There is just no way to accurately describe how fortunate I feel at this point in my business. Lots of sweat and tears over the past bunch of years have gotten me to the point of being able to unveil my brand new shop yesterday evening to a delightful group of industry professionals. They arrived, passing through “the booth,” to play matchmaker – a preview of our NY wedding cake tasting parties – where each guest gets a plate, scoops on dollops of our delicious buttercream and bite-size portions of our cake flavors, mixing and matching to see which combinations work best for their palette.
I have so many people to thank for their time, energy and professionalism in putting together this event. First of all, Tammy Golson Events coordinated the entire thing. At every step from the moment I presented the idea to her, Tammy was in my head, pulling out all of the details for flow and organization. I channeled her at every opportunity when making decisions on my own. WWTGD? Her guidance is at all times welcomed, presenting it from her vast experience and impeccable taste.
Next up, Ana Dolan from Invitations by Ana did an amazing job creating the invitation using copy by the fabulous Jean Tang of MarketSmiths. Ana also printed labels for all of the cake and buttercream flavors, plus menu cards from the catering by Lauren Collura from Bacco Catering. The savory menu was created using the same ingredients that I use in my cakes and buttercreams.
To literally tie everything up in a bow, the lovely Jackie Weppner of Merci New York completely transformed my space with ribbon from Laurie Savino at M&J Bridal. Jackie has immersed herself into my brand and style, pulling out such wonderful details that even I tend to take for granted. Every time I turned around during the set up, a new niche looked so much more fabulous than I could have even imagined.
On top of it all, I even enlisted the help of my family. My parents, with my encouragement, started a pre-retirement embroidery business so they have something to occupy their time when they decide to no longer work. At this point, they still have plenty of time before that day comes, so they are having fun playing with the machine and tackling all of the challenges their best client (me!) provides them. Somehow, they figured out how to reproduce my logo on chef and towels, as well as create an embroidered key chain in the shape of a cake as a give away for each of our guests. Who has better parents than me???
I cannot conclude this post without a HUGE thank you to my darling staff. Pictured: Elisa, Leah, Christine, Kanene, Katie and I. Plus, not pictured, Hazel and Stephanie. I could NEVER have pulled off a seamless event without you ladies. I am so grateful that you have come into my life!
To see pictures of the event, at this moment, I have a few photos from every bride’s best friend, Chellise Michael Photography, and the effortless self taken photos from the booth by Laura and Ian Londin. Soon to come, images from the incredibly talented Peter Dressel. (This man is a gifted portrait photographer, yet agreed to come shoot the event – how awesome is that?!?!?!) Will post Peter’s photos in another post.
To all who came, I truly hope you enjoyed yourself and Sugar Flower Cake Shop’s new concept in cake tasting. Isn’t it fun playing matchmaker?!?!?
