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Wedding disaster

post #1 of 14
8/25/05 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
I was talking to a friend at a bridal shower and she had a lady do her cake for her wedding. The cake FELL over. It was melting and fell.

This is why I used a bakery to make my cake and not a home business person. Why I felt that the bakery was more trustworthy than a home business I am not quite sure.

I only decorate cakes for friends and family. They have told me to start a business but I would be scared to ever make a mistakes such as what happened at my friend's wedding.

I have read so many posts about GorillaBrides but what should a bride look for and ask the cake decorator if she is not using a bakery? How can she be sure someone who thinks they know how to do cakes doesn't come in a hurt a wedding memory?
mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
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mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
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post #2 of 14
8/25/05 at 3:58pm
My first thought when reading your post was I hope that never happens to me (have a huge accident happen like that ) and then I thought we are all human.

Even the best "screw up" sometimes. My bridal shower cake was ordered from one of the top bakeries in New Orleans and guess what... It Broke. It was the shower cake from the cover of a Wilton magazine with the upside down umbrella with flowers pouring out of it. Well, the umbrella handle snapped. The bakery said that they knew they should have made it out of something other than fondant. Well, Duh! How about a fondant covered rod!!!

Word of mouth is a huge advertisement and, to me, means more than a paper ad or a big fancy store front.

bj icon_wink.gif
Kind words are like honey, sweet to the taste and good for your health. Pr 16:24
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Kind words are like honey, sweet to the taste and good for your health. Pr 16:24
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post #3 of 14
8/25/05 at 4:29pm
I went to a demo by Collette Peters while at the ICES convention and she told us a story how she had a cake collapse... She accidently used dowels that were made out of balsa wood. Needless to say, the dowels didn't hold the cake up. Even the best decorators have bad days!! icon_cry.gif

I think both bakeries and home bakers can make mistakes!!
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post #4 of 14
8/25/05 at 4:47pm
I was at a wedding where the cake nearly fell and it was made by a bakery, and the reception site had said they had problems with this bakery before. My husband and i happened to be seated at a table right near the cake, after a couple of drinks i kept looking at this cake, thinking either i'm getting really drunk or that cake is about to fall. Well i opened my mouth and one of the other women at our table grabbed the cake before the top layer went.
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post #5 of 14
8/25/05 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
This is why I like asking questions on this site. It helps me see things from the perspective of others and not just my own.
mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
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mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
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post #6 of 14
8/25/05 at 6:32pm
I am a home baker and this is my worst nightmare. I have not had that happen to me (by the grace of god). I have had a cake lean a bit in 90 degree weather. It was an easy fix thanks to extra icing and dowel rods.

The one piece of advise that I have to give is to use the round white plastic dowels. They are more stable than wood ones. On Earlene's website she has a system for stacking cakes using metal dowels that are attached to rings. They are pricey but I think it would be worth the investment.

www.mysweettreats.com
Teisha Anderson
www.mysweettreats.com
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Teisha Anderson
www.mysweettreats.com
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post #7 of 14
8/25/05 at 6:49pm
I too use the plastic dowels.. I've never witnessed a cake falling but I saw one come very close .. I had a co-worker tell me her sisters cake did fall.. the chain grocery store that did her's didn't even dowel the cake .. and they expected it not to fall??? they got on the phone and told them it had fallen and someone had better come and fix it.. well they did but she said you could see where they had repaired the cake and it didn't look good at all ... to say the least, this store no longer delivers and will not set up a cake .. they're like WalMart.. you pick the cake up and you set it up yourself... now what bride or part of the bride's party has time to go pick up and set up their own cakes?? I for one, wouldn't want that headache to do on my wedding day .. however, I would make sure I hired a very reliable person or bakery to do my cake that had a HUGE portfolio of pictures ... oh who am I fooling?? I'd have to do my own cake like I wanted it icon_biggrin.gif
Cheryl a/k/a ntertayneme (n-ter-tayne-me)
www.legateaux.com
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Cheryl a/k/a ntertayneme (n-ter-tayne-me)
www.legateaux.com
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post #8 of 14
8/25/05 at 10:40pm
I was delivering a cake to the reception--not more than 5 short blocks from my house, turned a corner slowly--You can guess. Everything slid to one side (Have delivered like this before without a problem). I put my friend in the back to tilt box in the opposite direction until we got to the reception hall.

One side of the 14" layer was starting to squish down and all bottom trim on cakes (4 tiered stacked) totally catty-whompus. I had fogotten my frosting and bags and just all-around emergency kit and had to send my friend back home to get it. As I stood there looking at the cake--Here comes the owner of the reception hall (she was a bit of a tyrannt), she looks and asked what happen and can it be fixed.

Confidently, I said sure. I immediately started taking each cake off, reposition the dowels and re-stacked the cakes. My friend got back with my frosting--re-trimmed and turned the squished side to back--And the cake looked great. Explained to the bride what happened and she said she couldn't tell. The "tyrannt" owner even took my cards and tiold me I could do all her wedding cakes. Sorry so long--
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

"Quality Cakes Aren't Cheap and Cheap Cakes Aren't Quality"

It's not "just cake!"
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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

"Quality Cakes Aren't Cheap and Cheap Cakes Aren't Quality"

It's not "just cake!"
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post #9 of 14
8/26/05 at 7:38am
One of my best friends got married several years ago and had a cake disaster. She had her cake made by a bakery and before the reception started the cake started to melt and fall. They didn't care, it was something everyone would remember years later.

Just remember that the wedding day is about the marriage and the start of a lifetime together and it is not about whether the cake was perfect or not.
Life is short, eat dessert first.
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Life is short, eat dessert first.
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post #10 of 14
8/26/05 at 7:58am
I guess that just gores to show you that whether store bought or custom made, accidents will happen. Doesn't scate me though... I'm still looking forward to my first wedding cake!

Debbi
Spanish sugar, French Pastry, Swiss chocolate, and American Apple Pie. How much sweeter can life get????
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Spanish sugar, French Pastry, Swiss chocolate, and American Apple Pie. How much sweeter can life get????
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post #11 of 14
8/28/05 at 4:03pm
I usually "test" the stability of my stacked cakes before leaving them or delivering them. So far, so good. That and I use more than enough doweling for them. (OK--I'm also the one who the the Care Bear cake for my daughter, 3-layers, and didn't use doweling at all--but heck, it was only "at home" anyway!).

Now--my sister had a VERY expensive, supposedly "good" bakery do her wedding cake. It almost fell. We actually took pictures of it with us leaning in the direction of the cake--it was pretty funny. It was not hot in the reception hall or anything--so it didn't melt I, the "at home" baker who supposedly couldn't "handle" a wedding was the one to fix it! In my bride's maid dress, I might add. UGH!! (The bottom layer of the cake cracked and it was tipping over because of it--it was not properly doweled.)

BTW--it cake was dry and cardboardy tasting also.

We called the bakery to tell them what happened and they really didn't care. They didn't even offer to refund any money or give her a small cake or anything. Now I do ALL the cakes for my family.

Lisa
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post #12 of 14
8/28/05 at 5:02pm
I had a bakery to my wedding cake as well. The cake topper I chose was crystal and a little heavier than most toppers, but I was assured by the owner of the bakery that they've topped cakes with even heavier toppers than mine and it would be no problem. I even brought it in to let her see it and though she did take it in her hands, I realized she never bothered to weigh it! (I didn't want to leave it in their possesion since my friends rather expensive topper was "broken" by her bakery, (so they said) and replaced with a cheap plastic one... we think it was stolen)

Anyways, my maid of honor's mom gave the owner the topper at the reception hall, and before we even sat down to dinner, the topper went sliding off and landed on my bouquet (thankfully) instead of smashing it many pieces! (It has sentimental meaning for us). When we looked at the cake, there was no way the top tier would have EVER supported that topper.... oh well.... Sure wish I had been into cake decorating back then!
"Baking may be regarded as a science, but it's the chemistry between the ingredients and the cook that gives desserts life. Baking is done out of love, to share with family and friends, to see them smile" ~Anna Olson
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"Baking may be regarded as a science, but it's the chemistry between the ingredients and the cook that gives desserts life. Baking is done out of love, to share with family and friends, to see them smile" ~Anna Olson
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post #13 of 14
9/2/05 at 4:16pm
I agree with another poster. You need to make sure the home baker you select has a huge portfolio of pix for you to look at. Ask alot of questions. I tell my brides right up front, that if they bring me a pix of some new technique that I have not done before, that they should find another decorator. I do not want to "test" out a technique on their special day. I have not had any of them complain about that, only say that they appreciate my honesty. Helen
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post #14 of 14
9/2/05 at 8:42pm
I had my wedding cake done by an "home" decorator and it turned out absolutely beautiful, I got soo many compliments, people still bring it up and that was 7 years ago!
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