NORAH

Norah and Kyle chose for their cake a version of the JILL. For their beautiful July day, the lemon chiffon layers, soaked with blueberry syrup, filled with whipped triple cream and fresh blueberries were iced with a white chocolate buttercream. A lighter touch than the white chocolate glaze. The elegant church hall was filled to the brim with seating and food for their family and friends. The setting was timeless and had the true spirit of a wedding celebration. And I believe the cake fit right in.

KIRSTI

photo by Andy Bisdale

Kirsti and Mike came to me with the request for a cake with a light and breezy wildflower feel. This made me excited because I knew that I was going to have a great time picking flowers from the garden and pastures the day of delivery. There is something so special about connecting a cake with nature and the season. They wanted the flavors of the cake to be pure and light also. They chose the vanilla chiffon layers and since I put two layers of filling in each tier, they asked if there could be two different fillings. Of course I said "yes!" and they chose lemon curd and my special triple cream filling. On the outside was vanilla buttercream. Light, creamy, breezy with a touch of thirst quenching lemon on a hot May evening! Kirsti let me know the guests loved it! Yeah! I also would like to thank Iris and Tony, Kirsti's parents, they came to the tasting and it was great to meet them. They seemed to enjoy the wedding process as much as Kirsti and Mike! Always a pleasure to be part of a joyous family's events.

ELISA

While I was setting up the cakes for Elisa and Neal's wedding, grandparents and family members were relaxing nearby waiting for the ceremony to begin. I enjoyed hearing their conversation of how well matched these two are and how family from both sides were looking forward to having the other be part of their family. What a great way to start. I too was taken by the harmony between this young couple. When discussing the cake, they felt strongly that the other should have the cake they wanted. He, all chocolate, her, all vanilla. And so it happened with easy compromise. The wedding cake was simple vanilla chiffon layers filled with pastry cream and iced with vanilla buttercream. The groom's cake was dark chocolate sour cream layers filled with white chocolate mousse and iced with dark chocolate buttercream. This might just be a match made in heaven.

KATIE

Katie and Travis were married on a beautiful spring day at one of my favorite venues. The rustic wooden lodge at Montfair is on a pond and has romance and charm. The couple requested a rich buttery cake and so chose my vanilla butter layers filled with dense chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries. The icing is vanilla buttercream. The square design and the bright green ribbon gave the cake a tailored look and the scroll piping gives the icing a feel of embroidered fabric. This cake has received much attention and was featured in The Daily Progress. I love when a bride inspires a new design!!! Thank you Katie and Travis.

LIZA

I love a lady who knows what she wants. When I first met Liza and Randall for their cake tasting, I knew I was going to love making their cake. Once she tasted the samples, she was sure of her decision. The cake Liza chose was a new one for Cakes by Rachel, but destined to become a classic. Almond sponge layers were soaked with Amaretto and filled with hazelnut cream and iced with white chocolate buttercream. The green ribbon on the cake is homemade marzipan tinted just the right shade of green. Liza provided a paint chip so I could match the color, what a great idea! Their wedding was on a perfect spring day and when I was delivering their cake to the university, people everywhere were intoxicated with the joy of the day. What a great start to a marriage. Congratulations!

ANDY

So this is the cake that started it all. My marriage to Andy that is. And in a way, my passion for wedding cakes. Andy decided to ask me to marry him after I made the combination for his birthday. It was originally created for my good friend Chris W. after a request of an extra chocolaty German chocolate cake. It is my chocolate sour cream cake, dense and rich, slathered with a pecan coconut bourbon icing. It is so rustic and beautiful on its own that I don't ice the sides. I love this look. And I do believe it is the best cake I make. No one will ever think this cake is dry, flavorless or too sweet. The best part is it gets even better with time. Great for an outdoor wedding in the heat of the summer. Our wedding was in September '03 so we decorated with autumn flowers out of friends' gardens and even the humidity of hurricane Isabelle couldn't dampen this cake!!!

A beautiful bride named Amy created an even more elegant version of this cake for her August wedding. As with my wedding cake, we separated the tiers a little to stuff in flowers, this time with orchids! The five tiers were very dramatic and fed 250 people. I really like the look of the square on the bottom and the lady slippers that adorn it. The contrast of the rustic cake, the porcelain topper and tropical flowers came together to create a truly unique and beautiful cake. My father helped me deliver it while he was visiting and I will always remember the look on his face and what he said as we carried this cake up 3 flights of marble stairs to the tent. "Why do you always have to choose such difficult professions?"

Stones for Cakes

After a few unsatisfying experiences renting cake stands, I started to imagine exciting alternatives to the silver platter. Silver is often the perfect platform for a wedding cake, but sometimes the mood of the event calls for something different! Alas, I have acquired 3 unique stones slabs. In addition to these I can also provide a marble slab or a log round. These options can be seen in the cake pictures. If any bride has ideas they would like to share, I am always open to new things!!

This is an 18x18 piece of Westmoreland Sandstone. It is dark and sophisticated with the local look of soapstone.

When searching through hundreds of stones at Charles Luck Stone Center, I fell in love with this Aegean Spice stone. It a little smaller than the others, 16x16, but has so much character. It has an ancient feel and beautiful gold tones that I feel will lend elegance and depth to any cake.

This stone is appropriately named canyon view. The soft curves and pastel colors are intoxicating. I am looking forward to seeing how it looks under a cake! I imagine it will be a wonderful compliment to late summer and fall color tones.

There are so many options of stones. If this has whet your appetite for stone slabs, Charles Luck Stone Center has some beautiful pieces that can be purchased for the same price or less of renting a cake stand. They were very kind to me when I was shopping even though I was only looking for single pieces, not whole pallets! Not a bad way to spend an hour!