Wrong Wedding Cake - what to do!?! - Page 5

ok y'all,
I had a huge huge wedding, 400ppl. The amount of stress of planning that event, not to mention an impending marriage. I worked, like most brides do, and didn't sleep for 5 months. I didn't eat. THis is not uncommon. And if I had cut into the cake I had spent at least months thinking about and picking out with my favorite decor and my favorite flavors, and I cut into it to see something else, maybe even something I hated, the 100 flashing cameras catching the shock on my face forever, and I have to continue, without flinching, for the crowd, to feed and eat the cake, I might have had a nervous breakdown. She'll get over it, yes. She will be embarassed of how she felt, but she had every logical reason to be illogical at that time!
leave this bride alone, please.
Does anyone remember what that was like?!
This baker will take care of it, I am sure, and the bride will laugh about this soon. The cake maker never will.

The cake ruined her wedding?

It was decorated right, but the wrong flavors. It was served and eaten.

I think she should first see what the baker offers her. I think it would be fair to be refunded 50% since it was only 1/2 right.

The baker should give her a new anniversary cake..like it was supposed to be.

I have to write something because I am sitting here reading some of these posts and I am really upset especially when people state its just a cake. Come on people this is our passion or hobby or job. Don't some of these cake decoraters that belong to CC get angry when people want to pay less for all their hard work and say its just a cake. I don't care if the people ate it I think it would have been more ruined to say ok no one can eat this cake, thats just plain ignorant, what would you think if you went to the wedding and they didn't serve it. Ya it might have looked like the cake they want but I am sure she was devastated it wasn't the right kind. Look how much money goes into these weddings and to just blow this off I don't think so and especially that she probably paid alot for this. I just don't understand the comments on here. Yes she should be refunded I beleive for partial and get the free anniversary cake. Yes being married to the man of your dreams with your family present is important, but all these other things are so important for their special day, they want everything to be perfect.

Most grocery store bakeries (at least the one I worked in) and I'm sure other retail store-type bakeries have cake bakers and cake decorators....just like on Ace of Cakes. Granted, the cake decorator should have double checked the order form, so there are a few people who could be blamed for this.

My father lost a job because on the same night he forgot to put a back-up CD in the computer at night, the night shift guy did something stupid and the computer crashed and all the info was lost. He didn't make the computer crash mistake, but he forgot to put in the back-up CD, so he was the one who got canned.

I agree its nothing to have a hissy fit over...

However...as one who has to keep to a budget, I understand that it is not a small thing to spend $500 and up on a cake. When you spend that kind of money, you really do kind of expect to get what you ordered.

I mean you spend a minimum of that five hundred bucks and your mouth is watering for some decadent fudge cake and you get....white with fruit filling? Yeah I can see how it would be upsetting.

She shouldn't have a 'tude about it but she definitely should get at least half her money back. Half the cake is decoration and half is flavor...so she should get the flavor half back IMHO. I mean we aren't talking "Oops I put raspberry instead of strawberry filling", we are talking about rich fudge vs some kind of summery light flavored cake. That's a big mistake for a big purchase.

If it had been me I would have been upset but then I probably would have been happy to have a reason to get a refund and more to spend on the honeymoon.

I think this is between the bride and her decorator. All people are different and have to decide what is best for them.
My story...I majored in Music Ed in college. Majored in Flute and Minored in Harp.
When I finally got married at the ripe old age of 28 the only thing I cared about was the music. My Uncle is a Flutist and and I hired a Pro Harpist, gave them the music and said "Godspeed". They got together and practiced and had great fun.
On my wedding day the Harpist had her pedals set wrong and clinked and clunked all over that poor harp and finally quit altogether. My Uncle "brought it on home' solo, we were pronounced Husband and Wife, and the wedding was over. 20 minutes of my life.
That poor thing packed up that Harp and booked so fast we didn't even see her (she was soooo embarassed).
My beloved and I got to the reception and didn't get any food (my hog like relatives had taken care of that).
We had plenty of cake and champagne. I married the greatest guy in the Universe and we partied hearty. Heck, we had a sugar buzz and a champagne buzz going.
The next day I called the Harpist and THANKED her very much for her service. I think I genuinely stunned her. I know how awful she felt and I'm sure she was waiting for some fall out. I gave her NONE.
WOW...am I a CLASSY BROAD!!!!!!!!!!!
All that mattered in the end was me and the man sitting in the lazy boy 5 feet from me as I type who love each other more every minute.
Some people are born to raise a fit and others put things in perspective and let them go.
I hope this happens for the parties involved here.
If the bride calls wanting a refund you give it to her. I hope she has more class than that. A great cake (even the "wrong one") is a thing of glory to be appreciated for the art that it is.

yes it is our passion our hobby and our livelyhood but keep in mind it is Just a cake. its not our family its not our loved ones its not what keeps us going etc. its not going to make or break our daily lives and loves. and i think i'm done reading lol.. the proverbial horse has been most thoroughly tenderized by now.. if i'm confusing anyone basicaly we're beating a dead horse here as the saying goes.

have a lovely week.. i'm sure there's sunshine some where ! send some! best wishes!

If you ordered a dress with a low cut back, full length to the floor with a beaded top - in white and it showed up in RED you would be given a refund or the correct dress. You would not say, oh well, the STYLE is correct, it's just the wrong color.

She ordered and paid for a certain cake, she could not get a replacement in time for the ceremony, she deserves a refund - if only because it's NOT WHAT SHE ORDERED!!!

And I don't blame her for being upset - also, let's remember here folks - "ruined my night" is a figure of speech lots of people used. I'm sure she was upset (and she had every right to be - again - it was NOT what she PAID for) but I am also equally sure that she was still happy with her new hubby and dancing the night away.

I hated my cake - it was not what I ordered - it tasted great - I was not happy about it - I never called the caterer to complain. I regret that to this day 11 years later. I don't lie awake nights thinking about it, but since I never let them know I was not happy I never got it off my chest and I have never been able to fully let it go. I am not still upset about it, I just still think about it sometimes. I just wish I had let them know that they did not decorate it the way I asked and I've always wanted to know what happened to the giant buckets of flowers I provided them with to place on the cake. Again, did not ruin my life - it's just still there in the back of my mind, and since I deal in cakes, it pops to the front every once in awhile.

I did not want anything from them other than answers, but I just never asked. Make sure your cousin asks what happened so she can have closure. You never know what kind of silly thing sticks in your head, go for closure and at the very least a partial refund and corrected anniversary cake.




And hey - don't get all snippy about the posts telling your cousin to "get over it". There are just as many of us, if not more, saying otherwise and agreeing with you. You asked for opinions and you are getting them, it's not personal. We treat each other as family here and families don't always get along or agree, but they always welcome each other and support each other. You have to be able to agree to disagree here - it's a pretty darn big community here and we are all lucky to have each other. If you choose not to post again, well that's just a shame, you will certainly be missing out. I'd suggesting rethinking that. It's worth it to be here.

Me too! lol

I would hate to say that the flavor of a cake would or should ruin someones wedding day, however, weddings are so stressful for brides these days and so much planning goes into them and I can understand being a little more then upset if I cut into a cake and it was wrong, especially if it were a flavor that I did not like. I would say at least go for 1/2 the money back and maybe the decorator would be mortified enough to do more, I know I would be.

A contract is a contract. If the contract stated chocolate Kaluha, then she should have gotten chocolate Kaluha. I really like the red dress analogy.
I would ask for a full refund. The order was wrong. Period. The cake is an entity. It's not like the buffet where you can say, well, the meat was wrong, but the potatoes were good... All parts of a cake work together to create an artistic and gastronomic experience. An experience that the bride and groom have chosen to compliment their event, and their menu.
Even though I am now a hobbyist, I still have a contract, because good fences make for good friends and neighbors. I must refer to it a million times when I am doing a wedding cake! If I made such a mistake, nothing less than a full refund would do, if it was not what they ordered.
As a consumer, I'd feel uncomfortable getting a free cake from someone who has a beef with me. I've heard too many tales from the bakery folks who used to work for other restaurants, caterers, etc. It would stand your hair on end!

No it shouldn't ruin the reception and I think NOW that I sure wouldn't have let it ruin mine. Of course I can say that 38 years later. It's pretty easy for us to sit back and say "well she sure shouldn't have let it ruin her whole reception!" Uh yah, easy for us to say. But the fact is she DID order 3 tiers of chocolate-kahlua cake with chocolate fudge filling. The lady wanted ALL chocolate cake for her wedding and she GOT white. Obviously she is serious about her chocolate. I'd say she better have gotten a picture of the cut cake and calmly take it to the decorator and see what he/she is going to do about it. I think she ought to get a good (at least 50%) refund AND a free 1st anniversary cake in the right flavors. It's the least the decorator can do. If
not this could damage her reputation/business, because either way the bride will probably tell others about it. Better for her to tell them what happened and how it was made up to her than that the decorator said "so sorry" and did nothing.

You know, Mahzooka, I can't say that I blame you for being so upset. The more I have thought about this, the more I think the bride had every reason to be upset. If someone missed providing me with my chocolate fix I probably would have been ready to kill.

New case scenario: Photographer develops the pictures. "OOPS! Sorry," he says, "I thought had colored film in the camera. It was black and white." Gee, it's only pictures.............she should "get over it."

I know we all have the right to voice our opinions here but sometimes I don't think we take into consideration how deeply People can feel about certain things.

As for thinking she should just be happy that nothing else went wrong, maybe several things had and this was the final straw. I'm sure that the cake won't ruin her marriage.....but it did put a damper on her wedding.

Again, JMO.

Diane

Come on, who are we to say what she should or should not get upset about. It would have bothered me lots if a mistake like that was made. I personally try not to let anything ruin an entire event for me. I would want a full refund on it though. I guess it is great that she had a nice looking cake for the photographs, however every time she looks at them she will be remembering the inside of the cake wasn't right. I can't see getting a free cake for your first anniversary with the correct flavor as being a solution to anything. The idea of saving the top tier is that it was from your wedding cake. Having the bakery make a new one a year later would hardly be the same thing and I think it would be a reminder of that fateful wedding cake which was not right.
Comparing the cake to human tragedies which are worse doesn't make sense to me either. The human tragedies can't be helped the cake was a mistake that should not have happened. Yes, if one of her relatives had died at the reception I am sure that would have been worse for her than the wrong kind of cake. That didn't happen. Are we not to ever be upset over a mistake because worse things could happen.
This was to be her perfect wedding, the cake was not what she ordered and paid for. I think she should get a full refund. I think she had a right to be upset.
I think we as decorators should take a lesson from this, every detail of those wedding cakes is important, there can be no errors. It isn't just cake...it is a part of their wedding and will be remembered forever. Because someone wasn't putting their all into that cake a bride could not enjoy her reception.

I like what you said lionladydi regarding the photos. A friend of mine got married a couple years ago and the very well know expensive photographer in the area did the pictures. Well after the wedding he realized he didn't put film in the camera that he used at the wedding. So what would you do in that case?? I would be pretty ticked off. She had some pictures but not alot. And couldn't go back to the church because of another wedding.

I am glad there were more posts with people that agree that she should be upset about this, it makes me feel a lot better today after reading through.