Thursday, February 2, 2012

It’s just flour and sugar, right?

Don't forget eggs and butter!

James Baigrie/Getty Images from realsimple.com

One of the things we hear so often is "why does this cake cost so much"? I'm here to hopefully answer this question as clearly and politely as possible. To a cake designer, a cake is not merely made up of just those simple ingredients. We price your cake on many factors.


First comes the design process. When you come to your wedding consultation or come into our storefront to order a special occasion cake, we provide you with a complimentary consultation.  For a scheduled wedding appointment, we make sure to have samples ready for you to taste and take the time to go over your ideas and even sketch up some sample designs.  This consultation (appointment or not) is free for anyone who wants to consider our services...it is however, not free on our end. There is a cost associated on our end because we are giving you our time and making you samples in hopes you will like what we offer.



Second, when considering why one cake designer charges one price vs another cake company, please know that each designer comes with his/her own set of skills. Just like any other "job", we have gone through school and training to get to our level of expertise. The tools we use and the classes we take are a big investment for our profession...and when you want the best, well...you gotta pay for the best. Designers also have overhead...rent, permits, wages, etc....These are just some other factors that can be considered in overall pricing of all goods.  We do have a storefront and we do have a staff-a great one, but we do not feel we overprice our work.


Third and most important is TIME.  You may not know this, but even the simplest of wedding cakes ~ a 3 tier "just" covered in fondant can take 1 full day from start to finish: baking time, cooling time, icing time, and fondant covering time.  The minimum number of hours I spend on any given wedding cake design is 8 to 10 hours...and that's just for the "EASY" ones. Any cakes requiring detailing can take up to several days! Some sugar flowers or fondant figurines can take weeks to make! Yes, WEEKS! What's also often forgotten is the time we take to answer phone calls and emails asking about "how your ordering is doing". We love chatting with you, we really do, (especially if you catch Ken in the storefront...that's all he does is chat it up with real people, our customers)! Multi-tasking is a specialty of any true artist, but in order for you to get what you paid for, we WANT to take the time and care to produce something we will be proud to present to you and that you will be pleased to present to your guests.




Why do we take so much time? Designing cakes is an art form for us. We consider ourselves artists...and honestly put our hearts into each creation. We don't simply just throw icing on a cake, cut out some flowers and stick them on. That's not how we view our cakes. It's more personal to us...We view each cake as something special for you. It is also simply for this reason that we choose not to recreate someone's previously designed custom wedding cake for your wedding. To come up with a wedding cake design, no matter how simple or detailed, I took the time to get to know that couple and made sure their cake was one of a kind for their special day. I am more than happy to spend the same time with you and create a more personalized cake for YOUR wedding.  And we do understand that not everyone can afford a CUSTOM cake. For this reason, we have decided to create a line of cakes that is accessible to most couples: http://whimsicalcakestudio.com/weddings_signature.html

Just like any artist, we put a lot of time and passion into our edible art. Just like any profession, we put our best effort into what we make for you in hopes that we can produce something that will truly make your special occasion a little sweeter.


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Writing specifically about Whimsical Cake Studio, I can tell you that no two cakes are created equal.  I have been baking and designing wedding cakes and special occasion cakes for over 7 years and each birthday cake, wedding cake that has left my little shop has a little spiritual part of me in it. This business has never just been a business for me-it is the way I provide for my family and how I put my mark in the world..."to make it sweeter, one cupcake at a time".  I took my passion and created this business for myself, my family, & friends, and for YOU.  Over the years, as we have grown in the community, we still remain a small family run business that has integrity and heart. It is from clients who truly respect our work and time, that we have been able to keep going and continue to better ourselves and our product...so THANK YOU to those who have stood by, supported, and cheered us on over the years. We only ever want to do better and make you smile because...after all, it is JUST CAKE, isn't it?

sweet regards,
Ailynn, Ken, & Kenna

Kenna knows that the best part of a CAKE is EATING it!

3 comments:

  1. You said it!!!! I couldn't have put it better myself!
    -Teresa (Teresa's Custom Cakes)

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