Bride changing her mind last minute.

The bride and groom are friends of mine. Almost best friends of mine. This is my first wedding cake and I asked them to pay for the fondant alone. Probably mistake number one cause all the other damn ingredients, ribbon, sugar paste, dummy and cake board is coming up to a lot!!!

My business is registered and I asked her to sign a contract because she is the most indecisive person I have ever met. After she signed the contract I asked her permission to leave out an element of the cake that I thought would not look good. The cake is three tiers of ivory with ivory calla lilly cascade. She wanted orange and yellow elements so I suggested the curly things. Later I asked her permission to change it to orange and yellow filler flowers which would be more classy. She agreed.

The wedding is this Saturday (July 7th). She sent me an email on Sunday (July 1st) asking me to eliminate all the orange filler flowers.

Tell me if I am wrong for being pissed. I took a week to make all the flowers and to let them dry. I shot myself in the leg not asking them to pay more because I did not realize all the other things were going to add up to so much.

Now, not adding the orange flowers to the cascade is not a problem BUT I took a lot of time making them. Making my sugar paste from scratch, colouring it, and crafting those flowers. What am I supposed to do with those flowers if I don't add it to her cake. That is sugar paste I could have used doing something else.Ron Ben Israel makes a million cakes so he could use up extra fillers. I might have 1 cake a month and might end up throwing those flowers away. I am thinking about telling her "HARD LUCK , you signed the contract and I will not be able to change the design".

If I was a professional she would never have done this but because I am her friend I feel like I am being taken advantage of. Who the hell changes the design a week before the wedding???

ADVICE!!!!

There is enough time to make more flowers but the principle still stands. You asked me for orange and yellow, I made orange and yellow and now you want yellow alone. I am so mad right now. My husband is at work so I could only rant to my Cake Central Crew.

I am learning A LOT about doing things for friends. This is the second time I did an order for friend. The first time the bride asked for 750 cookies. I almost died making them. Obviously I am a slow learner.

Thank you so much guys. I used the template contract from the Cake Boss site and I don't know if there is anything about not changing the design close to the date.

My climate does call for some sort of drying equipment because a few days ago I woke up to find all my previously hard lillies all soft and out of shape. It had rained the night before.

I spoke to her and she has agreed to leave the filler flowers in the cake.

I am guessing that a strongly and specifically worded contract is my best tool in this business.

I am also learning a lot about doing business for friends.

Thanks again every one.

With regard to the contract, I had no intention of doing one until this girl decided to change her mind every time she saw me. "I want this, no I want that, Can you do this, no I want you to do that instead, I want 3 tiers, no I want 4 tiers, I want leaves, no I want flowers" SHE WAS PISSING ME OFF. So my husband said to print up a contract to sort of "shock" her into realizing that this was a BUSINESS. She got serious after she signed the contract but still was trying to test me I think. My husband told me I should not even have entertained any of her changes and let her know immediately that the contract is signed and no changes are allowed. He also told me that I should have told her to pay for any changes which one of you suggested.

I will look into the cartridges cause RIGHT NOW IT IS RAINING HARD and my flowers are already starting to soften up. I live in Trinidad in the Caribbean and it is the wet season (we have wet and dry seasons unlike other countries that have Winter and Spring etc)

The flowers are giving me a migraine. Someone suggested putting them in my oven with the pilot light on but I am afraid they will bake.