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Lets talk cake...my bad exp...and my good one! LONG STORY lol

Ok so I found a lady online with all of her credentials I was very impressed and found out she was going to be at the mid america bridal show. It was Simply Elegant Cakes. So my fiance and I met with her there at the show and we thought of the cakes there at MAC hers was the best. We decided to make an appointment with her to taste her spice cake. We were to pay for our spice cake since its not a typical flavor that people order and she would not have any extra on hand. No big deal I was willing to pay for a sheet cake! We made the next available appointment she had with every intention on booking with her. She wrote down our wedding date, location and what ideas we had on what we had wanted to do for our cake.

2 days before our cake appointment I'm thinking you know she hasn't called to confirm our appointment I will call her. I have a busy weekend and want to make sure with the other events I was working that everything was going to be ready. So I give them a call. The husband answers the phone and I said I was calling to confirm this is Chrissy I have a 930 with you guys on sat. He replied I was just going to call you. You have the Sept 18th weddig right? Sorry we can't do your wedding anymore. I was like What?? I said how is that so I had an appt to pick up a spice cake taste it and book with you.

He said they are now full on that date. I was pretty mad and upset. Yes I know I did not put down a deposit but let me tell you he knew when we were walking away that day and made that appt that we were going to book...with MY business I pencil someone in and if someone else wants the same date and the other client hadnt secured the date I call the other client back and ask them are you planning on booking with me if so I need a deposit because I have one spot left and another client is interested. I would not say oh well let me offer it to you and go above the other client. That is just not right! I would have gone in and put down a deposit had they called me and said this to me. They tottaly pulled the rug out from under me and I think thats just bad business.

Also he replied with you should have put down a deposit. No apologies nothing! Some people!!! I am still fuming over this..my fiance more then me was raving over the cake. He has been a good sport with the wedding and I knew how much he was into her cake. So far he has not made a big deal but has given me control over everything so I really wanted them for him. They just lost out on my wedding cake, grooms cake, bridal shower cake not to mention the potential to gain my business from other brides I work with and other events that use cakes. I also have 2 kids and we throw them big parties for their birthdays..its the coordinator in me...so they lost out on that too!! Does it matter to them probably not!

We did end up booking an appt last minute from the Cake Gallery. After hearing many rave reviews from my previous clients and friends I decided we would go there. They were very sympathetic to what happened to us. Also FYI they do not charge you for samples. They make you 3 o4 inch mini cakes in the flavors of what you want. I had 3 samples free and paid for 2 after that. The cake was to die for..so moist and yummy. We are going with a spice cake with filled cream cheese frosting and buttercream on the outside. It will be a darker ivory color with ribbon around the tiers. The cake topper will be two fondant pumpkins..one sitting flat the other leaning on the one sittng. Scattered on the cake on each tier will be little fondant acorns and pumpkins and leaves. We will have on the middle tier the words Fall in Love. Obviously we are having a fall wedding! =0)

Moral of the story dont assume your going to be booked with someone just because you make an appt. With that said though I would have NEVER blindly booked without tasting that cake..so if they did call me to book they would have had to have a sample whipped up. NEVER book without tasting..one of my brides did this and thats a whole nother story..lets just say bread doesnt even begin to describe the taste of her cake. Also kind of glad I didnt book with simply elegant because Cake Gallery was cheaper per slice then the other ladies and if this is thier business practice I would be fearful for what could have happened with my cake!

I promise on I am not a bridezilla but was EXTREMELY tempted after that...lol..Cake Gallery calmed me down!  I started this topic after reading the tux tragedy story..I think its good we share good and bad experiences. Start a new post with good and bad if you have a story to tell.

Re: Lets talk cake...my bad exp...and my good one! LONG STORY lol

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    HuskerfanzHuskerfanz member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If I was a vendor, I wouldn't assume you were booking me just because you set up a tasting appointment.  I would also expect a deposit.  I met with 4 different caterers and if they all had me booked just because I wanted to taste their food, I would have ended up with 4 caterers. 

    I'm sorry you got frustrated but at least you found a cake place you like. 

    One of the knot rules: "Wedding professionals involved in a wedding-related enterprise cannot post any information on The Knot message boards, even if offering services free of charge."  Please be more selective with your posts involving your business.
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    TTC #1 since 08/11 IUI#2 = BFP!
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    edited December 2011
    I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, and glad you found a great backup

    I had a bad experience with the same lady.  My friend & I tried Simply Elegant cake at a bridal fair as well.  When I booked the appointment, she went with me (especially because she wanted more cake!) we were assuming we would get a sample.  We met in her basement kitchen, and no sample at all, as she said "you tried it at the bridal fair right?" Then she proceeded to figure out the costs of the cake, and I was in shock of the price just for the bridal cake.  I would have paid $900 for a cake...I don't think so.  She also was very pushy in having a higher number of slices than I wanted.  In the end, I did not book with her.  I found Linda Tills (mentioned many times here on theknot and my FI's coworker also has used her for her wedding cake & birthday cakes), and at 75 cents a slice, whether it was a bridal cake, groom's cake, sheet cake, or whatever, it was a great deal!  She also brought two sample mini cakes for us to try & they were the most delicious cakes I had ever tried. 
    Lesley and Casey I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance, A church filled with family and friends. I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for, He said one that would make me his wife. ~Author Unknown
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    edited December 2011
    Scorpiogrrrrl, 

    I am so sorry for your experience. I completely understand where you're coming from. We started booking vendors right after getting engaged (18 months prior to wedding date), so we didn't have many issues, as most vendors were fairly open for our date. But I would absolutely feel the same way you are if I were in your situation. If you pencil me in for a tasting, and know my wedding date, it would be courteous (both personally and professionally) to allow you the first chance to book. All of my vendors (all in Omaha as well) were very professional, but told me that they would let me know if someone else was interested before I actually got the contract signed and officially booked them. 

    It does put you in a difficult position to be an event planner in the Omaha area, but realize that you are primarily on this board as a bride-to-be. Congratulations to you on booking a cake place. Everything always turns out ok in the end. Thank goodness! 

    Good luck with the rest of your planning! :o)
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    edited December 2011

    Sorry wasnt trying to step on toes with me comparing my business to her business...boy if I were a dog groomer it would be easier..I would have used the same comparison with appointments and booking and and my business and nobody would be upset..lol...I am not trying to advertise myself...I sowwy! =0) The knot is touchy..maybe I should just say I am a dog groomer..lol this way when I talk about my grooming and pets nobody will be upset with me and I can discuss my experiences both as a groomer and a client.

    I know if I had a deposit would have been different. I just think its a bad way to handle things. I am happy I found someone and I know I shouldnt have let it get to me but it did...I guess because I never had to deal with it before All of my other vendors have been very professional and no probs there. I knew I would not get another sample from her for free because I did make sure to ask if we could taste the spice cake. She told me it would be 30 for a sheet cake..I said thats fine I understood she couldnt make a small sample and dump the rest.

    Leslie glad you decided on someone else too..sounds like you got a great deal too! That is very shady what you were describing about simply elegant and what they did to you. Geez..

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    akardiscoakardisco member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Sorry to hear about this!

    I also had a bad experience with her. Very similar to Lesley's. We tried her cake at a bridal fair and really liked it, so we made an appointment. I was expecting that we would be given samples of different kinds of cake since we were only able to try one at the fair. Nope. None. She had no samples available. Also, she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, hair not brushed or anything. It was very unprofessional in my opinion. She treated the appointment like we had already signed a contract with her and it was all very awkward. Her quote was ridiculously high too. Something like $1,200.


    The whole experience with her was just very unprofessional. It's too bad because her cakes really are good.

    I'm glad to hear you booked with Cake Gallery. We tried their cake at a bridal fair also and it was awesome. Definitely my favorite so far.

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    edited December 2011
    This is why I like this board to share good and bad experiences...I think it will help to educate us on what to expect from different businesses...sorry you had a bad experience as well
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    edited December 2011

    Well her cake is good....its true will give her that! I bet it will be fine...I just got an email back from her she pretty much said the first bride to wave money in front of her gets the date...lol..wow!

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    tricklet17tricklet17 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That is super crappy but at least it worked out in the end for you .. I would feel the same way, it just doesn't sound like good business!
    I am getting my cake through Hyvee .. They have been really helpful with all my questions. They have provided so many samples free of charge, and even put fondant on it since I will be having that on my cake. They will make pretty much any flavor of cake or filling, and can even flavor the fondant for no extra charge! I love the taste of hyvee cakes, they are always very moist!
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    edited December 2011
    Hyvee cakes are good! I wanted to go with a hyvee cake up unil we went to the bridal fair....and I saw how interested my fiance was with cake..so I thought I would let him pick who to go with. We have used hyvee for our birthday cakes..and they did do such a great job on my kids cake. We had a 2 tiered farm cake with a cupcake on top and cupcakes on the platter surrounding the cake with hay and grass and little people farm animals..was very cute. We did their birthday at Gifford farm this past summer.
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    edited December 2011

    My friend and I, both brides-to-be went and tried Simply Elegants cakes as well at the Bridal shows, and we  both spit ours out, I am not a fan at all. The cake we thought was best was Petit's off 156th and Pacific. My friend booked with Petits, my MIL is making ours, but Petit's and shockingly No Frills had the best cakes in my opinion. Also the Market Basket is very good!

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    edited December 2011
    its so true..guess its all a matter of taste! HA HA I made a funny..lol j/k! =0)
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