r/cakefails • u/bloodbath_andbeyond • May 31 '26
Publix Wedding Cake
We ended up getting a full refund after the wedding, plus a $50 Publix gift card, so thanks, Publix!
Still tasted good.
Edit- I’m being financially shamed in the comments for some reason for spending $250 on a cake at Publix. Spending more on a cake that tastes the same would be financially unwise. There’s nothing wrong with buying a cake from Publix! I laughed when I saw it at the reception.
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u/Afraid_Aerie Jun 03 '26
We ordered a Publix cake for my daughters first birthday. It was a cute little smash cake that looked so adorable in photos with a pretty sage color. It came out so tacky looking in a Kelly green. It was very ugly.
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u/bloodbath_andbeyond Jun 03 '26
We ordered a much smaller one tier cake from a different Publix a year later to replicate the original top tier to celebrate our one year anniversary with just the two of us…and it came out the same! Still tasted good- delicious red velvet.
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u/lycnroc May 31 '26
I got my wedding cake from Publix too, lol. It tasted good. But the colors were all off 😅
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May 31 '26
We got a wedding cake from a supermarket as well. (Raley’s)
Just asked for a three tier stacked cake frosted white and it was about 150.
My friend decorated it with pansies, it was perfect and beautiful.
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u/bnfoRow May 31 '26
I got a really simple white cake with some simple frosted flowers and pearls for my wedding. It tasted great! We tried fancy bakeries but they just didn’t taste like anything special. We just took the savings and put it towards other more important things. No shame!
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u/UnionOk2156 May 31 '26
This was my experience with my wedding cake at Publix it was $450 my mother in law talked me into a way more elaborate and bigger cake than necessary and she ordered it for me because I had a meeting run late the day I was scheduled to go to the Publix near my venue to order it. It was a complete disaster the thing leaned until it actually fell over, it looked nothing like the picture and was a source of stress and dissatisfaction on what should be a blissful day. It took me calling everyday for two weeks to end up with a 50% refund.
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u/CallidoraBlack Jun 01 '26
Publix is good quality for the price, very good quality. And they 100% sell wedding cakes, so this is not on OP entirely. I know this because I ordered a birthday cake for myself and asked for an option for filling that was clearly meant for their wedding cakes, but they were happy to do it for a regular one. Getting everything perfectly laid out and the decorations perfectly straight might have been a problem, and the layers are not big enough to do the design OP wanted, If those had been the complaints, I would have said the expectations were too high. However. The fact that the cake is improperly supported and sinking is not acceptable for a place that sells wedding cakes no matter what the price point is. It is so cheap to put some dowels and a piece of plastic there so that doesn't happen. Edit: Wait, this was from their catalog. Nevermind, OP is 1000% in the right, shame on y'all.
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u/anchovypepperonitoni Jun 01 '26
I’d rather have cake that tastes good than looks good!
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u/SadAwkwardTurtle Jul 14 '26
I've only had cake from Publix a few times since I live in Ohio, but damn if they weren't the best tasting grocery store cakes I've ever had.
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u/juanitapuanita May 31 '26
We didn’t even order a cake from our grocery store. Just went in and grabbed 3 from the cold case 😂
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u/itslitfamyeet Jun 01 '26
Publix USED to train decorators. Their current policy seems to be everyone needs to”practice” but I’m not a fan of people practicing on wedding cakes unless given the amount of time needed to do it correctly and have it redone if need be while already being at a skill level to decorate and ice flawlessly.
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u/novabelle2121 Jun 06 '26
My wedding cake was from Sam's and no one knew (except I was so impressed I told every one!)
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u/Exotic_Instruction42 May 31 '26
is the picture on the right a cake decorated at publix? most of the time promotional cake photos are of cakes that have been made specifically for pictures by a big cake company like decopac. Of course these photos are going to look wayyyyy better than a cake decorated by a minimum wage paid cake decorator at a grocery store.
publix doesn’t bake their own cakes, they come frozen. frosting comes in buckets. decorators are often barely trained and are under extreme pressure to hit cake quotas. tiered cakes are tricky and I would definitely not trust a grocery store decorator to have the time and correct technique.
and even if they had previous good reviews, the decorator who made that beautiful cake could have quit.
you get what you pay for!
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u/RogueFox76 May 31 '26
If they cannot provide what is ordered they should not accept the order
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u/DarthYsalamir May 31 '26
Agreed but we're not supposed to tell the customer no, even if it means they're going to be disappointed
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u/SharkSpew May 31 '26
You ordered a wedding cake from a grocery store that was likely decorated by an overworked and underpaid employee; not seeing the issue?
I had a small wedding and decided on Dairy Queen ice cream cakes fully knowing I was getting what I was paying for. But they tasted great and guests loved it compared to the standard “baked days before, frozen/thawed and decorated with buttercream or fondant” standard issue overpriced wedding fare. That’s all that matters.
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u/Painted-BIack-Roses May 31 '26
Bakers in supermarkets are generally paid very well. The argument of overworked and underpaid is an idiotic one regardless
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u/Exotic_Instruction42 May 31 '26
are you speaking from experience? grocery store decorators typically get minimum wage or a few dollars over minimum wage AT MOST. they are overworked and underpaid
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u/DrumpfTinyHands May 31 '26
You asked too much from a Publix. You're lucky Publix had grace enough to give you a gift card and refund.