Whew! When I said I was done with this, I meant the picture crap we were going through. I had a migraine and was just trying to get done so I could go to bed. I am awake now and do not have a pounding head. So-------everyone has an opinion. To you that just hung in there while I was trying to get the pictures on THANK YOU!!!! My family goes to church on Sundays and I stayed home with my head. I didn't feel missing church to put pictures on the computer was that important. I thought I would try but as I said in previous posts--I am computer illiterate. To those that questioned the truth of the post that some felt you were rude and out of line------you were---get a life. I
don't deal with rude people in my everyday life and I don't have to deal with it on CC. So, for those of you that still have questions I am more than willing to answer them now that I can make more scense of everything. I just got done rereading everything. So here goes.
I don't know if DN gave them detailed instructions on what he wanted. I do know that he wanted fairies on it. I don't know what the significance of the cottage or the meadow was.
He flew up and drove back.
It was for his wife's 40th birthday. She is pregnant and due anytime. I have never known a man to love someone so much as he does. She watches all of the food networks and one her favorite shows is ACE OF CAKES. She really likes Geoff. She had stated at one time that she wondered what an ACE OF CAKES would taste like. Light when on for DN and this is one of the things he wanted her to have.
Did he think it was beautiful? I don't know. All I could see was the love in his eyes when she took the paper off of the cake and she saw it for the 1st time. She 1st said something about the fairies, and how she loved fairies. She wanted to know if the fairies were ediable. Then she lol'd and stated that maybe she shouldn't say she wants to eat a fairie!!!! lol. She has a really fun scense of humor.
Next she asked him who did the cake, was it Aunt Lu. I definantly said NO. (Mine would have been so much better). He said no ACE OF CAKES and then she said no and he said yes and it went back and fourth. Then she asked who at the party has had an ACE OF CAKES and she laughed and raised her hand and said I have and so will everyone else. She then looked at him and said it was beautiful and that she was the luckiest wife in the whole world. So,l if they didn't like it I am pretty sure the love that it was given with pushed the looks aside.
How could they afford it? I don't know it isn't any of my business.
How did I find out the cost? My sister (the MOM of the wife) played high low with me. Then she said for her 60th birthday they could give her 1999.00 and a box of little Debbie Twinkies. I said that they could give her 1799.00 and me 200.00 dollars and I would make the cake with twinkies and still end up with profit!!! LOL.
Yes, that was the box it came in.
I can't think of anything else so I would like to go to bed. If you have any other question, let me know.
As far as I shouldn't have said anything until it was all said and done then tell you all about it. I was excited. Many of times people have shared before something happens and like you all, I waited for the results. I thought that was part of the excitement with friends, you share from beginning to end. So to you that had a problem with me sharing before it happened, I suggest next time you read something and It starts with I'm excited I am going to get to....... maybe you should close the thread and go to another because like I said, the best part was the anticipation, waiting and the end results with friends.
Good night I am truly sorry for the mess!
Lu
Lu, I have been watching the thread for quite awhile now...waiting in anticipation too. I have to tell you...whether the cake was worth $2K or not the story you just told of the love between them is priceless.
My husband and I are in love the same way. I would give him anything and he would I if we could afford it, but you know what...the love is what is worth it all. I lost him a month ago (he actually dropped dead in front of me right after blowing me a kiss). The drs brought him back that day (twice) and I take NOTHING for granted now. If the cake that others think is over priced and crappy brought a smile to her face...how can you put a price on that? You can't.
Bless you all.....and I hope your head gets feeling better..I was in the bed today with a migraine too....So I know how you feel.
Lu -
thanks for posting what you know of the story, it was great! I am so relieved I finally know they were faries 
At first I thought birds, then angels. I just could not get the pics big enough to tell. It sounds like the cake could have been a giant blobby mess and she would have loved it because he got her an AOC cake and went to all that trouble to do it. that's a good husband
LU- I quit reading after your post I have tears in my eyes. That is so sweet and she is so lucky to be so loved.
The cake was not my thing but I do cakes! I do think it is reflective of some of the cakes I have seen on the show. I love the show but I think we have been way to harsh on this particular cake. I saw them do duck pond, a house, and a armadillo cake that were good but not $2000 good. And those are just the ones that I thought of first. You are paying for the time slot as much as anything they are busy
Would you guys listen to yourselves?
I've seen cakes way below this standard and read post after post after post of people oooohing and ahhhhhhing all over the place ... over a cake that is average. I read post after post on here saying we're suppose to "love and support" each other and the ever popular (make me gag with a big' ole spoon) cliche of "if you can't say anything nice dont' say anything".
But let someone command a fabulous price for a cake .... Duff cake, or what a celebrity paid for a 2 year old's birthday .... and the cat claws come out.
We've had threads where a cake civilian complained because a 2 tier 6/8 cake cost over $100 or $150. And we've had CC'ers "support" the cake makers side with "I don't turn my oven on for less than ....." (me included).
But let someone "not turn their oven on" for MORE than the average standard on here, and more cat claws come out. There are some posts on here that sound like comments I'd expect from cake civilians, not fellow cake creators.
Pricing minimums have to cover overhead. Look at what comes out of Charm City Cakes .... look at the level of talent he's hired. You don't get that for $2 over minimum wage. If that commands a higher "I dont' turn my oven on for less than ....." statement, then that's just how it works. If someone doesn't want to pay that, then as it's been said on here frequently: "Walmart .... Aisle 8 .... knock yourself out".
It is NOT an "ugly" cake. It's not a CCC SuperBowl cake, or Fist cake or any of the other fabulous creations you see on TV .... but those cakes don't sell for only $2000 either.
I just get tired of the inconsistencies. Very. Tired.
Lu and Lu's son .... thanks SO much for all the effort to post these pics for these Enquiring Minds! Appreciate it so much!
My thoughts EXACTLY! I was just basically saying the same thing to my husband! Get your money Duff! Because God knows if I could get $2000 out the gate, I'd take it and then some. It's not different than buying a pair of designer jeans (a couple of hundred dollars) vs. getting a pair off jeans from Target or Kmart. I have never spent 200 or 300 on a pair of jeans but that doesnt mean that the designer doesnt have the right to charge big bucks for them! I will continue to buy my jeans from the discount stores and admire the designer jeans (even when I know I would never pay 300 for a pair)!
Wow.....that's just embarrassing. I can't believe that Duff let that out of their bakery, let alone charged someone 2k for it......and you say the delivery person was very "unduff like"?? Even more embarrassing. I think that you ought to send pic copies back to Duff himself and ask him is he thinks this cake lives up to his standards.....If I were him I would be really upset about this one.....and what the heck are all the little dots on the base suppose to be......my 6 year old nephew could do that!!!
I am a Duff addict, but even I will admit that the "happy go lucky" group we see on the show is not likely to be how they all really are in real life....nobody that I know has that much fun on a job.........even if it is cake! 
Seeing this cake and hearing how poorly his employee handled the delivery and customer contact, really disappoints me and I think that Duff should be really embarrassed by it all.......what the heck were they thinking????
Thanks Lu, as you can see I am new to this posting thing and this is actually the first thread I have followed. It really had me excited and anxiously waiting (I liked that and thank you for that). Although I have to say-some of you guys made me question ever posting a thread. I just want to commend Lu for how she handled it in the end. Thank you for answering the questions for those who patiently waited in suspense. That story that you just shared made the waiting all worth it, and I am truly happy that they were so happy with the cake in the end.
Awwwe.. how sweet. They sound like a wonderful couple.
I think the posts saying "how dare you post before you have pictures" were more in jest than being serious, so I would take those with a hefty grain of salt (and maybe some tequilla and lime juice on the rocks 
).
I'm glad that it's all over with for you though. 
Sometimes I'll see a designer dress going down a runway on TV or on the red carpet and think.....Seriously???? That's hideous!!!!! But you know the designer got huge bucks for it. It's great that Duff could get $2K for a cake that looks like that. I think if any other decorator made this cake they couldn't get 1/4 of that price. It's all about the name.
Personally Lu, I think they should have had you make the cake! Your Coke cake outclasses the Duff cake you posted by miles! I love the Lost cake of Duff's, but your nephew's cake not so much. I understand that for some people it's all about 'labels'. Does a label make it better than something much less expensive? Often - NO! This cake I think is a case in point, but to each their own. I love the little love story between your nephew & his wife, so sweet!
Been lurking on this post (reading & catching up).
Just wanted to say that I hope my hubby would love me enough to take something I said in passing, and act on it. That is unconditional love to the max. Sounds like they have a great relationship regardless of cake.
Duff has talent, no question about that. Maybe he has had to take some shortcuts to keep up with the demand?
Would you guys listen to yourselves?
I've seen cakes way below this standard and read post after post after post of people oooohing and ahhhhhhing all over the place ... over a cake that is average. I read post after post on here saying we're suppose to "love and support" each other and the ever popular (make me gag with a big' ole spoon) cliche of "if you can't say anything nice dont' say anything".
But let someone command a fabulous price for a cake .... Duff cake, or what a celebrity paid for a 2 year old's birthday .... and the cat claws come out.
We've had threads where a cake civilian complained because a 2 tier 6/8 cake cost over $100 or $150. And we've had CC'ers "support" the cake makers side with "I don't turn my oven on for less than ....." (me included).
But let someone "not turn their oven on" for MORE than the average standard on here, and more cat claws come out. There are some posts on here that sound like comments I'd expect from cake civilians, not fellow cake creators.
Pricing minimums have to cover overhead. Look at what comes out of Charm City Cakes .... look at the level of talent he's hired. You don't get that for $2 over minimum wage. If that commands a higher "I dont' turn my oven on for less than ....." statement, then that's just how it works. If someone doesn't want to pay that, then as it's been said on here frequently: "Walmart .... Aisle 8 .... knock yourself out".
It is NOT an "ugly" cake. It's not a CCC SuperBowl cake, or Fist cake or any of the other fabulous creations you see on TV .... but those cakes don't sell for only $2000 either.
I just get tired of the inconsistencies. Very. Tired.
Lu and Lu's son .... thanks SO much for all the effort to post these pics for these Enquiring Minds! Appreciate it so much!
I must respectfully disagree...to a certain extent.
If we were all plastic surgeons, and people were balking at the prices paid for plastic surgery, then there must be a certain standard that is adhered to that makes the public want and trust us.
I see making sub-standard cakes with over-inflated prices as a dis-service to many of us. It makes people NOT trust us. It makes the person with the off-centered nose job who paid way more for a "Beverly Hills" doctor able to take the TRUST right out of our industry.
The cake is ok, maybe the pictures are not great, I dunno. But no one is going to bring that picture to someone like me, and hail this industry....or fork over 2k for something like it. Even if I could do it better or make it taste better. They've been burned.
I must add (as it seems like a caveat on CC...that I LOVE AOC....love DUFF...)
I agree with CakeMom777
Lomikesa
Has anyone considered the thought that there is a child that has watched many episodes of AOC sitting next to her mom and that just the thought of having an AOC Birthday cake will be a memory that will last forever. That is worth $2K right? Maybe it is or isn't worth $2K in someone elses eyes. But in the eyes of a dad that just made his little girl the happiest girl in the whole USA, and it was worth every penny!!!!
this reminds me of a certain credit card commercial..."cake bought for daughter...priceless."
What a thread.
Thanks Lu for sharing your story, very interesting!
I'm curious as to what happened with your nephew-in-law and the staff member who treated him poorly? If anything, that's what would really piss me off...that I chose them to give my business/$$ to and then I'm treated with poor customer service. I don't think it's right to expect to see Duff but I would expect top service with those top prices.
CakeMomma777, good post, I completely agree.
Glad to hear the recipient was overjoyed.
I admit, when I first read the part where she asked her husband who made it and he told her and her response was "no" - I thought it was because she didn't think they'd do something like that. Not because she couldn't believe it was a CCC.
OMG! 
First I would like to say Thank you Lu for sharing, and yes among friends we can share ALL the excitement not just the parts that we are interested in.....Just want to add that.
Now did anybody stop to think that maybe just maybe this is exactly what the client wanted. So how dare we bash someone else taste. If that was our client we would have made the cake and we would have been proud....and after that we would have posted it here and would have EXPECTED good comments on it. So why is it that when another decorator makes something that we are not that into all of a sudden we have the right to bash it and say that it is ugly. If one of us would have posted any of the comments that were posted on this cake to one of the other decorators here, we would have had a fit, but because it is someone that we have put on a pedestal all of a sudden we have the right to judge.....I don't think so!!!! 
Ok so maybe I wasn't a huge fan of the cake but that is just my taste, but I can't say it is ugly because it wasn't what I was expecting from Duff. Ok, so let say it was Lu that had made the cake and posted it, all of a sudden we would have all left comments, like, "great job!", or "how did you make the roof, I like the angle", or "I like the camo look of the building"...isn't that being fake....sorry not into that...
In my Forest Gump manner, my mother always tells me that everything that comes to my mind can't come out of my mouth...and yes I might have said a few things in the previous paragraph that might bother some..(but I felt it needed to be said)...but being rude to others not my thing....Maybe this makes us think before we are so quick to judge... .
ON a lighter note. Am I missing something on the "cancelled check" thread. I kept up with it all last weekend. Are you guys telling me that was fake.....ohhhhh come on people, please....do we need attention that bad that we are going to make up stories here. this makes me think of a photo that I saw on line not to long ago. It showed me how fake people can be on line....It is a funny pic...enjoy.
Bea
(edited to fix a few typos, )
well...
after reading all these posts about this cake i would have to say that many of us thought because a cake was coming from duff that it was going to be mind blowing, especially for that price. well...let's remember that duff is a celebrity, thus he can charge celebrity prices. 
And rightfully so! Look at everything that they are working on when the tv show airs...nothing looks subpar, wonky, or even makes you say ummmmm....huh???"
Whatever....if the receipient loved it, than great. Me being a baker/decorator myself, my opinion is just this: doesn't look like something Duff would allow out the front door with his name on it. Period.
Cake_Mooma that picture is too funny.
Lu whatever happened here this past few weeks,we appreciate the trouble you went through,thanks again.
I'm wondering how many doubting Thomases emailed CCC with that photo wanting to know if it was really produced by them.
I love the show, and Duff and Mary Alice and all of the staff. I think they are wonderfully talented. That said, I seriously doubt that Duff had anything to do with this cake other than being the proprietor of the shop in which it was produced.
My main problem with the whole thing is how the DN was treated when he picked up the cake. If his wife loved the cake, that is all that matters....but what a shame that someone who spent $2000 for ANYTHING was treated poorly while he did it. 
If I were Duff, THAT is what I would be trying to rectify.
If the neice and nephew-in-law were happy with it, I'm happy for them. But I'm shocked and disappointed that someone would put their name and considerable reputation on something that left us almost unanimously scratching our heads in disbelief.
I've seen numerous threads here that discuss contracts including a clause that stipulates that if a wedding cake, for instance, comes from one baker, they require that the groom's cake also come from them. Bakers here know that their image and reputation are important and do not want their cake put next to something inferior lest guests think the inferior (frozen, not fresh, or just ugly) cake came from them as well. It's just good business.
How many of us, after seeing this cake, would think twice befire hiring CCC (even if we had crazy money to burn)? I think, if I had the money and location wasn't a concern, I could find a dozen other bakers I'd pick first; this cake did nothing for Duff's reputation or business.
...Which leads me to believe either there is a major quality control issue at CCC or they just don't care (unless it's for the show)...not a good sign for the future regardless of the absurd prices they're able to command right now. The only thing that makes any sense is that they're just more concerned with celebrity than good business...which isn't even good for celebrity - terribly short sighted.
Just doesn't make sense at all.
Lu,
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It was so much fun waiting for the pics - like Christmas in April! Sorry you had such a hard time with all the negative stuff.
And you're right, church is more important than putting pics on the computer!!
Don't shoot me but I didn't think the cake was that bad. And I've never seen a cake that was worth $2000.00!
How come I can't see the cake ?
All I see is a X .
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