Last October I decided to participate in my first wedding fayre. It would be 11 months since I made my first wedding cake – so being a fairly new business I decided that this was the next step. I only booked one fayre – in case it was a complete disaster! I chose to exhibit at Gisborough Hall – it’s a beautiful country house hotel that is probably the closest venue to my base in Redcar and I was eager to make a good impression there. I have lots of upcoming weddings at Gisborough Hall and I actually had my school Prom there – so the familiarity was very welcome as I was super nervous.
I went through a company called Darlington Weddings and North East Brides who host amazing wedding fayres across the North East and Vicky made me feel so at ease! Having worked in events previously I was used to the hustle and bustle of exhibitions and I knew how it all worked but when it’s your own business it suddenly becomes a lot more real!
I made a selection of dummy wedding cakes to display and I tried to use them to highlight a range of different techniques that I can provide. A lot of customers find it difficult to visualise what their cake will look like so having display cakes with different options on each tier can really help them with the design process. I specialise in sugar flowers, ruffles and quite girly cakes but I also love working with different textures. Adding something like a sugar crystal tier or a ruffle tier can instantly give your cake a modern twist and another dimension.
I did a range of different tiered cakes as well so that potential clients get an idea of size and what sort of impact they want their cake to make. My cakes are all minimum 5 inches in height as standard so they do look big and bold regardless of how many tiers you have. It also helped my having different sizes on display as when people are discussing how many portions they require you can quickly point out which is their best option.
I also made cake samples for potential customers to try – this is definitely the best part in my opinion. It’s all well and good having a cake that looks pretty but it has to taste good too! By giving people a little sample it showed that Gabriella Grace Cakes can provide both style and substance. My top flavours for sampling have to be Grandma’s Chocolate and Zesty Lemon – two polar opposite tastes but flavours that most people like. Both of these recipes were my Grandmas and always go down very well. One of my brides who I met at a fayre and recently had a consultation came back with ‘I’ve been dreaming about this lemon cake for weeks’ – I couldn’t get a better compliment!
I am very pleased to say that my first wedding fayre was a big success – I have my sister Georgia to thank as well for being so helpful with sampling and jumping in to help people when it got really busy. Since then I have exhibited at Darlington Echo Arena, Headlam Hall, Redworth Hall and Gisborough Hall again – all with Darlington Weddings and with a little help from my sisters Abigail and Georgia and my cousin Elle and of course my poor Mum and Dad helping me transport the cakes! I really really have enjoyed them – it’s great to meet so many new brides and grooms and for them to see first-hand what I do. We are so lucky to have been so busy when working at the fayres so I do apologise to anyone we didn’t quite get the time to meet.
So what’s next?
I have been asked by Emily K Weddings to take part in ‘Wed Fest’ at Ormesby Hall on Sunday 29th April. Here I will be collaborating with other suppliers including: Sheer Elegance, The Countryside Florist, Magnum Entertainment, Sarah Alexis Stationery, Boothalicious and Arden Hire to create a festival inspired wedding display. I can’t reveal too much but it’s going to be a bit more out there than my usual style and I can’t wait to get involved. I will also have a stand there – the event is free to attend so if you did want to see my work up close and fancied a chat in person, get yourself there! Also if you are thinking about having a bit more of a boho style wedding – this is the fayre for you!
