The Wedding Cake Disaster at Las Vegas's The Grill at Valentino

On a Friday afternoon, I sat in the break room. I wanted to buy a wedding present that was memorable. Another coworker was eating a salad, which looked plain to a person that enjoyed meat.

"What do you think I should get my brother and his wife?" I said. The coworker suggested money or other typical things that people tend to buy for wedding presents. I wanted to be different.

When I talked to my brother, he never discussed or even mentioned anything regarding a wedding cake. He started to get anxious about getting married. This was the first time that he left the only area that he has ever known, the place that he called home.

I talked with my fiance about the wedding cake. She thought it was a good idea to order the wedding cake. The plan was to have the wedding reception at The Grill at Valentino - a restaurant inside the Venetian Hotel. We thought it was would best to pick up the wedding cake drop it off at restaurant.

My brother and his soon-to-be wife arranged the small wedding reception there. Since they were already hotels guests at the Venetian Hotel, the decision was a good choice for everyone.

I was happy about giving a wedding cake as the wedding gift. There is a nice bakery in Las Vegas that makes popular wedding cakes. It was featured on one of the Food Network channels. We decided that a wedding cake from that location would make an excellent wedding gift.

After I had talked to a few coworkers in the break room, I made the call to order the cake. The wedding cake was a one-layer tier wedding cake. It had elaborate designs, nice decorations, and a satin band which wrapped around the cake base. Have you ever watched one of those lavish weddings? I'm sure that many people have watched and even attended a nice weddings.

A tier represents one single layer to a wedding cake. Traditionally, the bride and groom are supposed to cut the wedding cake in front of their wedding guests. The cake was finally ordered. As a college student, I was financially limited. Though the wedding cake cost a small fortune, it was worth the occasion.

The journey to make it to the wedding was a disaster. After radiator hose exploded in the Mojave Desert, it took an entire afternoon to make it to Las Vegas. In the process, I almost missed the wedding. Thankfully, we delivered the wedding cake to The Grill at Valentino in the Venetian Hotel.

The manager stored the wedding cake. He knew that it was my brother's wedding reception. The manager noted that there would be a per plate fee, which I agreed upon. We celebrated the wedding and enjoyed the atmosphere. Everyone talked, joked and had a fancy dinner. The steaks didn't taste as good as advertised, but the presentation was surely nice.

I walked up to the manager and told him that I was ready for wedding cake. The manager told the server about the wedding cake. I was excited about the fact that we made it to the wedding. and everything seemed to be working out.

My back faced in the opposite direction. I didn't see my brother and his wife's reaction. The only thing I could concentrate on was how the guests - that faced me - responded; they each had an eerie look. They didn't want to tell me what they think had happened. What could be so bad?

Eight servers walked out with separate dishes that had small pieces of cake on it. Each plate was buried in puree and looked as if I had asked the server to order dessert for everyone on the bride and groom's bill. I was so infuriated that it ruined what was supposed to be a special moment.

After going through a disaster to make it to the wedding, I thought that surprising my brother and his wife with a wedding cake would make up for the struggle. I was ready to take pictures. The wedding cake was now a memory that faded away. Nobody besides my fiance saw the wedding cake.

Because the restaurant was worried about charging per plate fee, they took it upon themselves to destroy a special moment that could never be replaced.

I sent an e-mail to the restaurant regarding the situation. A female representative named Kristin Pollock called and asked me what she could do to fix the situation. I told her that it was hard to replace the moment. I gave them a chance; she offered to order another cake to deliver.

I didn't think it was fair that the manager failed to communicate with the staff about the wedding cake. The cake was not like any other cake. It was obvious that it was a wedding cake that should have been cut by the bride and groom.

Kristin never returned any of my calls or e-mails regarding the cake. I communicated to the restaurant that I was a freelance writer. While I was busy taking on other writing projects the past few years, I decided to take the time to write a short story about the experience.

The Grill at Valentino managed to ruin the traditional bride and groom wedding cake cutting moment. They buried the cake with so much puree that you couldn't see the wedding cake. The server had the nerve to walk out with a box that had the remaining pieces of the butchered wedding cake. I tried to hold back my anger due to the fact that it was a wedding reception.

Thank you The Grill at Valentino for making my brother's wedding reception a disaster. I sure hope you take the time to communicate next time. People don't forget things that easily, especially when you ignore the situation and ruined a once in a lifetime moment for a married couple.

On April 7th, 2007, The Grill at Valentino restaurant staff - inside the Venetian Hotel & Suites - sliced up a wedding cake and never tried to fix the moment. They were too worried about losing money on the per plate fee. The restaurant disregarded the importance of the traditional bride and groom wedding cake cutting moment.

Hopefully this wedding cake disaster never happens to another couple again. Cutting the wedding cake without first asking the table was an act of rudeness. The wedding cake disaster at Las Vegas's The Grill at Valentino in the Venetian Hotel & Suites ruined a special moment that can never be replaced.

Imagine how happy my brother and his wife could have been if they were able to cut a wedding cake that was made specifically for them. Maybe that caused their string of bad luck. I'm glad that I had some time out of my busy schedule to write the article.