Wedding Blog
Okay, okay, one (maybe two) more random post before the recaps…
Hello, I’m Mrs. P and I had an ugly wedding cake. Remember when I was trying to decide between the blue cake and croquembouche? Well, I should have gone with the latter.
On our last planning trip back in February, Esme (our coordinator) informed me that the resort’s pastry chef could not do the cake in my requested design after all.
The lacey details required a special mould which he did not have.
But then I started to feel dissed. I wanted that cake more than ever now that I couldn’t have it. How ridiculous is that? Esme said they could do this cake….
Shoot, at the very least, I should have conceded with this. Source
No, no. I wanted the other cake. Whyyyyyyy??? I’m kicking myself now. We had tasted the lemon and raspberry filled delight and loved it. Why didn’t I just bend a little with the design? Stupid, stubborn bride brain.
Then she said another option would be an off-site baker. She said this off-site baker said she could do the cake, and it would actually be a bit cheaper at $10 a slice (rather than the $12 previously quoted). That’s not really even a good price. But whatever. Why didn’t I have any doubts? Grrr. I guess the risks were obvious. We would not be able to taste the cake given the time constraints and we were so mired in other details that we didn’t even bother asking for sample pictures of this baker’s work.
I was happy that Esme put in the effort to find someone and trusted it would be fine. Um yeah, no.
Lesson learned (okay, everyone knows this lesson), do a cake audition. Taste it, look at previous cakes done, etc. Oh yeah, and go simple if you’re in doubt. Don’t let ugly cake happen to you!!! I am so jealous of all the cake ideas I read out there. I see the simple cakes and think, Yeah, I should have done that. Less is more. Speaking of more, you’ll see it in Part 2. (Sorry.)
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Share this post: The Case of the Ugly Cake: Part 1 - Sorry We Can’t Do the Cake
Awwww. I’m sorry you didn’t like your cake! I’m very serious about mine … I cannot wait to see it on the wedding day.
ok you hooked us! the suspense is already killing me. I had a similar experience at a bridal shower i threw for my MOH a few months ago, and I feel like every decoration was thrown off because of the ugly cake sticking out like a sore thumb. I can only imagine how I would feel if it was my WEDDING cake
Oh Mrs, Perfume, our cake was absolutely fugly. I feel your pain. Major cake disappointment. Those cake cutting pictures may not make it into our album!
Although a baby shower doesn’t compare to a wedding, I was VERY shocked & disappointed with the cake we got for my sister’s shower….we planned the cake to be a focal point of the event…instead it was on a table in the far corner 
In our case, the baker had a fabulous portfolio, but, they were not able to produce the custom order that we wanted…they should’ve declined that particular design
I want to see your ugly cake! I’m having a crisis of cake confidence right now, but I’m just going to have to deal with it later!
Oh no, that sucks! I’m so disappointed that you didn’t include the pics in this post, you tease, you! 
awww, cliffhanger! I want to see your cake! And I bet it wasn’t that ugly…I mean its not a cake FAIL is it?
Ha. When I told Mr. P that everyone was dying to see the ugly cake his response was, “It won’t disappoint.”
@PrettyKitty: Fail? Yes. Total fail. It looked like Play-do.
I’m with PrettyKitty…maybe to you it was an epic fail, but to us it was okay? At least that’s what I’m hoping? But then again, if the bride’s not happy, it really doesn’t matter if anyone else is. I’m so sad for you! 
I’m dying to see it now! And also really worried this will happen to us too!
I hate to hear when a couple’s cake doesnt turn out the way they wanted it. The cake is something pretty special at weddings…well to some couples and it sounds like it was something special to you so Im sorry to hear that it wasnt even the least bit pretty. But in writing this and sharing your cake mess with us…be sure to know that Im going to go with a more simple design now that i hear horror cake stories like yours. We should have to pay for someone like Martha Stewart or whoever makes her cakes and everyone else that does awesome cakes…if people are in the wedding business they should have a wide range of knowledge of designs not just some little dots on the cake and thats fine…but it does however make for a memory you wont forget and hopefully can laugh at on your 50 anniversary looking back at the cake pictures.
Oh man, I really want to see the wreck now. I’m so sorry this happened to you!
PS…have you seen the Friends episode for Rachel’s daughter Emma’s 1st birthday where the cake with Emma’s face on it is supposed to be a bunny and when Rachel opens it up her daughter’s face is on a cake that looks like male genitals! Rachel and Ross tried to take the cake back but I think the store was closed by the time they got there…can you imagine seeing this cake with your daughters face on it!!
k, I need to see your cake now - I’m on the edge of my seat! D.Marie is right… at least it wasn’t male genitalia? Though, I really do feel terrible you didn’t end up with the cake you wanted (or, it sounds like even close to what you wanted!!!). Maybe I’ll bake you a nice, simple cake whenever we meet up. <3
awww…i’m sorry to hear about the ugly cake…..maybe you can insert the pretty cake in your albums instead, and just try to forget the ugly cake was ever there. i am dying to see this ugly cake!
Our cake tasted amazing; it was seriously delicious. Buuuut… The cake baker was way old-school and horrified that I didn’t want piped-in rosettes on the cake and said it would be too plain. So I agreed to the rosettes. On the day of the wedding, there were so many red rosettes and neon green leaves, it was hard to see the actual cake. But it was delish and whatevs, it was the smallest part of our day. I’m sorry you were disappointed, Perf! I hope that for 10 bucks a slice it at least tasted amazing!!
Ours wasn’t exactly ugly, but VERY plain. We even paid $20 extra for a monogram that was, well, meh. But the taste…WOW. We had guests begging for more! Don’t worry about it, Perfume. I bet the rest of your wedding was just gorgeous. It’s only you that notices the “fails.” Your guests only notice how nice everything ELSE is. BTW, I though of you as I was selecting macarons at Laduree on my honeymoon!
Ouch. My cake also sucked. I even got featured on Cake Wrecks (I didn’t think it was wreck-worthy, but everyone else did!). My fault for not caring enough about it, but I also didn’t let it bother me. I hope you got past yours and had an otherwise perfect day!
Oh, our cake was a piped icing nightmare. I just checked the box that asked if we wanted a cake - I didn’t actually look at any pictures or anything
But, it tasted good (I think? I can’t really remember!).
@Ruby Slippers: Are you serious, it was on Cake Wrecks?? I love that blog. I am also glad that you didn’t let it bother you! Neither did I!
Oh no! Sorry to hear that your cake didn’t turn out how you expected (or rather, the total opposite of what you expected). Don’t leave us in suspense for long, we want to see this cake!
Awww, I’m sorry Mrs. Perfume! That stinks that you didn’t get the cake you wanted, and it didn’t turn out how you had hoped!
Our cake (we had cupcakes for the guests, a small cake for us) was decorated with carrots (carrots!) on our weddind day. We didnt ask for the carrots, in fact we asked for simple spackle-looking frosting. The bright orange in our photos is a jarring reminder of our sucky cake-baker/caterer experience.
i’m so sorry it was such a disaster. hopefuly it is something you and your hubby can laugh about for years to come!
oh dear! i still wanna see how bad it is! can’t wait! (this sounds so wrong)
ohh noo!! I’m so sorry! but Im intrigued to see ugly cake 
Sorry to hear about your ugly cake but at least you got a good story out of it, I’m sure you won’t forget the cake any time soon Show us please!
@Ruby Slippers: @Ruby Slippers:
Can you link us to your CW cake? It’ll hold us over until we see Perfume’s cake!
ditto ruby slippers-would love to see your cake wreck!
and Mrs P- im sure no one was looking at your cake if you were dressed as fabulous as i know your style is!
I am equally saddened for you, yet intrigued to see this cake of yours…I’m so sorry that you didn’t get what you dreamed of!
Wow, $10 a slice is crazy! Looking forward to seeing the next cake FAIL installment, Perfume!
I’m so sorry your cake didn’t turn out the way you wanted. I was annoyed because our “friendor” (mom’s best friend/pastry chef) made the cake we discussed and then…she topped it with the hugest, pinkest Gerbera daisy I’ve ever seen. Pink was NOT one of our wedding colors and it looked ridiculous. For some reason, she didn’t use the white flowers I gave her (that matched the bouquets). Every time I see a photo of the cake, it makes me mad!
Come on, sitting on the edge of my seat here! Also now I’m stressing about my cake. Hmm. maybe I need to check back with our bakery… Or just go check out Cake Wrecks to assure myself that it can’t be THAT bad..
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Mrs. Perfume, DC
Age and Occupation: 36, Consultant (and Part-Time Professor)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, Consultant
Engagement Date: May 13, 2008
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia
About Me: I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Little Edie Beale. Only not as..."talented". More realistically, I'm a foodie who can't bake; a dancer and dilettente; an art collector with a penchant for the whimsical and subversive. I live in the city and adore the country, but not much in between. I like smart design, great craftmanship and good value. Most of all, I love the new vintage aesthetic: classic, sweet, delicate, bespoke. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a culinary arts degree rather than a PhD; but wouldn't trade Mr. P for the world.
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