There's all sorts of eatable and non-eatable cake party decorations you can get at bake shops or even places like Target, Walmart, and Party City. Just ask for a plain cake with the frill decorations if the baker objects, and then go for the alternatives. Unless the look is more important than the taste. In which case, get a fake cake.
That's what I've always wondered about wedding cakes. If there's an objection on the message, they can make due with an option to make the layer cakes with everything but the topper or names, and then who knows what it's used for?
I've seen "wedding cake" style cakes for everything from graduation parties and promotion parties to baby showers and anniversaries. It's just a style. And it's business - who gives up money and the chance to get their quality product out in public?
Every successful baker I know got their business off the ground because a bunch of people saw the cake at a celebration of some sort, and they were pleasant and accommodating. A very religious (Catholic) professional baker I know makes a lot of money off R-rated and X-rated cakes for the swinger, gay, and biker communities alongside her communion and wedding cakes. She also has mastered cakes and cake-like sweets from different cultures and religious traditions so she can get business from the various refugee and migrant communities in the area.
That's how she made it through the last economic down-turn. A baker who can turn out a variety of high-quality cakes at a reasonable price - even if the decoration is minimal, is always sought after.
Bakers - or any other quality service provider - never get any additional business because they pissed potential customers off with poor service, snotty attitude, or hard line "my way or high-way" attitude.
Haele
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