Bride ‘humiliated’ after she discovers her wedding cake was made from Pillsbury cake mix

A Chicago bride was left feeling ‘humiliated’ after she spent over $12,000 on catering for her wedding – only for her guests to be left eating takeout from Pizza Hut at the end of the night. 

Lauren Franken, 36, claims that her wedding cake was made out of Pillsbury cake mix, and most of the ‘cold’ and ‘raw’ food was served an hour late.

The bride, who got married in June at The Chelsea Sun Inn in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, not only paid $500 for the cake, but also for dinner, an open bar, a sushi bar and late-night pizza. 

But unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as planned, leaving most of her guests eating Pizza Hut or Chinese takeout when the wedding was said and done. 

Things got so bad, Franken claimed, that some of her guests even had to step in to get things going in the kitchen.

Lauren Franken, 36, claims that her wedding cake was made out of Pillsbury cake mix, and most of the ‘cold’ and ‘raw’ food was served an hour late

The Chicago bride was left feeling ‘humiliated’ after she spent over $12,000 on catering for her wedding – only for her guests to be left eating takeout from Pizza Hut at the end of the night

‘They showed up at 3:30pm and the wedding was at 5pm,’ Franken said.

‘I was surprised that they were not there, making food, baking a cake or anything. Thank God I had the guests that I did that were able to pull everything together.’

She admitted that the caterers had ‘single handedly ruined the whole day,’ and only served enough food for 40 people, which was served an hour late. 

‘Food is a big part of a wedding,’ she said. ‘One of my guests, who flew across the country to be there, had to cook at my wedding.’

The bride had originally got in contact with the caterer in November 2023, and expected that everything would be ready in time for her big day. 

She wanted an ‘elegant’ and ‘naked’ three-tier cake, and showed the caterers plenty of pictures of examples she admired.  

The couple had settled on a cake with limoncello, cannoli and tiramisu flavors, but said instead, the cake tasted of vanilla and ‘store-bought buttercream.’

Franken claimed that they only showed up an hour before the wedding, and started making the cake at 9:30 pm, an hour after it was supposed to be cut. 

Things didn’t turn out as planned, leaving most of her guests eating Pizza Hut or Chinese takeout when the wedding was said and done

She wanted an ‘elegant’ and ‘naked’ three-tier cake, and showed the caterers plenty of pictures of examples she admired

Franken claimed that they only showed up an hour before the wedding, and started making the cake at 9:30 pm, an hour after it was supposed to be cut

‘She used box frosting and cake mix…. We saw it in the trash. I saw the frosting and someone else saw the cake mix. It was humiliating,’ the 36-year-old said. 

“At that point I was so shocked at everything that I wasn’t surprised that they would use store-bought stuff, she obviously wasn’t going to start whipping up buttercream at 9.30pm.’

She said that they immediately frosted the cake, too, which left the frosting melting all over.

Plus, Franken had requested flowers, which they didn’t add – in fact, a guest had to put some on for the couple.

‘It had a huge impact on the day,’ Franken said.

‘I wasn’t able to relax and enjoy my night. I was worried about guests not eating, people like my grandmother being in 100 degree weather with no water.’

However, in the end, she admitted that the experience did bring all of the guests together in a strange way.

‘At first people were shocked and I think people felt bad but at the end of the night it became kind of cool that we had such cool family and friends that were willing to support us and step into a role,’ she said. 

Since the wedding, Franken has shared a picture of the cake on social media, showing what she wanted versus what she got

‘It was really good to see that we have such a great support system. I think everyone felt bad for us at the end of the night,’ the bride said

‘They were there to enjoy a wedding and all of a sudden, they were cooking and bartending and waitressing and washing dishes and taking out the trash,’ she continued. 

‘It was really good to see that we have such a great support system. I think everyone felt bad for us at the end of the night.’

Since the wedding, Franken has shared a picture of the cake on social media, showing what she wanted versus what she got.

The post got over 450 comments, agreeing with Franken that the cake was just horrible.

Franken said that the caterers blocked her on social media, and she has since tried taking legal action against them, but has not been able to make contact with them. 

The caterer was approached for comment but failed to respond.