Terms of CommissionTerms of Commission

These terms apply to every cake commissioned from Nina Atelier (“the atelier”, “we”, “us”), a business based in Virginia. “You” means the person who sends the request.

Your agreement with us is made up of three things: these terms, our Cancellations & Refunds schedule, and the details of your commission as we approve them (the design, the date, the venue and the confirmed price, as shown on your commission page and in our approval email). Together they are the whole agreement. Anything we agree later is added in writing, by email.

You must be 18 or older to send a request.

1. You design and request. You shape a cake in the studio, then send a request with your occasion, date, guest count, venue, contact details and any allergies or dietary needs. The date must be at least 21 days away; for anything sooner, please write to us.
2. You pay the request deposit. $50, through Stripe. Your request reaches us once it is paid.
3. We review it personally and reply within two business days. We either approve it, with a confirmed price, or decline it and refund the request deposit in full.
4. You pay the booking deposit. Your date is held once it is paid.
5. You pay the balance 14 days before the event, and we deliver and set up the cake on the day.

Wedding commissions include a private tasting, scheduled once the design is underway and before the final flavors are set.

The price the studio shows while you design is an estimate. It is not an offer, and sending a request does not create a commission. We confirm the final price when we approve your request, after reviewing the design, the size and the date. It may differ from the estimate.

A commission exists once we have approved your request and you have paid the booking deposit. If you do not accept the confirmed price, simply do not pay the deposit, and tell us; the request deposit is then treated as set out in Cancellations & Refunds.

Delivery and setup across the DMV are included. Further afield is by arrangement, and travel is quoted in the confirmed price.

There are three payments. What each is for:

• Request deposit, $50. Credited to your booking. Refunded in full if we cannot take it, or if you withdraw within 24 hours, before we reply; otherwise kept for the design review, even if you decide against the confirmed price.
• Booking deposit. 35% of the confirmed price, rounded up to the nearest $5, and at least $150, or half the total for smaller commissions (rounded down to the nearest $5), less the $50 already paid. We ask for it within 7 days of approval, or by the day before the event if that is sooner; if it is not paid by then, we may release the date.
• Balance. The rest of the confirmed price, due 14 days before the event. We send a reminder 7 days before it falls due.

If we approve your request within 14 days of the event, there is no separate balance: the payment on approval settles the whole price.

All prices are in US dollars. Payments are taken by Stripe on its own secure checkout page; your card details go to Stripe, and we never see your full card number. Prices include any sales tax that applies, and each payment states the tax it includes.

If the balance is still unpaid 7 days before the event, after our reminders, we may treat the commission as cancelled by you, as set out in Cancellations & Refunds.

Changes to the design, the flavors, the guest count or the venue are welcome until the balance falls due, 14 days before the event. After that, we will do what we can, but later changes are at our discretion, because ingredients and materials are already ordered.

A change can change the price. When it does, we send you a revised confirmed price, and the change goes ahead once you accept it. If you would rather keep the original, it stands.

Our Cancellations & Refunds schedule is part of these terms. In short: the request deposit is refunded if we decline or if you withdraw within 24 hours and before we reply; the booking deposit is non-refundable but can move once to a new date within 12 months; and how much of the balance is refunded depends on how close to the event you cancel.

To cancel or move a date, write to hello@byninaatelier.com with your commission reference.

Every cake is made by hand, so no two are identical. Small variations in color, texture and line are part of the work, not faults.

• Inspiration is interpreted, not copied. Photographs you share guide the design; we do not reproduce another maker’s work.
• The studio is an illustration. The 3D studio and the colors on your screen show the idea of the cake, not an exact representation. Screens and real buttercream differ.
• Nature decides some things. Fresh flowers and fruit are seasonal. If one is unavailable or not at its best, we substitute the closest like-for-like and tell you.

Every cake is made in a kitchen that handles wheat, eggs, milk, soy and tree nuts, and the menu includes almond, pistachio, hazelnut and coconut. Any cake may contain these, or traces of other allergens.

• Adaptations such as gluten-free or egg-free are made with care, but they are not allergen-free guarantees. They are made in the same kitchen as everything else.
• Please tell us about every allergy and dietary need in your party when you send your request, and again if anything changes. We plan the cake around what you tell us.
• Please make sure your guests know what the cake contains. We are happy to give you the ingredient list.

A cake is fresh food. We give you storage and serving guidance for your own cake with the approval and again on the day. As a general rule:

• Keep the cake cool, and out of direct sun and away from heat.
• Cakes with cream, custard, curd or fresh fruit fillings must stay refrigerated until shortly before serving, and should be eaten within 4 hours at room temperature.
• Refrigerate leftovers promptly and eat them within 2 days.

Once the cake is with you or your venue, following this guidance is in your hands.

We deliver and set up every cake ourselves, timed to your event. Delivery is included across the DMV; further afield is by arrangement, with travel quoted in the confirmed price.

What we need from you

• The exact venue address and any access details: entrances, loading, parking, stairs or lifts.
• A contact who can be reached on the day.
• A sturdy, level table in a cool, shaded spot, away from heaters, ovens and direct sun.

Once the cake is set up

Responsibility for the cake passes to you, or to your venue, as soon as it is set up. We are not responsible for damage after setup, or for damage caused by others: guests, venue staff, other suppliers, the weather, or moving the cake.

If we arrive at the agreed time and cannot get in or set up because of the venue (a closed door, no table, a late room), we wait as long as we reasonably can and do our best. Delays or extra costs caused by access problems we were not told about are not our responsibility. If those problems mean we cannot deliver the cake at all, the commission is treated as cancelled by you on the day, as set out in Cancellations & Refunds.

Tiered cakes are held up by dowels, supports and boards. Decorations may include wires, toppers, ribbons and fresh flowers. These are not food. Remove them before the cake is cut and served. Fresh flowers are decorative and are not for eating.

Flowers, toppers or other items supplied by you or your florist are your responsibility, including whether they are safe to place on food.

We may photograph your cake and share the photographs in our portfolio and on social media. If you would rather we did not, write to us before the event and we will not. We never publish guests’ faces without their consent.

Our designs, sketches and photographs remain our creative work. You are welcome to share photographs of your cake; a mention of @byninaatelier is always appreciated.

If illness, an emergency or events beyond our control stop us making your cake, we tell you as soon as we know. You choose: a full refund of everything you have paid, or a new date.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong that is our fault, our responsibility to you is limited to the amount you have paid for the commission.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for personal injury or death caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that Virginia law does not allow to be limited. These terms do not take away any right you have under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act or any other law that cannot be given up by agreement.

If something is not right, please write to hello@byninaatelier.com first, with your commission reference. We read every message ourselves and would much rather put it right directly.

If you dispute a payment with your card issuer, we will share with them the terms you accepted, the record of your acceptance and the payment records for your commission.

There are no accounts. Each commission has a private link, which we email to you. Anyone with the link can see the commission and pay toward it, so please do not share it. If you think it has been shared, tell us and we will replace it; the old link then stops working.

We write to you from hello@byninaatelier.com. We will never ask for your card details by email; payments are only ever made through the link to your commission page.

• Law. These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Any dispute that cannot be settled between us will be heard in the state courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, unless the law gives you the right to bring it elsewhere.
• Electronic acceptance. You accept these terms by ticking the box on the request form. That is your electronic signature, and it is as valid as one on paper under the Virginia Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Va. Code § 59.1-479 and following). As a record, we keep the version of the terms you accepted, the time, your IP address and your browser’s description of itself.
• Which version applies. This is version 2026-10-17 of these terms. The version in force when you sent your request governs your commission, even if we update these terms later, unless we both agree in writing to use a newer one.
• If part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies, and that part applies to the greatest extent the law allows.
• Keeping a copy. You can print or save this page. Ask us and we will email you the version you accepted.

Nina Atelier, Virginia.

Email hello@byninaatelier.com. We reply within two business days.

These terms were last updated on October 17, 2026.