 30 miles away. She wanted fondant snowflakes so I did add a little for that too but not sure if I got a final quote or not.
She writes back and asks if it would be any different in price if she just buys a bunch of 12" cakes and puts them on different heights of tiers. I reply that its still a wedding cake but that I would price each one differently depending on what kind of cake and filling is in each one. Plus if she did not have a stand in mind, she would have to rent one from me.
She wrote back very angrily and said people like me take advantage of pricing wedding cakes higher than regular cakes. She said that she could have just ordered four 12" cakes off my website for my published price of $45 each (base price $35 plus $10 basic art fee). She snottily announced she'd be going elsewhere. Which was fine!
I did explain that not only would I have to buy whatever stand she wanted to use, but that the cheaper 12" cakes on my site were advertised using basic white or chocolate cake and buttercream filling and basic designs, plus customer pickup. I told her I'd be glad to sell her four 12" cakes with buttercream filling and box them in bakery boxes and have her pick them up and set them on her own stand. I said I always like to work within a person's budget. 
Haven't heard back.
I think people are always surprised when it comes to planning a wedding how much things start to cost...... it's eye opening - but she shouldn't go accusing people of cheating her w/out at least pricing the same kind of cake elsewhere - I don't think I'd go and accuse someone of cheating me unless they were charging $6.00 a slice and every other bakery would only charge $3.00 or something.......... but she sounds rude - let her go and be done with her! You'll be better off!
Sounds like somebody is over budget and is scared for the future hubby to find out!!!
It is a week for the crazies!!!!! 
"She wrote back very angrily and said people like me take advantage of pricing wedding cakes higher than regular cakes."
Oh, if only she knew...... 
It truly infuriates me when a person who does NOT decorate cakes accuses cake decorators of "gouging" the public when we price our wedding cakes. How dare they? 
Yes, I might charge $35 for a 10" cake which, if cut correctly, will feed 30-35 people. However, if someone wanted a wedding cake to feed 30-35 guests, I would charge closer to $100.
"Why?" I can hear them screaming at the top of their lungs, with much gnashing of teeth and snarling of voice. And then the dance begins and I just want to scream at the top of my lungs ......
"Because, Dear Bride, as you may or may not realize, this is going to be one of the most important days of your lifetime.
"Because, Dear Bride, you came to me not just because of my excellent service and wonderful flavors, but because of my skill in executing your request so that your wedding cake looks like something that was designed with you in mind and actually looks like a wedding cake, not something slapped together by a beginning baker.
"Because, Dear Bride, you want your wedding cake, whether you are willing to admit it or not, to be PERFECT and you just can't trust that to anybody.
"And because, Dear Bride, if your cake ISN'T PERFECT, you are going to whine and complain to everyone who might have a remote opportunity to hear you, and it will then be ALL MY FAULT that you didn't have the perfect wedding cake, and all because you were too cheap to pay for someone with the right skills!!!!!" [whew, now I'm out of breath!]
But, of course, we don't do that, we just smile and make every attempt to justify our prices and costs and skills to someone who is blissfully ignorant of why she wants to have what she wants, but in a gentle method that will, hopefully, get us the job.
But, no matter. There are always going to be someone who questions us and mistrusts what we do. We simply smile, gently explain and move on, for the next Excellent Bride awaits us with a fat checkbook and the enthusiasm that WE CAN DO NO WRONG!!!
YAY!
Yeah. I always love it when they're thinking, "It's just cake and frosting..."
And I love it even more when they find out what the "other guys" (meaning someone with a bakery/store front/website) wants to charge them for their cakes!
Last month for example, I took a wedding order. Both bride's and groom's cakes. Bride's cake was buttercream--no problem. Groom's cake was fondant--needed help on that part.
So, I called a local "bakery" and asked her how much she'd charge me for said cake. Took the pix and needed to be 30 servings.
"Big Bakery Lady" looks at me and politely says to me, "For a two layer topsy turvy at around 40 servings, I'd say around $400." 
You can imagine the bruises on my a$$ after I had to pick myself up from the floor!
Sooooo---long story long enough---don't think twice again about that one!
Let her find her own way home!
--Knox--
P.S: After I found a "home baker" to press the fondant for me, and do it all for $100, I politely took the pics of the cake to "Big Bakery Lady" and told her I hoped she was saving for retirement! I also told her I'd done the cake for $100--and it tasted better than hers, anyway! 
What gets me are the people that complain about paying decent prices for great cake, but don't bat an eye when it comes to forking over $40-$50 to get their nails done EVERY WEEK.
Priorities. It's that simple. Having flawless nails means more than a food item that not only tastes heavenly but looks like a masterpiece.
Don't even sweat it.
Well, my problem seems to be that...they always want to do it themselves.
I have been decorating for about 2yrs - not a pro by any means..but I've yet to have a complaint Anyway, earlier this summer I had a bride contact me about doing her wedding cake. My first paid wedding cake. Told her sure. She wanted a cake to feed about 150 ppl. BUT, it had about 150 buttercream roses on it!! So, I quoted her what I thought was fair and I also checked at a nice grocery store and my price was within a couple of dollars of being the same. While at the consult, the mother and aunt were telling her what kind of cake she should have. The only thing the bride was allowed to choose was the color of the roses..so they left, everything was set, she was to get back with within the week. Never heard a thing. I finally called and got "someone else" who said the aunt decided she would make it herself. Needless to say, I was dissapointed. But, an aquaintance who knew I was supposed to make the cake, went to that wedding, came back and said..I walked in and said "That's not Amy's cake" and It wasn't at all smooth and was NOT good". I felt better 
. Then, just a few weeks ago. I had another call. Simple cake, 3 tier stacked, vanilla bc and bc filling, bead border,I quoted 1.50 a slice and she would provide the silk flowers. They decided to do IT themselves!! So, now I'm at the..what's wrong with ME stage. I don't think they have ANY idea the amount of time, supplies, aggravation or planning that goes into a wedding cake! I'm through ranting ..thanks for listening..I feel better now....
Amy
I can appreciate the general public not understanding the prices being so different from wedding cake vs regular cakes (remember we were once in their position also, not knowing the painstaking details that took place).
They view it as "just a cake", but there is alot of work and detail that goes into transforming it from a regular cake to a wedding cake.
Oh and the pricing factor, good grief, you would think they would understand the reasoning -cakes aren't the only items that have pricing differences! Hello, think about florists and the prices that they charge on the normal day vs valentines/mothers day! Not to mention women's perfume vs men's cologne, etc., There will always be people that you can't make happy...life goes on.
I'm really thinking that people have the odasity (sp?) to say and do such things because in their eyes "it's not like you're a real bakery" crap. So I dont have a store front. SO what? To be good enough to pay like a professional and not a high schooler you need to have a brick and mortar place? Ticks me off.
Well, my problem seems to be that...they always want to do it themselves. .... While at the consult, the mother and aunt were telling her what kind of cake she should have. The only thing the bride was allowed to choose was the color of the roses..so they left, everything was set, she was to get back with within the week. Never heard a thing. I finally called and got "someone else" who said the aunt decided she would make it herself.
....
Simple cake, 3 tier stacked, vanilla bc and bc filling, bead border,I quoted 1.50 a slice and she would provide the silk flowers. They decided to do IT themselves!! So, now I'm at the..what's wrong with ME stage...
Amy
Amy,
Don't feel badly, dear. Some people are just what we call "Looky-Lou's". They only wanted to get an idea of what was available to them and the fact that the Bride wasn't even allowed to express her own opinion tells me that she was having no say-so in any of the planning. I guess if Mommy and Auntie are spending the $$$, you bow to their wills.
As far as the fact that they never bothered to call you back, here's how I handle that situation: when I have a Bride's meeting, I point out that I only ask for $75 for deposit. The balance is due 3 weeks prior to the date of the wedding. I know how expensive weddings are, and I know that they are usually putting out great gobs of $$$ already. I want to be as easy to deal with as possible. I explain that they are NOT in my book in ink unless I have a deposit and that the first deposit gets my attention. I prefer to only do one wedding cake per calendar day so that I can provide them with excellent service and complete attention to their event.
If the Bride would rather meet with another baker, which I do encourage, I explain that this is my policy. I want the Bride to be happy with her wedding cake, no matter who does it. If I don't hear back from her within a reasonable amount of time (say, 3 weeks) I send her a letter which outlines what we have already discussed. I point out that I need to have a deposit of at least $75.00 by ______________ (date) and that if I don't hear back by then, I will consider that to mean that she does not want me to make her wedding cake.
Sometimes, if a Bride is being particularly difficult (she calls, says she really wants me, but she never comes through with the $$$), then I send off one more letter indicating that someone has requested my work for the same date she wants (even if there isn't another job in the wings). I remind her of my policy of first deposit gets my work and give her about 4 days to contact me in person with a deposit. Failing that contact, I will have no other option that to give the wedding date to this other person and she will need to go elsewhere for her wedding cake.
I don't feel badly if I sometimes have to be a little bit deceitful to get my point across. After all, should I sit here with my hand on my a$$, waiting for someone to make up her mind??? And in the mean time turn away other (possibly more lucrative) business??? I think not. MY policy is 1st deposit gets my work. If Bride A doesn't "pony up the dollars" and Bride B will, then Bride B wins the cake lottery.
As for your second dilemma, I don't think $1.50 a slice is out of line, especially since you are in FL and you have to contend with warmer weather and more humidity than I do here in Michigan. Have you seen the prices quoted in the bridal magazines? Some of them are $12-$25 a slice and there isn't much to them!
Sometimes you are paying for the REPUTATION of the baker, regardless of what their cake tastes like. Of course, you don't get a great reputation by being lousy. But someone said "Good cakes aren't cheap, and cheap cakes aren't good." Since you're just getting your reputation built, you may have to put up with a little crap for a while. But stick to your guns and keep practicing. It will serve you very well in the long run and, eventually, you will have to turn away business. And THAT can certainly be a good feeling.
Don't fret, the great Clients are coming your way! You gotta believe.
aobodessa and knoxcopy1, I just LUV'D your stories!!
lilmisscantbwrg, the "they want to do it themselves" is such a common thing with MOB's. When I first got started and was doing wedding cakes only (no food catering), I would do a little of what is now called "wedding planning" (believe it or not, there was a time when there was no such thing!). If I had a nickel for everytime a MOB came back to me and said, "I wish I HAD paid you to take care of this for me!" I think the problem is that a lot of folks, acting out the dream of their lifetime, adopt the thought of "oh, it's just a wedding ...... I can do this!" They'd never in their life volunteer to put together the company Christmas dinner for 300 people, but a wedding .... with it's intricate detail, the pagentry, the orchestration, the food, the special/formal attire ..... that becomes a "oh it's no big deal .... anyone can do THIS!"
With catering, it's even worse. It's almost a regular part of my meeting discussions with brides on "here's why it's not cheaper for you to do it yourself....". They've no idea how much food to buy, so they always (ALWAYS!) overbuy! They've no idea how to transport it properly. They don't own the very expensive catering equipment that I do that properly prepares, transports and displays their food.
I have a friend who wanted to make her son's first birthday cake and was asking me for advice. Well, I really like this lady so I also loaned her my cake pans, leveling strips, icing knife, leveler, etc., so she could make it. My husband told me I was "creating competition" and losing business if I showed her how to make her own cake. First, she was going to make her own cake regardless ..... I was helping her have a "nice" cake. Second, I told my husband, "Once she finds out how much work it is, PLUS the fact that I've loaned her over $50 worth of equipment that she'd have to buy just to make one lousy birthday cake .... trust me, she's NOT going to be my competition." And yes, that was exactly her attitude once she finished it.
They've no idea exactly how much work it is.
Thank you all for your support..I got a call today about a wedding cake for THIS Saturday..apparently MOB ( a different one) might have taken on a little too much when she decided to do the cake. Waiting for a call for the go-ahead
Thank you all for your support..I got a call today about a wedding cake for THIS Saturday..apparently MOB ( a different one) might have taken on a little too much when she decided to do the cake. Waiting for a call for the go-ahead
Wow! Hope you have the time! Great job! Good Luck!
Glad I am just doing this for a hobby and haven't dealt with any bridezilla's!! Actually I may never take on a wedding cake....I'll just stick to celebration cakes. I don't know how you all deal with it!!
Oy, is this what I have to look forward to when I start doing wedding cakes ?? 
I'm just hoping that all of the happy, wonderful brides greatly outnumber the bride-zillas!
This is supposed to be a HAPPY time!! I bet alot of people just get so stressed out because they wait too darn long to get things done!
Kitagirl...your cakes are really spectacular, amazing, and wonderful. If she wants to pass you up to go the cheapest route, so be it. HER LOSS!!!
You just dodged a bullet with her.......imagine what a pain in the butt she would have become if she actually booked. She already was creating headaches just on the inquiry alone!! Move on to the serious customers who appreciate your work.
By the way, I'm curious about your creamy wedding cake buttercream...it sounds wonderful! Care to share?
Ellen
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