Feeling So Guilty About Ugly Wedding Cake. :( Long...
Decorating By JCE62108 Updated 23 Feb 2010 , 6:43pm by Chasey
Its been hard for me to get over this. Ive literally lost sleep. For three days I was up pacing the kitchen because I was so disapointed.
Ok, but it wasnt my fault...I really have to keep telling myself that. Here's what happened....
A very nice young girl placed her wedding cake order with me several months ago. The wedding was last weekend, Valentines Day.
The cakes were baked and crumbcoated the day before and sat on my counter to settle overnight. The next morning I was up and ready to finish icing and decorating the cakes for delivery when I got a phone call.
She calls me, so upsett telling me that her fiance went out partying the night before, was drinking, and driving without a license. He was pulled over and thrown in jail without bond. She was sure he wasnt getting out so she was calling everyone to cancel the wedding. She said she wanted to catch me before I made her cakes. I was like, "hon, they are made. It takes a long time to make wedding cakes. What would you like me to do?" She's still sobbing, "I dont know." "Well, I can put them in my freezer for you and when you reschedule hopefully the cakes will be ok." She agrees, and I tell her that if something changes Ill do my best to get her cake ready.
I had another delivery that day, so at 11am I head an hour away to the delivery. Afterwards I visit with my Mom and brother. At 2pm she calls me all excited, saying, The wedding is on! Wonderful. Im an hour or more away from my cakes, I still have to frost and decorate them, and get it to her wedding by 4:30pm. OMG.
I rush home right away, take the cakes out of the freezer. They are condensating and I cant even frost them. I stick it in my car, grab my supplies, and rush back to my Mom's house to decorate them....hoping that while in the car they will defrost a bit.
Well, when I got back to my mom's it was 4pm. I literally had 30 minutes to get this cake out the door. I iced it, then went to put the colums in. OMG its frozen solid, I have to pound the colums in, praying my cake doesnt crack. I get most of them in. I couldnt get the colums in the top tier, but oh well, it only had a 5 inch cake sitting on it so I wasnt too worried.
15 minutes to go. I litterally pipe as fast as I possibly can, remembering my days working at a grocery store bakery were I had to complete 40 birthday cakes in 8 hours. Thank goodness for that training....
However, the final product ended up looking like a horrible grocery store cake. The piping was uneven, the designs did not match up, and instead of the delicate piping it should have had, I choose the faster method of using a small star tip for the scrolls....which in hindsight was the hugest mistake.
It was awful. I stacked it (since it was frozen I wasnt worried about transporting it stacked) and raced to the reception area. I got there at 5pm, 30 minutes late. The wedding hadnt started yet, thank goodness.
I dropped the cake off and left with a huge pit in my stomach. Its the worst wedding cake Ive ever made. I feel so bad about it. When she saw it she must have been so dissapointed.
To make matters worse, when I looked at the photo of it later that evening, I noticed I even forgot to put a border on one of the tiers!
This turned into a huge vent, but I tell ya, Ive never felt so bad about a cake before. I know I did the best I could to give her a cake, but the thought of the dissapointment she must have had when she saw it is just eating me up inside.
Should I say something to her about it? apologize? Offer her a free cake or something?
If you actually read to the bottom of this, you're awesome. And thanks for letting me vent. Maybe someone has some input for me. 
It sounds like you did the best you could with a really messed up situation. The fact that you were able to deliver a cake at all after she called and canceled is pretty amazing. I wonder if the caterer, if she had one, was able to pull a miracle out of her hat too...
Anyhow, I wouldn't offer her anything. Wait and see what she says if she says anything. It sounds like she doesn't know anything about cakes, so her wedding cake may have been the bestest wedding cake ever 
to her and if you apologize for it or offer her something then she'll feel bad that the bestest cake ever wasn't the best to you too 
Are you kidding me...Bride disappointed...she's lucky she got a cake at all..I would have said tough luck after she cancelled!!! If you think I am gonna race around with 1 hour to produce a stacked cake..You are crazy....You went above and beyond..It is no fault of yours!! Great job...and who cares what the cake looked like after that fiasco...
I would wait to see if I heard from her. Like Texas_Rose said, it may be the bestest wedding cake she's ever seen 
. Remember people that don't do cakes don't notice the details as much as you would. AND it was not your fault that you had to rush to decorate this cake. If I were her I would just be thankful that I was still able to get the cake on such short notice after cancelling my order. Best of luck to you.
You did your best - she did call to say that he probablywasn't getting out of jail. She just didn't get it that the cakes couldn't be whipped into shape so quickly.
Not your fault. The only thing I would have done differently would be to have explained to her the position that she put you in, and that the cake would have to be late and that you would do your best to accomodate her given the circumstances.
Don't beat yourself up - it really was not you.
I agree with Texas_Rose and KiddieKakes. I don't think you should contact her or offer her anything. I think that if she had a problem with the cake she would conatct you. You provided her with a cake on very short notice and without that she would not have had a cake. Be proud of the fact that you were kind enough to do the cake for her at all. It was definitely above and beyond. WTG
At time of ohone call-That's when I finish the cake, decorate, photograph it and on with life. Whew. Bride-you can come pick it up if you would like. What a hassle. HO-ley crap. It's nice that you were so accommodating, I doubt most people would have been. Me one of them.
This bride has bigger problems to deal with considering her fiance was thrown in jail for drunk driving the night before their wedding. I'm thinking that the cake is the least of her worries right now.
You did your best and went above and beyond to get that cake delivered to them. I know you feel it's not your best work, but really for you to be able to get that cake finished and delivered by 5p.m. with such short notice is a miracle.
I think you are fantastic and I'm sure the cake was beautiful, we are our own worst critics. 
I agree with Texas_Rose and KiddieKakes. I don't think you should contact her or offer her anything. I think that if she had a problem with the cake she would conatct you. You provided her with a cake on very short notice and without that she would not have had a cake. Be proud of the fact that you were kind enough to do the cake for her at all. It was definitely above and beyond. WTG
I agree with Deb..you went above and beyond! It shows just how much you care. She was lucky to have gotten anything so I wouldn't offer anything to her.
On the flip side of this I would have been concerned with my name being attached to a cake that by your own admission (through no fault of your own) was sub-par. I'm not sure what I would have done in this situation. jmo
I agree with Deb..you went above and beyond! It shows just how much you care. She was lucky to have gotten anything so I wouldn't offer anything to her.
On the flip side of this I would have been concerned with my name being attached to a cake that by your own admission (through no fault of your own) was sub-par. I'm not sure what I would have done in this situation. jmo
Absolutly. That was a concern of mine as well. However, anyone who visits my website would quickly see that is not my usual quality of work...nonetheless, I didnt leave any business cards this time. I was embarrassed. I can only imagine what comments the guests were making at the reception as they were picking at a frozen piece of cake on their plate. The guests, Im sure, have no idea what I had to go through to deliver this cake....so yes, that is a big concern of mine. I only hope the bride didnt tell anyone who made it!
You guys are great though. My confidance just got a bump from you all today. Thank you.
The bride probably called all of them to tell them the wedding was canceled, then called a couple hours later to say it was back on, so they were probably not surprised by anything that happened there and would figure any cake or food issues stemmed from that problem.
The bride probably called all of them to tell them the wedding was canceled, then called a couple hours later to say it was back on, so they were probably not surprised by anything that happened there and would figure any cake or food issues stemmed from that problem.
Absolutely. I think the guests had other things to gossip about at that wedding than the state of the cake. 
You guys...... look at the email I just got from her:
"Thanks so much. The cake was beautiful! Thanks for everything!"
I honestly had to bring my hubby in the room to stand next to me, I was so nervous to open that email. I can relax now. LOL. thank goodness.
"This bride has bigger problems to deal with considering her fiance was thrown in jail for drunk driving the night before their wedding. I'm thinking that the cake is the least of her worries right now."
ahahahaha.....I'm still laughing.
my word you are a star for even taking on that challenge , kudos for you !
If she's like me, she didn't take a picture! I tend to not take pictures of cakes I don't feel great about.
To make matters worse, when I looked at the photo of it later that evening, I noticed I even forgot to put a border on one of the tiers!
There is a pic somewhere Come on, show us.....I'm sure it looks awesome!! Especially if the bride took the time to write back!
Whew, what a happy ending at least! I was feeling rushed just reading about your ordeal!
I agree with the comments about the guests having much to talk about during that reception...other than the frozen cake, ha! Bet they weren't surprised by that at all. Might have even assumed it came from the store bakery 
that way, you know?
Glad the bride took a minute to tell you she loved it. That's awesome!
Now...can we see this fast masterpiece you assembled? I'm in awe you got it done!
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