I live in one of the best cities in the word - Toronto.  There is so much to see and do, and so many amazing places to get married.  The venue my friends Chris and Katherine chose for their special day was Casa Loma, Toronto's only Castle.  It's a gorgeous building and amazing state rooms.  The wedding ceremony was in the conservatory and the dinner and dancing was in the Library.  I felt honoured just being able to set up there!  Chris and Kat decided on cupcakes for their wedding, instead of a traditional cake.  In fact, they decided on mini cupcakes at that, but I talked them into some regular sized cupcakes so that they would be visible when displayed on my Mother's beautiful silver grape vine tray tower.  Now my dilemma was figuring out how I was going to display 200+ mini cupcakes without it looking like someone just tossed a bunch of cupcakes on the table.  Luckily, I was able to pull together some parts from work and some parts from the bargain bin at the store and was able to make the smaller silver trays.  In my opinion, they came out amazingly!  I was quite happy with the overall end result of this display.  Congrats Chris and Kat!!

A tasting is very much like a job interview.  You’re meeting a potential employer for the first time and making a good impression is vital.  I like to find out what flavours the couple is most interested in before hand and then I make some mini cupcakes with different options.  It’s a little nerve wracking, especially when you’re often going to someplace you’ve never been before and meeting with people you’ve never seen before so that they can judge your work.  This time was a little more nerve wracking because not only was I meeting the client for the first time, but I would also be meeting her wedding planner for the first time – and this was the first wedding planner I have ever worked with!  AND add to that the fact that the meeting was in Unionville (such a cute town!) which I had never been too and didn’t know their parking situation was so unique.  It’s a small main stress and I guess everyone parks in lots off the main drag and walks up.

Long story short – I was late, but the tasting went very well.  Word of mouth has to be the best form of advertising!  I was recommended to this couple by Sean – whom I’ve done a few important cakes for (engagement, wedding and baby baptism).  His word must go a long way because even though the bride had met with two other bakers, she decided to go with me on the spot.  I’m very excited for this rustic wedding in October!

I’ve mentioned this before, and I’ll probably mention again, that being an Aunt has been one of the best experiences of my life.  And I’m not the only one that feels that way.  My friend Olga is one of the best Aunties around, so when her niece Valentina was turning 6, she wanted an amazing cake to celebrate.  When I walked in to deliver the cake, the whole apartment was decorated with pink Hello Kitty decorations.  There were streamers hanging from the ceiling, posters on the walls and balloons everywhere.  Valentina’s cake was a surprise for her, and her little face was priceless when I showed up to make the delivery.

Sometimes cakes come from the most unexpected places.  One night after work, as I was getting ready to take a shower and I thought I heard a knock at my door.  I wasn’t sure, so I froze there, mid-undress until I heard the knock again, and then I ran like heck to grab a robe and answer the door.  Standing there was my favourite neighbour from the 5th floor with her cell phone in hand.  “Can you do this??” she asked as she thrust her phone towards me.  On the phone was the cutest picture of a twins cake – two baby bums, one male and one female, covered in pink and blue blankets.  “Of course I can!” was my answer and I grabbed the customer’s details as it was for my neighbour’s co-worker, not herself.  The cake came out beautifully and everyone was happy with it!  My neighbour said that she was going to post picture of my work with my phone number around her office.  How sweet is that!