~* Ash *~
The wedding package that Lu and I booked through the Atrium came with a baker that we loved. In June, we did our cake tasting and were totally wowed by the choices and creativity. We checked another item off of our to do list and moved on.
.... Or so we thought. When we contacted our baker, Mrs. Oliver, to let her know that we'd be having closer to 165 guests, she told us that the cake that came with our package was for 100 people and that we'd be charged $200+ to add servings to our cake.
We told her that he hadn't been informed of that when we signed the contract. Sorry, but that was the agreement with the Atrium.
We asked about having a less elaborate cake that served more people. No.
We asked about having a two-tier cake instead. No.
Time out.
When we signed our contract, we were told that the cost for each additional guest over the 100 people that the package covered was $16. Apparently, this cost was just for catering -- not for the cake. But since every guest wants a piece of wedding cake (even if they don't eat the whole thing), we contacted Gary and let him know the situation.
We asked what he could do about this unexpected expense. If nothing, then we suggested that he raise the package price to an extra $20/guest for future brides. (When you're signing a contract for $11,500, an extra $200 is nothing. When you're eight weeks away from the date, every penny counts!)
Gary immediately apologized and recommended another baker, Cotton's Gourmet, and promised that her cakes were delicious. Within 20 minutes of receiving the email response from Gary, I got a call from Cotton.
Cotton was professional and courteous, and she had that "old friend" quality about her. We talked about the wedding, we talked about flavors, and she insured us that she could do a cake for 165 people plus an anniversary cake for us. I was so happy about Cotton that we set up a tasting for the following weekend.
Then I went home, looked at her website... and fell in love. Not only were her cakes beautiful and unique (no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all design), but her flavors sounded amazing: sweet potato poundcake, caramel apple, chocolate, hazelnut, pina colada, peachy keen, almond poppyseed -- and the list goes on. We were so excited to meet Cotton and have our tasting.
One problem: By this point, our initial baker had decided that she could do the cake for 160 people at no extra charge after all. Gary told us that he would prefer it if we stuck with Mrs. Oliver since she'd decided to be accommodating, even if it was belated, but he would definitely just swallow any cancellation fees if we went with Cotton.
Gary's been great, so we didn't want to saddle him with an extra fee. We also definitely enjoyed our initial tasting with Mrs. Oliver, and we'd already had our menu cards printed. It just made more sense to stick with her and maybe just use one of Cotton's cakes for our rehearsal dinner the night before.
That is, until we had our tasting.
Lu and I changed our mind almost immediately after taking the first bite of Cotton's sweet potato poundcake. We literally devoured four cupcakes in five minutes -- including one flavor called Wacky Tacky Watermelon. (Who would've thought a watermelon cake would be so good?!)
The carrot cake was amazing, the strawberries and cream was delicious, and the sweet potato poundcake was quite possibly the best cake that I've ever had in my life. And trust me, I've had a whole lot of cake!
We were so impressed with Cotton's cake and her attitude -- so accommodating and down-to-earth -- that we called her back to thank her again for how delicious everything was, and we decided that we wanted her to do our wedding cake.
But we found out that Gary had already sent a check for our wedding cake to Mrs. Oliver. :-(
We're hoping -- more like praying really hard -- that the check can be applied to another Atrium client's bill, and that Cotton will be the baker for our wedding. She's absolutely amazing as both a baker and as a person.
Who cares if we have to get our menu cards reprinted?! We just have to share her dessert with as many people as possible.
.... Or so we thought. When we contacted our baker, Mrs. Oliver, to let her know that we'd be having closer to 165 guests, she told us that the cake that came with our package was for 100 people and that we'd be charged $200+ to add servings to our cake.
We told her that he hadn't been informed of that when we signed the contract. Sorry, but that was the agreement with the Atrium.
We asked about having a less elaborate cake that served more people. No.
We asked about having a two-tier cake instead. No.
Time out.
When we signed our contract, we were told that the cost for each additional guest over the 100 people that the package covered was $16. Apparently, this cost was just for catering -- not for the cake. But since every guest wants a piece of wedding cake (even if they don't eat the whole thing), we contacted Gary and let him know the situation.
We asked what he could do about this unexpected expense. If nothing, then we suggested that he raise the package price to an extra $20/guest for future brides. (When you're signing a contract for $11,500, an extra $200 is nothing. When you're eight weeks away from the date, every penny counts!)
Gary immediately apologized and recommended another baker, Cotton's Gourmet, and promised that her cakes were delicious. Within 20 minutes of receiving the email response from Gary, I got a call from Cotton.
Cotton was professional and courteous, and she had that "old friend" quality about her. We talked about the wedding, we talked about flavors, and she insured us that she could do a cake for 165 people plus an anniversary cake for us. I was so happy about Cotton that we set up a tasting for the following weekend.
Then I went home, looked at her website... and fell in love. Not only were her cakes beautiful and unique (no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all design), but her flavors sounded amazing: sweet potato poundcake, caramel apple, chocolate, hazelnut, pina colada, peachy keen, almond poppyseed -- and the list goes on. We were so excited to meet Cotton and have our tasting.
 |
| One of Cotton's fall-themed cakes with a coordinating anniversary cake. How cute is that?! |
One problem: By this point, our initial baker had decided that she could do the cake for 160 people at no extra charge after all. Gary told us that he would prefer it if we stuck with Mrs. Oliver since she'd decided to be accommodating, even if it was belated, but he would definitely just swallow any cancellation fees if we went with Cotton.
Gary's been great, so we didn't want to saddle him with an extra fee. We also definitely enjoyed our initial tasting with Mrs. Oliver, and we'd already had our menu cards printed. It just made more sense to stick with her and maybe just use one of Cotton's cakes for our rehearsal dinner the night before.
That is, until we had our tasting.
Lu and I changed our mind almost immediately after taking the first bite of Cotton's sweet potato poundcake. We literally devoured four cupcakes in five minutes -- including one flavor called Wacky Tacky Watermelon. (Who would've thought a watermelon cake would be so good?!)
The carrot cake was amazing, the strawberries and cream was delicious, and the sweet potato poundcake was quite possibly the best cake that I've ever had in my life. And trust me, I've had a whole lot of cake!
We were so impressed with Cotton's cake and her attitude -- so accommodating and down-to-earth -- that we called her back to thank her again for how delicious everything was, and we decided that we wanted her to do our wedding cake.
But we found out that Gary had already sent a check for our wedding cake to Mrs. Oliver. :-(
We're hoping -- more like praying really hard -- that the check can be applied to another Atrium client's bill, and that Cotton will be the baker for our wedding. She's absolutely amazing as both a baker and as a person.
Who cares if we have to get our menu cards reprinted?! We just have to share her dessert with as many people as possible.
Sounds great! Can't wait to taste it!!!
Mmmmmmm sweet potato pound cake sounds very tasty.
Yummy, sweet potato anything is delish!!!