You Need To See This! Vent

Decorating By step0nmi Updated 17 Oct 2007 , 6:55am by darby822

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CakeDiva73 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 7:31pm
post #61 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by homecook


"I'll give you a topic! Cake dummies: neither edible nor useful...Discuss!"--Linda Richmond from SNL




Coffee......right thru my nose! She is my fave SNL character and I am forever doing her voice. My daughter is studying for state capitals and it gets tedious quizing her so I don my Linda voice and start calling out states: New Juuuuuuuuursey, Oaaaaaaregun, Flooooorida. Cracks my kids up to no end.

As for the fake-cake thing....... to me, decorating the styro is only slightly easier then with the cakes. Around here, a 12" styro costs about $4.50 - way cheaper then the time and money spent to make and fill a real cake. HOWEVER!!!!!!! Even with the slight discount I might be willing to offer, once you actually add the cost of real cake, it end up costing more then to just order the darn 14,10,7 - or whatever would suit their needs.

I get irritated that of all the many branches of the wedding industry, it seems the cake decorators are the ones that garner the least respect. Why is that? icon_rolleyes.gif Does it really come down to ignorance? The whole 'It's only flour and sugar' principal? Because it seems like many brides take care of all their other needs first and leave the cake to the very end when there is no money left, yet still expect to feed 250 people with a cake made to match her gown for a couple hundred bucks.

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JillK Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 7:32pm
post #62 of 87

I think the cake-cutting thing must be regional. With my own wedding here, and almost every wedding I've ever been to in this area, the bride and groom did the cutting ritual and the cake was then whisked off to the kitchen. If the slices that emerged had been mediocre, I might have been suspicious, but they were awesome. icon_biggrin.gif Guess it's just in what you're used to. I rather like the idea of having the cake cut in front of everyone ... puts a bit more emphasis on it!

Quote:
Quote:

It's a ridiculous battle we're fighting...US vs the MEDIA.




I am the media, kind of ... at least I've worked in the newspaper business for the past 10 years. At the moment, I lay out the wedding page at my paper and I am just WAITING for one of these stories to cross my desk so I can flip out at it. icon_evil.gif

And it will ... the lot of the wedding-related copy we use comes from ridiculous free Web sites that are just thinly veiled advertising machines. (I hate this ... icon_mad.gif ... it's a disgrace to my profession.) I'm expecting something sponsored by the styroform industry any day now.

My poor boss doesn't know what she's in for. icon_evil.gificon_mad.gificon_twisted.gif

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DEBBIE157 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 7:54pm
post #63 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlowerGirlMN


I have YET to see a bridal magazine article on how to make your own gown.




good one!!

Each bride needs to determine what her + Hubby's PRIORITIES are.

I bought my gown on ebay...100 bucks-- that's where I cut the budget,
because *I* wanted to spend the money on the limo ($300),
and Hubby wanted to spend the money on the ....CAKE !!

We had carrot cake, beautifully decorated, approx $400.

We had a brunch buffet (again much cheaper than a sit down dinner), which had a huge selection of food (my family fell in love with the guy who made the omletes.) Also had prime rib, salad etc.

Maybe we should start our own Bridal magazine...How to get cheaper diamonds, cheaper dresses, and be able to BUY MORE CAKE. icon_biggrin.gif

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CakeDiva73 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 7:57pm
post #64 of 87

ok, now I may be way off base but isn't someone's personal opinion of having a 'fake cake' at their wedding similar to whether they would rent silk flowers for it? Wear a knock-off gown? A fake Birken bag?

I am reminded of an episode of Sex & the City where Carrie and Samantha are in L.A. and go to see this guy who was selling fake purses....Samantha snapped up several but Carrie said that everyone else might think it was real but she would know it came from the trunk of a car from some guy in an alley icon_lol.gif which cracks me up!

I am not against fake-cake.....I am against people thinking this is going to save them a ton of money. As a bride, if I was to do a fake cake I would want the sheet cakes to at least be able to pass for the cake, ya know? To watch a fondant cake with pearl dragees be cut and then get served a slice of white bc is bizarre, but how many people other then me will have noticed the fondant, right? icon_razz.gif

Is it any more of a 'cheat' (and I am using this word loosely) then taking a picture of a $7000 gown to the local seamstress and having a knock-off made for $500....I mean other then the obvious fact that people don't eat it?

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Roelle Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:05pm
post #65 of 87

First of all ... I've never been to a wedding where they cut and plated in front of the guests. In fact ... you usually get a tiny piece of fruit cake wrapped in foil and a paper doillie with ribbon.

I don't eat it ... but I'm not "offended" by it.

I think renting a cake is a great option. I think people's wedding day should be special ... but I abhore the money people spend on their wedding day. The pressure of today's society for expensive weddings makes a "dream" wedding out of reach for many people.

I got my cake at Safeway ... great two tiered cake for around $200. It tasted great, and didn't break the bank. I kind of have a problem with how boughten cakes are slagged so much here. They're an affordable option for a lot of people. They aren't tasteless cardboard that some people think it is. I've probably had as many grocery store cakes in my life as I have homebaked. They're both great.

The trend that disturbs me the most in this day and age is that couples spend money they don't have on one day that should start their lives together off on a good note. Instead, most end up in debt up to their eyeballs. My wedding was $1,500 dollars including two dresses, cake, supper, photos, and a reception at a later date for 50 people. Full suppers at both venues.

So in my opinion ... if a rented dummy cake with sheet cakes or cupcakes is a more affordable option ... go for it!! Save the money for a downpayment on a house, or get a car ... weddings are an insanity I really have a probem with.

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CakeDiva73 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:09pm
post #66 of 87

I was always fond of saying "I don't want a wedding, I want a marriage"......which is how I consoled myself, lol. I think it is crazy how much is spent on weddings - just that one day! I realize how important it is to alot of people and I am not judging - just saying I would have rather put a down payment on a house or something. And since I have 3 daughters, icon_razz.gif perhaps I am simply embracing this minimalist thinking so we can retire......at some point.......in our lives. icon_lol.gif

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DEBBIE157 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:20pm
post #67 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Quote:
Originally Posted by BCJean

Since the cake is taken to the kitchen before serving...no one really knows what they are getting...



I've asked this before, but is this a regional thing? I'm almost 50 years old and I've never seen a wedding cake taken to the kitchen to be cut. !).




It must be regional. Where I am -- Upstate NY -- the cake is ALWAYS taken in the back, and cut, and brought back out on serving plates and distributed.

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auntmamie Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:20pm
post #68 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

I've asked this before, but is this a regional thing? I'm almost 50 years old and I've never seen a wedding cake taken to the kitchen to be cut. I've been cutting wedding cakes for 25 years and I've always done it right there in the reception room, with a group of people standing around watching how I do it.

Around here, if you tried to take the cake out of the room, people would question it. Watching the person cut and serve the cake is almost as much a part of the reception as throwing the bouquet.

If I attended a wedding and they took the cake to the kitchen, I'd wonder what they were trying to pull (and hide!).




I think it is regional - up here (Upstate NY, Vermont) the cake is always taken into the kitchen to be cut - so the guests are spared the sight of a messy cake cutting. The slices are then brought out by white gloved waiters on silver trays.

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DEBBIE157 Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:32pm
post #69 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarnspice1981

[
I think it is regional - up here (Upstate NY, Vermont) the cake is always taken into the kitchen to be cut - so the guests are spared the sight of a messy cake cutting. The slices are then brought out by white gloved waiters on silver trays.




DITTO THAT. exactly.

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gidgetsmom Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 8:33pm
post #70 of 87

I've never been to a wedding where the cake was served from the kitchen. Even at the most extravagant wedding (read business merger) the waitstaff took over cutting the cake at the cake table.

Seems to me the real issues are 1) misinformation by the media and 2)people EXPECTING more for less. Not those that know how to - or have to learn how to stretch a dollar - but those that have no respect for what a wedding cake that's a piece of art takes to put together.

Seems to me that in either case - calm, determined education would be the best revenge...and yeah, I vote for Debi to send a rebuttal to Readers Digest!!

I had a small budget wedding too and my cake wasn't grand but it sure was pretty and more importantly tasted yummy - to die for actually ... fifteen years later and no one remembers what it looked like but they sure do remember how good it was...

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indydebi Posted 12 Oct 2007 , 9:30pm
post #71 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by CakeDiva73


I am not against fake-cake.....I am against people thinking this is going to save them a ton of money.




THAT is my issue in a nutshell!!

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Melvira Posted 13 Oct 2007 , 12:48am
post #72 of 87

I love hearing how so many of us pulled off a wedding on a shoestring budget. I kept my budget pretty dang small too. (My ring cost more than the entire wedding, but HE paid for that, hahahaha!) I catered the whole thing myself, but not because I'm cheap, because I cook better than anyone I know. (Sorry, not to sound full of myself...) I looked at different places I could have cater for a reasonable amount, and thought, "Screw that... I'll make some amazing food, and people will love it!" 6 years later, people still comment about it! And the crazy part is how calm I remained!! icon_wink.gif

I'll agree with so many that the issue is not being against 'fake' cake, but against the whole price undercutting that we're getting. I loved the comment about an article on making your own wedding dress! I hired a woman to make my wedding dress because what I wanted wasn't sold in stores. She destroyed it!! The week of the wedding after the final fitting I was face down on my bed sobbing. But I got up, went to the store and found a beautiful dress for $150. I pulled through! icon_wink.gif

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DelightsByE Posted 13 Oct 2007 , 1:14am
post #73 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by step0nmi

HOW HERE THINKS INDYDEBI SHOULD WRITE TO READER'S DIGEST!???? MEEEE!!! icon_biggrin.gif




I think we ALL should write to Readers Digest!

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sportsmom005 Posted 13 Oct 2007 , 1:35am
post #74 of 87

I think they quote the $100 price because they rent these "cakes" out more than once. People aren't getting an original, freshly decorated masterpiece. They are getting something that has been carted around to who knows how many other weddings. I have to wonder how sanitary that would be?
Personally, I got a beautiful, delicious cake from a local bakery for $200. It served 100, they used the design I brought them and delivered. To this day, I still think it was the best cake I've ever had.

Chrisy

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vitomiriam Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 2:38am
post #75 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by adven68

Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Quote:
Originally Posted by BCJean

Since the cake is taken to the kitchen before serving...no one really knows what they are getting...



I've asked this before, but is this a regional thing? I'm almost 50 years old and I've never seen a wedding cake taken to the kitchen to be cut. I've been cutting wedding cakes for 25 years and I've always done it right there in the reception room, with a group of people standing around watching how I do it..



It must be regional, cause in my entire life here in the NYC metro area, I have never witnessed a cake being cut, except by the bride and groom. They always cut the rest of it it in the kitchen. It might also be that the size of the weddings I go to are usually very large and usually black tie...there is always a team of waitstaff. I guess they do it to expedite the process....they may have 2 or even 3 people cutting at one time and filling trays.




Same here, in South Florida. The cake is always taken to the kitchen and cut there. I've never ever seen a cake cut in the reception/party area. Must be regional....

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Erika513x2 Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 2:55am
post #76 of 87

i'm with the article b/c yes wedding do costs alot of money and lets be real some people just charge to much for some cakes b/c its done in like ritzy located bakery. but anyway if the couple is on a budget then why not? no one will know.... and since the cakes cost so much b/c of the stress of getting it done 100% right i just don't do wedding cakes at all....its tooooooooo much stress and i don;t want to run into a bridezilla..i just don't have the patience for it and the type of person i am i feel as if you can keep your $500 and leave me alone with no problems...

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dragonflydreams Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 3:08am
post #77 of 87

I haven't read the RD article . . . but I'd be willing to bet you don't actually get to keep the "fake cake" . . . I bet it is a rental for the $100 and then they would have to get a cheap/plain sheet cake all cut up (probably precut and prepackaged to distribute to the guests)?? I know up at the local culinary arts school in my community the students decorate dummy cakes that can be "rented" - I have no idea "how much" - and I have no idea how the cutting of the cake is then performed at the reception - but I guess to some bride and grooms either the cost of a FABULOUS cake is not in their budget . . . or the memory of a FABULOUS cake is not a priority as long as they have "something" to serve for the tradition . . . different strokes . . .

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southerncake Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 3:12am
post #78 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Quote:
Originally Posted by step0nmi

I just don't get why cake is the tradition, but it's not important as much now?



I don't think it's decreasing in importance, but it's certainly decreasing in exposure.

I subscribed one year to a bridal magazine and I let the subscription lapse when I realized that bridal magz are just big advertising venues for the bridal gown industryl. If you look really really hard, you MIGHT see a cake stuck in the background of a photo and it might even be in focus.

I guess cakers just don't spend the advertising dollars that the dress designers do. Money talks and all I hear is the rustling of dress material.

I always emphasize to my brides that their cake is "the grand centerpiece of their reception".

I apologize in advance for quoting Kerri Vincent all the time lately (but I just LUV her blunt and direct approach! Go figure! icon_lol.gif ), but she pointed out that for all the money a bride spends on flowers, the guests are not hovering around the tables admiring the centerpieces .... they are hovering around the cake table, oooh-ing and aaaaah-ing the cake.




Debi I thought I was the only person in the world who constantly quotes Kerry Vincent!! DH often makes fun of it -- the bride is the centerpiece at the church and the cake is the centerpiece at the reception.

I also agree that the cutting in kitchen vs. in front of guests must be regional. Cakes here are always cut in front of the guests. I absolutely hate doing it with everyone standing there watching you!!

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SweetResults Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 8:43pm
post #79 of 87

Definitly regional - never seen a cake cut in my life - and believe me I have been to a TON of weddings!

I personally love the idea of a dummy cake in certain circumstances - I was in my girlfriend's wedding and wanted to do her cake for a gift. So I made a giant wedding cake (Gabrielle's Gifts in my photos) with one smal cake on the dummy for them to cut. I made delicious sheet cakes for the kitchen to slice and serve - exactly if it had been the other cake, BC and fondant, the whole deal. This enabled me to make her a beautiful cake and still be in the wedding with no trouble. She and her DH cut their little cake, the cake was wisked off to the kitchen (which is the way I have always seen it done around here and in Canada to the many weddings I have been to there as well).

I also would not mind adding dummy tiers to achieve a look of a certain cake when they simply do not need that amount of cake - it is no different to me than pillars or any other cake separator system.

I do, however, agree that it is NOT ANY CHEAPER to have a dummy cake! Just as much work decorating and the marjoity of our prices comes from our TIME, not the ingredients.

Soooo I say YES thumbs_up.gif to dummies - NO thumbsdown.gif to ANY kind of cheap cake - dummy or edible!!

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moydear77 Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 9:47pm
post #80 of 87

I have not read all six pages, but here is my two cents. I have seen both in and out of the cutting. I used to work at a hotel and the cake was taken back and cut in back. I have also seen cakes cut in the open. These were the less formal weddings.

As far as fake cakes, I am assuming the $100.00 is a rental fee. I am not oppsed to doing a fake cake. In fact I am doing one next year for a cousin. I have aslo done fake layes to boost the size of the cake. If a couple wnated a fake cake and to keep it? I charge the same for fake as I would real.

There will always be articles such as these. The fact is that will they find someone to do it for them for that price??

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moydear77 Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 9:47pm
post #81 of 87

I have not read all six pages, but here is my two cents. I have seen both in and out of the cutting. I used to work at a hotel and the cake was taken back and cut in back. I have also seen cakes cut in the open. These were the less formal weddings.

As far as fake cakes, I am assuming the $100.00 is a rental fee. I am not oppsed to doing a fake cake. In fact I am doing one next year for a cousin. I have aslo done fake layes to boost the size of the cake. If a couple wnated a fake cake and to keep it? I charge the same for fake as I would real.

There will always be articles such as these. The fact is that will they find someone to do it for them for that price??

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countrykittie Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 12:30am
post #82 of 87

I do have to say that I did have a fake cake for a wedding cake when I got married. I guess at the time, since I was paying for alot of the wedding, I didn't feel it necessary to have a real cake. I don't come from a poor family, but money doesn't exactly grow on trees either. I couldn't afford a real cake...the kind of cake that every bride dreams of. I bought the dummy cakes, my mom covered them with marzipan and I decorated it with silk flowers. The top layer of the cake was real but I don't like fruitcake so I think my mother kept it. It was just for cutting...that was all. I haven't read the article, and I can see how some of you would be up in arms over such a story, but as someone else said, no one should be getting upset over someone elses budget. I could never afford a real wedding cake when I got married...maybe now, but not then.

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indydebi Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 12:51am
post #83 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykittie

I can see how some of you would be up in arms over such a story, but as someone else said, no one should be getting upset over someone elses budget. I could never afford a real wedding cake when I got married...maybe now, but not then.




Let me repeat:

I AM NOT ANTI-DUMMY CAKES.

I am anti- articles that imply a bride can get a 3 or 4 tier dummy cake for ONLY $100.

If I am paying for the dummies, for the icing, for the gumpaste florals, for the DECORATOR'S TIME TO DECORATE IT, $100 won't even cover my costs.

I will happily do dummy cakes for any bride that wants them, BUT I WILL DO THEM AT A FAIR MARKET VALUE and at a price that COVERS MY COSTS and MEETS MY MARGIN REQUIREMENTS. If you want a dummy cake for $100, then you find someone who does this for a hobby who has no rent, utility, insurance, and payroll expense concerns and NOT contact someone like me who does this as a business.

Just because it's not a REAL cake, doens't mean there isn't REAL costs involved in it's production and creation.

GET IT THRU YOUR HEADS!!! IT IS NOT ABOUT HAVING A REAL CAKE VS A DUMMY CAKE. It's about FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR OUR TALENT AND OUR TIME!

(and yes, the above is in caps for a reason!) icon_mad.gif

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Carolynlovescake Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 4:12am
post #84 of 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykittie

I can see how some of you would be up in arms over such a story, but as someone else said, no one should be getting upset over someone elses budget. I could never afford a real wedding cake when I got married...maybe now, but not then.



Let me repeat:

I AM NOT ANTI-DUMMY CAKES.

I am anti- articles that imply a bride can get a 3 or 4 tier dummy cake for ONLY $100.

If I am paying for the dummies, for the icing, for the gumpaste florals, for the DECORATOR'S TIME TO DECORATE IT, $100 won't even cover my costs.

I will happily do dummy cakes for any bride that wants them, BUT I WILL DO THEM AT A FAIR MARKET VALUE and at a price that COVERS MY COSTS and MEETS MY MARGIN REQUIREMENTS. If you want a dummy cake for $100, then you find someone who does this for a hobby who has no rent, utility, insurance, and payroll expense concerns and NOT contact someone like me who does this as a business.

Just because it's not a REAL cake, doens't mean there isn't REAL costs involved in it's production and creation.

GET IT THRU YOUR HEADS!!! IT IS NOT ABOUT HAVING A REAL CAKE VS A DUMMY CAKE. It's about FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR OUR TALENT AND OUR TIME!

(and yes, the above is in caps for a reason!) icon_mad.gif





/clap
/cheer
/standing ovation

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CakesbyMonica Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 4:45am
post #85 of 87

My cake was cut in the kitchen.

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cuteums Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 6:03am
post #86 of 87

I think the cheapness from the dummy cake comes from it being a rental cake. Otherwise i don't understand it.
As for cutting the cake I think we have all learned a lesson on regional customs. I just saw a show on the WE channel about wedding cakes. Bronwyn Weber was one of the artists featured. I think she is in Texas if I remember correctly. She did a gorgeous 4ft tall cake (i forget how many levels). I thought it was completely bizzare and didn't look very appetizing when the wait staff started hacking at the cake and serving it in the middle of the reception.
In the NY/LI area this is unheard of. I have been to countless (very formal) weddings now and I have never once seen a cake carved in the reception area. It is always brought to the kitchen and brought out on platters by the wait staff. The cake is always very good and I would never suspect a sheet cake. I think people would be horrified if they started cutting the cake up right then and there.

(BTW) I know my cake was real b/c my husband did not know what he was doing when we cut our cake. He started at the top and cut through all 4 tiers!! I tried to stop him but couldn't since he was very determined. It was very funny. Plus I was given the top tier to take home.

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darby822 Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 6:55am
post #87 of 87

Uh oh. Mom is typing in all caps. icon_eek.gif Way to go guys, way to go! icon_wink.gif

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