My Journey into Wedding Cake Artistry

From Birthday Cakes to Bridal Bliss.

My journey into the world of wedding cakes began unexpectedly and has been nothing short of transformative. Just five months into my baking business, I received my 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 cake order. Until then, I was passionate about creating themed birthday cakes for kids. The joy and excitement I saw on their faces when they opened the cake box fueled my love for baking even more.

With only birthday cakes in my portfolio, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆 opportunity came through a former high school classmate. Her colleague’s cousin was getting married and during their wedding preparations, my classmate recommended me. She had enjoyed my cakes at the office, where I regularly baked for her boss’s kids and she often shared slices with her team. The bride contacted me and we quickly sealed the deal.\

𝑴𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 was for our former neighbour’s daughter, whom I had known since childhood. Given our long-standing relationship, it was easy to secure the order. This cake was for a function in Machakos and it marked another milestone in my journey.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 came with its own set of challenges. The bride contacted me via Facebook around February 2018, expressing interest in my services for her end of year wedding. After the 1st physical consultation where we discussed all the details regarding her vison until the cost, I later scheduled and conducted a cake tasting session where I learned a lot and made several changes to my approach. on the day 7-8 members came for the tasting. 

However, she remained skeptical about my ability to deliver what she envisioned. Despite her doubts, she still settled on me as her baker. To ease her concerns, she requested a decorated cake few weeks before the wedding day. This was a critical moment for me, as her review could have shattered my dream of continuing in the cake business. 

I had recently relocated from diaspora and had invested heavily in trainings, equipment and accessories for my cake business. Her feedback was disheartening; she suggested I stick to birthday cakes where am best at, which crushed my spirit. at some point I wanted to return the deposit that she had made for my peace of mind.

Determined not to give up, I consulted my trainer, who advised me to maintain a positive mindset and give my best effort. I resolved to do exactly that. As the days draw nearer the bride told me that she wanted the wedding cake ready on Thursday so that she can send someone to come see and confirm that everything was as discussed and the colours matched correctly. 

This required me to start baking (early) over the weekend, finish by Monday and start decorating on Tuesday. To ensure freshness, I opted to do Fruit Cakes, despite not charging extra for them. (As this were not the flavours settled on in terms of costs)

Throughout this period, the bride frequently called for reassurance. Despite my frustration and self-doubt, I persevered. Few days to the wedding day, she informed me that the final payment would only be made if she was satisfied with the cake, adding to my anxiety. 

I’m certain that if the bride hadn’t enjoyed the cakes during the tasting, she would have immediately dropped my services. However, she was confident in the quality of my cakes, even though she had some concerns about the design. So, she just decided to work with me.

Nevertheless, I delivered the cake and it was a resounding success. Everyone loved it and the guests crowded around the cake table to take photos.

After the event, the bride finally thanked me and confirmed their satisfaction. Her husband sent the final payment. This experience taught me invaluable lessons about resilience, dedication, having proper structures in business and finally the importance of believing in oneself.

Sharing this story is important to me as I hope to inspire and encourage other bakers who are starting out or considering entering the wedding cake business. 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚, but with 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, success is achievable.

..in the next post I am continuing the 𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑻 𝑬𝑷𝑰𝑺𝑶𝑫𝑬 on the Invaluable lessons learnt and how I transformed my craft…..

SEE YOU SOON 😊