Terms and Conditions of Trading
These terms form the basis of the contract between our customer and Bouquets & Buttercream. These Terms, your Order, and your Order confirmation are considered by us to set out the whole agreement between you and us for the sale of cakes. It is your responsibility to check all details in the order confirmation are complete and accurate as this is the document we work to when completing your order.
Basis of Sale
We reserve the right to refuse an order at any time without explanation.
Any samples, drawings, or descriptions we issue, and any descriptions or illustrations contained on our website and social media are issued solely to provide you with an approximate idea of the cakes they describe and remain the property of Bouquets & Buttercream.
Quotations are valid for a period of 7 calendar days from the day of issue. Cake sizes quoted are in inches and are based on the diameter of the cake. Celebration cakes are 3 1/2 to 4 inches deep as standard, wedding tiers are 6-7 inches deep. If you would like a taller cake this needs to be requested at the time of booking.
Receiving a quote or invoice does not constitute a booking & your date/order is not secured until a booking fee is received. Where a booking fee is not received within one week, please note your quote may be subject to review and possible increase. Once your booking fee has been received you are in a legally binding contract with Bouquets & Buttercream.
The Cakes
We warrant that on delivery or collection the Cakes shall conform to their description as set out in the Order Confirmation, be of satisfactory quality, and comply with all food safety, statutory and regulatory requirements in Ireland. We will not be held responsible for customer disappointment of the design or the interpretation of the cake as long as it is made in line with the customer’s pre-agreed requirements set out in the order confirmation and will face no consequent liability. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure all details within the order confirmation and any sketch are correct and meet their exact requirements.
The warranty does not apply to any defect in the Cakes arising from wilful damage, accident, negligence by you or any third party; if you use the cake in a way we do not recommend, your failure to follow our instructions or any alterations you carry out.
Our cakes are made in an environment where nuts, egg, milk, gluten, and other allergens are present. We cannot guarantee that any cake is entirely nut-free although we make every effort to avoid cross-contamination. It is the Customers responsibility to advise us of any allergies or intolerances which may affect their order suitability. We do not currently cater for gluten free, dairy free or vegan dietary requirements.
We cannot guarantee an exact replica of any cake, but we will do our best to make it so. Where colour swatches are provided, we will do our best to match as close as we deem possible. Exact colour matches are not guaranteed, particularly when working from screenshots or photographs provided digitally.
Fresh flowers on cakes
Fresh flowers are not included in the price of any wedding cake design and we do not recommend or advocate the use of fresh flowers on cakes except for edible varieties from a reputable organic source.
Note: many popular varieties of flowers & foliage are toxic and therefore not suitable for use as a cake decoration. Florists are rarely trained in Food Safety and for this reason we do not allow florists to dress our cakes. We can re-create most flowers with sugar or edible wafer paper meaning they are entirely food-safe with the added benefit that they will not wilt, drop pollen or petals and can be kept for many years after your event. Should you decide to add fresh flowers/foliage to your cake post delivery/collection, please note we cannot be held liable for any contamination of our food products that may arise from their misuse.
From time to time certain materials for our cakes may become obsolete. This is totally out of our control; however, we will do our best to select replacement products to reflect the original design as closely as possible. We reserve the right to replace items with component parts of equal or better quality without consultation.
If your cake contains figures made from sugar paste, whilst edible, we do not advise that they be eaten, due to the possible presence of dowels for reinforcement. All of our figures are handmade, and therefore subject to variation in colour and final design.
Stacked cakes contain dowels in each tier to provide support and these should be removed before consumption.
The cake is a fresh product containing no additives or preservatives and it is our right to assume consumption on the day requested. Cakes should be stored in a dry place, at room temperature, away from direct sunlight and sources of heat in the box provided. They should NOT be refrigerated.
Bouquets & Buttercream and the customer expressly agree that the cakes and all goods purchased from Bouquets & Buttercream remain the property of Bouquets & Buttercream until paid for in full.
Delivery and Collection
All orders may be collected free of charge from Bouquets and Buttercream by prior arrangement. Whilst the structure of our bouquets is relatively sound, the individual cupcakes & their decoration are quite delicate – please handle carefully! All cakes and bouquets should be transported in the box provided and kept on a flat surface. We accept no responsibility for any damage sustained once the order has left the premises. A mutually convenient time slot will be allocated for you to collect your order. Please keep to your appointment time and advise us of any delays/changes as this may affect other customers. If you do not collect at the allocated time and we are unable to contact you inside of 2 hours from that time, your order will be treated as a late cancellation, no refund will be issued and your order may be advertised for sale at a reduced price via social media.
If delivery has been requested, we will deliver the cake on the day set out in the order confirmation to the address provided. We do not offer specific delivery times but will do our best to accommodate your needs. Delivery charges are calculated on distance travelled & time required on a ‘round trip’ basis. If the delivery address changes after the order has been confirmed additional charges may be added to cover extra mileage.
When delivering to a wedding venue, we will contact the venue in advance to arrange a mutually convenient time for delivery. If we set up the wedding cake, we shall take photographs of the cake before leaving and, where possible, obtain a signature from the venue confirming the cake has been received in good condition. Should the venue need to set up the cake themselves we shall explain how the cake is to be displayed and where possible, obtain a signature to verify we have done so. Once the cake has been delivered, we are unable to accept any liability for any damage sustained to the cake thereafter nor any failure to follow the instructions provided.
If the cake is to be delivered with a cake stand, a security deposit will be payable with the final balance. The stand must be returned to us in a good, clean condition within 3 days of the event. Upon the return of the stand, the deposit will be refunded within 5 working days. Should the stand be returned broken or damaged, the cost of the replacement stand will be deducted from the security deposit.
Price and Payment
The price of your cake will be as set out in your order confirmation. No VAT is payable on the cakes. A €100 booking fee is required for wedding cake orders. 50% of the remaining balance is payable 3 months prior & the final payment is due 1 month prior to the event, in line with our cancellation policy (see below)
Celebration cakes & bouquets are subject to a booking fee of 50% of the order value with the balance payable 2 weeks prior to collection/delivery. In the event of a short-notice booking being accepted ie within 4 weeks, immediate full payment is required.
**Please note all booking fees are non-refundable**
The balance must be paid in cleared monies no later than the date set out in the order confirmation by bank transfer to the account specified, cash or payment by debit or credit card. If paying by debit or credit card, please allow 3 working days for the payment to clear.
If payment is not received by the date specified this shall be constituted as a breach of contract by the client. We reserve the right to hold the order until payment is made in full. When payment is late, we accept no responsibility should we be unable to purchase the required stock or equipment to make the cake as laid out in the order confirmation. In these circumstances, the cake will be made as close to the order confirmation as possible with no redress or liability on Bouquets & Buttercream.
Cancellation, postponement, and alterations
In the event of a cancellation by yourselves, charges are as follows;
More than ninety days prior to the date = booking fee only.
Ninety days to one calendar month prior to the date = booking fee plus half the remaining cost.
Less than one calendar month prior to the date = full amount
Any booking fees previously paid are non-refundable.
In the event of a wedding postponement, the payment due remains the same as a cancellation. We may, at our discretion, carry forward a proportion of monies paid to the new wedding date. Please be aware that we will only do this on one occasion. Any further postponements will be classed as a cancellation. Postponements may also be subject to an increase in costs, in line with the annual cost of inflation, dependant on the duration of the postponement.
You may, prior to 8 weeks before the wedding day, or 7 days for celebration cakes, amend your order by providing us with written notice. In the case of alterations, a new order confirmation will be issued detailing the changes and the new cost. Alterations are not confirmed until a new order confirmation has been issued. Should you make any changes after the time scale stipulated above there will be not a reduction in the price you pay, even if your new design is cheaper than the original booking.
Bouquets & Buttercream reserves the right to cancel, vary or suspend the operation of this contract if events occur which are in the nature of force majeure including (without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing): fire, floods, storm, plant breakdown, strike, lockouts, riot, hostilities, non-availability of materials or supplies or any other event outside the control of Bouquets & Buttercream, and Bouquets & Buttercream shall not be liable for any breach of contract resulting from such an event. In this situation we will provide you with written notice and any booking fees paid are non-refundable and we refer to our cancellation policy. As such we advise you to purchase wedding insurance.
Bouquets & Buttercream’s liability (both in contract and tort) in respect of defects in goods or services shall be limited to the issue of a credit note in respect thereof or granting a refund or other such compensatory measures as Bouquets & Buttercream, at its discretion, considers appropriate in the circumstances and shall be limited to the value of the goods or services giving rise to the claim.
We are registered with HSE and as such are legally bound to abide by hygiene standards and regulations. Should we need to cancel your order due to sickness in order to comply with legislation, we will offer a full refund or rescheduled date.
Bouquets & Buttercream shall not under any circumstances be liable for the customer respect of indirect consequential loss or damage or loss of profits, provided always that these conditions do not exclude or restrict Bouquets & Buttercream’s statutory liability for death or personal injury arising from any negligence on Bouquets & Buttercream’s part or liability imposed by statutory implied terms in Consumer Contracts.
Complaints
To date, we have never received a complaint about any aspect of our cakes, but due to the amount of work put into each individual order, we would take any complaint very seriously should one arise. Any issues must be brought to our attention within 48 hours of collection or delivery to give a fair opportunity to assess the nature of the complaint.
Both Parties agree to not post any negative information about the other arising out of this Contract or Event on any online forum or website without providing advance written notice of the intended content thereof and providing the other party with a prior opportunity to resolve any issues between the parties amicably.
Complaints regarding the decoration of celebration cake can be easily repaired so errors of this nature must be pointed out upon delivery/collection so as to give us the opportunity to correct them. Once the cake has been handed over this confirms that decoration is as requested, and no further claims can be made. Wedding cake clients will be sent a sketch of their wedding cake prior to the wedding, if desired. It is the client’s responsibility to check that this meets with their requirements and raise any issues with us if there are any discrepancies.
Where the complaint is in regard to the quality of the cake then the cake, or remainder of the cake/tier, must be returned to us as soon as possible after cutting and within 48 hours of collection/delivery to ensure that we are able to fairly assess the nature of the complaint.
Please note we can only deal with the client who placed the original order.
General Terms
All designs and intellectual property rights remain the property of Bouquets & Buttercream.
We reserve the right to use images of your cake for any form of advertising including web-based promotions, brochures, galleries, and competitions. It is advisable that you make a copy of all documentation received from Bouquets & Buttercream for your own benefit.
This Agreement together with Order Confirmation documents provided constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the parties relating to the order. Except as may be expressly stated in this Agreement, it supersedes and cancels all prior agreements, statements, representations, understandings, negotiations, and discussions, whether oral or written, between the parties. Each of the parties acknowledges and agrees that in entering into this Agreement it does not rely on any statement, representation, warranty, or understanding made prior to this Agreement save to the extent that such statement, representation, warranty, or understanding is incorporated into this Agreement. Each of the parties acknowledges and agrees that in entering into this Agreement it has not relied on (or has been induced to enter into this Agreement by) any statement, representation, warranty, or understanding made prior to this Agreement. Nothing in this paragraph excludes any liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.
In the event that anyone or more such provisions of this Agreement should be deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining valid and enforceable provisions thereof which shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable provisions had not been inserted.
The parties agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.
Any headings utilised in this Agreement have been inserted for the convenience of reference only and should in no way restrict or otherwise affect the construction of the terms and conditions hereof.