wedding cake lady

[sylvier]

I work at a small German bakery, European bread and buns are our main products. We also do favourite German sweets like bienenstich, apple strudel, cheesecake, poppy slices, Nussecken regularly - as far as regular "bakery cakes" go, we offer white, chocolate, mocca, Black Forest and fruit flan - very basic, no special artwork or kid's Disney cakes, and especially no wedding cakes after a Bridezilla event last year. So now it's wedding season and a lady called today to try to order a wedding cake. Gave her the drill "we do basic cakes, nothing fancy, etc.," so she asked me if anyone else in town does wedding cakes. As far as I know, nobody does, but I gave her the name of a competitor, better them than us, right? Ten minutes later, the same lady calls back, asking if we do "two-tier cakes". Gee doesn't that sound an awful lot like a wedding cake? "No ma'am, we do basic cakes" (gave her the drill again). I suppose she was hoping someone else would answer the phone on the second call and give her the answer she wanted. Too bad she got me again! Just call me the Wedding Cake Nazi!

[TheSHAD0W]

You're better off not making wedding cakes. That's all you need, bridezillas stomping around your store.

[ralerin]

Oh, bridezilla event? Do tell, please.

[morgana]

Oh, bridezilla event? Do tell, please.

Yeah, this sounds good! *makes popcorn*

[Red_Dazes]

I think all brides should be forced to sign a contract when they order the cake, that states EXACTLY what they want in writing, and a disclaimer that says something along the lines of "If you harass (company) about this cake after is has been made to YOUR specifications we reserve the right to charge you to the fullest extent of the law for harassment and stalking."..

,...a bit extreme perhaps..but I'm sure it would make the cake people smile.

[draco664]

I think all brides should be forced to sign a contract when they order the cake, that states EXACTLY what they want in writing

There's a cake shop in Melbourne my wife and I went to for our wedding cake that was fantastic. They did exactly that, wrote down what we wanted, and had us sign it. I didn't think anything about it at the time, never having ordered a wedding cake before.

Mind you, we were doing it simple. We got a chocolate sponge cake with chocolate cream between the layers, covered in a white chocolate icing with the logo from our invitations (two intertwined hearts) stenciled out around the sides. At the time, I always wondered why the woman taking our order seemed so much happier than the one taking another order from someone whose requirements stretched over two single spaced pages.

[Canarr]

I think all brides should be forced to sign a contract when they order the cake, that states EXACTLY what they want in writing, and a disclaimer that says something along the lines of "If you harass (company) about this cake after is has been made to YOUR specifications we reserve the right to charge you to the fullest extent of the law for harassment and stalking."..

"... and smack you in the face with your cake!"

Completed for my amusement!

[reimero]

I think all brides should be forced to sign a contract when they order the cake, that states EXACTLY what they want in writing, and a disclaimer that says something along the lines of "If you harass (company) about this cake after is has been made to YOUR specifications we reserve the right to charge you to the fullest extent of the law for harassment and stalking."..

,...a bit extreme perhaps..but I'm sure it would make the cake people smile.

Ugh. We told our wedding cake designer EXACTLY what we wanted, in writing (and explicitly said NOT to use certain decorating tips and design elements), and we found our cake had been decorated, umm, not to specification. We complained, the baker was upset and blamed us for being difficult... then went back and looked at the original order.

I really hate being difficult with vendors, but when you're paying that kind of money and we state repeatedly not to use a star tip and find it's been covered with stars, well...

Anyway, it can cut both ways. But I would *never* accuse a vendor of "ruining our wedding." There's only one person who can do that, and that's the person who signs the wedding certificate

[iradney]

Mind you, we were doing it simple. We got a chocolate sponge cake with chocolate cream between the layers, covered in a white chocolate icing with the logo from our invitations (two intertwined hearts) stenciled out around the sides. At the time, I always wondered why the woman taking our order seemed so much happier than the one taking another order from someone whose requirements stretched over two single spaced pages.

*drools copiously* you don't mind if I steal that for when (if?) TTO and I get married, yes?

I don't understand why the HC (happy couple) wouldn't have a contract with their bakery. After all, they have one with the venue, the reception venue, the photographer, the dressmaker etc - what's one more? It makes sense as it protects both parties...

[It shouldn't]

I work at a small German bakery, European bread and buns are our main products. We also do favourite German sweets like bienenstich, apple strudel, cheesecake, poppy slices, Nussecken

DROOOOL!!!

Are you any where near NE Ohio???

Now I want german bread (Bauern Brot) and some Bienenstich.

[Horsetuna]

Cakewrecks has a good number of wrecked wedding cakes that shows vendors that dont read the instructions, or just dont do a good job to begin with (some of those cakes are so unlike the original I dont know how the bakers insist it works. One lady had to SUE to get her money back)

I dont blame you for not taking wedding cake orders. if I ever get into the bakery business (ha), I may just have standard styles/looks, and you can just pick colors/add photos kind of stuff. Nothing too customized.

I doubt that will happen though.

*eyes blueprints for Ork Stompa choklit cake*

[AccountingDrone]

DROOOOL!!!

Are you any where near NE Ohio???

Now I want german bread (Bauern Brot) and some Bienenstich.

I can make the bienenstich just fine, Im lazy ... where are you?

and as I can make the bread also, you can buy neat stuff at German Deli in Texas though I have gotten the bavarian style farmers bread from there before =)

[Polenicus]

Wedding Cakes are a recipe for a nightmare, for ALL concerned. here, let's take a look at the recipe:

Take:

1. Young woman, who has had it drilled into her head by years of societal conditioning, peer interaction and Barbie Dolls that her Wedding is the single most important event in her life.

2. Parents of said young woman, who keenly remember the failures of their own wedding, and all the shattered hopes and dreams that came after it, and FIMLY believe that if they can make this event PERFECT it will steer their daughter clear of all the subsequent failures and misery of their own lives.

3. A baker who may or may not have dozens of such cakes to bake, a shortage of time, sleep and materials, and a boss who is continually shoving more orders down their throat in an attempt to wring some profit out of the razor-thin margins.

Mix ingredients together in a noisy Bakery shop. Add in the bride's vaguely worded description of the perfect cake in her mind (Complete with live pixies). Take the completely different concepts of the Mother of the Bride and set aside for now. Let set for a few weeks while the baker desperately tries to get caught up on all their NORMAL duties.

Then stir in a revised description by the Bride, adding some sparkly vampires and unicorns to her mental vision, while adding something about 'ponies' and 'big pretty things' to the description. Add in another, completely contradictory revision by the Mother. Then liberally pour in demands by the boss to cut corners to reduce costs. Mix until muddy.

Next dump in a liberal helping of last-minute, rush orders by the boss to delay the actual baking and construction of the cake. Whip until panic sets in. Then use a helping of Bakery help staff to take care of what your boss defines as the 'drudgework', like the delicate icing roses. Ideally, use the co-worker who's previous efforts include making the icing on the chocolate cupcakes look like feces, and writing a giant misspelled 'Happy Birthday' on a 25th Wedding Anniversary cake. If you can get one that doesn't speak any english, even better. One of the janitorial staff can be substituted in a pinch.

Add in a handful of last minute changes by the Bride and Mother, ideally contradicting, completely changing the decoration of the cake, adding or subtracting layers (Preferably both to sharpen your math skills). If you want to really e daring, change the time of the reception completely. Sprinkle panicked screaming fits to taste.

Finally, lay the cake neatly out in the back of a delivery truck driven by a drunken neanderthal who actually hasn't had a license since 2003, and drive around the city for several hours, taking many sharp turns until well shaken. deliver to reception two hours late and ENJOY!

[wagegoth]

Polenicus: Everything you said for truth.

And this:

1. Young woman, who has had it drilled into her head by years of societal conditioning, peer interaction and Barbie Dolls that her Wedding is the single most important event in her life.

is why the marriage can never live up to the wedding.

[reimero]

I guess it's a question of expectations. A lot of wedding bakeries (the good ones, anyway) set a hard limit on the number of cakes they'll do on a given weekend. And a lot of the good bakeries do have contracts and very explicit instructions on how it's supposed to go. My complaint with mine was that the instructions weren't followed, a fact which the bakery acknowledged.

That whole "getting what you pay for" thing applies.