Before the impending move to a shop, The Cake Architect has been busy! We attended our first wedding fair, with The Wedding Emporium, run by a fantastic pair of ladies responsible for orchestrating the biggest most spectacular wedding fairs in the area. They, along with all of the suppliers, have ushered us into the community with the warmest welcome we could have imagined.
Our wedding fair debut was at the Cheese and Grain in Frome. We rocked up in the Cakemobile (my beloved orange mini), which was packed to the gunnels with SIX fully decorated, three-tier sugar wedding display cakes, plus two giant baking trays of individually iced mini cake tasters, and about a million leaflets and business cards. David and I nervously carted all this inside, and arranged it all artfully over our designated trestle table. Once we were all set up, and I had a strong coffee in hand, we were able to relax a little.
The hilarious mother and daughter duo of Tessa’s Tiaras were set up next to us with their beautiful sparkly treasure trove, and they wasted no time in making us feel right at home. There wasn’t a huge amount of time for chatting however, because soon enough, eager couples were streaming in the door!
The day passed in blur. It was so wonderful to meet the brides, grooms, and their friends and families, and hear their incredible range of wedding inspirations and plans. From classic, timeless royal icing weddings to messy drip cake weddings, to luxurious gold leaf weddings, to rustic naked cake weddings. I even spoke to one bride who was set on a Zombie Apocalypse themed cake! The atmosphere all day was excitement and romance, and that wonderful sense that anything is possible! I felt so proud to be a part of a business that makes these crazy dreams and visions into a solid, edible reality!
Everyone loved our stand. We had three cake samples on offer, all individually finished with a pretty buttercream swirl: rich chocolate, fudgey banoffee, and naughty tequila sunrise. We were rushed off our feet all day, barely had time to speak to each other amid the constant wave of people shuffling forward to look at the gorgeous sugarcraft on the cakes and snaffle a taster or two. Everyone was in awe of David’s talent for sugar flowers, particularly the delicate blush and white roses adorning a smooth white three-tier cake. They look so fragile and realistic; people couldn’t believe they were handmade!
As the wedding fair began to wrap up, there was time for a dash around the other stalls. Not forgetting of course, that we have our own wedding to plan too! This has its perks: we can certainly relate to our potential customers. It makes for an interesting introduction to fellow suppliers: “Hi, I’m from the stand over there, we make wedding cakes. Also – please can I play in your photobooth/try on your jewellery/take your leaflets? I’m not just being nosey I’m a bride too I promise!!” It was while I was pottering around like this, that the Wedding Emporium made their grand announcement to close the show …
“… And the winner of today’s Best Stand Award is …… THE CAKE ARCHITECT!!”
I froze. And then exploded. David accepted his certificate and bottle of prosecco prize looking as totally bewildered as I felt. And then we were hugging and leaping and really losing our cool. Our first ever wedding fair? And we’d managed to blag Best Stand Award?? Of course we totally abandoned dignity.
As everyone packed up, we skipped around the hall with leftover tasters, doling them out to the weary suppliers as they made for home. And when we eventually came down off our wedding fair high, we absolutely crashed. Not even a cup of tea was enough to revive me. We literally slept for the rest of the day. When caught up in all the excitement and magic of a day full of planning with the newly engaged, you don’t realise just how exhausting it all is!
The day was a huge success. And I don’t just mean our prize bottle of prosecco! We have entered the wedding industry with a bang. Not to mention gaining several pages of contact details left by interested punters, and even a handful of consultations in the diary. And of course, a huge sense of achievement and pride: we have showed the world what we can do, and the world replied: “mmm, tasty!”
More updates soon,
Esther x
