The short answer
A wedding cake contract should include the date, the delivery address and time, the design with its tiers, servings, flavors and fillings, any allergen notes, the date the order locks, the delivery and setup terms, any cake stand or rental and its return, the deposit and payment dates, and the cancellation and postponement terms. Anything agreed at the tasting belongs in it.
Cake order vs cake contract: what changes when you sign
A cake order is what you and the bakery talk through at a tasting or on a call: how many servings, the flavors, the look. The cake order checklist covers working out the size and filling in that order. The contract is the document you sign. It says what the bakery must make and deliver, what you owe and when, and what happens if the plan changes on either side.
Read the order and the contract side by side before you sign. The tiers, servings, flavors, fillings and finish you chose should appear in the contract, or the contract should attach the order or a sketch as part of the agreement. If a detail was agreed at the tasting, such as a flower on the top tier or a separate cutting cake, ask for it to be written in. A detail that lives only in a photo on your phone is harder to point to when the cake arrives.
Some bakeries use a short order form that becomes the agreement once you pay the deposit. In that case, read the terms on the back or in the linked policy as closely as the design on the front, since the deposit, change and cancellation rules may sit there.
What should a wedding cake contract include?
Start with the basics that make the contract about your wedding: both your names, the bakery’s legal business name, the date, the delivery address, and the delivery window. If the venue has a contact who will receive the cake, the contract or a written reply should name that person and how the bakery reaches them on the day.
Then check the cake itself and the terms around it. The list below is one order to read them in; your contract may group them differently. Tick each one off against your order, and write down anything the contract leaves out so you can ask about it in one message.
- Names, the bakery’s legal business name and contact
- Delivery address, window and the venue contact
- Tiers, servings and any separate cutting cake
- Flavors and fillings for each tier
- Finish and decoration, with a sketch or photo attached
- Allergen notes and what the kitchen also handles
- The date the order locks, and what can change before it
- Cake stand, toppers or other rentals, and their return
- Deposit, payment dates and how each payment is made
- Cancellation and postponement terms
The design, the flavors, allergens and the date the order locks
The design description is what you will compare with the cake on the day, so make it specific. Ask the bakery to attach the sketch or reference photo you agreed on, and to write the colors, the number of tiers and the decorations in words as well. If fresh flowers go on the cake, the contract should say who supplies them, who places them, and whether the florist and the bakery have agreed on which flowers can touch the cake.
If a guest has a food allergy, ask the bakery in writing what its kitchen also handles and how it labels a cake or tier made without an ingredient. Record the answer with the contract, and share it with your caterer so the people serving the cake know too. The bakery decides what it can promise; the contract should say what it does promise.
Look for the date the order locks: the last day you can change the servings, flavors or design. After it, the contract may still allow a change at a price, or allow none. Put the date in your calendar with a reminder a week before, so your final guest count can reach the bakery in time.
- Sketch or photo attached, with colors and tiers in words
- Who supplies and places any fresh flowers
- Allergen answers in writing, shared with the caterer
- Last day to change servings, flavors or design
Delivery, setup and what the contract says after the cake arrives
Delivery terms decide whether the cake is set up and in place before guests arrive. Check the delivery window, whether the bakery sets the cake up on its table, and what it needs there: a level table of a certain size, a cool spot away from the sun, access for a cart. Compare the window with your venue’s access hours and your day timeline, and send the bakery the venue contact’s name and number.
Read what the contract says about the cake once it is delivered and set up, and what the bakery asks you to sign or confirm on arrival. If someone from your side will check the cake, tell them what to compare it with: the sketch, the tiers and the flavors in the contract. Ask what the bakery does if the cake is damaged in transit before it is set up.
If the bakery lends a stand, a separator or a topper, the contract should say when it is collected and what you owe if it is not returned. Find out whether the venue or the caterer will set the pieces aside after the cake is cut. The venue may also charge a fee to cut and serve a cake from an outside bakery; the cake-cutting fee guide covers that charge.
- Delivery window, setup and table requirements
- Who checks the cake on arrival, and against what
- What happens if the cake is damaged in transit
- Stand or rental pickup, and what is owed if missing
- Venue cake-cutting fee for an outside bakery
Deposit, payment dates, cancellation and postponement
Find the deposit and read how the contract describes it: as part of the total or a separate booking fee, and as non-refundable, refundable until a date, or transferable to a new date. List each later payment with its date and amount, and note whether a card on file is charged automatically. If the final price depends on the final servings, check which date the count is taken on.
Read the cancellation clause for what you owe at each stage before the wedding, and the postponement terms for whether the order can move to a new date at the same price. What a clause means for a refund depends on its wording and the law where you are, so ask a lawyer if the money at stake is large and the wording unclear.
Send your open questions to the bakery in one message and ask for the answers in writing. If a term changes, ask for a revised contract rather than a promise on a call, and keep the signed copy, the order and the answers together.
Cake contract check
Use one row for a decision or deliverable. Keep unanswered items visible. Download the blank worksheet to open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
On a small screen, swipe the worksheet sideways to see the remaining columns.
| Term | What the contract says | Matches your order? | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery address, window and contact | — | — | — |
| Tiers and servings | — | — | — |
| Flavors and fillings | — | — | — |
| Design, sketch or photo | — | — | — |
| Allergen answers | — | — | — |
| Date the order locks | — | — | — |
| Setup and table needs | — | — | — |
| Stand or rentals and pickup | — | — | — |
| Deposit and payment dates | — | — | — |
| Cancellation and postponement | — | — | — |
A message you can make your own
Change the wording to suit you, fill in anything in brackets and keep the questions that apply. You decide what to send and send it yourself.
Hi [bakery], thank you for sending the agreement for our wedding cake on [date]. Before we sign, could you confirm a few points in writing? Could the agreement attach the sketch and list the tiers, servings, flavors and fillings? What does your kitchen also handle, for a guest with an allergy? When does the order lock, and how are changes after that handled? What is the delivery window, what do you need at the cake table, and will you set the cake up? Could you also confirm the deposit and payment dates, the cancellation and date-change terms, and when any stand is collected? Thank you, [names].
Common questions
What should a wedding cake contract include?
A wedding cake contract should include the date, the delivery address and window, the tiers, servings, flavors and fillings, the design with a sketch or photo, allergen notes, the date the order locks, setup terms, any stand or rental, and the deposit, payment, cancellation and postponement terms.
Is there a wedding cake contract template?
A bakery may send its own agreement or order form rather than a template you fill in, so the document you sign may be theirs. Use the checklist on this page as a template for reading it: go through each term, mark whether the agreement states it, and ask the bakery in writing about anything it leaves out.
Is a wedding cake deposit refundable?
It depends on the bakery’s agreement. A deposit may be non-refundable, refundable until a stated date, transferable to a new date if you postpone, or treated differently if the bakery cancels. Read how your agreement describes it, and ask the bakery in writing before you pay.
Can I change the wedding cake design after signing?
Your contract decides. Look for the date the order locks and what it says about changes before and after it, including any charge. Send a change in writing with a new sketch or photo, and ask the bakery to confirm it, so the cake you see on the day matches what you asked for.
What if the wedding cake does not match the design?
Compare it with the sketch, tiers and flavors in your contract, take photos, and raise it with the bakery in writing as soon as you can. What the bakery owes in that case depends on the contract’s wording, which is why a specific written design matters before you sign.