Meeting Wedology 101: A Cake to Remember*

Today is a particular fun introduction for me, because I’m a long time client of this Wedology 101er. Kara Buntin with A Cake to Remember here in Richmond is not only fabulous at what she does- but she’s a straight shooter and doesn’t (warning- pun ahead!) sugar coat things for you. If you have an outdoor wedding in July, she’ll tell you why buttercream is a no go, and I respect that about her.

She and I always got along well because I’d come to her with the most outlandish of ideas (case in point: Death Star wedding cake), and she’d make them into a reality. More importantly, she’d be just as excited as you were when all was said and done.

So you can imagine I did a little happy dance when Kara signed on to Wedology 101- I just know the brides are going to love her!
So enough about my cakes, let’s give the floor to Kara--

Why does A Cake to Remember stand out from the rest?

A Cake To Remember was never meant to be a cake assembly line. I give a lot of attention to every cake that I make, which includes baking them from scratch and not using mixes, and doing a limited number of cakes per week. It’s more of a boutique cake business, as opposed to a bakery that does a lot of production and bakes cakes using mixes and freezes them. I design cakes individually with each client, and I do everything custom so that each cake is unique to the couple and the event.

What is one of your favorite “bridal moments” over the years?

Without a doubt, I love the moments when a couple comes to a cake design meeting and starts by saying “This is going to sound kind of weird.” That’s the moment that I know they have an idea for a cake that’s going to be really crazy. A wedding cake that’s different is a conversation piece at the reception, and usually ends up being much more fun to make than a “standard” white wedding cake.

What is your biggest Wedding Day “Don’t”?

Please, don’t smash the cake in each other’s faces. It’s just a bad idea.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing brides today with their wedding plans?

I’d say that budget is always number one on the list, as well as just having so many choices. There are so many sources of information, pictures and ideas in magazines and online, people start to get confused about what they really want. It’s good to have options, but you get to a point where it can be overwhelming and you get paralyzed. Hiring a good wedding planner and other professionals who can help you narrow down the options is a good way to deal with wedding overload.

What should a bride always have handy when planning her wedding?

“The Binder” with all of the lists…I’m a list-maker, and when I see brides who have “the binder” I know that I’ll be able to get all of the questions that I have answered. I’ve filled out entire information sheets with “to be decided” because the bride doesn’t have any information with her yet. It just reduces the amount of follow-up on everyone’s parts if you can get the information that you need without having to hunt the bride down later.

If you had one piece of advice to share with our brides, what would it be?

Don’t believe everything that you read in wedding magazines. They exist as a way to sell wedding dress advertising, and a lot of the articles on other subjects are thrown together by people with no experience in those areas. Ask questions to the professionals who you hire and don’t assume that just because something is in print somewhere that it’s right. Also, ask around for referrals to professionals to hire. If you hear the same names over and over that’s a good indication that they’ll do a good job for you. But that’s two pieces of advice…

To learn more about A Cake to Remember, please visit her web site as well as her Blog. You can also find Kara tweeting away at @acaketoremember

You can also meet Kara at Wedology 101 coming up in four short weeks on August 15 at Wyndham Virginia Crossings.

Cheers,
Meghan

Meghan Ely is one part of the Wedology 101 team, and owner of OFD Consulting, a niche Marketing/PR firm servicing the wedding industry and the Managing Director of the Richmond Bridal Association. She is a contributing writer with Virginia Bride magazine, and has been published in Premier Bride Richmond. She and Jennifer write a Wedology 101 column for the Richmond Times Dispatch's Celebration section. She loves late harvest sauvignon blancs, letterpress anything and cakes shaped like Death Stars.