'This is my wedding cake which apparently became lopsided and collapsed before I got to see it. Any idea as to why?' UPDATE and PICS
"This is my wedding cake which apparently became lopsided and collapsed before I got to see it. Any idea as to why?"
Hi! This was my wedding cake standing in my reception area freshly delivered & placed before our wedding started. Our florist took this photo. At some point before reception began, I was told it unfortunately sunk in and collapsed.
The picture shows it delivered intact and even standing at our wedding venue. But my aunt who bakes cakes for a hobby and says the top tier looks to already begun sinking. I guess I can’t tell if this was the bakers fault or the venue’s handling. Any idea of why this could’ve happened? We spent a lot of money for it and feel saddened.
A month later, the OP returned with the full story.
Hey everyone! So last month I posted about my wedding cake my husband & I never got to see as it didn't even survive into reception shortly after it was delivered. When I first posted, the only photo I had was from my florist who just happened to take a photo of it before leaving.
I had very limited information at the time of the post so I just wanted to provide an update as I have now talked to both baker/venue, received more photos, and overall got a better sense of the situation. I got a lot of helpful replies, a lot of questions, and a lot of feedback whether it was baker or venue (or both) mishandling.
The photo I attached is what my photographer took during cocktail hour (~5PM). The 2nd photo is what my baker took right after she set the cake up in the tent before leaving (~3PM).
Here's everything I know based on all the questions:
My wedding reception was in a tent with walls open. It was a warm 79F day. The baker delivered the cake around 2:45-3PM PM an hour before ceremony (reception started at 6:00 PM and cake cutting was 9:00 PM).
It was a 3-tiered cake with raspberry jelly filling inside. Upon receiving the cake, the venue & coordinator asked the baker about storage & handling and guided her to the refrigerator.
The baker said refrigeration is not necessary and was adamant ("based on my 10 years of expertise" per her words) that it is okay to be left out until cake cutting. She set up the cake in the tent herself, took a photo and left (2nd image).
After the baker left the premises, some time afterwards, the cake started to tilt. The coordinator immediately called and FaceTimed the baker to show her what's going on to determine a solution.
The baker replied "this has never happened" to her cakes before, but said they can try to refrigerate it then. The cake was moved to the refrigerator. When it was later checked on it unfortunately fell apart, and it was "very wet" with "a lot of jam filling" per the venue.
I gave the baker a call a few days after the wedding. The whole call was really just her fixated that someone bumped into it and is withholding information because "there's just no way" the structural integrity was not there.
She put a lot of dowels including a center dowel rod and this has never happened to her cakes in her 10 years of experience including when she did summer wedding cakes in tents. Overall, while she was apologetic, she blamed the venue/florist/or whoever was near it for bumping into it.
I got closure from my venue as well who was...well...shocked by her response in blaming them and they are adamant nobody bumped into it. They offered refrigeration upon receiving the cake and the baker did agree with the venue's report that she said it was not necessary for her cake.
Overall it was such a crappy situation and I am bummed we never got our cake cutting moment (plus a $1000 cake that we planned for 6 months and never physically saw).
I do feel like heat was the issue especially with the jelly filling making it more prone to heat insensitivities because even when I had the sheet cakes out the next day to serve at brunch, the frosting melted just at room temperature and it got really soft.
In hindsight, I wish we would've done two things. One…schedule delivery way later. And two, just refrigerated it immediately. I understand my venue listening to the expert and her adamance saying "refrigeration is not necessary" when offered, but I wish it was ignored lol.
Per the Bakery contract, once the cake was delivered and she left, it is not her responsibility anymore. She was apologetic and offered our $100 deposit back, and we declined. We are just ready to move on! Honestly when I saw my cake that my photographer took it gave me a good laugh. You just gotta laugh at this point lol.
Here is what readers had to say in response to the OP’s story:
The entire point of the 'wedding tax' is for stuff like this not to happen. Better construction, better materials and for the baker to provide her experience and guidance to help them choose a cake that can withstand the weather at that time of year.
And/or deliver at the right time, arrange refrigeration, leave a worker to keep it from getting bumped, and other little white glove services for perfection.
Not that I'm an expert, but I don't think that should be a $1,000 cake either. However, even if it is, I think OP needs to leave some reviews around stating what happened in a polite, factual way because NOPE, that cake melted. It's like the opposite of a murder mystery: That cake was not pushed; it fell.
As a luxury wedding planner, this whole thing is a mess from start to finish, and I put the blame on the baker 100%. That is not a professional job. Whatsoever. Based on the leaning from the cake in the photo, that cannot be caused by someone just “bumping into it.”
I’m convinced there was a misstep in the baking process or using too much raspberry filling. Also, the original product was not that great to start with, and barely resembled her inspo pic.
Yeaaaah, definitely not a baker here but definitely feels like the baker fucked them over hard. Her years of experience don't seem to mean squat. I definitely think it sounds like the cake was delivered way too early, and it makes no sense for it not to have been refrigerated based on the jelly filling.
Just off of knowing how a "normal" sized jelly-filled cake or donuts from the shop would go if kept out on a table or counter for hours on end, I would've been worried about this cake sitting out for basically 6+ hours before being cut.
Hell, even just thinking about bugs/flies after 6+ hours, I wouldn't have wanted the cake just left out in that tent! The fact that the cake cost $1K is just the frosting on the collapsed trash cake.