Saturday, December 12, 2009

Seriously Saturdays: The cake saga continues!

So in last week's post, I shared about how frustrated I was when our hopes for our dream cake came tumbling down around us.  The caterer was going to charge us an additional $1,000 for the cake we wanted...*and* we were concerned that his 'baker' would not be able to replicate it without it looking like a disaster.

While searching the net for replicas of the cake we wanted to recreate:



We came across these images which were obvious attempts at a knock off of the above cake, but not even close!

 

 

Source:  Picasa and Google Images

I mean, we really wanted that cake, but God forbid if what we ended up with looked like one of those...I would have been devastated at the least and totally embarassed!

So, instead, I browsed the net again and saw several blogs and sites with cupcake towers at weddings.  Um, hello?  I'll take this any day and twice on Sunday, please!  I fell in love with the idea.  A tower of wonderfully frosted little cakes in differing flavors but still unified in our colors with a small cake at the top of the tower for us to still cut into - perfect! 











 
Source:  Google Images unless otherwise noted on photo

And what's so cool about this idea?  The guests don't have to wait to be served.  As soon as we 'cut the cake' they can walk right up and just grab whatever they'd like.  And if they don't feel like cake at the reception - which a lot of people sometimes don't - then they can simply grab one and place it in a little takeout box to carry home with them for the next day.  Bonus!

I shared the idea with my mom and sis who absolutely loved it.  Mr Fix It - not so much.  Once again, the little bugger shot down my great idea saying it was 'ghetto' and cheap looking.  Even when I showed him pictures like this:


Source:  Jasmine Star Photography

Um, there is absolutely nothing cheap or ghetto looking about that!  Thankfully, we went to dinner with a good guy friend a few weeks ago and shared our cake dilemma with him.  When I mentioned the possibility of cupcakes, he said "Oh, that's a great idea."  Thanks, Danny!  Cuz now Mr Fix It has the approval of a cool younger dude and he came around saying "Ok, if they can't make our upside down cake for us, then we can do the cupcake tower."  Woo-hoo!

I e-mailed the caterer and showed him some of the above pics and asked what they'd charge to do 200 cupcakes and he said it'd only cost us an extra $200, then he even suggested they'd make it only $100 to help us out.  Great!  In our budget and I love the idea.  Until....

this is what he sent me as a sample that they just did for a wedding in Malibu last month:




Seriously?  THAT is your idea of a cupcake tower similar to all those gorgeous photos I just sent you?!  Are you kidding me?!  Look at it!  There are Oreo cookies stuck in the top of the cupcakes!  And silver tin foil cupcake holders are not cutting it at my wedding.  And hello, do you not know how to frost a stupid cupcake?  There is frosting all over the cupcake holders.  I zoomed in on the image on my computer and thought "I'd be so embarassed to send this out as a sample of our company's work!"  Good Lord!



I immediately showed it to Mr Fix It and told him "There is no way in hell I am having them make our cupcakes!  So either we're getting them somewhere else or we'll just have them make us a basic cake and try to find ways to spruce it up and make it more unique."  He agreed whole-heartedly and also pointed out that with our budget as high as it is, we really shouldn't worry about extra charges for a cake.  As much as it's a big deal, we need to keep the funds to a minimum where we can...and splurging on an extravagant cake is not an acceptable expense to us right now.  (sigh)

And thus, my cake saga continues with another let down.  This is the one thing in my entire wedding planning process that I am really not excited about and actually bummed about.  I am not looking forward to the cake at our wedding because I know it is not going to be what I envisioned.  Oh well.

So, next week I'll hopefully have some updated info on our plans to revamp the whole cake design yet again!  What are your plans for your cake ladies?  Keeping it traditional?  And what are some areas of your wedding that maybe you're not excited about because you feel like you had to compromise on your hopes and dreams?

19 comments:

Jenn said...

The last wedding I attended in November, she had the cup cake tower with the cake on top... CUTE great idea!

andrea said...

Wow! I have never seen an upside down cake! I am sure why now, they are very pricey!

I think cupcake towers are too cute! I have even heard of people getting their cupcakes at wholesale food places {like Sam's Club}...they know how to decorate a good looking cupcake for cheap!

I went with the traditional cake because I was so disappointed that we had to cut it right when we got there and my beautiful design would not be seen long enough by all! I loved our cake in the end and did pay more for the details that I wanted. I have no regrets about that.

Could you have an upside down tower created? A sturdy platform that is upside down? just a thought and may not be realistic at all! Good luck.

Em said...

Ohhh I really love the idea of the cupcake tower with the cake on top. So cute. Honestly, I think you need a new baker. The photo they sent? Now *that* is ghetto, lol. I'm sorry there are so many frustrations surrounding this cake!

Vanessa said...

I know this isn't going to help, but I don't like the upside down cake and MUCH prefer the cupcake tower. Honestly, if you can be bothered, I would make the cupcake tower with your girlfriends. It'd be really fun. You could pick a recipe, ask each girl to bring 12 cupcakes made following that recipe and spend the afternoon icing. It's so easy to ice a cupcake that I have no idea how the photo above is so unattractive. Your talented FI could easily build you a cupcake stand (even an upside down one, if you want that look). It'd be so inexpensive and so cool!

Joy said...

A great cupcake tower stand might make all the difference... Check out www.thecupcaketower.com. Good luck with you planning!!

Shannon said...

Yeah that last cupcake tower is pretty bad. I don't blame you for being upset.

I've been pretty stressed about our cake b/c my fiance's sister knows someone who offered to make our cake and is supposedly really good but I haven't seen pictures or done a tasting with her or anything and can't get any information. No one thinks this is a big deal but I dont want to end up with a horrible cake just to save a few hundred bucks.

Good luck, keep us posted on what you figure out!

Katerina said...

Sorry this is becoming such a challenge for you! I was really disappointed about the limited cake options at my venue as well (they're all white and look EXACTLY THE SAME!) Are you allowed to bring in your own cupcake tower? Maybe you could look into that as an option? As for me, I've just accepted that my cake won't be that special, but realized it doesn't matter that much. We're going to have great food and a gorgeous venue, so I don't think anyone will be too upset over how the cake looks.

Katie said...

Booo stupid cake people! We haven't really done much searching for ours yet, but I know that we want to do mini cupcakes in a ton of different flavors...this is going to scare me now!

A. Marigold said...

That picture they sent you is ridiculous--they should offer a partial refund on the fee for using it, not charge you an extra $100. It is completely amateur... actually, amateurs could frost a nicer looking cupcake.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with this! We dealt with the problem by just getting a cake we knew would taste fabulous and picking a simple design that would be hard to mess up. It will still be one of the nicer looking wedding cakes that most of our guests have seen, without costing a fortune. Good luck in your cake search!

Heather said...

You know, I had a hunch that you might decide to go with a cupcake tower, since I know you had mentioned really liking the idea before. But I agree that the cupcakes in the caterer’s photo look more like something you’d see at an elementary school birthday party than a wedding. I mean, I’m sure they still taste good, but come on! I hope you’re able to work something out that will still make you happy. What a hassle…

Kim said...

I'm with A. Marigold. The cupcakes I made for the fiance's birthday this year looked 1,000 times better than the ones in the last tower. I can't believe that was the example they sent to you! I'm glad Mr. Fix-it is on board with the cupcake tower, though. I am a huge fan!

Caro said...

I think you should change bakery...he is scary and it's a lot of money to spend on your perfect day.

Mrs T said...

I LOVE cupcake towers. Sorry the cake is turning into such a saga for you. It always has to be something in the wedding planning that just does not go as planned. Let's hope it will be just this one thing for you, and the rest will be smooth sailing.

Recession Bride said...

WOW, that's a bummer! That cupcake tower is pretty tragic.

Have you talked to them about just doing one layer of a real cake and faking the other two layers (boxes that are frosted) with a sheet cake in the back to cut? It might make doing an upside down cake a lot easier and cheaper...

Sorry for the frustrations!! Good luck!

Born to be Mrs. Beever said...

Recession bride...you know what's so funny! My fiance and I totally know all about the fake cake thing...we had a friend do it at a wedding and were totally laughing about it. I actually hadn't thought about it and it might be a good alternative...but I think part of what is attracting my fiance to that cake is the fact that it would be pretty impressive to have a *real* upside down cake...so I'll suggest it to him but think he'll blow it out of the water :) We are currently talking to a family friend who has made all kinds of b-day, wedding and shower cakes for us over the years to see what she would charge us and if she is able to make the upside down cake. Fingers crossed.

Gracie said...

I'm having a cupcake tower with a little cake on top for cutting. I've had meetings with our cake lady and she is absolutely lovely! I love her stuff too.

I hope you are able to find your perfect cake!

Kelsey Claire said...

Just found your blog! I love the cupcake idea! I so would have done this for our wedding. We just did different flavors of cakes, but cupcakes would have been better!

honey my heart said...

good luck with the cupcakes. ours were a hit.

Mariposa said...

oh poor you! Gosh you can't catch a break can you? You finally talk him into the cupcake idea and your caterer sends you exactly what Mr. Fit It first said about cupcake towers "ghetto"! That sucks! I hope it all works out for you, whatever you decide! Cake has been something I have been having a hard time with too.

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