TL;DR: Groom's cake never delivered to rehearsal, cosmetic issues with wedding cake, bride couldn't eat cake (allergen-free flavor wasn't put on cake), voiced issues with Jodi, never received refund we were promised and was eventually ghosted b...y Jodi
Backstory: We had an enchanted forest/fairy/moss theme. Our bridal party wore deep purple or teal. We live 2.5 hours away from where our wedding venue. We had 3 requests for the cake: 1 layer must be gluten and dairy free (I have food allergies), incorporate a woodland stencil, and only use fondant on the stencil layer (we're not fans of the stuff but knew it was needed for the stencil). Beyond these requests, we planned to rely on the bakery for guidance on making an elegant cake that still fit our theme.
What went wrong: Our first cake-tasting appointment was canceled, and we didn't find out until we had driven to Wenatchee - there was no email or phone call to let us know. We ordered a grooms cake that was not delivered for the Rehearsal Dinner as planned. The flowers on the cake were supposed to cascade between the layers to break up the green. There was fondant on all the layers. The green portions are her "moss effect" - It's really uneven to the point where you can see the cake below poking through. If you look at the stencil, some details are missing and the proportions are off - example the rabbit is bigger than the deer. There are small holes/pock marks on the cake, which she blamed on our guests (Our guests would never do this, and it wouldn't have been possible due to the timeline. The cake was dropped off before the reception, and a picture was taken for proof of delivery. The pock marks are present in this proving photo). That "baby blue" on the bottom layer, was supposed to be a lot closer to white - we never asked for a bright baby blue. But, the biggest issue of all: I COULDN'T EAT MY CAKE! The allergen-free cake I picked out at the tasting wasn't on our cake!! We had people come up to us who have worked with her in the past, and honestly didn't believe us when we said our cake came from Cake Chic.
The results: In the beginning of July, I voiced all of these issues and concerns to her, and she offered me a partial refund (X%). Being reasonable people, we didn't press for the remaining (Y%) because ultimately, she did put time and materials into making something on our behalf. It is now the beginning of December and WE STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE REFUND!! I have left multiple emails, and even tried calling. Her responses went from being rude/catty to now non-existent (haven't heard from her since September). At one point I was accused of having never wanted to pay for the cake in the first place. Of course this isn't true; if I was able to eat my cake, if our grooms cake had shown up, then a refund wouldn't have been necessary, because I would have received the service that we paid for.