and her wedding is on july 23rd 2005
she ordered 2 6" cakes about 2 weeks ago..said she was gonna call me to let me know if i was gonna do her cake
then she calls after a week asking me to do her wedding cake
She want to know why the prices are different
i told her party cakes and wedding cakes are charged differently
any tips please!!
I was so excited this was gonna be my 1 st wedding cake but with all this questioning and stuff i don't even care if i get this order
Am i crazy to react like this
I am so glad i have somewhere to go when things go bad ......thank you

AShiana

She's calling you two weeks before the wedding and wants to know why you are charging a different price? Huh? She's lucky to find someone willing to do a wedding cake on short notice. Make her pay big time for the short time frame, but make it all worth it by making a beautiful and tasty cake.

actually i am charging her$2.25 a slice
that's the average in my area for cakes
the diffrence in pricing is that i charge $22.00 for the party cake
and she thinks that's how it should be for the wedding cake
so she thinks for the 6"8"and 10" i should charge her basically $85

Stick to your guns, and explain to her that most wedding cakes take more skill and work etc. Maybe even suggest that she price wedding cakes from other bakers just to see that you arent the ONLY one who charges more on them ( and remind her that yours is homemade!) If there is stacking involved then there is that factor...as well as simply the STRESS of making a wedding cake...it's expected to be a little more perfect, and if you mess up , you can bet an angry bride will say you ruined the most special day of her life! There are special plates used not always just a cardboard circle and there is set up..if it is large and has to be moved in parts YOU will have to go and assemble it there...so a delivery type charge or set up fee is not unusual...you might have dowelling to do as well...so many things that of course wedding cakes are going to be more! Hope this helps at least a little

Yes, wedding cakes are more that a birthday cake. Different techniques, decorations, torting, filling, etc. Everyone charges this way, an 8' birthday cake is not the same as a 8' wedding cake. What exactly does she want to know? price only?

Also, isn't a party cake usually 2 layer, and a wedding cake 4 layer? Plus all the extra work of stacking, dowel rods, etc.... If you just explain that to her, and do what PP suggested, telling her to call other bakers in your area and she will see your prices are fair. Not to mention, she most likely wouldn't be able to find anyone else to do it two weeks before the wedding! Most places require a few months notice, don't they??

Melissa

I say let her try that pricing with a bakery. If she wants a plain cake with nothing on it, no filling --NOTHING- sell her that. If she wants a wedding cake she has to pay like everyone else. I am sure that she check the prices with other places. She thought that since you bake from home then it should be REALLY CHEAP. Not so. Stick to your guns and don't back down!

thank you guys for all the responds
we have been going back and forth for a while now
i told her i work on weekends and i need to know as soon as possible
some people are just not understanding you have a live to besides cakes
i don't think it's worthed for me ..even though i want to do a wedding cake


Thanks
AShiana

Make sure that if you do make the cake. Get a contract and a deposit.

Tell her that if she doesn't commit by (insert date here) she will be paying the $2.25 per slice and a rush fee! She's hoping you will drop your price to get the job. Don't give in.

Debbie

With a 2 week notice I would get full payment. And if you don't want to flat out tell her no, just price her out, inflate your price in other areas: delivery, decorations, etc. Dont forget to get deposit for your equipment. I would charge actual replacement cost. Then tell her to compare prices. She sounds like bad news to me.

be real careful with this bride. she will look for any mistake. you must remember that you are in charge, don't sell yourself short and remember just like she asked you someone else will too. there are many more fish in the sea. good luck

True what Melissa said about also more layers and it being too short of notice. I agree with the majority that this woman sounds like trouble and for your first wedding cake I wouldnt try to make it for someone like that. Actually I believe it is best to do a donated cake for advertising and practice for a first one. Or doing one at cost for a good friend or something just to get the feel of it.

I agree that prices are different. I have heard a lot of brides though talk about how they think if they tell someone it is a wedding cake they get quoted a higher price. I think we should all be careful of that. That is not what we do but we need to not let it sound that way either. I tell them tiered cakes are priced differently than layer cakes. If someone wants a tiered birthday cake it started at the saem price as a wedding price and goes up depending on the design they choose. I think it keeps them away form thinking all wedding stuff is higher when I tell them tiered cakes are different. A lot of other types of businesses are higher just because they say it is a wedding.. like florists and stuff. Just a thought.
Tiered cakes are more work, require special skills.. etc there are lots of reasons for a price difference that way.

Bonnie:
I think that is a very tactful way of saying it. It is absolutely true, we are not charging more simply because it is a wedding, it's because it's more work!

Oh my gosh!!! Is she for real or what?? Is she serious??!!!
Does she really think your going to do a wedding cake on a 2 week notice for only $85.00??!!! Are you kidding me??

If it was me in this situation, first of all I would remind her that wedding cakes take a great deal of time. Secondly, I would insist she go out and price other bakers, etc..and price compare.
Then I would remind her that you are charging the per slice charge of $2.25.
You are creating a wedding cake with your talent and effort and TIME!!!
Plus you have to spend for any extra supplies you might need.
And I would most definitely get a contract with a signature and you stating that she only gave you a 2 week window and put in the contract what you normally require for how much notice to be given for wedding cakes. And get a 100% Deposit. Because I guarantee you, if she is this picky about your pricing, then she will no doubt find something wrong and pick some more until she gets her full amount you charged for the wedding cake back to her.
And if she makes you cringe that much, then gracefully back out of doing the cake. It's not worth the wear and tear on your nerves and her driving you up a wall..If she asks why, then tell her she didn't give you enough notice todo a wedding cake for her when you require this.

Good luck...........

Well it seems to me she tried to set you up... she thought by ordering 2 regular cakes at normal prices that her wedding cake would be in the same price range... what she needs to realize is that wedding cakes have a lot more detail to them, tiering, doweling, etc.... tell her your price is firm and you won't change the amount ... everyone was right in saying that she can't expect someone to do a wedding cake this late in the game ... most bakeries would turn her away and if they didn't, she would not get a cake nearly as pretty or detailed as an individual would do ... nothing against bakeries, but most just hurry to get the cakes out as there is no profit if they have to take too much time with them ...

I honestly probably would charge a little more on a tiered wedding cake than a tiered birthday cake...because people dont often take a birthday as serious nor is it usually as formal...and if I had to cut a corner and do a shell border on a birthday cake because I was running out of time as opposed to a drop string border..I would as opposed to a wedding cake where I will NOT vary on my pattern that the bride or family picks. Also If it is an anniversary cake I put more into it...as I usually figure a large anniv. cake is going to be used for a large gathering and likely formal too. Unless of course someone specifies that this is a FORMAL birthday gathering ... when they talk tiers I mention cost...then if they say well my 12 year old just liked the looks of a stacked cake but I can't afford that price...I do it but not with as much detail...to make it cost effective.

I guess what I am trying to say is I don't feel bad about charging a bit more for " Wedding Stuff" as it is ( hopefully) a one time thing and people expect perfection or darn near it for weddings.Therefore it is much more stressful. And hopefully people have more birthdays than weddings in their life...lol. People DO wait till 1 or 2 weeks b4 a birthday sometimes no matter how big the birthday cake...so you don't have weeks for gumpaste things to go on it. My logic is that weddings are a specialty...plain and simple there are people who will make 100 birthday cakes and would not attempt a wedding cake...and I believe the practice that goes into making wedding cakes is a skill and entitles you to more money. Just as any specialist is going to charge more...think of all the practice stuff we do tips and things we buy and all the books etc. I mean we might not be Doctors but to a lesser degree we are specialists.

I wouldn't back down. Around here wedding cakes go for $1.50 - $2.00 a slice (unless of course you go to Champagne's - a really expensive place) My first wedding cake will be on the 23rd and its for my sister-in-law, so Im only charging her cost. But then I have a wedding cake and a groom's cake to do on the 30th. Since, I am still a beginner and they are both going to be pretty simple cakes, I will probably charge about $1.00 a slice. Do you think this is too low? I will attach a picture of what it will kind of look like. Don't know if I found this picture on this site or not. I have seen so many cakes on here I can't keep up with them.

I think that I would charge whatever you feel comfortable with on it being your first paid wedding cake....if pros in your area charge 1.50 to 2.00 per slice..... then 1.00 per. might be best with you not having much experience. I did several for near nothing at first...just to get the practice. I didn't feel good about charging what experienced decorators did for a while.

I wonder if she questions you so much because she knows it is your first wedding cake..........

That could be it. I wondered that too. A lot of people won't use a baker if they know they arent very experienced.

Which is just plain rude.....a really well known good decorator can mess up just like an inexperienced decorator.

I have to disagree with mouse on this one. I don't think it is wrong to want someone experienced.One of the first things a wedding coordinator or the knowledgeable on weddings tell their clients is to get references and check out the persons work. I know a pro can make a mistake but they would probably be more able to fix it on short notice too. I had to, as I said before give away a few cakes to get some experience to friends who were willing to deal with someone not too experienced to get it cheaper.


I think it is unrealistic to say..."I am not very experienced at this, but I expect the same pay as Colette Peters"...LOL. Or even a lesser pro. I love to see someone succeed but I also know people are a little more forgiving if you do botch something if they weren't charged pro prices. Just my opinion.

I think that's what it is........even though when she picked up the cakes she complimented me on them.
oh well what can i do ..things like these happen.

Thank you ladies for making me feel better

AShiana

OK.
Here is a "funny" story. A lady that used to be here did cakes, and told me this happened to her.
OK. Lady getting married. Went to this other lady to find out cake prices and such. Didn't tell she was getting married only needed a big cake.
She noticed a full sheet cake was only 100 dollars or so, and a wedding cake serving the same amount of people was like 200 or something. Well. the bride decided she wasnt going to pay that much for a cake that she can get cheaper in another form....so she ordered a full sheet cake, torted, and decorated with flowers...like the ones she was going to carry, and told her the colors she wanted. It was the prettiest sheet cake I ever seen let me tell ya (she showed me a pic). It wasnt until the lady asked for it to be delivered to the base club here that the decorator found out what happened. So from that point on, she said she made all her cakes pretty much the same prices...give or take 20 or so. She never missed out on it again. (She raised the prices of her party cakes I believe to meet the prices of wedding cakes) This is why I am very leary of trying to do a wedding cake! and I have to give KUDOS to all of you that do them.....you all are so talented!!!!