Wedding cupcake mishap AIBU bride wants full refund for me wrecking her big day?

[ilovepombears]

I run a home based cake making business a few months ago I had a request from a bride to make 100 black cupcakes for her wedding. She provided the wrappers and black food colouring paste and also black and white photo toppers of the couple as she asked it this would bring the costs down so I deducted this from the bill.

Today is her wedding day and there seems to be a massive miscommunication somewhere along the lines.
Friday I baked all 100 cupcakes and whilst I was waiting for them to cool I text her and asked if she was sure she wanted them all black buttercream or if she would prefer black and white or black and grey. She texted back and said 50 black 50 grey would be ace. I then had another text asking where the buttercream was going. This should of really set off alarm bells. I told her the buttercream would be going on top of each cupcake. No further response.

As the wedding is out of town she came to collect them yesterday. They looked stunning and really complimented her wedding theme. She seemed a bit off when collecting but said she liked them.

Two hours later I receive a text from her saying how dissapointed she is with the cakes and how they are not as disscused as the cakes are white.

I didn't understand where she was coming from so I tried to call but she didn't answer then text to say I have wrecked her wedding.

After a while of toing and froing it transpires what the bride in her head has ordered is 50 black and 50 grey sponge cupcakes as in no buttercream frosting. Where I was suppose to put the picture toppers is still a mystery.

She has seen hundreds of images of my work and I have never produced a nude cupcake. Always have frosting on them.

She has not given me time to rectify the issue. Not that I would as I am not having my name associated with what she thinks she has ordered. Not would I let black sponges out to be eaten as they will taste horrendous but they have so much colour in them can you imagine the additives.

She is now asking for a full refund as I have "screwed up her order" what do I do? I'm my head she has received what she has ordered.

If you guys ordered a black & grey cupcake how would you interoperate that? What she thinks or what I have made her.

Long thread! People have strong opinions on black cupcakes, it seems.

I didn't know anything about black cupcakes being a trend. I would also assume that 'vanilla sponge' meant 'white'; chocolate sponge meant 'brown' and 'red velvet' meant red. I know vanilla is a flavour, but I also assume it to be a white sponge (why wouldn't it be?)

I would think that if the bride had her heart set on ordering BLACK vanilla cupcakes she would have made an addition to the order form: vanilla sponge (black); buttercream: black. If you want something really specific, onus is on you to communicate that as clearly as possible.

Buyer beware, right?

For someone whose wedding day was "ruined" by the wrong colour cupcakes (that would have looked as dramatic as possible inside their black wrappers and with their coloured icing and photo toppers) she didn't do much due diligence about y'know, calling up when the question about buttercream was asked, etc. And she accepted them when she collected, don't forget - she had a chance to air her issues right then.

For the future, OP could amend her order form etc etc., but on this occasion I would not be refunding, but might offer a goodwill gesture of a partial refund. But I don't think there's any obligation on OP to do so - the client is as much to blame, imo.

Btw, I also had cupcakes as a wedding cake, I specified what I wanted, they arrived, we 'oohed and 'aahed', we ate, we were happy. For those saying "surely as a wedding cake you discussed all variables and looked at mood boards and trawled Pinterest with the client" etc. then please be aware some people aren't after that sort of service. (I wouldn't have then complained if they were different to the "all-in-my-head not-on-the-page" fantasy, though.)

This bride sounds like she wanted it relatively cheaply (providing dye etc.) and unfortunately didn't choose the service she really needed for the fantasy she had in mind. Not OP's fault imo, although I see that a lot of people think differently, which would be the reason for the partial goodwill refund.

I used to make cakes for friends/ family and if someone said to me they wanted a red cake, I'd have assumed they meant red icing - amazingly I was right!

Same here. If I said I wanted a green cake I would assume green icing as well. Just like if I asked for a Pokemon cake, I would assume they would put Pokemon on the outside. Generally when requests a cake, they are talking about the part they can see. If I asked for a green cake and someone gave me green sponge part with white icing, I'd question their intelligence. This is honestly the first time I've heard of people requesting a colored cake and meaning the cake part.

Seeing as how the visual outside is what is deferred to as the default when ordering a cake, the bride should have made sure that the decorator meant the inside as well. I honestly have a hard time believing that if she was that high strung about her cupcakes that she would not have given the OP an exhaustive run down about every tiny detail.

Sure you did

Of course you forget that until right now!

I'd forward her the email where you discussed the fact you don't do coloured sponge, offer her a partial discount for goodwill and put it down to experience.

(I had no idea that coloured cake was a thing, grey cake sounds utterly foul)

What was the dye to be used for?
I'm amazed by so many people not knowing about coloured cakes!
They're so pretty and tasty!
I always go for the coloured cupcakes, much more exciting!(unless theres a red velvet cupcake on offer).
If i ever get married i won't be having no plain wedding cake!

Unflavoured coloured cake is what I (and probably others) meant, Kali. If it's pink/raspberry flavoured or yellow/lemon flavoured ok, but plain unflavoured grey or black cake? New to me. And I still think grey cake would look like fungus...

Well I've read all of the OP's posts and about half of the replies, and I think that, while the bride may be trying to pull a fast one, it would be a good idea, as a goodwill gesture, to offer her a 50% refund. No more than that though, and no further cake (if she's disappointed in your service so far then offer of another cake isn't going to appease or impress her).

I would have expected black sponge too, tbh - but she should have picked up on the fact that you said you don't do coloured cakes. Miscommunication on both sides, both at fault, both pay 50%.

I just covered my son's birthday cake in black-coloured, vanilla-flavoured fondant icing - wasn't as bitter as I feared it might be (things have improved enormously on that front over the years!) - but I don't think I'd have fancied having to do black sponge cake.

I wouldn't offer a refund because the bride never said anything when she collected and they are wedding cakes. I assume she isn't going to get married again!

As a gesture of goodwill I would offer to bake a cake to celebrate their one year anniversary. If she takes you up on the offer trial your new order sheet!

Here in the US a colored sponge is normal and they do so many different options. The order forms normally asked you to tick a box plus write the color and/or flavor down.

"Agreed. And it doesn't look good, for your business, posting here about this, in my opinion."

So many people have said this, but surely the OP is posting anonymously? So there's no way of knowing either who she is or who the bride is.

I'm sorry, but when I read your op I thought you meant black sponge and them were texting her to confirm the colour options for the buttercream. That just was how I read it.

I bake but don't use food colouring so also wouldn't have known it would impact the taste, though thinking about it I can see it would.

I think it is just an unfortunate miscommunication. I would explain what happened, apologise and just charge for costs and time as a gesture of good will.

She will look back soon and see it was only a tiny blip on her big day.

Sorry this has caused you so much anxiety.

I thought black cupcakes meant black sponge as I have made these myself with both chocolate and coffee batter. I also made a red velvet cake with Raspberries to help with colouring. I also know that some colouring effects taste so I find ways to avoid it, lucikly I only bake for family!

If I wanted black buttercream, I would have said vanilla (or whatever flavoured sponge and/or colour) and what buttercream I wanted; flavour and/or colouring.

I think it's a miscommunication. And as good will offer a small discount.

From the exchange of emails posted I fail to see where the miscommunication is.

OP was so clear on the not dyeing food part that she even offered the name of another baker if that was what her client had her mind set on!

They discussed buttercream icing- where is the miscommunication?

I don't see why OP should offer anything back. Maybe the cost of what bride provided as mentioned by someone else. But no more.

Initially your op showed miscommunication and error on both sides, your later updates show that you should give no refund because yoh made it clear you don't colour sponge.

However, you do need to be more organised with your work If you have to do so much searching and checking Over emails. The information should have been to hand or taken just a five minute look but it took much longer. Most email sites allow you to create folders to archive in and labels. I suggest using these and storing everything using this. If you have all the iinformation to hand you will get more accurate replies reflecting the whole sitnation rather then more inaccurate one which are those going by the minimal info provided.

Just as a side note black cake does not automatically taste vile, I've made a black birthday cake before and used Sugarflair extra concentrated black paste colouring which was fine. The edges were green though so I just cut them off!

the OP is posting anonymously? So there's no way of knowing either who she is or who the bride is

Unless you were the bride, or attended the wedding, or knew the couple at all and had discussed their plans/asked how it went, etc...

If I asked for black cake then I'd be expecting black cake. Not just black cake icing. Because icing is merely the topping on a cake. Now while I think that grey cake would look rank, clearly the customer didn't.

Clearly there's been a massive misunderstanding here and while I realise that the OP has, by dint of searching and checking emails, finally found evidence to support her side of the argument, the very need for such forensic investigation suggests that she needs to supply future customers with a much clearer check-list at the time of agreeing to work for them. That way, everyone knows what they are getting AND supplying.

I can't imagine something as trivial as a cupcake (presumably invisible under the buttercream glurpo on the top) ruining my wedding. However I have learned that one should never underestimate just how easy it is for some brides to lose all perspective over details. Which is why you need to be doubly careful when supplying anything related to weddings!

Ah. I had not seen the additional posts by OP. In that case no refund should be given. However, the fact that you had to search to back yourself up, seems like you need a better filing system and an easier way of discussing options that doesn't lead to any confusion, samplers would also be a good idea too.

A cupcake isn't a cupcake if doesn't have icing on!! Surely that's common sense?! Xx

Without icing, it's just a fairy cake,isn't it?

a red cupcake would be red sponge. What does it say in the contract?

Why would a professional baker refuse to colour cakes? Sounds odd to me...