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40 Times People Questioned If These Wedding Cakes Were The Right Choice For The Big Day
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.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
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.
#2
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."
#3
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.
#4
Spot On Cake At The Wedding I Was At Today
#5
A Bakery In East Earl, PA., Crafted A Life-Size, Deer-Shaped Wedding Cake
#6
The “Weeding” Cake
#7
Groom's Cake Disaster. What We Wanted vs. What We Got
#8
We Wanted To Create Something Beautiful For Our Wedding Cake. I Turned Out To Be A Pregnant Sumo Wrestler
#9
My Wife And I Eloped During Quarantine. We Decided To Have A Hamburger Wedding Cake To Celebrate
#10
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.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 4 years ago
This is so outrageously horrible that you just have to laugh until you curl up into a little ball and cry in sadness. I love the sad attempts at piping a window and door.
Katelynn Lundberg 3 years ago
This….is both disturbing and sad. It brings me back to the video in the gym in 5th grade that was a horrifying video and talk
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
Obviously a failure to communicate. Mushrooms on a wedding cake. Can you imagine?
June Dominguez 4 years ago
This 👩🍳 baker, what EXTRA ingredients did they say they used? They also had a blinder on!
Tyna Harrison 4 years ago
yes yes seen this many times before, it is the dreaded K**b Cake...hahaha.....
Russian Otaku 4 years ago
If the bottom was more a dark brown it would look like mushrooms growing out of a stump
#11
The "Gold" Cake At My Sister's Wedding Last Night
Heidi Zimmermann 4 years ago
Is this some kind of bad reaction from the ingredients with the goldcolor or why has it this barf green? Anybody an idea?
#12
Peacock Cake Of Dreams
#13
The Baker Wouldn't Send Us A Picture Of The Cake Topper Until The Day Of The Wedding... We Soon Found Out Why
#14
What I Ordered vs. What Was Delivered. I Paid $135 For This Mess
Random Panda 4 years ago
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.
#15
Cake Baker Probably Didn't See The Bride Before Making The Cake. Or Any Other Human Being, In Fact
Lyra Fortune 4 years ago
If the head was bigger, it, in all fairness, would have looked decent.
#16
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.
#17
What I Wanted vs. What Was Delivered. Yes, I Got A Full Refund
#18
This Cringeworthy Wedding Cake Topping
Lyra Fortune 4 years ago
Not cringeworthy it's funny and as I'm sure, very relevant to the couple
#19
A Facebook Friend’s Wedding Cake
#20
My Cousin's Wedding Cake. Rice Krispy Treats With Fruit By The Foot Flowers
#21
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.
#22
What Flavor Do You Want? Yellow, Please
#23
This Cake Was Supposed To Spell "Wiser Wedding"
#24
One Of 10 Worst Wedding Cake Fails I've Seen
#25
Wedding Cake
#26
And There She Is. Don't You Just Love How Different She Is? Edible Sugar Oysters
#27
Ordered A Pink, White And Black Striped Cake, Received A Black White And Purple Cake With Uneven Stripes
#28
Shrek And Donkey Wedding Cake
#29
Pure Class In Wedding Cake Form
#30
I Just Wanted To Share A Pic Of My Groom's Cake From My Wedding
#31
Stop Putting Muddy Toy Trucks On Your Wedding Cake
#32
Even If You Really Like Sushi, This Sushi Wedding Cake Is Too Much
#33
Remember, You Want A Cake Pretty Enough To Move Your Guests To Tears, Not Tears That Move Themselves
#34
The Wedding Cake We Ordered vs. The Cake We Picked Up
wandile dludlu 4 years ago
Why did you pick it up? You should have told them that is not what you ordered and you're still waiting for yours
#35
Ordered vs. Received. Looks Like It's Melting
#36
What I Ordered On The Left, What I Got On The Right
Stephanie Did It 4 years ago
How does a professional baker not even know the difference between frosting and fondant?
#37
Redneck Wedding Cake
Lyra Fortune 4 years ago
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.
#38
When You Order A Wedding Cake (Left Pic) And This Is What Is Sent Through The Night Before Your Wedding (Right Cake)
#39
I Hope They Had A Wonderful Wedding And The Cake Tasted Better Than It Looked
Add New Image
Post a picture of your wedding cake
Iris Ngo 4 years ago
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.
H Edwards 4 years ago
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...
Jennifer .S 4 years ago
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.
Full Name 4 years ago
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...
The Chosen One 4 years ago (edited)
A lot of these cakes were actually really cool and creative I don't get why they were called "fails"
Random Panda 4 years ago
All those attempts to make the wedding cake look "manly" are hilarious. Imagine feeling that insecure over a damn cake.
Paper A 4 years ago
If you mean the truck cakes, there are lots of women and nb folks who live for their cars.
Load More Replies...
Rose the Cook 4 years ago
If a request is beyond your staff's capability say so! How any professional bakery could turn out some of these is beyond me.
Tabitha L 4 years ago
Ha. True. Splitsville. But would the couple need to get back together after 4 years?
Load More Replies...
Jill 4 years ago
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.
Jill 4 years ago (edited)
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...
Zophra 4 years ago
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.
Kimberley McMillan 4 years ago
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.
Go Hawks 4 years ago
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
bern Habubbi 4 years ago
This is "people getting what they paid for". Not a simple afternoon of baking to make a wedding cake, takes ages
Hermione Granger 4 years ago
I feel like some of these were more bad taste than bad execution.
Katerina Huskova 4 years ago (edited)
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.
Macie Teller 4 years ago
That gold cake, the baker just screwed up the mirror glaze, so that's why it turned green.
Pearl Of the SeaWing RainWings 4 years ago
That's a lot of mud. seriously, what's so appetizing about mud?
zims 4 years ago
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.
//Cassizu// 4 years ago (edited)
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!
Eliza Harris 3 years ago
i love cake now 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
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).
jenjie.newt 4 years ago
What we should all take away from this is to never order cakes with castle towers.
Susan Egan 4 years ago
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.
John Baker 4 years ago
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.
Banjo Peppers 4 years ago
Cakes on the left - fancy, covered in nasty-a$$ fondant. Cakes on the right - less pretty, but edible.
Iris Ngo 4 years ago
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.
H Edwards 4 years ago
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... Jennifer .S 4 years ago
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.
Full Name 4 years ago
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... The Chosen One 4 years ago (edited)
A lot of these cakes were actually really cool and creative I don't get why they were called "fails"
Random Panda 4 years ago
All those attempts to make the wedding cake look "manly" are hilarious. Imagine feeling that insecure over a damn cake.
Paper A 4 years ago
If you mean the truck cakes, there are lots of women and nb folks who live for their cars.
Load More Replies... Rose the Cook 4 years ago
If a request is beyond your staff's capability say so! How any professional bakery could turn out some of these is beyond me.
Tabitha L 4 years ago
Ha. True. Splitsville. But would the couple need to get back together after 4 years?
Load More Replies... Jill 4 years ago
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.
Jill 4 years ago (edited)
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... Zophra 4 years ago
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.
Kimberley McMillan 4 years ago
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.
Go Hawks 4 years ago
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
bern Habubbi 4 years ago
This is "people getting what they paid for". Not a simple afternoon of baking to make a wedding cake, takes ages
Hermione Granger 4 years ago
I feel like some of these were more bad taste than bad execution.
Katerina Huskova 4 years ago (edited)
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.
Macie Teller 4 years ago
That gold cake, the baker just screwed up the mirror glaze, so that's why it turned green.
Pearl Of the SeaWing RainWings 4 years ago
That's a lot of mud. seriously, what's so appetizing about mud?
zims 4 years ago
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.
//Cassizu// 4 years ago (edited)
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!
Eliza Harris 3 years ago
i love cake now 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
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).
jenjie.newt 4 years ago
What we should all take away from this is to never order cakes with castle towers.
Susan Egan 4 years ago
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.
John Baker 4 years ago
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.
Banjo Peppers 4 years ago
Cakes on the left - fancy, covered in nasty-a$$ fondant. Cakes on the right - less pretty, but edible.
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