Does anyone have a copy of their cake contract that they wouldn't mind sharing with me? I have been doing this on the side for about 3 years now and have never had a problem until last night. I called to confirm the delivery time with the bride and she informed me that her wedding planner had double booked the cake and told me she didn't know what to do. Her wedding is in 2 days!!! After numerous phone calls back and forth last night the bride tells me she wants to go ahead and use me to finish the cakes I had already started. (Which I had been working on since Sunday so they were completely baked and shaped, this was to be a topsy tury cake.) 45 minutes later her wedding planner calls to inform me that she won't be using me she will be using the other lady. This cake has been booked since September!! I have had many phone calls and emails with her about the cake. I had a meeting with her also. I informed her wedding planner that the bride would be responsible for reimbursing me for the cost of the supplies and my labor that I have already put out. She told me that I should take into consideration that the bride is young and not really sure of what she needs and that the other cake lady is what she needs. I told her that was fine, but I would be expecting my reimbursement soon. She said, "I guess you'll be calling me back soon". Then she hung up on me!!! How extremely unprofessional is that?!? I immediately called the bride and of course she didn't answer the phone. I called her with my reimbursement price this morning and she said to call her back Monday afternoon and we would arrange a time to meet. I am pretty sure I won't even be seeing the reimbursement from this cake. I was furious last night. I have never had this problem before and really am not sure how to handle it. I will definitely be getting a signed contract and deposits from now on though. I really would appreciate any sample anyone could give me.

the bride being young and "not sure of what she needs' is no excuse if you ask me. So who is responsible for the double-booking, the bride or the wedding planner? That might be the first thing to figure out. Surely the bride did not meet with the other decorator and not think twice about it!

THere is a copy on Earlene's site:

http://www.earlenescakes.com/index1.htm

not to be horrible, but you can sue her for your reimbursement costs.... you have evidence showing that you and her had a verbal and written understanding regarding the cake adn your job, then you haev your telephone records showing that you were contacting adn been contacted by both ppl.
youth is nto an excuse adn if her wedding planner was truly professional, then she wouldn;t hve behaved this way. If you want your money, give them till monday, if they don;t produce, give them a timeframe adn then sue

Wow, that is crazy. What an unfortunate mess...sorry it happened to you!

I had a contract formatted and saved on my computer, but then never used it. Maybe I will take a lesson from your experience and START using it, even if I think the bride is reliable.

It's so hard to expect the worst from people...I'd rather be trusting (like you were) that people's word actually means something. YIKES! But I guess as business-people, we have to cover ourselves first. If you PM me, I will send you a copy of my contract once I scan it again.

Good luck, and I hope you get reimbursed for all the hard work you put into that cake. If not, stuff your face and call if "calming calories".

EnJOY! Lindsay

Well when someone didn't pay me I told them I would take them to small claims court and they paid within days. Because you have the emails you have a right to be paid for the cake that was ordered. I did not have a contract but did have emails comfirming what she owed me. I told her that on top of the $53.00 she owed me she would have to pay for the fee for filing. This was not a wedding but I am sure you can go for cost of the supplies and time already involved.
I think that you should speak with the bride being that it is her wedding.

Im so sorry this happened to you, I would also be furious!! If I were the bride I would have just gotten two cakes instead of screwing over one of the bakers. And so what if the bride is young,the wedding planner should have had this under control!

WHO IS THIS WEDDING PLANNER???? Who books the cake decorator FOR the bride w/ out the bride's input??? Obviously the bride didn't know she was getting another cake from this other lady or she would have called you.... it seems like your contract was w/ the bride and this other woman's contract was with the other decorator...... I don't get that at all..... I can't understand a bride actually double-booking a cake.... or flowers or any of that.... but if the wedding planner has her own ideas in mind and starts booking everything - I mean I guess you hire them to plan your wedding - but not to leave you out of it! I would be furious as the bride and I'd make my wedding planner pay for the extra cake.... and I would get the cake from you b/c obviously hte bride chose YOU and the wedding planner chose this other person! I just can't understand this at all....... it makes no sense to me.....

Good luck with the situation - I feel bad for both you and the bride.... I think the wedding planner needs to pay for booking another decorator w/out the bride's consent..... who signed the other decorator's contract? the bride or the wedding planner? I can't imagine the bride signing both.....or you said you didn't have one - did she put a deposit down on BOTH cakes? OR do you not ask for a deposit? That might be a good thing to include in the future! good luck!

IMHO the wedding planner is responsible. If I am not mistaken, they take care of all of the plans including the cake. She is not a very good planner!

This is a horrible.
I know you want your money back for your time and supplies you used, I would too, but you may need to just write this off as a lesson learned and so she doesn't spread bad things about you and your cakes all around town.
I really agree with which ever way you handle it. Knowing me- I would sue her too.
Hope this helps. I'm going to start keeping a contract too.

My sister-in-law works for a law firm so we have already discussed all of the small claims court and sending letters and those types of things. I would hate to resort to this over such a little amount, but it's the priciple of the matter. I wouldn't have been so hot about this, but I am sure that the wedding planner is the cause of the entire mess and she was so rude to me.

How shameful!! This is one of those moments where suing someone is a reasonable solution if she doesn't reimburse you. What are people thinking when they do things like that?

I'm so sorry. How frustrating.

Angie

zanne is right. It is always better to have a written contract, however, if you kept the emails between the two of you and if those emails state the date, price, details etc. of the agreement and they show that both of you agreed then that is in form your contract.

To have the elements of a contract all you need is offer and acceptance. In the legal world a oral agreement is considered a contract, the problem is proving that it existed. Because you have the emails you can show your offer (an email regarding price etc.) and her acceptance. The last acceptance once all the terms are laid out is the strongest....

I would explain to THE BRIDE, not the planner, that she entered into a contract with you. You could hold her responsibe for the entire contract amount because you lost the opportunity to conduct other sales for that same day, but instead all you are requesting is the cost of supplies and labor... You do have a legal right to that money and you did have a contract. Then I would draft that information in a letter, reference the telephone conversations you had with her and her planner, in a professional manner, and send that letter and an invoice to her via USPS and via email (with the email you sometimes can show receipt that she received with mail there is the implied assumption that the mail was delivered).

Get that payment! Good luck!

I am certainly not the type to sue,
But you should certainly consider it this time.
It probably wouldn't do much for you financially.
BUT it might make you feel a little better as she stands there with egg on her face.
Take all the written proof with you.
The wedding planner needs to get her act together.
The bride needs to grow up.

If the bride is too young to properly manage booking her wedding cake, she shouldn't be getting married! Sheesh.

You should always have a contract and it should be very detailed. I'm sure the wedding planning figured she could get out of paying you because you don't have a signed written contract. Mine required a deposit to hold the date. It also stated balance due was required 4 weeks prior to the wedding. If a cheque was not received by that date, payment would have to be made in cash. If payment was not received by 2 weeks prior to the wedding the contract would be null and void and a cake would not be provided. Period. People weren't offended by the contract. On the contrary it was explained that it served to protect BOTH parties. They received what they paid for, and I got paid for my service/product.

I hope this works out to your satisfaction.

I feel so bad for you and the poor bride! I wonder if she really got to pick out her own cake . . . or, since she is "Young" I bet her planner overrode her decisions and picked something else out. I feel bad for both of yoU!

It sounds to me like since the bride to be told you moments before, that she was going to go with your cakes that the planner is just over ridding every decision she makes as the bride.

Here in MD we have what is called "A legally biding verbal contract law" meaning what it says basically lol. If I tell you to your face I want you to make my wedding cake and we write down the specs that can also be used as evidence, even though I didn't sign anything we still had a verbal contract and it is binding by law. That is in MD, although I'm sure your state will have something similar.

I'd threaten to sue in small claims, I'd draw up (in Word or Publisher) a "faults" contract. Basically stating she backed out of her order and this is what she owes you and then list out what you spent to make these cakes, including pans, ingredients, everything right down to the darn tooth picks to dye the icing lol. Then factor in your time. I'd bust her for at least half of what would've paid in total. Just because this is BS.

I'd also sit down with the Bride, Groom, Mother of the Bride and whomever else would be involved in helping make decisions for this wedding, after the wedding is over make an appointment with them and find out who is really at fault here. If it is in fact the Wedding Planner who goofed this up this bad then I'd threaten to file a suit on her as well or instead of the bride and groom.

I agree if the bride is too young to take the heat for screwing up this bad this close to her date, she shouldn't be getting married. I've been looking for a sample contract myself for just basic cakes and I have created my own if you PM me your email address I'll send you a copy of what I've created for my BASIC cakes. You could change it where needed to match the needs of your own business.

I really think they are going to back out on you, the wedding is Sunday? she wants you to call her on monday? Well hunny they are going to be on their HoneyMoon and aren't going to be answering that phone on Monday. If you have the BM's phone number I'd be calling her as well lol.

Good luck!

The wedding planner is over ridding the bride because she is getting a KICK BACK from the Cake Designer.

If I were YOU..I'd go ahead and SUE for the full cost of the cake.

SO sad too bad.

If you were hired before the coordinator then you have PRECIDENCE (sp??) over whom ever the planner hired.

Stick to your guns...coz if word gets out that you're a WUSSY, theya re going to treat you like one.

Sorry to be harsh but this is business...I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot, none of them would be too shy to take YOU to court.

Being YOUNG is no excuse!!!

I say GO FOR IT!

I think the wedding planner sounds extremely unprofessional and its obvious that this was handled poorly.

Unfortunately i don't think you can sue because there was nothing in writing about a deposit or a certain amount of days needed to cancel the cake.

Hopefully, she does the right thing and reimburses you for the money that you already spent

Sue for the ENTIRE cost of the cake!!! I watch Judge Judy ALL the time so I am basically a legal expert

Take all your emails to meet with the biotchhhhh wedding planner and tell her if she does not remiburse time and effort than you will sue for the entire cost of the cake and court costs.

I agree, I would take it to small claims. First "threaten", giving the bride a timeframe to pay in. Then, if it's not paid in full proceed to court. And yes, it is totally the principle of the thing.

As far as suing the planner...I really don't see how you could do that. Your "contract" is with the bride, not the planner. And as far as what people are saying about the poor bride being overridden by the planner....I say bull malarky. IMHO if this bride is old enough to be getting married then she is old enough to make decision on her wedding and to tell the planner that the planner is working for HER and SHE wants your cake. After all, this is not the planners wedding. The bride needs to grow some you-know-whats and tell that planner who's boss when it's all said and done. Yes, the planner has a responsibility, but ultimately it's the bride's and grooms decisions on the who/where/what/how of the wedding.

Okay, here's a legal question for everyone.... If I live in a state where it isn't exactly kosher to run a home business, but I am sneaking by anyway how would that play out in the small claims court. I would hate to be turned in to the state and suffer those consequences!

Yep, you're hooped.

If you had had a contract, they wouldn't be trying to pull one over on you.

Always, always, always have a contract whether you are a legit business or not. That way if you're not paid 2 weeks prior to the wedding date, you don't start the cake and you're not out any money.

Chalk this up as a lesson learned.

I'd still threaten them to see if they will pay up.

I would look into your laws-Here and I know in many other states it is legal to sell cake to the ultimate consumer. As far as contracts-I have never had one--And I have done a ton of cakes.

Just telling them that you may take them to court should scare them enough into paying you. As far as wedding planners-They are there to to help plan the wedding of YOUR dreams. The imput of the bride makes a huge difference. I would never hire someone and say do what you think is best??? It is your money that you are spending and they are there to consult for you---This planner is on a power trip.

I was getting ready to ask you if you were leagal in your state...and if not, you are going to have to live with what happend.

The consequences of running your business without a liscence and legal kitchen are much greater than eating the money you lost in this.

All I got to say is be careful that you really know your state rules on bakeries or home businesses before trying to collect. I know of a cake artist in town that got burned by the bride for the $300 cake and when she tried to collect the bride turned her into the health deparment! So the cake artists was out the $300 bucks plus the health department fines!