My journey as a confectionary artist began about 8 years ago when I took a cake decorating class at “N.Y. Cake” for fun. I loved how I was able to express my creativity through my baking and share it with my family and friends. I was not pursuing a business but from time to time people would hire me. A few years ago after my first son was born, I became a stay at home mom, I began to take more cake orders to earn some extra income. Now after three babies, I have begun to work on growing my business. Participating in a wedding show is a great way to get clients and make connections.
I began to research what bakers do at a wedding shows to attract foot traffic and potential clients. I would need signage, examples of my creations, samples to pass out, and a nice set-up. My wonderful husband Maurice took care of the signage and printed material. For the example of my work, I wanted to make three show-stopping wedding cakes. To showcase the cakes I wanted an elegant set-up. Having yummy cake sample to pass out guaranties foot traffic.
The wedding cakes examples were the most important because they featured my skill. I wanted to do a color scheme that was neutral but also luxurious. I went with white, gold, beige, and silver. I was not about to bake three cakes so I ordered two set of cake dummies. Cake dummies are fake cake forms. I began working on the cakes a week before. I worked while my boy’s napped, where in school, and at night once they went to bed. I started with the flowers because they would take the most time and need time to set. Each flower takes about an hour give or take. The day before the event it was crunch time and I still had a few details to finish. My mom came to the rescue and helped me finish.
I am a big believer that presentation is everything. The set-up and how I would display the cakes was important to take it to the next level. I used my own desk and a small entryway table that went with the color scheme. I went to Jo-Ann and picked out fake flowers to adorn the desks. The night before the event I designed the whole set-up and took a picture. The day of the event my mom, who came to assist me for the day, used the picture to recreate the set-up.
A beautiful cake means nothing if it does not taste good. I baked a hundred mini vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Bite-size cupcakes are perfect for passing out and keep people wanting more. Also, there is no need for plates, napkins, or forks.
For more on my wedding show adventure, you can watch what took place the day of the event on my YouTube channel.
