Why go to the trouble of a wedding cake tasting rather than ordering your cake over the phone or via email?
For much the same reason as the vast majority of people wouldn't order their wedding dress without an appointment. The cake is the centrepiece of the wedding breakfast, as the wedding dress is in some ways the centrepiece of the aesthetics of the entire day. It is designed to complement every detail of your day and to reflect your relationship and personalities. It is handcrafted, detailed, and completely unique. What's more, with wedding cakes usually costing upwards of £400, it's an amount of money you wouldn't usually spend on a custom product without really being part of the design process.
I wouldn't call it 'trouble', either, happily. Coming to your wedding cake tasting is usually - hopefully! - one of the most enjoyable parts of the wedding planning process. Most couples that I have met leave my home exclaiming about how excited they are, how nice it's been to sit and relax for a bit and how much they enjoyed their consultation - which is lovely for me to hear.
So here's what happens at your Three Little Birds Wedding Cake Tasting:
1) After you've received some guide prices from me for the number of portions, type of cake and delivery to your venue, you'll decide whether you would like to go ahead with the next steps with Three Little Birds. If you do, we'll find a date and time that suits you. The advantage of my business not yet being a shop front is that I can provide evening appointments as well as day times and some Saturdays.
2) You can then choose up to 4 delicious flavours of cake and filling, or macarons, to sample at your tasting, from the list here: www.threelittlebirdsbakery.co.uk/weddings
3) You will receive an invoice for £25.00 and once you've paid it your booking is secured. This amount is taken off the balance when you go ahead and book your cake with me.
4) When you arrive for your appointment, I'll make you a drink of your choice. We'll spend some time chatting about the plans for your day, the venue, the designs and style you are thinking of for elements of your wedding (e.g. bridesmaids' dresses, suits, flowers, venue styling). We'll talk about any cake designs that have taken your fancy and discuss number of portions, the time of the ceremony and other logistical details.
5) Once I've taken in all these details about your day I can then start designing the cake with you. I sketch the cake while we talk about what designs you like so you can see it taking shape and make decisions about the finer points such as what sugar flowers you prefer, whether you'd like any ribbon and what kind of cake stand will display the cake at its best.
6) Then I pop out of the room so you can taste all the cake and drink more tea while I work out your quotes. Usually I will provide a couple of different quotes for different sizes of cake and design options so you have a choice.
7) Then once you've chosen your favourite flavours, we have a final chat about which flavour will go in which tier and how this affects the cost, if at all. I'll explain my booking process - £100 secures your cake in my diary and the balance is payable 1 month before the wedding - and go through what communication you'll receive from me and when so you know exactly what to expect.
8) Once you've gone, with a takeaway box of 4 cupcakes in the flavours you chose, I email you all the paperwork with a picture of the sketch and exact quotes for you to peruse (while eating more cake, hopefully). You can then make your final decision. I now take payments by card online or over the phone, by bank transfer or by cash, so it's easy to get your wedding cake booking ticked off the list!
Of course, if you have any questions at any point during the next few months before your big day, I am on hand to answer them as promptly as possible. I also provide a follow up service where I check everything was to your satisfaction and find out how your day went.
I absolutely love meeting all my brides & grooms and having this time with them to get to know what's important to them and how I can ensure their cake is the perfect cherry on top of their wedding day.
To book your own appointment, simply click here: www.threelittlebirdsbakery.co.uk/contact