To many guests, the most important part of the wedding is the cake. The location, the decor, the bride's dress, all of these things are vital, but they are to be admired. The cake, however, is to be enjoyed.
Unless the newlyweds served one that's made out of ground meat. Or the baker got sick and asked his cat to finish the job.
Bored Panda decided to compile a list of terrible wedding cake fails and turns out the Internet is abundant with them. Whether someone really messed up in the process of bringing it to the table or something really unfortunate — for example, a sandstorm — we included them all. Bon appétit.
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Cake At The Wedding I Attended This Weekend
As you can see, wedding cakes come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the number of guests it will serve. Modern pastry chefs and cake designers often use various ingredients and tools to create something that usually reflects the personalities of the couple too. Marzipan, fondant, gum paste, buttercream, and chocolate are among the most popular choices.
Wedding cakes are usually priced on a per-person, or per-slice, basis, with the prices ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars per-person or slice, depending on the pastry chef hired to make it.
The One That Assembled This Cake, Read The Instructions Wrong
However, with smaller, more personal gatherings on the rise, some couples turn away from multi-tier confections. Instead, they opt for small cutting cakes of one or two tiers. "Because weddings are more intimate, there is a rise in small micro-wedding cakes and single-tier cakes," says Marleeta Peppers, owner of Leeta's Creations Custom Cakes.
Baker Arley Arrington added: "Lately, I've been working less on tiered cakes, and more on individually packaged desserts."
Who Doesn’t Love Cake? Specially One For That Wedding During The Coronavirus Outbreak - Tpcake
According to Sarah Crowell, planner for Mavinhouse Events, having a small cake still allows for a traditional cake cutting moment, which many couples feel strongly about having. "With lingering health concerns, it really isn't sanitary to have a big cake on display and then serve it to everyone." Those who want loved ones to have a slice of cake can get creative and provide mini versions for each guest or table. For a more economical dessert option, couples can also offer pre-wrapped desserts, which are not only budget-friendly but Covid-safe as well.
When it comes to wedding cakes, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you don't agree with me, just keep scrolling. You'll change your mind by the end of the list.
Spot On Cake At The Wedding I Was At Today
A Bakery In East Earl, PA., Crafted A Life-Size, Deer-Shaped Wedding Cake
The “Weeding” Cake
Groom's Cake Disaster. What We Wanted vs. What We Got
We Wanted To Create Something Beautiful For Our Wedding Cake. I Turned Out To Be A Pregnant Sumo Wrestler
My Wife And I Eloped During Quarantine. We Decided To Have A Hamburger Wedding Cake To Celebrate
That Does Not Look Like A Sand Castle
My sister-in-law had a beach destination wedding in Mexico, and decided that she loved this sand castle cake. Upon speaking with the baker, she explained that she understood that the baker may not be able to recreate the cake exactly, but would be happy with something similar. The baker insisted that she could make a cake as equally beautiful. They agreed that the cake would be 3 tiers, with the sand castle on the top. On the wedding day, she instead got 3 separate tiers, each topped with its own version of a flesh colored sand castle.
The "Gold" Cake At My Sister's Wedding Last Night
Is this some kind of bad reaction from the ingredients with the goldcolor or why has it this barf green? Anybody an idea?
Peacock Cake Of Dreams
The Baker Wouldn't Send Us A Picture Of The Cake Topper Until The Day Of The Wedding... We Soon Found Out Why
What I Ordered vs. What Was Delivered. I Paid $135 For This Mess
I don't know how the prices for cakes go in the US, but $135 doesn't sound like much. If you go to a cheap bakery, you'll get a cheap cake.
Cake Baker Probably Didn't See The Bride Before Making The Cake. Or Any Other Human Being, In Fact
If the head was bigger, it, in all fairness, would have looked decent.
Castle Tower Wedding Cake
I met with a baker for flavors and everything was great. We agreed on flavors and design (left). The end result was that the baker I hired showed up with my cake later than she stated. When I saw it, it looked like the photo on the right. People asked if we were going to circumcise our cake. The cake was cracked, falling over, and did not have the flavors we asked for so the taste was unknown.
What I Wanted vs. What Was Delivered. Yes, I Got A Full Refund
This Cringeworthy Wedding Cake Topping
Not cringeworthy it's funny and as I'm sure, very relevant to the couple
A Facebook Friend’s Wedding Cake
My Cousin's Wedding Cake. Rice Krispy Treats With Fruit By The Foot Flowers
A Friend's Wedding Cake
The baker apparently put the cake in a large storage container then drove an hour and a half to the venue and delivered this monstrosity.
Yea you cant even see there was fondant on the cake, so I think it did not look alike at all
Load More Replies... Wow. Many of the cakes shown here are great, some are bad. But that is a disgrace. I am a very easy customer and usually won‘t say anything even when I‘m dissatisfied, but I wouldn’t have paid for this. And to think this was meant for someone‘s special day - no question that love matters more than the cake, but this ‘baker’ doesn’t deserve their job if they treat their customers with such little respect.
That bottom tier says it all: "We dropped it then blamed it on the drive but we shoved it together with our hands.
When you saw this "cake", you should have refused delivery -- which would make getting a full refund easy in small claims court -- and had a few trusted relatives buy cakes from BJs, Costco...even a grocery store -- and added the difference between the last-minute cakes and what you ordered to your small claims law suite.
what the cake fluff? This is a cake for 1yr old to bash to pieces. Not a cake for a wedding nor adults.
The cake was entirely wrong even BEFORE it got smashed. Can't see any fondant or decorations. Just a complete mess.
I have driven 3 hours to deliver a cake. You never put a cake in the lid of a tote.
Did the driver drive on any actual roads, or did they just drive to the wedding as the crow flies?
She would be driving back and making a fresh cake for the reception if that happened at my wedding
That is so sad. All that effort. I've had that happen to me. And it's not like you can say the baker did a bad job - it just didn't travel well.
Well earlier I thought several of these (like the gold/green cake) were done by amateurs but it turns out I was wrong. These are bakers who are crooks. They have no business hanging out a shingle and charging people money if they’re so inexperienced. How can they do this to people on their wedding day?
These bakers need to be out of business!! Horrid for a wedding day!!
Lawsuit against certain people who bake or cook! Stop them, please!
cant see that that was ever as nice as the first one it looks like the accident improved it
What Flavor Do You Want? Yellow, Please
This Cake Was Supposed To Spell "Wiser Wedding"
One Of 10 Worst Wedding Cake Fails I've Seen
Wedding Cake
And There She Is. Don't You Just Love How Different She Is? Edible Sugar Oysters
Ordered A Pink, White And Black Striped Cake, Received A Black White And Purple Cake With Uneven Stripes
Shrek And Donkey Wedding Cake
Pure Class In Wedding Cake Form
I Just Wanted To Share A Pic Of My Groom's Cake From My Wedding
Stop Putting Muddy Toy Trucks On Your Wedding Cake
Even If You Really Like Sushi, This Sushi Wedding Cake Is Too Much
Remember, You Want A Cake Pretty Enough To Move Your Guests To Tears, Not Tears That Move Themselves
The Wedding Cake We Ordered vs. The Cake We Picked Up
Why did you pick it up? You should have told them that is not what you ordered and you're still waiting for yours
Ordered vs. Received. Looks Like It's Melting
What I Ordered On The Left, What I Got On The Right
How does a professional baker not even know the difference between frosting and fondant?
Redneck Wedding Cake
This one is actually pretty crearive, I like it. I just think the person who made this list has an issue with "non-traditional" wedding cakes.
When You Order A Wedding Cake (Left Pic) And This Is What Is Sent Through The Night Before Your Wedding (Right Cake)
I Hope They Had A Wonderful Wedding And The Cake Tasted Better Than It Looked
Please Don't Jam A Life-Sized Plastic Mannequin Of Yourself On The Cake
The Cake My Wife And I Expected (Without Flowers) vs. What Showed Up On Our Wedding Day
Saw This On My Fb Feed... From A Wedding
From My Friend's Wedding. The Cake Was Several Layers Of Cheese
Ok. I'm stealing it and everyone else can eat the strawberries. Bye.
This Wedding Cake Topper
This Wedding Cake Made To Look Like A Meal From Popeye’s
Wedding Cake. Homemade By The Groom’s Mother
The venue they got married at is capable of providing professionally made cakes, but I guess this was the groom’s mother’s kind gesture for their wedding. From what I understand, making a wedding cake is a different process than a homemade cake.
The cake eventually fell over not too long after this… sadly I didn’t get a photo as it already went out.
Let's Just Say, The Cake Was A Flop
Brides These Days. When The Big Day Arrives, Some Of Them Can Really Lose Their Heads, You Know
50th Wedding Anniversary Cake
Mom Made My Sister's Wedding Cake. Yes... Wedding
This Is... My Buddie's Wedding Cake
My Friend Recently Ordered A Cake For Her Parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary. She Was Very Disappointed And They Ended Up Not Charging Her For The Cake
I Present To You - Our Wedding Cake. I Will Admit They Got The Color Right. That’s It. Yes I’m Serious
Russian Wedding Cake
Mashed Potato Wedding Cake With Gravy Icing And Fried Chicken Topper
My Barber's Bride Found The Wedding Cake (Left) She Wanted And A Baker Said She'd Bake It For Her. Two Days Before The Wedding Baker Sent Them The Pic On The Right
As A Guy I Think I Am Finally Getting This Cake Thing Down
My Wedding Cake Fail. Expectations vs. Reality
Hearty Wedding
Looks like an abomination from a 70s cookbook. all it needs is some kind of jello with things floating in it on the side
"Till Death Do Us Part". Literally
This “Cattle Brand” Themed Wedding Cake That Looks Like A Crusty, Infected Breast
Yes, The Pics On The Right Are Of Our Wedding Cake
Poop Smeared Wedding Cake
One Of My Buddy's Cakes Today For His Wedding. My Work Is Done Here
This Roadkill Wedding Cake
Wedding Monogram Of The Month
Do Not Put Bloody Antlers On A Wedding Cake
This Is How The Cake Arrived For My Brother's Wedding Tomorrow. Let Me Tell You, It Is A Perfect Metaphor For How Covid Has Affected Their Plans
Borat Wedding Cake
This Towering Meat Cake At A Japanese Wedding Party
My Cousin's Wedding Cake
Went To My Redneck Cousin's Wedding Today. This Was Their Cake
Mudding appears to b a popular theme. better than the dead animals and confederate flags though
What A Beautiful Wedding Cake
Camo. Confederate Flag Cake. Broken Down Rv. Yep, It's A Wedding
You should at least know your flag.... there are too many stars
Look At This Wedding Cake
Well at least they advertise being racist white trash so you know to avoid them
As a cake maker, I can say that the amount of people who expect a custom cake for almost nothing is insane. Custom cakes, like any other custom products, aren’t cheap. They’re hours, if not days, of work. The costs of cake decorating supplies are insane too. When you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys.
I know, right? Some of these cakes were ridiculously ambitious, and can only be executed properly by someone who has incredible decorating skills. If your picture was made by someone else, don't expect the local bakery to be able to replicate it for a fraction of the price.
Load More Replies...
This is a little bit harsh on the cake makers. If you show up at your local bakery with a picture from Pinterest you're not gonna get exactly what you want. You can tell with a bunch of these they really did their best to get it right.
I disagree. If you are a professional business and someone comes to you with a request you don't have the skill to execute, you should decline. Then again, it's the customers who are to blame when it comes down to it for not doing their due diligence. If the baker doesn't have a portfolio of doing what you request, then it's on you for hiring them.
Load More Replies... A lot of these cakes were actually really cool and creative I don't get why they were called "fails"
All those attempts to make the wedding cake look "manly" are hilarious. Imagine feeling that insecure over a damn cake.
If you mean the truck cakes, there are lots of women and nb folks who live for their cars.
Load More Replies...
If a request is beyond your staff's capability say so! How any professional bakery could turn out some of these is beyond me.
Ha. True. Splitsville. But would the couple need to get back together after 4 years?
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I asked for one thing from the baker when we got married. NO PINK CAKE. Can you guess which color cake I got...purple AND pink! Oh well, I can barely remember it anyhow since I had an allergic reaction to the penicilin i got to combat the infection I got from an impacted wisdom tooth. Thank gawd I had a professional makeup artist do my make-up so that I could have wonderful wedding picture afterwards to "remember" the event. I heard that everyone else had lots of fun though even my new grandmother-in-law who was in her 80's.
Oh I forgot to mention that I had the wisdom tooth pulled the next day after and couldnt say good-bye to my out of town family as they continued on their first time trip through Europe. :(
Load More Replies...
I don't know... I think a lot of these might have been a neighbor or friend of a friend who can bake (maybe not decorate well) and said they could do a cake for cheap... I don't know if a professional would let their reputation be destroyed so easily with such a terrible job or how they could have built their business in the first place.
Weddings I went to as a kid in the 80s... the cake was never designed to be eaten by the guests. It was all styrofoam and royal icing that was hard as rock. There was only one tiny wedge of fruitcake in one non-styro part that the bride and groom could cut through. And then everyone got slices of the same cake from somewhere else. IDK why. I do know that I had no idea people actually had tasty wedding cakes at their weddings until I started to learn about American wedding culture. Though I see more fails when the wedding cakes are actual cake than I ever did as a kid.
A lot of these I don't understand. Maybe half of them were really great, just not everyone's style. The rest is split between I believe home cooks learning, or actual truely terrible cakes. If home cooks, why should we criticize? But, if it's done by so called professionals who delivered very subpar cakes, then refunds are in order. But there weren't that many of that type on this list
This is "people getting what they paid for". Not a simple afternoon of baking to make a wedding cake, takes ages
I feel like some of these were more bad taste than bad execution.
I just don't get the customers. If I'd like insta-cake for my insta-weding I'd look for a very well known and/or highly recomended and/or five star rated bakery/cake maker. Not anonymous and the cheapest one.
That gold cake, the baker just screwed up the mirror glaze, so that's why it turned green.
That's a lot of mud. seriously, what's so appetizing about mud?
I think these are 1/3rd exactly what the client wanted, 1/3 people expecting an inexperienced/cheap baker to be able to recreate another artist's work, and 1/3 inexperienced bakers not understanding the time and skill it takes to get the level of detail right. It's bizarre to me that bakers can make a wedding cake two weeks in advance, but making it the night before (or worse, the day of) is a recipe for disaster. Some of these mistakes are clearly because the baker rushed and didn't have time to fix their mistakes or start over.
If I ever get married, I’ll just have my mom make a cake, she’s brilliant at baking. And I’m pan so it should have pastel blue, pink, and yellow flowers!
i love cake now 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
My sister ordered a beautiful & elegant cake from "Great Cakes & Edible Monuments in Bellevue, Wa. Day of the wedding and they delivered the wrong cake - it had BLUE roses melting down one side, just the tackiest looking thing ever. They refused to refund her money ($350). So we picketed them for 3 days. Not surprised they went out of business. (And yes, they basically paid her so we'd go away).
What we should all take away from this is to never order cakes with castle towers.
I wonder how many of these people looked at what the baker offered or if they just came in with their wish cake. You can't ask a person to create something out of their range. Of course the bakers should say no. It doesn't take much to explain that you'll try but you've never done "that" before. If they aren't willing to pay for it, so it will be right, say no.
Nothing like a redneck wedding. ;-) Seriously, some of these are well executed even if the concept is a bit dodgy, but others look like the couple found a picture in a magazine and asked Grandma to duplicate it.
Cakes on the left - fancy, covered in nasty-a$$ fondant. Cakes on the right - less pretty, but edible.
As a cake maker, I can say that the amount of people who expect a custom cake for almost nothing is insane. Custom cakes, like any other custom products, aren’t cheap. They’re hours, if not days, of work. The costs of cake decorating supplies are insane too. When you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys.
I know, right? Some of these cakes were ridiculously ambitious, and can only be executed properly by someone who has incredible decorating skills. If your picture was made by someone else, don't expect the local bakery to be able to replicate it for a fraction of the price.
Load More Replies... This is a little bit harsh on the cake makers. If you show up at your local bakery with a picture from Pinterest you're not gonna get exactly what you want. You can tell with a bunch of these they really did their best to get it right.
I disagree. If you are a professional business and someone comes to you with a request you don't have the skill to execute, you should decline. Then again, it's the customers who are to blame when it comes down to it for not doing their due diligence. If the baker doesn't have a portfolio of doing what you request, then it's on you for hiring them.
Load More Replies... A lot of these cakes were actually really cool and creative I don't get why they were called "fails"
All those attempts to make the wedding cake look "manly" are hilarious. Imagine feeling that insecure over a damn cake.
If you mean the truck cakes, there are lots of women and nb folks who live for their cars.
Load More Replies... If a request is beyond your staff's capability say so! How any professional bakery could turn out some of these is beyond me.
Ha. True. Splitsville. But would the couple need to get back together after 4 years?
Load More Replies... I asked for one thing from the baker when we got married. NO PINK CAKE. Can you guess which color cake I got...purple AND pink! Oh well, I can barely remember it anyhow since I had an allergic reaction to the penicilin i got to combat the infection I got from an impacted wisdom tooth. Thank gawd I had a professional makeup artist do my make-up so that I could have wonderful wedding picture afterwards to "remember" the event. I heard that everyone else had lots of fun though even my new grandmother-in-law who was in her 80's.
Oh I forgot to mention that I had the wisdom tooth pulled the next day after and couldnt say good-bye to my out of town family as they continued on their first time trip through Europe. :(
Load More Replies... I don't know... I think a lot of these might have been a neighbor or friend of a friend who can bake (maybe not decorate well) and said they could do a cake for cheap... I don't know if a professional would let their reputation be destroyed so easily with such a terrible job or how they could have built their business in the first place.
Weddings I went to as a kid in the 80s... the cake was never designed to be eaten by the guests. It was all styrofoam and royal icing that was hard as rock. There was only one tiny wedge of fruitcake in one non-styro part that the bride and groom could cut through. And then everyone got slices of the same cake from somewhere else. IDK why. I do know that I had no idea people actually had tasty wedding cakes at their weddings until I started to learn about American wedding culture. Though I see more fails when the wedding cakes are actual cake than I ever did as a kid.
A lot of these I don't understand. Maybe half of them were really great, just not everyone's style. The rest is split between I believe home cooks learning, or actual truely terrible cakes. If home cooks, why should we criticize? But, if it's done by so called professionals who delivered very subpar cakes, then refunds are in order. But there weren't that many of that type on this list
This is "people getting what they paid for". Not a simple afternoon of baking to make a wedding cake, takes ages
I feel like some of these were more bad taste than bad execution.
I just don't get the customers. If I'd like insta-cake for my insta-weding I'd look for a very well known and/or highly recomended and/or five star rated bakery/cake maker. Not anonymous and the cheapest one.
That gold cake, the baker just screwed up the mirror glaze, so that's why it turned green.
That's a lot of mud. seriously, what's so appetizing about mud?
I think these are 1/3rd exactly what the client wanted, 1/3 people expecting an inexperienced/cheap baker to be able to recreate another artist's work, and 1/3 inexperienced bakers not understanding the time and skill it takes to get the level of detail right. It's bizarre to me that bakers can make a wedding cake two weeks in advance, but making it the night before (or worse, the day of) is a recipe for disaster. Some of these mistakes are clearly because the baker rushed and didn't have time to fix their mistakes or start over.
If I ever get married, I’ll just have my mom make a cake, she’s brilliant at baking. And I’m pan so it should have pastel blue, pink, and yellow flowers!
i love cake now 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
My sister ordered a beautiful & elegant cake from "Great Cakes & Edible Monuments in Bellevue, Wa. Day of the wedding and they delivered the wrong cake - it had BLUE roses melting down one side, just the tackiest looking thing ever. They refused to refund her money ($350). So we picketed them for 3 days. Not surprised they went out of business. (And yes, they basically paid her so we'd go away).
What we should all take away from this is to never order cakes with castle towers.
I wonder how many of these people looked at what the baker offered or if they just came in with their wish cake. You can't ask a person to create something out of their range. Of course the bakers should say no. It doesn't take much to explain that you'll try but you've never done "that" before. If they aren't willing to pay for it, so it will be right, say no.
Nothing like a redneck wedding. ;-) Seriously, some of these are well executed even if the concept is a bit dodgy, but others look like the couple found a picture in a magazine and asked Grandma to duplicate it.
Cakes on the left - fancy, covered in nasty-a$$ fondant. Cakes on the right - less pretty, but edible.
