Placing your order/booking with Maria’s Marvellous Cakes is your acceptance of these following terms & conditions.
1. Deposits
To confirm your booking, we require a 50% non‑refundable deposit. If your booking is made within 2 weeks of the event date, full upfront payment is required. Payment secures your date in our books as we are, at times, fully booked and non‑payment of a deposit can lead to your place being given to another client without notice to you.
Work will only commence on your order after the deposit has been paid. Deposits are payable by Direct Deposit to the bank account on the Order Confirmation Form, or by Credit Card as per condition #13.
2. Balance Due
The balance of the payment for your order is payable by Direct Deposit by no later than the Friday which is two weeks before the delivery/pick‑up date.
A reminder will be sent if the balance is not received at this time. Failure to pay within two business days following the reminder may result in your order being cancelled.
3. Cancellations, Transfers and Refunds
If an order is cancelled (including where you have not paid the balance of the payment for your order by the due date), then the deposit will be forfeited.
If an order is cancelled after the balance of the payment for your order has been received, we reserve the right to retain such part of the balance as is reasonable to compensate us for ingredients, equipment and other items purchased for your order and for work already commenced on your order. We will promptly refund the remaining portion of the balance of the payment for your order which we have not retained.
If you wish to change the date of your order, then we will act reasonably in considering the transfer of the deposit to the new date, but always subject to our availability on that new date. If we are not available on the new date, then the deposit is forfeited.
Except where we are required to do so at law, or as set out above, no refunds will be issued.
4. Changes
Any changes made to your order may incur an additional cost and administration fee. We will endeavour to accommodate your changes to the best of our ability depending on the nature of the change requested and having regard to whether we have already commenced work on your order. Any such requests should be made before the date which is two weeks before the delivery/pick‑up date.
5. Delivery & Pick Up
We take the utmost care to ensure that our cakes are made and packaged in a way so that they are stable when travelling. Clients wishing to pick up their cakes acknowledge that cakes are fragile items and that they are responsible for the safe delivery of their cake. Reasonable steps should be taken to prevent movement of the cake during transport and to ensure appropriate temperature control within the vehicle. Industry practice is to transport cakes on a flat surface (generally this would be in the footrest section or boot of the car) as this provides the least risk of damage. Clients are responsible for bringing a towel, yoga mat or other non-slip surface to ensure that there is as little movement to the box as possible, and that there are no other items in the car that will knock into the box during travel. We do not recommend that the cake travel on a seat or be held by a passenger as this is likely to result in flexing of the cake which may lead to cracks and other damage. Please also remember to drive responsibly (imagine that you have a mug of hot coffee in the car)! Maria’s Marvellous Cakes does not accept responsibility for any damage that occurs once the cake has been collected.
In some cases, it may not be safe for a cake to be fully assembled when travelling (for example, if it has pillars, multiple tiers or fragile toppers/ornaments). Clients who wish to collect cakes that are not fully assembled accept responsibility for assembly of the cake and agree that Maria’s Marvellous Cakes is not responsible for any damage to the cake caused on assembly by any person not employed by Maria’s Marvellous Cakes.
In the case of delivery, clients are responsible for the cake after Maria’s Marvellous Cakes has completed the cake set-up at your venue.
Cakes are heavy and require a sturdy table, and optimal room temperature of 23˚C or below. Maria’s Marvellous Cakes is not responsible for any damage to the cake caused by a guest, caterer, wait staff member, or any other person not employed by Maria’s Marvellous Cakes, or if the cake is required to be set-up in an outdoor or non-optimal location.
6. Design
Maria’s Marvellous Cakes aims to produce products of the highest standard that fulfil the desires of our clients as we understand them, however, there are times when we will need to make decisions during the process of creation without notice to you that may affect the style of decoration, proportion or structure of the product. Our cakes are made so that they are as fresh as possible given our other commitments and level of decoration required, but some cakes or flavours are more prone to drying out faster than others (for example, vanilla cakes dry out faster than chocolate cakes and sponge cakes dry out faster than mud cakes).
Colour can be subjective and it is vital that clients wishing for exact colour matches provide colour samples and discuss the desired colour when ordering their cake. With regard to ribbon, we will do their best to match samples provided, but are limited by the options available.
7. Serving Sizes
Serving amounts provided by standard shape cakes are based on dessert sized portions being 2″ wide x 2″ long x 4″ high per slice, or coffee sized portions being 1″ wide x 1″ long x 4″ high per slice. The number of actual servings created during service of the cake cannot be guaranteed as methods of slicing, such as serving larger or smaller than the standard slice size, or other preparations will affect the number of actual servings. Specialty carved cake serving amounts are estimated only.
8. Storage
Buttercream covered cakes and naked cakes can be refrigerated in the box in which they were delivered, and removed from the fridge and brought to room temperature prior to serving.
Fondant covered cakes should not be refrigerated, but stored in a cool, preferably air conditioned room, out of sunlight. Once cut, cakes should be stored in an airtight container or plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Sliced cake can also be stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months.
9. Allergens
Our cakes contain or may have come into contact with allergens such as gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs and nuts. You agree to notify your guests of this risk and Maria’s Marvellous Cakes cannot be held liable for any allergic reactions.
10. Fresh Flowers
If fresh flowers are provided by an outside source, they are required to be available at the venue on the day of the function prior to the cake being delivered. Fresh flowers will not be inserted into the cake without being suitably wired and taped by a florist, and contained within a straw or flower pick. If flowers are not available, or suitably prepared, at the time of cake delivery, Maria’s Marvellous Cakes will not be responsible for arranging on the cake. Please be advised that fresh flowers are not a food product, and may contain pesticides, insects, dirt, or other contaminants. Maria’s Marvellous Cakes cannot be held liable for any reactions caused.
11. Non-edibles
Maria’s Marvellous Cakes is not responsible for any non-edibles either in or on the cake (for example, wooden dowels, ribbons, fresh and silk flowers, toppers and straws). These items must be removed before the cake is consumed. If you are supplying your own topper, please give this to us at least two weeks before the delivery/pick‑up date. We will place the topper on the cake at no extra charge.
12. Photographs
All cakes are photographed prior to, or upon delivery. Maria’s Marvellous Cakes reserves the right to use any photographs for display, promotion and/or advertising purposes without notice or compensation to you.
13. Credit Card Payment
The cost of the Merchant Credit Card Fee of *2.25% is on-charged to you if this payment method is applied (Direct Debit incurs no charge but will not be accepted in the last seven day period prior to the cake due date). *Note: % value correct at publication but is subject to change by the Credit Card Service Provider. Click here to view our Credit Card Privacy Policy.
14.Repeat Customer Review Promotion
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