Since leaving my lovely studio in Bakewell town centre due to covid-19 wiping out 15 months (and counting!) of takings; my husband and I have been busy in lockdown building my beautiful stone cake shed in our garden. Granted, I didn’t do much of the work, but I did paint it, prettify it and check that everything going in would be up to standard (including my gorgeous floor tiles, check out the pictures!!) The creative process happens here, baking, filling, ganaching, icing, flower making.
Post covid all of my appointments will now be held at Gracie Bleu Bridal in Matlock where all of my dispay cakes are now.
The Process
Initial Contact
Once you have got in touch with me to begin the process of ordering your wedding cake we will arrange a box of delicious cake samples to be sent to you (at a cost of £25, £20 of which is taken off the final invoice for your wedding cake should you choose to book) You may wish to discuss wedding cake ideas with me first to get some ideas on pricing and designs.
Naked, Semi-naked and Buttercream wedding cakes are designed over email and a phone call if necessary as there are not many design variants in them. I can send a full quote out to you as soon as you have chosen your flavours and design of floral arrangements or fresh berries. Your wedding cake is confirmed in my diary with a full non refundable, non transferable deposit for the date of a further £80 to your samples.
Appointments
At the moment I am offering design appointments via Zoom. In safe and post covid times then fully iced wedding cakes will require a design appointment. We will meet for this at Gracie Bleu Bridal in Matlock. Your appointment will take around 45 mins. We will chat about your wedding and I will ask you lots of questions about your big day to get a better idea of the style of wedding you are creating and the type of couple you are, this all helps to design you a beautiful wedding cake that will perfectly compliment your big day. You are welcome to bring any cake inspiration with you including colour swatches and flower details etc.
After we've met, I will provide you with a cake quote via email, I will hold your date for 2 weeks after I have sent out your quote. Once the full non refundable, non transferable save the date deposit has been paid I will sketch up the wedding cake design we have discussed to help you visualise the bespoke cake that we have drawn up for you. Then you can just sit back and relax until closer to your big day (well, when I say relax, I mean do the other hundreds of things still on your wedding to-do tick list of course!!)
8 weeks before your wedding date
This is when you can get in touch with me to let me know that you are still happy with everything in your design, or whether colour schemes have slightly changed or anything. You may have decided you would actually like to hire a cake stand, also if you would like to change any flavours this is your time to do it too! The final balance for your wedding cake is due 8 weeks before.
Your wedding week
This is when it's all hands on deck! I will be super busy baking your wedding cake, filling it with loads of scrumptious curds and buttercreams, ganaching, rolling out sugar paste, smoothing, creating sharp edges, meticulously hand creating all sugar flowers and foliage, creating any sugar work or piping detailing and constructing your wedding cake. On average a 3 tier wedding cake will take me 30 hours to create but super floral or intricate designs can take way longer. I super love my job and creating centre piece wedding cakes so the late nights and early mornings are always worth it.
On the day of your wedding I will aim to deliver your wedding cake to your wedding venue at around 11am (unless it is naked/semi naked) I deliver and set up all of my wedding cakes personally to make sure everything is truly perfect. Next up is your big moment - the iconic cutting of the cake and subsequent enjoying all the delicious flavours you have chosen for your big day.
