My bride brought in a picture for her cake design that was 5 tiers high, full of flowers. Gorgeous, but she wanted it made of cheesecake. For my peace of mind, I won't stack a cheesecake any higher that 3 tiers because of all the extra weight. She was fine with 3 tiers until about a month before the wedding, when her florist talked her into using dummy tiers so she could have 5 tiers. His idea was to sandwich his flowers between 2-1" layers of styrofoam for each tier, and then provide my cheesecakes separately. I assumed she had alot of confidence in her florist or she wouldn't have suggested it. I spoke with the florist (after numerous unanswered phone calls). He asked me to fax him a sketch of how it was going to be stacked. I sent him a very detailed description and called and left a message if he had any questions. He was supposed to provide 5 centers plus a cake topper as shown on the drawing.

When I arrived at our confirmed time, I was informed by the banquet manager that he said he needed to come early, but left everything by the cake table. What I found by the table were 4 rings of half dead roses, not 5, and no topper, just 6 more browning flowers. The banquet manager took some flowers out of his centerpieces so I could at least make a topper. And of course, the flowers for the cnterpieces were beautiful. I'm mortified that my name will even be associated with this horrible looking cake.

Thank goodness, I went above and beyond on the way her cheesecakes were decorated, and I know they will taste great, but I feel horrible about her wedding cake. Now what? Should I call the bride or her mother? Call the florist? I'm still fairly new at this, and feel at a loss how to handle this situation.

I think you should put a little sign out in front of your cake stating "Flowers provided by . . ." You wouldn't want him to miss out on the advertising. Seriously though I would definitely tell the bride. You have the banquet manager to back you up and this is your reputation on the line. All of the work you have done to promote your business can go out the window if your customer thinks this is your idea of a finished wedding cake. She will tell anyone who will listen how upset she is about her cake. I really don't think it will do any good to contact the florist. He knows exactly what he did which is why he showed up when you were not there. I am sorry you had to go through this.

I agree that you should let the bride know and keep in hand any documentation you may have such as the cake sketch you sent the florist and any written agreement of what the florist was supposed to have left you. So sorry this happened!

Thank you for the guidance. The bridal couple was a really sweet couple and a pleasure to deal with. It continues to amaze me how unscrupulous some people can be.

I hope you took pictures of the mess the florist left and the dead flowers you had to work with. Then of course a finished picture of the cake looking as good as if possibly could. And yes, ABSOLUTELY tell the bride and groom. The florist owes then an apology or $.