Saving the date with your baker is a great idea, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
When you ask your baker to save the date to make a cake for you, they will be blocking out an amount of time dedicated to baking and decorating that cake. Since wedding cakes are normally much larger and require more baking/decorating time than a sheet cake, a larger amount of time will be blocked out for which the baker will be turning away other jobs because you were first. If something happens and you decide you can't get your cake then the baker may not be able to fill your slot (depending on how much notice is given) and they may not be able to make any money for that week. Many bakers make cakes for the public in order to help support their families and buy necessities, so it is a hardship to lose a large order. That's why most bakers are not able to save the date for a wedding cake (or other large cake requiring many hours)without a contract and a deposit.
I have, in the past, saved a date for a birthday cake but have found it to be a practice that is sometimes misunderstood. It goes like this - customer calls/emails about a year in advance to get on my calendar for a cake. That's great, I love that, but then I never hear from them again. On the Monday before the cake is due, if I don't have all the details such as flavors, inscription, pickup time, and I haven't heard from the customer in some time then I assume that they have made other plans and I don't make the cake. If someone calls on Wednesday (for a cake to be picked up on Friday)trying to give me the details then, it's really hard to work it in. I schedule my work on Monday and it's hard for me to fit in something new after that, and even though I knew about the cake a year ago, I didn't know what flavor to bake or what colors to mix so it's like a rush job if I don't have the details in time. I normally like to have all details 2 weeks before the cake is due.
If you do ask your baker to save the date for a cake try to be as specific as possible about what you will want. If you call and say that you want a simple birthday cake, your baker will allow enough time for that, but if you call a week before it's due and say "Remember me? I called last year about a sheet cake for this weekend, but now I would like a cake to serve 200 and I want it to look just like Elvis Presley." then that might not work. Of course I am exagerating here, but if sometimes during the year you realize you're party is growing and you might need to serve more guests or have a more extravagant cake, just call your baker with a heads up so they can limit orders to allow enough time for your cake.
I understand that everyone has busy lives. Many people that I work with are graduating school or going full time, buying houses, planning weddings, having babies, working....all at the same time. They're busy - I know, so it's understandable when someone forgets to call and I always try to work with them the best that I can. But I do ask for them to call me. I'm just not a pushy person. I don't call people and say "remember when you ordered that cake - do you still want it". That's just not me - I'm shy like that. So please, keep your baker informed of changes in plans so they can adjust their schedule accordingly.
Moral: Just because you called a year ago to save the date does not mean your done. Your baker still needs information and confirmation that the event is still on. No one wants to make a cake for a vague order and then no one comes to pick it up. What if I get stuck eating it .....Do you think I don't get to eat enough cake already? Well I do - I already get to eat plenty of cake! :)
Have a great day y'all!
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