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Dear DIY Bride,

My fiance and I recently met with a baker that we saw at a bridal fair. Her booth was busy on the day we went but we got a small sample of her cake and picked up a brochure that had some beautiful designs done by her company. Fast forward to a last weekend. We met with the cake lady in person. She was friendly and said that she could do all of the things we wanted for our cake. She had some good ideas and was enthusiastic about working with us. Then she handed us a scrapbook of her work.

Most of the cakes were pretty basic. Nothing wrong with that but I wasn’t seeing anything like what we were asking for. What bothers me most is there were a few cakes I recognized from some websites and magazines. I think she just copied and printed on photo paper to make it look like they were real shots of her work. (The reason I recognized one of those cakes is that I tore out the exact page from a magazine for my inspiration board.) To my fiances horror, I called her on it. The cake lady claimed that the magazine copied it from her and that she’s using their shot because it’s better than the one she had. It kinda sounds plausible. What do you think?

Trust your Spidey (bridey?) senses here. If you have reservations about the authenticity of a vendor’s claims, it’s probably best to move on. My understanding of your situation is the cake designer is using photographs of cakes that are not hers and is trying to pass them off as her creations. Yeah, that’s a big red flag.

Also, her portfolio isn’t reflecting the kind of work that you’re wanting. Not all cake designers can do every kind of cake. If she’s promising things outside of her normal skill set, you may want to reconsider. Do you want to be her cake test dummy? Finding out on the day of your wedding that she’s no good at intricate lacework (or whatever it is you’re seeking) is not a good idea.

Still confused? Hop on Google, Yelp and WeddingWire and do a search for your cake lady. It’s pretty easy to find reviews and background info on vendors. If you can’t find any info on her — and if she’s claiming to have done a significant amount of cakes or has been in business for more than a year — please be suspicious and act accordingly. You can also ask for a small sample cake of your design. It’ll cost you some cash but at least you’ll know what you’re in for.

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I’ll be dedicating an entire week to wedding crafts that are made with recycled materials. This is something near and dear to my heart because I’m a packrat thrifty recycler who adores rescuing and repurposing items.

I – and the entire DIY community – would love it if you shared your recylced projects with us for the showcase. Just send us your project details + pictures using the form below by October 23rd. (You can send project anytime, by the way! We love showing off the work of our talented readers.)

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