Lesson Time!

I doubt many single women read my blog, but this could apply to any situation, really, and not just weddings.

I just found out today, Tuesday, that I am NOT supposed to make 100-ish cupcakes and a birthday cake for a girl's wedding on Saturday. Today is Tuesday, wedding is Saturday - that is a whole THREE days from now.

Matilda* called me back around the beginning of March and we talked and she wanted me to make about 100 cupcakes in 3 different flavors (30-some each flavor) for her wedding May 2nd. She also wanted me to make a small birthday cake for her nephew who's birthday is the same day. We figured out what 3 flavors she wanted, how to decorate the birthday cake, all that stuff. I got her phone number, she had mine, and that was all good.

The only other information we needed to exchange was the final count of cupcakes she needed, and I needed to give her a final total for the bill.

I was thinking... ok, final headcount should be in mid-April, she should be calling me soon. I kept this all in the back of my head the whole time we were getting ready to show our house but I really didn't have time to call her. The middle of last week I started calling the number she gave me. I only ever got an answering machine.

The first message was all nice and stuff "Hi, this is Miriam, I'm just calling about the cupcakes for your wedding, to get the final count and to let you know the price, call me back at XXXXXXX, thanks! :) ".

Two days go by and I haven't heard anything. I tried again. This time it was something like "Hi, I'm trying to get in touch with Matilda about the cupcakes for her wedding. I really need to talk to her, if she could please call me back at...."

Still zero in the "hearing from her department". Yesterday I called and really, really stated the importance of getting in touch with Matilda. (You guessed it, the answering machine was one with the prerecorded "We're sorry, but the person you have dialed is unavailable"... so I really didn't even have any clue who's answering machine this number was connected to!)

Today, I called and said "I MUST get in touch with Matilda as soon as possible....". Then I started trying other avenues. I called the place I used to work a long time ago, I thought this girl was the niece of a lady that used to work there. I got the lady's number and called her - she doesn't have a niece named Matilda and doesn't know anyone named Matilda. Great. Now what. I'm sitting her racking my brain, trying to decide what to do.

Do I make the 100 cupcakes and show up with them and charge double? Do I not make cupcakes and her wind up not having any cake for the guests? Do I not make the cupcakes and still charge double?

Then I remembered that Matilda had mentioned knowing Daniel's aunt in some round about fashion. So I call her and get her answering machine. I left probably the weirdest sounding message ever, out of desperation trying to get a phone number for someone I wasn't even sure she knew!

Then I called my Mother-in-law to see if she had another # for Daniel's aunt. She didn't, but she did give me the number for the man that owns the farm where the wedding is being held. I called there and left another crazy-sounding-person message.

Then Daniel's aunt called me back. She had no idea who Matilda might be and didn't even know anyone by that name. But she knew the niece of the man who owns the farm that had the rat that ate the cheese that was in the house that Jack built. (sorry, I had to find humor in here somewhere! :P ), so she was going to call her and see if she knew anything. Auntie called me back with the phone number of the lady catering all the other food.

FINALLY! I might be getting somewhere! I called the lady up and told her who I was and that I was trying to get in touch with Matilda about making the cupcakes. I promise you, I heard her jaw hit the floor, the blood rush to her face and her temperature rise! As it turns out, Matilda has been driving everyone crazy with lack of responsibility. Matilda's husband-to-be works for a local bakery that is supplying all the cake stuff for free. The caterer said she asked Matilda TWICE if she'd called to let me know that I didn't need to make anything, and Matilda assured her that she'd called and left a message for me.

I never got any message. Matilda never called to make sure I got the message. I never had any clue, idea, one iota of any hint, that Matilda cancelled the order. I assured the caterer that I hadn't bought anything (thus my frantic-ness trying to get ahold of Matilda so I could know how much stuff to buy!) and that I hadn't made anything, and that it was not a problem, but yes it would have been nice to know sooner. (The poor caterer was embarrassed out of her skin to have to tell me, frustrated at the bride for not having told me, and so on.)

So, lesson to anyone out there that orders anything:
-Leave correct phone numberS for where you can be reached. I don't know who's number I had, but it obviously wasn't one where Matilda was! (I'd called her other times at that number, so I don't know what the deal was.) Either that or she ignored my messages.
- If you call and leave a message cancelling your order, call back again until you speak with a live person to verify that your message was received.

Now all I have to do is figure out what I'm gonna do Thursday and Friday now that I won't be elbow deep in cupcakes and icing :) Yippeee!! Maybe I'll go hire on with The Wedding Crashers.

*name changed to prevent her from further embarrassment.

And PS: I have seen the cakes that the "local bakery" does - they look like something a 5 year old decorated, and I'm sure they taste even worse. Her guests would be happier eating mine, I know. And I'm not joking or puffing up the quality of my work. I'm being totally serious.