Do most RH's upcharge for these cake items? Update at bottom

I wanted a topsy tervy cake with decorations that required fondant. Our MD informed us yesterday that it would be a $5 per person upcharge for this ($2.50 for the topsy tervy and $2.50 for the fondant). And I am sorry but I am not paying an extra $900 for a cake.
I said to the MD 'so basically you are telling me I can only have a flat cake with plain frosting?' Of course she said no, but I don't really know what else they can do. I gave her some other ideas and she is going to speak to the bakery today and see what they say, but I am sort of frustrated already and expecting them to come back and say they can't do those without an upcharge either.

Upcharging for the fondant I can kind of understand, I just don't get charging extra for the topsy tervy shape.
Oh well.

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Posted by Dr Meg

Upcharging for the fondant I can kind of understand, I just don't get charging extra for the topsy tervy shape.
Oh well.

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I think it takes more time to bake...

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Posted by Dr Meg

Upcharging for the fondant I can kind of understand, I just don't get charging extra for the topsy tervy shape.
Oh well.

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The 'topsy turvy' cakes are more expensive because they are much more difficult to make and assemble than other cakes. They have to be structurally able to stand up, etc. They are usually sculpted shapes which takes time and skill, and then are put together to look like they are off balance, but have to be perfectly balanced! They can cost anywhere from $400 on the low low end to over 1K depending on how many guests you need to feed. Maybe you can do a topsy turvy grooms cake for like 50 people let's say, which would be about $400. Cakes by Jay in Glen Head is a place to start, also Baked to Perfection in Port Washington, Audrey's in Sayville as well. Good luck!

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Posted by nraboni

I would assume both being an extra charge because EVERYTHING is extra. Ask the RH if you can work directly with the bakery for these upgrades and see what they charge vs. going through the RH. My RH works with a bakery in Port Jefferson so I made an appt. with them to do a cake tasting and finalize what I wanted the cake to look like. Since I wanted square layers that is considered an upgrade ($50) and I also wanted Fondant and that is an upgrade ($100). I also wanted a layer of fresh strawberries on top of the chocolate mousse filling ($10). It may be cheaper to work directly with the bakery. But I agree with you....I would not pay another $900 for cake upgrades....you could get a whole new cake for that!

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Well if my MD comes back to me today and says they can't do any of the other ideas I gave her, I am gonna ask to deal directly with the bakery this way I can just go there, and work things out with them in one shot. Versus going back and fourth on the phone.

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Posted by Dr Meg

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Posted by nraboni

I would assume both being an extra charge because EVERYTHING is extra. Ask the RH if you can work directly with the bakery for these upgrades and see what they charge vs. going through the RH. My RH works with a bakery in Port Jefferson so I made an appt. with them to do a cake tasting and finalize what I wanted the cake to look like. Since I wanted square layers that is considered an upgrade ($50) and I also wanted Fondant and that is an upgrade ($100). I also wanted a layer of fresh strawberries on top of the chocolate mousse filling ($10). It may be cheaper to work directly with the bakery. But I agree with you....I would not pay another $900 for cake upgrades....you could get a whole new cake for that!

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Well if my MD comes back to me today and says they can't do any of the other ideas I gave her, I am gonna ask to deal directly with the bakery this way I can just go there, and work things out with them in one shot. Versus going back and fourth on the phone.

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i want to directly to the bakery and they charged me far less for the upgrade than my RH had originally said...I would give the bakery a call..that way you can come back to your BM and say listen I spoke with...and I know that...

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Posted by MrsDrinkh20

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Posted by Dr Meg

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Posted by nraboni

I would assume both being an extra charge because EVERYTHING is extra. Ask the RH if you can work directly with the bakery for these upgrades and see what they charge vs. going through the RH. My RH works with a bakery in Port Jefferson so I made an appt. with them to do a cake tasting and finalize what I wanted the cake to look like. Since I wanted square layers that is considered an upgrade ($50) and I also wanted Fondant and that is an upgrade ($100). I also wanted a layer of fresh strawberries on top of the chocolate mousse filling ($10). It may be cheaper to work directly with the bakery. But I agree with you....I would not pay another $900 for cake upgrades....you could get a whole new cake for that!

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Well if my MD comes back to me today and says they can't do any of the other ideas I gave her, I am gonna ask to deal directly with the bakery this way I can just go there, and work things out with them in one shot. Versus going back and fourth on the phone.

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i want to directly to the bakery and they charged me far less for the upgrade than my RH had originally said...I would give the bakery a call..that way you can come back to your BM and say listen I spoke with...and I know that...

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The problem is I am not 100% certain I know the bakery that they use. So I have to ask which one it is.

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Posted by Dr Meg

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Posted by MrsDrinkh20

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Posted by Dr Meg

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Posted by nraboni

I would assume both being an extra charge because EVERYTHING is extra. Ask the RH if you can work directly with the bakery for these upgrades and see what they charge vs. going through the RH. My RH works with a bakery in Port Jefferson so I made an appt. with them to do a cake tasting and finalize what I wanted the cake to look like. Since I wanted square layers that is considered an upgrade ($50) and I also wanted Fondant and that is an upgrade ($100). I also wanted a layer of fresh strawberries on top of the chocolate mousse filling ($10). It may be cheaper to work directly with the bakery. But I agree with you....I would not pay another $900 for cake upgrades....you could get a whole new cake for that!

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Well if my MD comes back to me today and says they can't do any of the other ideas I gave her, I am gonna ask to deal directly with the bakery this way I can just go there, and work things out with them in one shot. Versus going back and fourth on the phone.

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i want to directly to the bakery and they charged me far less for the upgrade than my RH had originally said...I would give the bakery a call..that way you can come back to your BM and say listen I spoke with...and I know that...

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The problem is I am not 100% certain I know the bakery that they use. So I have to ask which one it is.

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I just called them for you....they use Baked to Perfection Bakery which is in Port Washington and their number is 516-944-5642. HTH!

i was thinking of having cupcakes instead of a cake....but was told it would be $2.50 extra pp. i'll just go with the regular cake.

Thanks for the help girls!

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Posted by meg922

Sending you FM

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Thanks Meg. I know you had said this before to me, but I wasn't sure if that is still who they use.
I'll see what my MD says when she calls me back this afternoon and take it from there.

I called the bakery today (after not hearing back from my MD, who said she would call me on Monday afternoon).
Maybe it was sneaky, but I acted like a regular customer wanting to buy that cake. I was told it would be between $5.50 to $6.50 per person for a cake like that. To remind you my RH wanted to charge me $5.00 per person for this upgrade (in addition to whatever my cake allowance was from my per person charge).
Now I understand people need to make a profit. But the RH is making a profit off the cake (I am sure they aren't paying the same prices I would as a retail customer) whether I take the plain cake or upgrade. I am just FUMING that they feel the need to make a profit on the fact that I want an upgraded cake. I understand the things I want are more money, but they aren't the $5 per person they are quoting me. I tried calling the RH but everyone has left for the night. I will def speak with them tomorrow.
I read on here how girls go to the their menu selections and get upgrades left and right. I feel like our RH is nickeling and diming us. The only 'upgrade' we got was bacon on the filet mignon, which they gave us a hard time about. I can go to the grocery store and buy the bacon for less then $10. We asked for an extra CH station (which in the scheme of things isn't additional food necessarily because people will just eat less from other stations) and were told it would be an additional $5 per person.
I just feel like this is a bit ridiculous.