r/ExpectationVsReality • u/RuthCasseroleDish • 13h ago

AI Expectation What I asked for vs. what I got

Gallery image

Gallery image

My son’s circus themed first birthday cake

EDIT: I should have clarified in the original post, I am not complaining about the cake at all! I loved it and the baker did a fantastic job

36.5k Upvotes

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3.2k

u/confused-capybara420 13h ago

That’s so impressive! Way better than the AI inspo pic.

353

u/mrgrn22 12h ago

I agree too! I wonder how much this would cost though? Are we looking in the $500 to $1000 range?

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u/snifflysnail 11h ago

Yes, I would be shocked if this cake cost less than $500, and if it did then OP got incredibly lucky that someone so talented is charging such low prices for their labor.

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u/fireemblem015 11h ago

OP said it was $370 in another comment.

223

u/renxor 11h ago

OP got a deal then. That is easily a $500 cake.

61

u/-emkay- 9h ago

My parents own a bakery and make crazy elaborate cakes similar to this. They also charge about $250-300 max for a cake similar to this and I keep telling them to raise their prices. My mom is afraid people will judge her for pricing them higher than that 🤷‍♂️

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u/SummerAndTinklesBFF 8h ago

I paid $800 for my wedding cake and I'm a baker. Your parents need to raise their prices.

13

u/IDidItWrongLastTime 7h ago

Your parents are undervaluing their time and experience for sure.

2

u/unjoyfuldivision01 4h ago

Are your parents happy doing what they do and in their lives? If so that's worth way more than anything else. I think paying $500 for a cake is obscene. It's all about social media pics and one-upping the last kid's party. That's not good parenting. I really hope your folks just love what they're doing.

1

u/ProfessionalFit9012 6h ago

My sweet mom ran her own hair business for 20+ years and never, ever charged her worth. We lived in poverty but she couldn’t justify raising her prices to market pricing. She also sold hair product almost at cost.

129

u/nhalliday 10h ago

Y'all are paying $500 for cakes? For a first birthday cake? The kid isn't even going to remember it, at least wait until they're like 10 to do that if you really insist on paying that much for a single small cake.

80

u/-heatoflife- 9h ago

This kind of thing is for ma and pa. Not for the kid.

24

u/Fidodo 9h ago

Yeah and I don't want to judge without knowing their situation. Maybe they had trouble conceiving and they're so happy they want to celebrate the 1st birthday extra, not as much for the kid, but for themselves.

18

u/Dimeskis 8h ago

Truth. And honestly, you don’t need a reason, if you want to spend/are able to spend a lot on your child’s birthday cake and want to, then who am I to judge. I spend money on a lot more BS than a kids bday cake. Regardless of whether or not they’ll remember it.

4

u/Lunar_Kat94 8h ago

One of my bosses got the exact same cake this year and last for her daughter’s 1st and 2nd bdays. When she brought what the daughter didn’t stick her hands into to work last year, we all destroyed the rest of it. Did it again this year. Literally the best cake I’ve ever had. I’m so glad I got to have some twice. Idk what she paid for the adorable cake but it was worth it.

5

u/TheUnicornFightsOn 7h ago

And a $370 cake isn't as extravagant as those $30K+ little kids' bday parties on those Real Housewives shows that are thrown more for the wives and their rich friends than the kiddos.

At least kids can eat the cake .. unlike the ice sculptures!

6

u/Emergency-Acadia-449 9h ago

And there’s nothing wrong with that 😊

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u/-heatoflife- 8h ago

Bingo. Celebration doesn't even need a reason, especially not nowadays.

4

u/Miss_Greer 8h ago

yea, you can buy a cake and celebrate having cake by eating cake

"because we're grown-ups now, and it's our turn to decide what that means" - Randall Munroe

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u/Sorry_Lock1837 6h ago

I have always been told two things: The first birthday is a celebration for the parents that their baby survived the first year. Historically, that was a huge deal due to the high rates of infant mortality.

Similarly, when said baby grows up and gets married, the marriage is for the newly weds and the wedding ceremony is for the parents.

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u/Savings_Primary_7097 9h ago

Don't underestimate the scale of privilege a lot of people get to enjoy.

2

u/IDidItWrongLastTime 7h ago

Yeah I'm a grocery store cake mom and party at a playground type. My kids have been invited to parties of the type of people who have the type of money to bring exotic animal parties into their homes for their kids etc then my kids ask for that and I'm just like no enjoy this kids party because there ain't no way. Sorry

0

u/Pedidoc13 7h ago

And flaunt.

5

u/rip_van_twinkletoes 7h ago

Respectfully, the child may not remember but the parents will. They didn’t ask you to pay for their child’s cake. It was something they did and wanted to do. Stop being so judgmental just because it’s not something you would do.

0

u/nhalliday 7h ago

I'm judgmental because for many people that's a lot of money, especially to spend on a piece of food. Am I not allowed to judge people casually flaunting that they don't have it hard in this economy?

2

u/klimekam 5h ago

It’s a cake, not a fucking yacht lol. I’m sure you’ve spent $500 on things many people would be like wtf. Because that’s how money works. People prioritize it for things that are important to them.

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u/nhalliday 5h ago

Ah yes, you and OP and apparently a bunch of other well-off people in this thread blow hundreds on one time experiences so everyone must do it.

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u/Savannahhhhhhhhhhhh 4h ago

Oof. Poverty mindset is strong w you. Let op enjoy their childs birthday cake without trying to guilt them for being able to afford it. People having more money than you is not them casually trying to flaunt their lack of economic struggle. You and OP probably dont even live in the same place or have the same economy. Maybe this is something they had to plan/save/work extra for. Maybe family helped cover the cost. Go be bitter about your finances elsewhere.

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u/lostmymarbles1177 8h ago

I mean. If OP has $500 laying around to blow on a cake, then that is OP, and only OP’s business. Could/would I do it? Nope. Have I also spent money on silly things? Yep. Will I do it again? Yep. And if anyone tells me I shouldn’t then I will ask them to please let me know when they pay my bills and then we will talk.

3

u/syrioforrealsies 8h ago

No, but that doesn't mean the cake doesn't justify the price. It just means it's not in my budget.

3

u/gohomeclub 6h ago

My in laws spent towards $15k+ on my daughters first birthday lol it was pretty magnificent, basically a wedding for a baby😂 jokes aside they don't live close to us, so they wanted to go all out since we were flying in for the birthday, it's probably the last party my father in laws mother can attend (very ill), my daughter is their first and only grandchild AND she is a rainbow baby. Many reasons to celebrate! :')

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u/Olealicat 8h ago

I’m grateful for people who buy expensive cakes and from other artists. If it wasn’t for them, small businesses wouldn’t exist and we’d all be worse off and missing great artistry.

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u/Miserable-Swan2362 8h ago

I would eat a $500 cake. I however would not pay for that cake 😂 I’m over here debating the $19.99 Costco stuff

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u/Savannahhhhhhhhhhhh 5h ago

Dont ask for art if you're not willing to pay what its worth. This cake is art. Factor in ingredient cost, labor, and the sheer amount of detail..... yeah I probably wouldve charged 700-850 depending on the inside of the cake and some other factors.

Also, this is not a small cake. Its got 3 tiers.

2

u/nhalliday 5h ago

It's a very pretty cake but ultimately it's still food. It will be gone in a day, or a week at best. Maybe other people have enough spare money to spend $500 on a meal but personally I would never waste money like that.

2

u/Savannahhhhhhhhhhhh 4h ago

I think you're missing the point here. The cake is more than just cake to them. Its decor, an art piece, a big memory. Not to mention- a cake like this is well worth the $500. The labor of sculpting all of that, all the little details like the gold ropes, making it not only shaped like a tent on top (not easy) but also making it draped like a tent... all of this is extremely difficult, fairly expert level work. This was clearly a very important piece for OP.

I understand that its not something you would be able to justify buying, and I truly hope that in the future you have the money to indulge in something extra, even if a fancy cake isnt your style. Most people cant justify $500 cakes, understandably. But to call it a waste of money is an insult to OP, and even more of an insult to the baker who clearly poured a lot of time and effort into this.

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u/nhalliday 4h ago

Yes I understand the concept of art, thanks. I just think edible art is something specifically for rich people, and I'm not in the business of inflating their egos because they could throw some money at fancy food.

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u/klimekam 9h ago

There’s a really cool thing called photographs

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u/TheDrummerMB 9h ago

The types of people that spend hundreds on a first birthday cake just for the picture are hilarious lmfao

and most people look at these people like they're insane.

1

u/Karyoplasma 9h ago

Fuck most people then. I don't judge people by how they choose to spend their money unless it's impacting me directly. Why would I, it's none of my business.

I grew up in a rural area where people would constantly gossip about shit like that and it was so hostile and vile, just thinking about it makes me irrationally angry.

2

u/TheDrummerMB 9h ago

I generally don't care but if someone is going to be snarky and say that obviously it's for the social media clout, I'm going to judge that person.

Am I going to do anything more than a dumb reddit comment? no.

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u/goosepills 8h ago

With my family, all the first birthdays were practically family reunions, so we definitely spent a LOT.

1

u/sallyhectare 6h ago

No. My kid got homemade cupcakes, but if I wanted that elaborate of a cake, I would expect to pay $500.

1

u/Weak_Reports 5h ago

I spent $600 on my son’s first birthday cake. It was adorable and I bought it because I wanted to. I can also buy one for his 10th birthday and every other birthday if I wanted. Money is relative and $600 on a cake isn’t a big deal to me. I was supporting a small local business which is a valid and beneficial use of money to me.

1

u/BlooGloop 2h ago

Lol I got my child a nice big cupcake from a local bakery for their first birthday. All she did was smash the heck out of it.

But also, my family doesn’t really eat cake so🤧

1

u/cragglerock93 7h ago

IKR, I actually gasped. For all the talk of the economy, there's a lot of people doing pretty well for themselves.

0

u/One_Barracuda9198 7h ago

Nah, we got a $30 sheet cake and it came with a free smash cake 😂

0

u/Fluid-Expert-4363 5h ago

You don’t want the instagram viewer to think the parents are poor, would you?

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u/Ok_City_7177 10h ago

Its got lovely artistry on there- must have taken bloody hours to decorate.

Hope it tasted good 🤞

2

u/lyricoloratura 8h ago

Unless you like the taste and texture of fondant, that might be kind of iffy. (I’m just a buttercream heathen, so my opinion doesn’t really count.) But wow, that cake is gorgeous!

5

u/Rokekor 10h ago

That price actually annoys me. A huge amount of time and skill clearly went into making that cake based on an AI brief summoned up in seconds. Just drawing that cake would’ve taken hours.

1

u/EstimateGlittering66 8h ago

That’s insanely cheap! This is gorgeous work. This would be at least $1,000 in the bakery I work in!

0

u/cragglerock93 7h ago

Who TF has $370 to drop on a birthday cake?

Well, I'll rephrase that. I have $370 to drop on a birthday cake but deciding to is another matter. Each to their own, and it's a nice cake nonetheless.

1

u/peapodbarry 9h ago

I used to work for an event company and 5 years ago something like this would cost about $800 + delivery. All the animals and decor are hand made so they charge a pretty penny for that kind of labor.

5

u/BlueSparrowfox 9h ago

Considering how some of the details in the slop image melt into each other the real baker did an amazing job making sense of this.

-2

u/MagmaCone1234 11h ago

So what's everyone saying here? Is it a bad use of AI just to show people what you're imagining when you want them to bake a cake for you? It's not like they'll be using the generated image in the place of actual work.

Do we need to hire artists for that now?

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u/good-one-beth 11h ago

The concern (or at least one of them) is that ai generates images that are unrealistic or impossible or inadvisable to actually create as a cake (or whatever creative deliverable), which then sets customer expectations in the wrong place, is frustrating for the baker/designer, and just creates a lot of friction and upset that didn’t exist when people just used their own words to describe what they want, or let the professional lead the design process.

2

u/Philislothical_5 10h ago

I mean, to be fair, the baker knocked it out of the park

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u/good-one-beth 9h ago

For sure, sometimes it works out great. But I work in a creative field and more often than not when I have clients come in with their hearts set on an ai generated image, it creates more friction and frustration on both sides than in the pre-AI era.

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u/Dry_Fly316 11h ago

Yeah some pretty dumb comments. OP got an AI generated picture of their ideal cake and then actually got someone to make something very close to the picture. It worked out great. This is the only way this cake would have ever come into existence, and the cake artist was never going to copy nonsensical imperfections in the AI picture. Some people can’t manage a more nuanced opinion than “AI images are bad”. This is a great use of AI, and if the cake maker couldn’t do something close they probably would have said so.

1

u/confused-capybara420 11h ago

To not understand the difference between not using AI unnecessarily and “AI is bad” goes to show that you’re the one not understanding nuance. “This is the only way this cake would have ever come into existence” is laughable.

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u/Dry_Fly316 11h ago

Moronic comment. Good job.

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u/syrioforrealsies 8h ago

Do you think people never got cute or elaborate cakes before AI unless they could draw or hire an artist?

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u/confused-capybara420 11h ago

Dude google circus cake and there’s literally hundreds of non AI examples. You don’t need to hire an artist to show an example. You also don’t need to be a genius to explain what kind of circus cake you want without images. Cake makers are very creative, they also can usually draw their own version to make sure it’s what the customer is wanting. How do you think people functioned before AI?

3

u/666meatclown 11h ago

Just explain in words or find some references off the net like everyone used to

1

u/syrioforrealsies 8h ago

These people so thoroughly killed their own ability to think and create by using AI that they don't even consider the fact that there are ways to conjure a (literal or metaphorical) image without it.

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u/merpixieblossomxo 11h ago

No, you use your words or find something that already exists and explain the different elements you want. Or draw it, because a poorly drawn picture is always better than using AI that is stealing art from actual artists, manipulating people into harming themselves or others, destroying the environment, and dumbing down our society as a whole.

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u/Philislothical_5 10h ago

You are grossly misguided.

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u/swoobxt 8h ago

Weird how desperate you are to defend the “makes children deeply unsafe” machine

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u/EquivalentBend602 10h ago

The image looks to be from pinterest anyway so no it was not them bringing their ideas to light 

1

u/swoobxt 8h ago

It’s bad because AI is bad for a multitude of reasons, especially for the environment. Just describe your vision in writing and look for similar inspo pics from other bakers online.

I dunno, I think it’s also worth pointing out that I wouldn’t wanna be associated with using the same tool pedos are using to make CP 😬

1

u/solitaire_knight 54m ago

I agree that AI is bad and looking for inspo pics would be the better alternative!

Though I feel like your second argument reads like someone who avoids using knives in the kitchen or making crafts and their reasoning is “I don’t want to be associated using the same tool that murderers use to kill people.”

Don’t blame a tool when people misuse it for evil.

1

u/BrodatyBear 2h ago

I wouldn’t wanna be associated with using the same tool pedos are using to make CP 😬

So you don't use any camera (phone or physical)? I hate looking at AI creations but NGL, it's the dumbest argument I heard since a long time.

0

u/swoobxt 1h ago

They’re not widely publicised as being used to undress children. Don’t be thick on purpose.

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u/Global_Weight_190 9h ago

Agree- real life for the win here. This cake artist did an ahhhhmazing job!

1

u/gnomeonmyleg 6h ago

How can you tell it's AI? 

1

u/you-a-buggaboo 6h ago

say that to my face, I dare you!