Coffey Cakes ® LLC

Fake wedding cakes? Whats the point?

2011-12-03T09:31:00.006-05:00

I got a call from a mother of the bride who was asking about getting a fake display cake and then serving sheet cakes to save money. I am just not a fan of this. Whats the point?

I understand about needing to save some money on a wedding. They are expensive enough as it is. And I am always happy to come up with less expensive options such as a smaller cake with sheet cakes in the back, or buttercream icing rather than fondant. But a fake cake? Why would anyone want to do that. Do you want wedding pictures of you and your new husband beside some dummy cake that's been to 50 shows and is in 50 other brides pictures? Do you want to pretend to cut into it. I just don't like it.

The little money that you save on getting sheet cakes you have to spend to rent the dummy. There will likely be a deposit on the fake cake as well to be sure it is returned. If your caterer/venue is the one supplying it then you might not have the rental/deposit because they know they will be there at the end of the night to collect it.

So you will either be limited to choosing from the dummies that are already available, in which case you may not get the style/colors that you prefer, or you will have to have one custom made. Which is actually twice the work for the baker. No savings there.

The time and materials that are required to make a dummy cake are almost the same as a real cake. Of course you don't have to buy milk,eggs and flour, but you do still have to buy styrofoam dummies and pay to have them shipped - so there is still an expense there (plus you have to buy milk,eggs and for the sheet cakes). Of course you save baking time on fake cake, but that's not really your time that you are standing over the product working on it - the oven is doing the work so you're not saving much there (but the sheet cakes still have to be baked). Exactly the same time and ingredients go into decorating the outside (PLUS the time and ingredients to decorate the sheet cakes) so - don't expect to save much at all to have a custom dummy cake made and then serve sheet cakes. That's actually MORE work. Why not just make the actual cake edible and be done with it.

The blue cake pictured is the one that the mother of the bride called about, it's a dummy cake that is on display at my shop. The cake beside it is a real cake iced in buttercream that I made for a real wedding - and people really ate it. The buttercream option saves money as well as the fabric ribbon (rather than a fondant one), and it looks just as good as the fake cake. It might cost $500, but we're talking about a beautiful dessert that feeds 150 people - at a WEDDING. It's a monumental event. Once in a lifetime (hopefully). You spend thousands on a dress and much more than that for a room. Thousands on flowers/photography/videography. $500 for a beautiful cake sounds pretty cheap enough already. And if you think about it - would you buy an ugly/used/or otherwize not-what-you-really-want dress just to save $50 or even $100? Probably not. Don't let someone talk you into something you'll regret.

Cake Cruise 2011

2011-10-24T08:40:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful time we had on the Cake Cruise 2011! It was a spotlight cruise (which means that the focus is on one presenter rather than several) with the spotlight this year being on Norm Davis and Zane Beg of The Sweet Life in Annandale, Va. They are wonderful presenters - so talented and eager to share what they know.

They did a couple of demonstrations - one on sculpted fondant figures and the other on handpainting on cakes. It's always so fun and interesting to see how other people do things - I always learn something!

I took a couple of their classes - one on bling - cuz I love bling, and the other on sculpting with rice cereal treats. Fun, fun, fun. Both of my projects made it home in tact so I can display them in the shop.

We had a cold front moving through on the day we left and it was quite chilly. We delivered 4 wedding cakes on Saturday October 1st then caught a 5:30 pm flight to NYC. Of course it was cold there as well and I worried about the weather in Bermuda, but it was awesome. We had some overcast times and a bit of drizzle but we got to see a lot of the island and had some beach swim time and shopping time so it was great! I'd love to go back there sometimes. The entire island is only 20 square miles, but you'd be surprised how huge that is! LOL! There is lots more to see so I'd love to go and ride around on mopeds for a couple of days.

When we got back to NYC on October 9th it had warmed up again so we had a wonderful couple of days seeing some of the sights and looking for scenes from movies - like the apartment building from Ghostbusters, the park from the sorcerer's apprentice, the dolphin hotel from 1408 (yeah, that's not really there).

Our trip was almost foiled by an emergency room visit late on the eve of our flight. Greg was in a tremendous amount of pain - obviously or he would have never gone to the emergency room. We found out he has gall stones, and after a dose of high-powered pain killers we were given the go-ahead to continue on with trip plans. He didn't have any other episodes during the trip. Whew!

We had a blast but it's good to be home. We missed the dogs and the cat, Survivor and the new South Park. LOL.

Next year the cake cruise heads to Aruba. We are so there! :)

Flowers on your wedding cake

2011-09-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

Some cake designs are interesting enough that they can stand alone, but many designs are definately enhanced by flowers. Either sugar, fresh or fake, some cakes just need some flowers on them.

Sugar flowers are hand made to order and add considerably to the time required to produce a wedding cake. They must be made days or weeks in advance to be given time to dry. Many are made in several steps, each having to dry in between. They do normally add an additional charge to the price of your wedding cake - as little as $50 or as high as several hundred - depending on the type of flower you want and how many. Sugar flowers are often made with gumpaste which is technically edible, but it dries very hard and shatters like glass - so don't eat it. It is usually just ornamental. Sugar flowers are a conversation piece, as people are fasinated that they are hand made, and they are all safe to place on the cake where some people might worry about certain flowers being poisonous. (although I've never heard of a wedding cake/fresh flower related illness - and I've looked). Sugar flowers will keep almost indefinately as long as they are kept dry and protected so they are a nice keepsake.

The advantages with silk flowers is that they can be purchased and arranged in advance - they can be pricy though. As with sugar flowers, they are safe to put on your cake as long as they are kept dust-free.

Fresh flowers are normally the flower of choice. I do not provide fresh flowers as it's important that they match the rest of the flowers used to decorate the reception, so you should arrange with your florist to bring a few extra flowers for the cake.

Many people ask me "How many flowers should I get". It's hard for me to say. The type and size of the flowers makes a difference. If I tell you to bring 3 flowers for the topper you could end up with a tiny topper or a huge one. If you tell your florist how you want your wedding cake flowers (do you just want them on top, or a cascade, or just a few on each tier)then he/she can determine how many to bring.

Sometimes the florist will place fresh flowers on the cake - which is fine by me. If they are unable to do it or prefer not to I am happy to place fresh flowers for you if they are at the venue when I deliver. Due to other deliveries scheduled for the day I can not wait on flowers to arrive. If the bride has specified that she wants the florist to place the flowers on the cake I always assume that she has discussed the arrangement with them. I have been to deliveries where the florist placed the flowers totally different than how the bride told me she wanted them placed - when that happens I assume that there has been a change in plans and the florist knows best. They are the professional when it comes to the flowers so I will defer to their expertise in all flower related matters. I am always happy to communicate with any florist to arrange delivery schedules, number of flowers, etc...

Referrals - be careful where they come from

2011-09-07T10:43:00.000-04:00

Referrals from friends and co-workers are a great way to find out the quality of the vendors you are considering.

Do be careful of where you get your referrals - they are sometimes biased.

I do not get paid to refer any venue or vendor. You can be sure that if I refer them it is based on my personal experience with the vendor, and their merits, and not on how much money I can make from sending business their way. I do not have a mother/father, sister/brother or best friend who are in the wedding business either, so I will not be referring any one to you for the sole purpose of keeping your money in the family.

The customer and my reputation are my concern. I want the happy couple to have what they want for their wedding day - even if it means they use another cake decorator -and if I refer someone to them it because I know that person to be reliable and do a great job - not because I was paid to say something nice about them.

Unfortunately these days we do have to examine a person's motives for saying what they say. If one "professional" says something good or bad about another one just try to determine if there is anything in it for them. Sadly the doller is a great motivator, and the quest for more of it is almost always behind what we hear and see.

ICES 2011 Convention in Charlotte NC

2011-08-08T11:27:00.001-04:00

I'm back from the ICES convention. For people who don't know, ICES is an international cake club that holds a convention every year in different parts of the country. There is a cake show that is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday - the cakes are not judged - this is a sharing event and all cakes are solely for the purpose of sharing your passion. This year there was a new event at the convention - a 5 hour cake challenge, where some familiar faces from the TLC and food network challenges competed, as well as a couple of newcomers to competetive caking. There is a vendor area, where hundreds of vendors come to sell their cake goodies - this is usually a fun area to learn of new products, pick up some items at special pricing and to see the different vendors demonstrate various techniques using their products. Fun. There are demos, hands on classes, meet-n-greets and just 5 or so days of constant cake related activities.

I'm sure you would like to hear some name dropping so for starters - Nicholas lodge kissed me on the cheek, Mike Elder held the door open for me and Kerry Vincent almost bumped into me. I passed James Roselle on the street along with many other TV personalities. I took demos with Mike McCarey (Mike's Amazing Cakes), Mike Elder, Carrie Bigger, Geraldine Randelsome, and Betty Van Nordstrand. Famous cake people were everywhere. No Cake Boss was not there.

I got there on Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. They have a cool night of sharing on Sunday but my lame-ass hotel was kicking me out of the parking lot at 5:00 so I couldn't stay. Besides I was ready to go home. I'd been walking around like a pack mule for 5 days, toting my laptop and purchases and I was tired.

So I'm back to work today. Catching up on emails, and nursing my sore muscles. If I owe you an email - it's on it's way!

P.S. I do not recommend the Westin by the Charlotte Convention Center. WAY overpriced! It ended up costing me around $215 a night to have a place to sleep and park my car. It was suppose to be $169 which is high enough, but there were $25 in taxes - PER NIGHT - plus $18 a night to park. SO LAME! The room just wasn't all that. I've had the same amenities in $69 hotel rooms. They charged extra for internet in your room and I didn't have hot water on Sunday morning. Just FYI.

Liberty Conference Center Grand Opening

2011-07-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

Last night, June 30, 2011, Liberty Conference Center held it's Grand opening. Located in the old Circuit City building, there are 8 rooms for classes, business meetings, parties and wedding receptions. The 2 reception rooms can be combined to accomidate 300 guests.

Flavors catering provided their usual bevy of incredible food. Cheryl's Secret garden decorated with lovely centerpieces of pink Peonies and white roses and it was my pleasure to provide a display cake and cupcakes for the guests to enjoy.

Thank you Liberty Conference Center for having us and we look forward to providing many party/wedding cakes there.

Don't mind the two ghosts floating around my cake. They were in 3 of the pictures and I thought they were too cool to edit out. :)

Please contact me directly rather than through another site

2011-06-13T16:30:00.001-04:00

There are a ton of sites online where you can go to search for vendors for your wedding, but you have to be very careful when using these sites. Remember their goal is normally to make money, so many of them are charging the vendor in some way. Some sites require the vendor to pay to even be listed on their site in which case you may not necessarily be seeing the most popular vendors, just the ones who pay them. Some sites offer free listings to vendors but then they charge the vendor for the cutomer's contact info if someone expresses an interest in using them. You may just want to ask a vendor a simple question, but the vendor can't respond without paying for your email address/phone number.

I don't ever pay for leads or for customer's contact info. Serious inquiries contact me directly. In my experience, those contacting me through another site are either not serious about a cake, or they are an aspiring cake decorator who wants to see how another decorator charges or how they answer questions. Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily mind answering those types of questions, but I don't like when people are sneaky about it, and I'm not going to pay to do it. Many 3rd party inquiries are from people having weddings 5 hours away who will understandably choose someone closer to avoid extra delivery charges. I'd say the chances of a 3rd party lead being a real bride, having a local wedding, and sincerely looking for a baker is maybe 5 percent. I'd have better chances of breaking even with scratch tickets.

So please - if you have any questions about my services you can call me at 434-941-7182. I prefer a phone call over email because it's much quicker for me! I would prefer to handle a few questions in a 10 minute phone call rather than 10 different emails which may take me a couple of hours. If I don't answer the phone during the day I might be in a meeting or talking to another bride. Please call back.

Thanks! Have a great day!

Saving the date -is just the beginning

2011-03-18T10:42:00.002-04:00

Saving the date with your baker is a great idea, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

When you ask your baker to save the date to make a cake for you, they will be blocking out an amount of time dedicated to baking and decorating that cake. Since wedding cakes are normally much larger and require more baking/decorating time than a sheet cake, a larger amount of time will be blocked out for which the baker will be turning away other jobs because you were first. If something happens and you decide you can't get your cake then the baker may not be able to fill your slot (depending on how much notice is given) and they may not be able to make any money for that week. Many bakers make cakes for the public in order to help support their families and buy necessities, so it is a hardship to lose a large order. That's why most bakers are not able to save the date for a wedding cake (or other large cake requiring many hours)without a contract and a deposit.

I have, in the past, saved a date for a birthday cake but have found it to be a practice that is sometimes misunderstood. It goes like this - customer calls/emails about a year in advance to get on my calendar for a cake. That's great, I love that, but then I never hear from them again. On the Monday before the cake is due, if I don't have all the details such as flavors, inscription, pickup time, and I haven't heard from the customer in some time then I assume that they have made other plans and I don't make the cake. If someone calls on Wednesday (for a cake to be picked up on Friday)trying to give me the details then, it's really hard to work it in. I schedule my work on Monday and it's hard for me to fit in something new after that, and even though I knew about the cake a year ago, I didn't know what flavor to bake or what colors to mix so it's like a rush job if I don't have the details in time. I normally like to have all details 2 weeks before the cake is due.

If you do ask your baker to save the date for a cake try to be as specific as possible about what you will want. If you call and say that you want a simple birthday cake, your baker will allow enough time for that, but if you call a week before it's due and say "Remember me? I called last year about a sheet cake for this weekend, but now I would like a cake to serve 200 and I want it to look just like Elvis Presley." then that might not work. Of course I am exagerating here, but if sometimes during the year you realize you're party is growing and you might need to serve more guests or have a more extravagant cake, just call your baker with a heads up so they can limit orders to allow enough time for your cake.

I understand that everyone has busy lives. Many people that I work with are graduating school or going full time, buying houses, planning weddings, having babies, working....all at the same time. They're busy - I know, so it's understandable when someone forgets to call and I always try to work with them the best that I can. But I do ask for them to call me. I'm just not a pushy person. I don't call people and say "remember when you ordered that cake - do you still want it". That's just not me - I'm shy like that. So please, keep your baker informed of changes in plans so they can adjust their schedule accordingly.

Moral: Just because you called a year ago to save the date does not mean your done. Your baker still needs information and confirmation that the event is still on. No one wants to make a cake for a vague order and then no one comes to pick it up. What if I get stuck eating it .....Do you think I don't get to eat enough cake already? Well I do - I already get to eat plenty of cake! :)

Have a great day y'all!

Fondant vs. buttercream

2011-03-10T10:07:00.000-05:00

I get asked this one A LOT! "I love the look of fondant but I hate the taste. Do I have to get fondant on my wedding cake?" Short answer - NO. Long answer follows: :)

For those who don't know what fondant is - it's a sugar dough that you roll out (think edible play-dough) and place on the cake in one piece, so it gives that lovely porcelain like finish that you see in all of the beautiful wedding magazines and wedding cake shows on TV.

Although pretty to look at, fondant has the sad reputation of tasting terrible. Not all fondant is created equal. There are good tasting fondants, and there are bad ones. It does require some practice to be able to apply it to the cake without ugly folds and wrinkles so it's not for everyone. Because it is an extra expense for the baker and requires extra time there is normally an extra charge associated with it. All that to say - your fondant cake will probably cost more than a buttercream cake, and depending on the baker might not look/taste like you imagined. Be sure you taste a sample of your baker's fondant and see examples of THEIR fondant work.

In my experience most people perfer buttercream. It's less expensive, tasty and beautiful.

I often have brides bring in pictures of fondant cakes that they love, but they would prefer to have it done in buttercream, and I am happy to do it if it is possible. Some designs have to be done in fondant. I won't do a design with fondant drapes hanging off the top of the cake unless the cake is in fondant because the buttercream might not support the drape and I don't want there to be buttercream falling off of your cake on wedding day. Stuff like that. There are lots of accents that have to be done in fondant/gumpaste such as some drapes and flowers, but many of them can be placed on a buttercream cake.

Some people may still worry if their buttercream cake will be as beautiful as the fonant cake they fell in love with in the magazine. I would tell them that it won't be quite as perfect, but if you can't tell the difference in the examples below then you'll probably be okay choosing buttercream.

A bride brought in the picture of the blue cake. It's a Martha Stewart design that is often duplicated so I knew it was acceptable to make a similar cake. She wanted to change the color and a few other elements, and she didn't want fondant.

I made the cake on the left with the permission of the original designer Becky Rink of About the Cake. It is covered in ivory fondant. I made a very similar version iced in white buttercream.

I made the cake on the left for an issue of Lynchburg Living magazine. It is covered in fondant. I had a bride who wanted it but didn't want fondant so I made her the cake on the right.

There are other considerations of course, such as - buttercream is more likely to be damaged in transport or affected by heat.

Fondant is great - it's cutting edge and impressive. Some bakers won't even make your cake unless you want fondant. But knowing your options is a good thing. So there you go. You should have enough info so you can go to your baker armed with questions relevent to your situation and make the best decision for you.

Your cake - Getting it there.

2011-03-07T10:18:00.006-05:00

So you've ordered your special occasion cake and the date to enjoy it is finally here - now what? How will your cake arrive at your party venue?

Your baker probably offers delivery - for a small fee of course. Speaking for myself, I charge $25.00 for local delivery within 15 miles of my business. Outside of that area I take into consideration the mileage AND the time it takes to to travel to the site. A site that is 50 miles away may take consideralby more/less time to get there than another depending if I'm traveling up a mountain, through traffic, etc...So the more time required then the more the delivery charge.

Some people would prefer to save the delivery charge and pick the cake up themselves, which is certainly an option, but please prepare yourself. It's not quite the same as going to walmart and picking up a pack of donuts. You can't just toss it in the backseat and be on your merry way. So please read on to ensure that your special occasion cake arrives at your destination in-tact.

1) Drive an appropriate vehicle to your cake pick-up. Many of my cakes are either tiered or are packaged in rather large boxes. Don't arrive at your bakers in a sports car or an open bed pickup truck - please bring an SUV, van, hatchback or other vehicle with an airconditioned flat area. A tiered cake should NEVER be placed on the car seat, nor do I even like to place a sheet cake there. Remember that cake is suppose to be soft and moist - they might look like a house or a shoebox or a dog but they are still soft inside (hopefully) and must be handled with care and kept as level as possible. There is this pesky little thing called gravity, and if you put your sheet cake on the car seat it might end up squashed against the side of the box. Your tiered cake is held up with a system of dowels inside the cake and if it is kept at an angle those dowels could break through the soft cake and it will collapse. Please - bring an appropriate vehicle. Oh - traveling with the cake in your lap might work for some cakes, but it's really not that great of a plan either. As soon as the driver applies the brakes too quickly the cake will likely end up all over the dash/seat.

2) Keep the cake cool. If it's summer and you've ordered a buttercream cake then remember that if the cake gets too warm the buttercream will soften and ruin the beauty of your cake. Put the AC on in the car and wear a jacket. It is not a good idea to stop off at the mall and shop for an hour if it's hot and you have the cake in the car. When you get to your venue do not leave the cake in front of a sunny window for too long. If you want to display your cake outside or by a window, wait as long as you can before you put it there. If you have ordered a fondant cake then it withstands the heat much better.

3) Swerve those potholes! Gravel roads and potholes can shake the buttercream right off of the cake if you hit too many of them too hard. I have delivered buttercream cakes down gravel roads - it's doable -but go slow.

4) Try to keep the G's down when you're going down curvy roads - especially if you're traveling with a tall tiered cake. It could topple over. It will have a dowell from top to bottom to help keep the tiers in place - but if you're hitting those curves too fast it could still get slung to the side of the car - all the dowells in the world won't help you there.

5) Plan on 2 people to move a tiered cake. I know on the TV shows they have small young ladies carrying around huge tiered cakes with one hand and opening doors with the other - it's the magic of tv I guess. In reality a tiered cake is pretty heavy and one person carrying it tends to lean it towards their body. Not good. First they might get the cake on their shirt, second there could be some structural damage that might lead to a leaning cake later. Have at least two people move it and keep it level.

6) Remember that many items are placed on the cake after delivery, so if you're picking up your cake then your baker will probably not be placing toppers or fresh flowers. That's normally not a big deal - but it is something to keep in mind.

7) I'm sure I'm forgetting something that I'll have to add later, so for now my last piece of advice is this - remember that if you are picking up your cake, then your baker is not responsible for it after it leaves their hands. I always take every precaution that I can to ensure the safe arrival of a picked-up cake, but I have no control over how it is handled once it leaves my shop. So it is really worth it to either pay for delivery or to be as cautious as possible.

Now that I've probably scared you half to death I'll add that I have people picking up cakes all the time. They almost always arrive in perfect condition. I've had a groom pick up a three tiered cake and drive it to North Carolina for his wedding and I've had a family pick up a 4 tiered cake and drive it to South Boston. You can do this - just be careful. Remember - It's a cake. :)

Great news to share

2011-01-25T13:16:00.008-05:00

January has really been full of blessings so far. We learned that we won The Knot's Best of Weddings 2011 award which was a pure thrill of course, and then today received word from Wedding Wire that we won their Brides Choice Award 2011 - AND we also learned that we made Momentville's 2011 Hot List. So we are overwhelmed with joy and are quite honored and thankful to have worked with so many wonderful brides who reviewed us for these awards. Thank you all so much!

AND on top of all of that - I finally got a chance to work on my website. I added about 50 pictures of cakes from 2010 that I hadn't previously posted on the site, plus added a bunch of pictures that everyone has sent me for the "cakes in action" page. So please check it out and tell me what you think.

Dispelling a myth

2010-11-16T08:48:00.001-05:00

Wow...busy summer! I haven't posted here in awhile. Between the busy wedding season and spending way too much time trying to move my blog to wordpress- which was a nightmare - I've been tied up but.....now I'm back.

Today I'd like to discuss a concern that I've had for awhile and really noticed quite a bit at the Central Virginia Bridal Guides 13th annual show which was held Saturday November 13th at the Kirkley in Lynchburg. It was our great pleasure to attend as always but the abundant misinformation that is hurled at brides was quite apparent and I'd like to dispel a myth that seems to be really taking roots.

The question that I get from brides is - "Do you charge by the slice or by the cake". And when I say that I charge by the slice they behave as if I'm trying to rip them off. Somewhere someone has started the marketing scheme that charging by the cake is more fair and less expensive. To which I say that if anyone is charging more for a larger cake than a smaller one .....then they are charging by the slice too! If they charge $300 for a three tiered cake that serves 100 - and I charge $3.00 per slice - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? The cake costs the same either way! They are both $3.00 per serving but I'm just upfront about the per serving price and they are not.

I know one baker whom I adore and trust who sells her cake by a range of servings. She charges xxx.xx for a cake that she says will serve between xx and xx. That's fair to say. It's fair to warn customers that although I say my cake serves 100 (based on an industry standard size) if you cut it in larger or smaller slices you will get more or less servings - It's a good point that I always point out to my customers as well. BUT if someone charges like that and they charge $300 for a cake that serves between 90 and 110 servings, and I charge $3.00 per serving for 100 servings WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? The cake costs the same either way!

If I was selling eggs and charged 10 cents per egg or a dozen for $1.20 would you be getting a better deal to buy the dozen? No. There is nothing wrong with doing it either way, but it does get confusing for brides who are trying to compare.

You should always break down every cake to the per serving price so you are comparing apples to apples and are not actually paying more because you buy into the "per cake price is better" myth.

So why does anyone buy into the myth that charging by the cake is better? Is it just because someone tells you that with an air of confidence? Listen to what they are saying and not just how they are saying it. Just don't believe everything you hear or read. You're smart - think about it.

All in all - it was a fabulous show and I hope all of you who attended got lots of information to help you with your wedding planning. Congratulations to Wendy Hurt who won our free key lime cake and 16 oz. Coffey Cakes mug.

Have a great day folks! :)

Whirlwind of events!

2010-02-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

There aren't quite as many weddings the first few months of the year as there are from April through October, but these months are always crazy busy with lots of other fun stuff to do. All the the recently engaged young couples are busy planning right now so we're having lots of meetings about making their wedding cakes. This is also the time for lots and lots of bridal events. On February 12th we attended West Manor Events open house at the beautiful West Manor Ballroom in Forest. What a magical evening and a wonderful opportunity for brides to see different flower arrangements,table settings, cakes and delicious food in an actual wedding setting. It really brings it all to life and of course the West Manor team really know how to throw a party! With three venues - West Manor Ballroom, The Trivium and City View the West Manor team will certainly have a space that suits your taste! Check them out at www.westmanorevents.com Thank you West Manor for sharing this evening with us!

On February 20th the Central Virginia Bridal Guide's Bride of the Year Luncheon was held at The Trivium in Forest. We were so pleased to be there again this year and meet many of the beautiful brides planning their weddings for this year and next. The winner, Whitney Bowers, received a honeymoon from Travelbugs as well as lots of other prizes and an article about her wedding in the next Central Virginia Bridal Guide. Check out Central Virginia Bridal Guide's website for info about up coming events. www.vabridal.com

Last night (February 24th) we were honored to attend Tresca on 8th's Debut and Reception at the wonderful Tresca ballroom at 8th and Commerce Street in downtown Lynchburg. Leecy and Tara have done a wonderful job getting this beautiful space ready for the upcoming wedding season. The beautiful decor and lighting last night really highlighted this unique venue. We wish our friends much prosperity with this fabulous site. I know they will make lots of dreams come true there. We are looking forward to delivering lots of wedding cakes there. Check them out at trescaon8th.com.

Coming up

March 14, 2010 -The Lynchburg Bridal Expo at the Holiday Inn Express downtown on Main Street. This is going to be a huge event, and if you are planning a wedding in the next couple of years you must come! Lots of great vendors, samples, doorprizes. Lots of great ideas. You have to be there. :) Visit www.lynchburgbridalexpo.com for more information. You can also see more on March 4, 2010 on "Living in the Heart of Virginia" with Tab O'Neil, whose guest will be the Bridal Expo event coordinator and owner of Capture it Photography, Kim Jennings.

April 17th - YWCA Church Street Bridal's open house at 626 Church Street in Lynchburg. Visit them at Church Street Bridal for more details.

April 18th - Central Virginia Bridal Guides Garden Party at the beautiful Babcock House Bed and Breakfast in Appomattox. Pick up a copy of the Bridal Guide for more info or visit www.vabridal.com or The Babcock House.

There are more events that I will post as they get close. Happy Wedding Planning!

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2010-02-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

I'm so happy to have over 250 fans on my facebook fan page. If you would like to join please go to www.facebook.com/coffeycakes and if you would like to show your support with a new fan badge for your profile or website you can go here to create it - http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/fanbadges.php

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We're so honored!

2010-02-02T13:01:00.000-05:00

Thank you to our past brides and grooms who voted for us to win this award. We are thrilled!

Lynchburg Living's Best of Lynchburg

2009-09-09T16:04:00.000-04:00

So I was just over on Lynchburg Living's website voting for my favorite businesses in their annual "Best of Lynchburg" contest, when I noticed that some awesome person nominated "coffee cakes" for best desert. So it's spelled like the drink - I still think they meant us. People misspell it like that all of the time. I know you are all going there anyway to vote for your favorite amongst the many wonderful businesses we have in Lynchburg, so, while you're there, if you think we deserve it, we would appreciate your vote. THANKS!

Lynchburg Living Magazine's "Best of Lynchburg"

2009-09-04T08:04:00.000-04:00

I just love, love, love weddings - but I can never be there so I just LOVE when someone sends me pictures of the happy couple enjoying their wedding (and their wedding cake)! Crystal George has posted Mike and Melissa's wedding pics from August 8th at the FABULOUS West Manor and I just had to share them with you. Thank you Crystal and of course CONGRATULATIONS MELISSA AND MIKE! Oh -Check out the cutie-pie kid eating cake! What a doll.

Crystal George Studios' Blog

I haven't been here in awhile. It's been a crazy busy summer - but fun. We've already started planning for another cruise in December so that light at the end of the tunnel is keeping me sane for now! :)

So...it's Friday. I have 4 wedding cakes to make so I'm out.

2009-05-26T09:37:00.000-04:00

Oh the competition was fierce. There are so many awesome businesses in Lynchburg that it was crazy to think that little old me would win a small business of the year award. I was just thinking that since you can't get any smaller than our business that we might have a shot. We didn't win. It was a great honor to have been nominated and I'd like to thank my awesome bride Amy Hunt Lawson for the privilage!

More later. Running a little behind this week because of the holiday. I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day and remembered that the holiday is an occasion for us to remember all of those who have lost their lives in defense of this great country. I am thankful for their sacrifice every day, as well as our troups, veterans, firemen, police and first responders. God bless the USA!

Busy, busy, busy.

2009-05-14T08:40:00.001-04:00

Oh to have more hours in the day! Been so busy making cakes and remodeling a real estate project and planting flowers and trying to squeeze in every other little thing that I want/need to do. It's challenging and fun. I'm having a blast. Hopefully the remodeling will be done in the next few weeks and I can focus on some things that have had to slide - like this blog.

Wedding season is kicking into high gear. I had 4 wedding cakes last weekend along with a couple of graduation and other cakes, 3 weddings this weekend and a birthday, grooms cake, bridal shower, and one or two others. I can normally do 3-4 wedding cakes per weekend unless they are very large. I'm so thankful for all of my customers and happy that so many people come back time and again to order my cakes.

Now for some really big news - I have been nominated for the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce small business award to be announced on May 20th at a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn. There is a lot of great competition and I know I'm not likely to win (I'm the tiniest fish in a pretty big pond) it's still a fabulous thrill and honor to have been nominated. More coming soon on that - I'll let you know how I did. If you would like to go to the luncheon again it's May 20th from 11:30 - 1:30 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Wards Road. Admission is $20 for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. Reservations are required and should be made by May 15th - that's tomorrow - so call 434-845-5966 or email info@lynchburgchamber.org. Wish me luck! :)

Have a great day!

Natalie's bridal shower

2009-03-27T14:13:00.000-04:00

Speaking of shopping themes... I did a cake last weekend for a bridal shower held at Boonsboro Country Club for Natalie. Today I got the sweetest email from her friend who planned the shower and happens to be a professional photographer. Her name is Patricia Hildebrand and she graciously allowed me to post some of her pictures. Here is one of them.

And....I'm blogging on Friday again....back to work! These wedding cakes won't make themselves. :)

2009-03-25T07:36:00.000-04:00

One very popular theme for birthdays and bridal showers is shoes, accessories and shopping in general, so I thought I would post this picture of one of my recent cakes for just such a party.

Don't forget West Manor's open house this Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00. Enter to win $2000off of your wedding at west manor!

2009-03-10T10:22:00.000-04:00

WOW! What a great day we had at the Lynchburg Bridal Expo on Sunday March 8th. It was a gorgeous day and there was a huge turnout for the show. I was happy to see a lot of brides there that I'm already working with on their wedding cake, and it was very nice to meet so many new ones. I'm sure everyone got a lot of ideas to help them with their wedding planning! It was so nice as always to spend some time with some of Lynchburg's great wedding vendors too!

The next event that we will be attending will be at West Manor's spring open house on March 29 (see previous post for information). Of course we are looking forward to that - we LOVE West Manor! Come out to see us - Free cake! :)

On April 18th we will be at the Montview Manor on the campus of Liberty University for Timeless Affairs event "Wedding Planning Made Simple". The hours for are from 9-4 with different vendors in the morning and afternoon hours (we will be there from 9am -noon). This event is by appointment only so please rsvp at www.timelessaffairs.com or call 434-509-2906.

I hope you all have been enjoying the beautiful days that we have been having. March is so unpredictable (10 inches of snow on Monday and 80 degrees on Saturday) so I guess there are still some cold days in store for us, but it sure is nice to see some signs of warmer days ahead.

West Manor's spring open house

2009-02-20T16:18:00.000-05:00

I hope to see you there!

2009-02-03T08:57:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check out the new "Hitched" issue of Lynchburg Living magazine -available in about a month. Of course there will be tons of valuable wedding planning information - plus an article featuring a cake by Coffey Cakes. We are very excited to be included in this fabulous publication and hope that you all will run out and get a copy!

We are also pleased to announce that we have been honored with the 2009 Brides Choice Award presented by Wedding Wire.

Thank you all for your support of our work!

plugging along

2009-01-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's the middle of January and I might be getting a little caught up.....maybe. The actual weddings have slowed down a bit but - it's planning season! So we're staying very busy with birthday cakes and wedding cake meetings - we average about 7 meetings a week. I love meeting all the beautiful new brides and hearing all of their different ideas for their weddings. Such fun! I've already booked up for several dates during the summer but I still have lots of availability so give me a call so we can get together and talk about your wedding cake! :)

It's going to be a busy year.

Other than that - we have a few bridal shows coming up. We'll be at The Acedemy of Fine Arts on January 24th from 11-2:00 for Soiree's "Something Blue - a Bridal Affair". On February 7th we will be at the Inn at Trivium for the Central Virginia Bridal Guide's Bride of the Year Luncheon. You have to have pre-register for this show so call 434-237-9083 for information. On March 8th from 1-5:00 we will be at the Lynchburg Bridal Expo bridal show at Cattle Annie's. This is going to be a fabulous day so please be sure to come out for that. And on March 29th West Manor is having their spring open house - it's always a treat to spend the day with Sharon and the girls in the fabulous West Manor ballroom eating some of Chef Ken's awesome cooking! So there are lots of opportunities coming up to mingle with other brides, meet some of Lynchburg's awesome wedding vendors, get lots of ideas to help you in your wedding and eat some great food (and cake of course!).

See you there! :)

A little about our trip and then - Back to the grind

2009-01-05T08:01:00.000-05:00

Wow - what a....month! Between preparing for our trip, taking the trip, Christmas and New years the month of December was pretty much a blur and flew by. I hate to see my life whizzing by me like that - I feel like I need to stop and smell a rose RIGHT NOW! But it was a wonderful month even if it does seem like a dream.

The trip was fabulous! There were gale force winds for most of our trip so the sailing was rough. I was VERY queezy the first night and was thinking that I might have made a mistake, but I was fine the next morning and didn't have any other sea-sickness through out our trip.

The instructors on board were awesome as expected. I had a class on painting with food colors with arthor Toba Garrett and two classes with Food Network Cake Challenge Judge and arthor Nicholas Lodge. I also sat in on some instructions from former ICES president Keith Ryder. I made some wonderful new cake friends including Diane Shavkin who I've looked up to for years.

Walking up and down that huge ship was a workout and even with a buffet for three meals a day and all of the snacks and room service that we could eat I only gained 1/2 a pound while we were gone! Cool! We visited Grand Turk which was a big mess from recent hurricanes - I mean it was a mess! Only the cruise center ( a bunch of stores in a group as you get off the boat) was intact and worth seeing and I wasn't there to shop. We did ride a jet ski in the ocean and do some quick snorkeling. Puerto Rico was nice - a lot of walking again and we got some great pictures of the old city and the forts. On St. Thomas we took a sky ride up to the highest point and got some great pictures, but other than shopping the attractions were fairly lame. On our last day we visited Half Moon Cay Bahamas and had the most fabulous day of all! We took a ride in a glass bottom boat and saw some nice reef formations and fish. We went PARASAILING! What a blast! I'm scared of heights and cried when I had to get up on some scaffolding to paint some high areas in my house, but I was not scared at all of parasailing. It was amazing! We got to swim in the beautiful blue waters that I thought I would never even see with my own eyes and really didn't believe the pictures that I'd seen - but it's really there! I do love the Bahamas! It was a wonderful, wonderful combination of work and pleasure and I hope we can work it out so we can go again next year.

Today Greg went back to work after having 21 days off so it's officially back to business as usual, and I've got some catching up to do.

I hope all of my friends had a wonderful and safe Christmas/New Years and I pray for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009 for you all!

Wendy

Another Friday

2008-12-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

Why do I always find myself blogging on Friday - my busiest day of the week. Beats me, but here I am again. Cake-wise today is a slow day. I only took one cake for today because tomorrow we are leaving for a week and I have to get the house and the shop cleaned up and pack my stuff. So what am I doing to that end.....sitting here blogging about it of course! :)

I'm an over planner - I spend WAY too much time trying to think of every detail and every single thing I might need while I'm away and any thing at all that I should do before I leave...luckily I don't leave often I guess. I think I'm in pretty good shape tho.....I'm not too nervous about getting it all done - thanks to 3 months of freaking out about it - but does Greg appreciate my 3 months of freaking out so we can have a smooth getaway- prolly not...

We're very excited about our trip. It's a business trip with several celebrity decorators there to teach a few classes, but we're going somewhere warm....with swimming pools and beaches...casinos and ice cream bars, ahhhh the price we pay for knowledge, the self sacrifice, the selfless giving of myself and my ......oh whatever - nevermind - I don't think you're buying it.

We will be back before Christmas so if anyone needs me please hold on until December 21st and if you need me right away please call me because I have two meetings the first day back and I'm sure there will be a plethera of emails and phone messages to attend to and I WILL BE BEHIND. Besides, it's Christmas week and I will still have shopping to do!

Have a great week y'all!

How early should I order my wedding cake

2008-12-03T09:34:00.000-05:00

I hear this question quite often and there is no cut and dried answer but this - it depends on when you are celebrating and how many other people are celebrating that same day and how early THEY order THEIR cake. That helps - right?

Well - if you are planning a June wedding and think you can follow the the advice that many of the wedding guides offer of ordering your cake 4 - 6 months before your wedding then you might be dissappointed when you start making calls. April - October are very busy wedding months and many of the dates throughout this period are booked up to 1 year in advance so if you are planning your event during this time you should book your vendors as early as possible or you risk not getting your first choice. Of course it never hurts to call and ask about a date even though you feel it might be too late, because sometimes things get cancelled and a date might open up at the last minute. Winter months are not quite as busy and even last minute ordering is often available.

During the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays many couples come together who are seperated throughout the year - whether because of college or a job in another area. This holiday gift giving season and time of togetherness is of course the perfect opportunity to get engaged so there are usually a LOT of couples planning their weddings after Christmas. It is always a good idea to get as much of your planning as possible done before the new year to avoid this rush.

Remember that even if you meet with your vendors and are told that the date is available, you are not formally on the books unless you have signed a contract and placed a deposit to save your date. Many people leave the consultation without booking and when they return the date is no longer available. Of course you should discuss your decisions with your family and be sure that you are comfortable with your choice of vendor, but it's important to keep in mind that the date is not being held during this time unless you have been specifically told that it is.

Happy wedding planning.

2008-11-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh Fridays - hustle day. This is the day when everything has to come together and all of the weekends cakes must be decorated. I have red gumpaste roses to finish for a wedding tomorrow, and jewels to make for a jewelry box cake.

Things have slowed down quite a bit as they usually do this time of year. Everyone is focusing on Thanksgiving and Christmas and not planning as many weddings. I use this time to do all of the many things that I neglect during the busy wedding season. Right now I'm re-doing my website and almost have that completed. I just have a few more gallery pages to get done, hopefully I'll finish that up before Thanksgiving.

We're not hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, so I don't have to worry about all of the shopping, cleaning and cooking that goes along with that. I'll miss it tho. We're going to my in-laws so I know that is going to be fabulous! My mother in law, Sheilia, always makes that green jello salad that my Mama use to make - I LOVE that, but I never make it because Greg doesn't like it. WOO HOO - I get to eat lime jello salad in a couple of days *doing happy dance*.

I'l looking forward to the black Friday sales next week. I've got to have an MP3 Player. It's weird.....I didn't care about them for the longest time then BAM! I've GOT to have an MP3 player. So - hoping for good sales on those next week.

It's hard to believe that we're putting up the Christmas tree in a week. Time sure does fly when you're busy. I don't care for the cold, but *shrug* it'll be summer soon! :)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I just have to say that I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, my family and friends, my home and my pets. I'm thankful for every beautiful couple who trusted me with the cake for their special day and every one else who allowed me to make a cake for their special event. I'm thankful for my health and that I was born in the greatest country in the world. God bless America!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe!

Catching up

2008-11-05T13:38:00.001-05:00

It looks like it's been 4 years since I established this blog and made my first entry. Well - it's been a busy 4 years. LOL! We have been making a lot of cakes and meeting so many beautiful brides - many of whom keep in touch even after several years which is really a blessing for me. We've met lots of other friends via cake plus met so many of the wonderful wonderful wedding vendors in the area. We are so blessed in the Lynchburg area to have some really great venues, caterers, photographers, florists, bridal shops and other vendors whom are not only very reputable and skilled in their areas of expertise, but they are great people whom I'm thrilled to call friends.

I'll try to keep up with this blog a little better and share more of my work with any of you who might be interested. Thanks so much for visiting!

My first post

2004-08-19T19:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I've heard about blogs for awhile and thought they were kind of cool, but don't really know what I'm going to do with one. We'll see I guess! :)