yesterday I asked the board for assistance when dealing with cake tastings and contracts w/bakeries...thx again to all the knotties that provided their personal insight to this part of the process...so here's my summary of my experience with the following bakeries: 1) DELICIOUS CAKES - Addison, TX = I was soooo excited to go to this bakery yesterday afternoon; Mandy (the owner) was really nice and her staff was very informative;they had fake tier styles to help visualize what I was asking for; their prices were based on the standard "per slice" calculation that you ladies advised me of and for what I want, it was very pricey...in addition, I didn't like the cake & icing samples I recvd...now let me say this - I love cake and I make homemade cakes all the time, so I'm very picky about how a cake smells (you can tell instantly how 'fresh' a cake is by it's smell), the quality of the ingredients as well the presentation of the finished product...unfortunately, this bakery was out of my budget + I didn't like the samples, so with that being said I'm passing on them.2) THE CAKE FACTORY - Rockwall, TX = I was instantly turned off the the lack of professionalism I received when I walked into this bakery for my scheduled consultation; the vibe I received was just like I went back into time to 1950!...when I introduced myself to the staff and informed them that I was the 9am appt, all their faces fell!!...I proceeded to go thru the consulation process so I had pricing to compare to other bakeries but as soon as another customer walked in the entire staff started to assist that customer and sorta gave me the "oh you're still here" look...needless to say - I LEFT!!...I did not taste their samples but I did see some of their finished products and they had some of their 'famous' cupcakes available to purchase...their quote was within my budget BUT I will not give them my business!! 3) ABSOLUTELY EDIBLE CAKES - Rowlett, TX = my 10am consultation started off alittle rocky because the owner (Nikki) & her daughter (Toddy) had a late event Friday evening so they were moving a tab bit slow but I understood and appreciated them for still making it on time for my appt...their prices were based on the standard "per slice" calculation as well but their slices are HUGE!...the samples I received were AWESOME!!!...each flavor was fresh and the icing was out of this world...the design I'm looking for was do-able and they understood exactly what I wanted and made various suggestions to bring my idea to life as well...however, their prices are the same as Delicious Cakes BUT I think I will keep them as a top contender because I L-O-V-E-D their cakes!!!4) CAKES....BY GEORGE - Garland, TX = George (the owner) was very informative and helpful; he also provided services for renting a silver cake stand (but I think I will be able to find a beautiful cake stand from Hobby Lobby or JoAnne - I think that's where some of you ladies suggested finding these items at); his prices were actually based off of the size of the cake tiers and not servings...surprisingly his quoted price was within my budget BUT he would not provide any samples for me to taste today because I was not ready to write a contract with his bakery...I thanked him for his time but told him I would not make a decision today as I'm still in the planning process and am getting pricing from a select few bakeries based on their quote & the samples provided.***If any of you ladies have suggestions of other bakeries to visit, please please let me know because I'm still undecided***Oh b4 I forget, let me explain why I'm the only one going to these cake tastings -- this cake is for my DH surprise b-day party in March so I can't have him with me as he's not supposed to know about any of my plans...LOL!...secondly, whichever bakery I select for this specialty cake will actually be the bakery I choose to make our wedding cake...so it's a win, win situation for me...just thought I would put this out there since some of you may think to yourself "why is she going to these appts by herself?!")sorry this was so long but someone asked me to post a re-cap of my bakery visits as she was interested in 2 of the above listed bakeries but she didn't mention which ones...so I thought it would be best to list as much info as possible.