Cake and catering firms to the rescue

Hundreds more couples affected by Halesowen-based Bake a Cake Catering shutting down have emerged in the past 24 hours.

As reported by the Express & Star yesterday, couples were left fearing for their wedding days after Bake a Cake announced it was closing.

More than 15 generous suppliers have got in touch with customers on Facebook to help ensure their wedding days still go ahead successfully.

A group on the social network set up for those affected has doubled in size in the past 24 hours - with more than 2,200 members now signed up.

One bride affected by Bake a Cake Catering's troubles says she has been left out of pocket, after taking matters into her own hands.

After seeing messages on Facebook from other concerned couples, Gemma Cooper decided she could not rely on the firm to deliver.

She cancelled her order two weeks before her big day and took out a loan of £400 to pay for the extra expense.

This has pushed 30-year-old Mrs Cooper's finances to the limit - but she says she is glad her wedding day on Saturday went ahead smoothly.

"I saw on Facebook that a lot of people were saying they were having trouble or having things cancelled," she said.

"There were so many comments that I started getting a bit worried.

"I didn't want to be left with nothing at the last minute, so I decided to do cancel.

"We've got no extra cash lying around.

"That's why I had to cancel two weeks before, as I needed the time to get that loan to get the money to pay things off."

Mrs Cooper, of Lower Gornal, was married to Matt, 30, on Saturday.

She spent £250 on a Black Friday deal from Bake a Cake for a photo booth, seat and table covers, table decorations, balloons and a chocolate fountain.

However, after cancelling her deal with the firm on August 2 she was faced with extra expenditure.

"I'm one of the lucky ones in a way, as there were other brides the same week as me who only found out on Wednesday and their weddings were on Saturday."

One of the firms which offered support to couples is Vikki Lea Event Planning and Design.

Lisa Pearson from the company said: "What's happened is absolutely devastating and we just want to offer our help.

"It's just something we felt we should do as this is a heartbreaking situation."

Bake a Cake announced on Facebook on Monday it was closing down and as a result would not be able to honour orders that have been booked in.

A message on the site said the firm had been hit by a burglary and arson attack and could no longer continue to trade.

Nicola Underhill, from Cradley Heath, is one of the affected customers.

She is due to marry her partner James Edwards on August 30 and had booked a popcorn machine and photo booth for her big day.

When Miss Underhill found out these weren't going to be available for her wedding she said she broke down.

"I just started crying and spend the whole afternoon crying - I was gutted.

"Apparently she was supposed to be emailing everybody about it, but I haven't heard anything."

In a message on Bake A Cake's Facebook site, owner Lisa Holt apologised 'for the inconvenience and stress' her announcement caused.

'We simply cannot afford to keep trading' the message on the Facebook page said.

She said she would provide an update about refunds later in the week, but their Facebook page would be closed down 'to reduce the amount of harassment we are experiencing'.

Dudley Council's trading standards team has been contacted about the matter.

Mrs Holt was unavailable to comment today.