before it is delivered to the venue. She ordered 230 mini cupcakes which were picked up earlier today. The coordinator called to say that they were not happy with them and now wanted to inspect the cake. There were no specific instructions about the cupcakes other than they wanted chocolate. Note: bride was extremely picky and wanted a pic of a cake done the same as her cake. I said numerous times I do not and cannot do exact replicas. She signed the agreement saying that I had creative license... etc. So do I allow them to inspect the cake before delivery? If so what are the conditions? The coordinator wants an answer NOW,however I am waiting for yours first.

They can 'inspect' it when it is delivered. What was wrong with the cupcakes? I assume they've already paid for the cake, right?

I wouldn't. I would kindly tell them that you are a very busy and cannot take the time to have someone "examine" your work. I would also remind them of the agreement that they signed giving you creative license, and also remind them that you make sure your clients are happy and have a great reputation.
That's just me

Maybe she got the 230 cupcakes and decided that was enough and now is going to try to stick you with the cake because she can get by without it! If she signed a contract, I would tell her it did not matter at this point if she approves or not!

Yeah, sure. When I go to a restaurant, I always tell the chef that I want to inspect my dinner in the kitchen before it is served to me. (Written in sarcastic font.)

I would tell her that your baking and delivery time-line does not allow for any extra time and she can see the cake when you deliver it to the venue.

I would also try and find out specifically what they weren't happy about with the cupcakes. If it's a design issue then tell her she should have been more specific when she ordered the cupcakes.

What can possibly be wrong with mini cupcakes?

What? next she will want to taste test it too? Good Grief, the nerve of some people! You do have the $ right? PLEASE let us know how this turns out!

I would say sure, get your arse down here.. at "specific time" of your convenience. Have contract out and ready to justify your work. I hope you have a clause about no refund if cancelled within 24 hours of delivery.. (like doctors, charge for no shows!)

I say all this because.. imagine 24 hours from now.. cake delivered.. the telephone rings.. "we hate the cake, but we cut it, we served it, we smeared it all over each other faces, and now we want our money back or we will bad mouth you on twitter, FB, or my space... 6 hours after phone call.. the emails start ..why wont you give us our money back.. we wanted to inspect the cake first!!!.. etc etc..

48 hours after initial phone call.. you are in county lock-up, you give up your right to a phone call and instead exchange it for a two minute session on cake central.. where you write this post... She wants her money back.. she annoyed me to death, so I killed her.. I may serve 10-20 for her murder.. but she is serving 150-175 , since she is now the cake filling in my last wedding cake. (had to get rid of body somehow..) Please send bail contributions to....

Thank goodness both cake and cupcakes are paid in full. After much insistence, I gave them a really good price for the cupcakes. BTW, cupcakes are to go into the favor boxes. The cupcake wrappers I picked up, size didn't match. As well, half of the bunch had silver liners and the other plain. I thought that since they were favors it would be ok. My decision was probably a bad one. Now I am freaking out. What if they don't like the cake or have criticisms when I deliver it tomorrow?

Tesso, you crack me up!

What's going to happen at this "inspection?" If she doesn't like the cake, are you supposed to start over?? It is very possible that she thinks the cupcakes will be enough and now she doesn't want the cake. If she declines the cake and fights about not paying for it, I would demand that she return the cupcakes! (Why wouldn't she since she didn't like them!?)

If she paid for all silver liners then she should have gotten all silver liners...I'd offer a small token refund for any mistakes you made...but then assure her the wedding cake is perfection...and not let her inspect it.

Was there a reason that you weren't able to get all silver liners? If so, I think you should have let the bride know beforehand, even if it was just a courtesy call. If those were my cupcakes, yes, I would be concerned enough to call the baker and ask about the cake. Maybe you could offer a compromise and offer to send pictures instead? Sure, you would have to take the time to do the pics, but at least she wouldn't be in your space.

the thing is she didn't pay for silver liners. So she got them as a bonus. All the contract says is "230 mini chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing." I couldn't find any more mini liners and thought it would be ok. I love the joke with the caker in jail. That's what I want to do. When I go to deliver/set up cake about 1.5 hours prior to event, what If they don't like the cake (which is really subjective)? Do I just deliver and go right away or...? What if they don't sign off on the cake?

Oh...no big deal then....I don't see why it would be a big deal if she didn't specify the wrappers.

yet another crazy customer. did u take any pics? love to c them.

Take pictures after set up. If she refuses to sign, notate on contract the refusal and have a witness signature.
Since cake is paid for, if she refuses to sign, it's not like you're going to take it back.

Good luck.

I haven't met her so maybe I'm wrong, but to me, it doesn't sound like you have a demanding bridezilla. The differences in the cupcakes surprised (scared) her. Now she's concerned and wants to make sure the cake is fine. (No surprises the day of the wedding!) I seriously don't think she'll refuse the cake if it's designed well and tastes good.

I know it's a pain to make time for her to see the cake now, but refusing to do so will make her wonder why and amp up her concerns and make it even more likely that she'll find something wrong with it at delivery. If you're confident in your work, I say let her stop by and have a look (assuming you have it finished before the day of the wedding). It isn't like this happens every day, and you will make the customer happy. (You will also take some stress off yourself. As it is now, you're worried that she won't like the cake when you deliver it. Letting her see it beforehand removes that stress.)

Of course I want client to be happy so I do understand what they're saying. I think the customer nitpicking is unbelievable though. I will reassure them that the cake is going to look great. Here's a pic of what she wants. While I have you here how do you finish off the cake at the bottom of each tier. It looks seamless and now I'm hesitant to try it. The 8" and 10" are real cake and the others are dummies.

When all is right with the world (cakes are level, dowels are level, fondant has been cut even to the bottom of the cake board), they can work out to be seamless. If it doesn't work out, you can pipe some royal icing in the seam and smooth it with a barely damp finger or you can mush some water into some fondant, pipe that into the seam, and smooth with your finger.

My honest opinion on the "pre-approval" by photo or in person is that it's a bad idea. She's all worked up about the wedding. If she decides that she wants major changes, it becomes your emergency. It's not in the contract and if she decides that doesn't want what you've provided, that's her problem.


Like it or not, there IS a point of no return when it comes to the cake

Rae

Well, if you do decide to let her come by for a preview, don't leave her alone with any frosting bags. We all know what happened when Buddy (Cake Boss) left a bride alone with her cake the day before the wedding! LOL!!!

230 favors but the cake is an 8 and a 10? My servings chart doesn't come up to anywhere near 230 servings for an 8 and a 10.

However, that's not what you asked.

I say go with your gut. You don't want her to worry about the cake but you don't want her to see it, decide it doesn't look like she thought it would, and then try to pull a rabbit out of your hat on short notice. It sounds like a "go with your gut" situation to me.

Okay, so things don't match, that's enough to worry any bridezilla....my question is, how much artistic license can you really take on that cake? I mean, maybe each flower isn't going to be in the same spot, maybe a color will be different to match a color she provided, but if the bride provided you with a pic and you tell her you don't do replicas, and you do something completely off the wall, in "artistic license's" name, she will be upset...I think that cake is pretty straightfoward, so that "artistic license" you need for it would kind of worry me too, especially if I thought you didn't have an eye for detail by not using matching liners...I'm just saying....

There's really not much to change actually - I'm changing the flowers and not including the pearl beads around the cake. I'm mixing up the shape of the tiers too. I will put white ribbon around the tiers. There's not much you can change as it's a standard cake but I think it's enough not to cause any problems with the artist. I went with my gut and have not agreed to have the cake inspected. They wanted to see it tonight. The wedding is tomorrow. I was very calm and reassured the coordinator their cake would look beautiful. I put the coordinator on notice that the cake will not look exactly as the pic and they cannot expect it to. It's in the contract and what we all agreed. I like the idea of forwarding a pic of the finished cake to them.

I looked at your cake photos and you clearly have an eye for detail and design. But if you need any help on that bail money.......I'm there for you!