Wedding cake disaster!?

Question

I got married last week and I made my own wedding cake (22 yrs experience) so it wasnt rubbish either, anyway I delivered it to the resteraunt 3 days before the meal was booked. I left instructions of how it was to be kept, & reassured everything was fine, carried on with the preperations. On the day everyone duly arrived but there was no cake to be seen. Towards the end of the meal with no sign still of the cake & some guests preparing to leave we asked for the cake to be brought out. After about 15mins a waitress brought out something that only vaguely resembled my cake. It had been left in a fridge covered with foil for 3 days, the condensation had destroyed the icing. The resteraunt promptly scrapped the bill for the meal and are now offering us a variety of options such as: returning all guests for another meal, buying us a replacement cake or another option of our choosing. Im struggling to look at this objectively given the embarrassment, no photos etc... Anyone got any ideas!!

Answer 1

I know that this is hard right now...but in the future you will always look back and (hopefully) be able to laugh about it. Pictures are a big deal to me, so I understand how sad that is. I know that it is not the same...but maybe you could ask if it would be possible to have everyone re-invited for cake and drinks for your first anniversary. Anyone that wanted to come could (no gifts or anything...just a get together), and it would be another opportunity to get more pictures (even though there won't be wedding attire). I'm sorry about your situation. I hope this helps...and congratulations!!

Answer 2

What a shame all your hard work on the cake was spoiled by someone else's inadequacy. However sad and embarrassing it was, there isn't anything that can be done about it now in practical terms. In which case you would be best to try and get over your dissapointment and think of what is most important to you in this situation. You could ask the restaurant to replace the cake and see if they would be willing to pay or share the price of a photographer so you and your husband could have some photos if this is what is important for you. To be fair, the restaurant have not only scrapped the bill for the meal you had, but are also offering a choice of other options which is pretty costly to them. True, they were at fault, but realistically they cannot bring your cake back. You and your husband need to decide what is important in terms of an outcome for this, and act accordingly. It seems the restaurant will stand by your decision as they clearly value their reputation and are sorry for the pain and embarrassment caused.

You only got married last, week, and all is still fresh in your mind, you made the cake yourself, so it was very personal to you, above and beyond being your wedding cake. The restaurant is entirely at fault here, and are prepared to offer considerable compensation to you whilst recognising they cannot change the situation that has occured. We all plan our weddings as best we can, wanting them to be perfect, and once done, everything else is left to chance, things do sometimes go wrong. In years to come, you will notice the lack of cake in your album less and less.

Why don't you make another cake, since you have experience, and invite people back for a second meal, which the restaurant have offered, and have a bit of a party just so that you can cut the cake. Certainly not everybody will be able to attend, but you should have a pretty good party, and make an enjoyable memory out of the situation, I am sure that by then you will actually find something amusing about it, its just that with all the preparations you made, you feel robbed of the chance of everything being perfect. I would be pretty miffed if I had made such a lovely cake and it had happened to me. You don't have to wear your wedding clothes to have the cake party, but you could if you wanted to, then you would have photos and they would slot seemlessly into the album. I hope you find a way to resolve this, I promise you, it will matter less and less as time goes by, its just all very fresh in your mind right now.

Answer 3

this is an embarrassment, but make the best of it.
focus on the positive, did your guest enjoy themselves? was the food and service good or better than good? would your guest be willing to meet once again at this restaurant? most guests remember the wedding not the cake.

i have a simple suggestion that may help you,
ask the restaurant if you can hold off the cake and invite for your first anniversary.
by then you will have cooled off, and the embarrassment will be a far off memory for you. At that time your guests will have a new reason to celebrate with you. Also this will avoid any unintentional retaliation from you or your guests.
it sound as if the restaurant has gone to every extent to apologies and make the best of their mistake, more that likely the managers and owners and possibly the staff are embarrassed too.

please email me and let me know what you have decided and how this turns out for you.

Answer 4

The restaurant are at least trying to offer some compensation, so think what is important about this. If it is the phots, get everyone back for the free meal, it will be like a second wedding celebration! And everyone likes to get dressed up and that wedding dress will get another showing! All your guests are your friends and family, so they will know exactly what happened and only be supportive! Having said all that i know how disappointing it can be not getting what you expected on your wedding day. We were supposed to have a round wedding cake at our wedding, my mother-in-law wanted a square one. It was to be made by a family friend of the mother-in-law, we discussed it all through and they said it would be round. So on the day it was a shock to find a square wedding cake on the top table! Quite embarassing as i had told everyone of the beautiful round cake i was expecting. But in the grand scheme of things my wedding was beautiful and more importantly i now have my husband!

Answer 5

As disappointing and frustrating this incident is for you....and I really do feel for you, since I too am making my own cake and know how time consuming it is and the effort you must put in.
There is really nothing more that can be done for the situation. They are offering what they can. Take them up o their offer, stage a cake cutting ceremony. Look at it as another oppurtunity to wear your dress....hey not many brides get to dress up all over again.....try and look on the bright side of it........there are worse things in life.....my friends groom was killed on the way to the wedding.......if the only casualty is the cake.....you are luckier than her....count your blessings, I am sure you had a beautiful wedding, lovley man, some gorgeous photos.....think of the good things. People are only human, we all make mistakes.....you could of just as easily dropped the cake or it fell off the seat on the way to the reception, then you and only you would of been to blame. At least this way, you are getting compensated.
Just go and enjoy the free meal and cake.
Blessings on your marriage.

Answer 6

I really feel for you on what has happend, I'm a cake decorater too and know what work goes into them and how important they are to us, I feel that the Hotel are being very good in trying put this right for you, you hear so many horror stories about cakes being messed up at venues and most try and pass the buck, but as I said they seem very fair in trying to solve the disaster with your cake, maybe you could make a replica of your cake asking the hotel to foot the bill for cost of it all, then ask them to set the table up in the way it should have been on your weddinng day, then ask a few of close family to be there for a meal the hotel will provide. then you all dress in the wedding outfits, have pictures taken and in years to come no one will be any the wiser that the cake cutting ceremony wasn't on the same day..... then look back on it as a wonderful bonus of getting dressed up twice and having two wedding breakfasts..... love and best wishes for the future

Answer 7

I am sorry that your wedding day has such a bad memory, altho things happen that are out of our control. Sounds like they are doing all they can to make up for the problem.I also make cakes and I would have been upset if they ruined something I made special for my wedding. I say let them provide you with the new meal , and a new cake of your cosing ,Maybe one from a cake shop that will deliver it on the day of the event. Send out invitations and have another formal party, Take advantage and make it a day to celebrate your marriage. Since you didn't get photos , I suggest that they offer you the services of another photographer,and some form of decoration, so you can have memories to last. Getting mad wont help anything and you cant change the past. Enjoy life and have a laugh.and a good time ON THEM!!!!

Answer 8

Its unfortunate, but not the worst that could happen. It doesnt sound like youre too bent up, which is good. If I were you, I would accept their scrapping the bill for the meal and move on. Use that money towards something fun you two can do together. Next year for your anniversary, make that cake again! (maybe a mini version) and you can finally have that wedding cake. The photo album, not such a big deal.

Answer 9

I'd probably accept them scrapping the bill for the restaurant, and call it even. I honestly think they're going above and beyond what they should do, and are being very generous.

I've baked cakes semi-professionally for years as well, and I've never done a wedding cake 3 days in advance. I've always done them either the day of, or the day before at the longest.

Answer 10

From reading your question, it says that you told them how to store your wedding cake - in a fridge!.
If you have 22 years experience you should have known that a cool room/pantry where the cake would be protected from flies, picking fingers and damage is all that it needs.
You hear of wedding cakes being edible years after being made. The icing goes rancid, that is all.
Go back to the restaurant with all your guests and accept a cake they provide.
You might have to make another announcement like the arrival of tiny feet....