Annie’s Cakes and Catering

Stuart and Laura’s wedding September 2016, it was my first wedding cake as a business and it was for some of my best friends. It was a beautiful day and their wedding was featured in Rock My Wedding, which meant my cake, favours and painted signs were all included too!

Handmade Homely Imaginative Artistic Rustic

The fact I’m able to do it and raise a family

Just be organised at the start- book the “big” things first i.e. venue, church/registry office, catering. Then just enjoy doing the bits you don’t necessarily need to get married but are just nice extras! I.e favours, decorations

My cousin’s now wife is a scientist (phd no less!) and for her centre pieces she used retort stands that held the different shaped glass bottles (like what you would see in a science lab) which contained flowers and foliage. Really unique and really effective!

I receive an initial enquiry, usually with a vague idea of design asking for a price, eg how much would it be for a 3 tiered cake? I then ask for more details so I can give a rough price range - how many to feed so we know what size cakes, are they iced or naked, any fruit cake? After this, I can give a range such as £150-£500 depending on level of design/detail. If they’re happy with this range, or know which end of it they’d like to be at, I can then start working on design details with them, usually using photos from Pinterest or my own cakes to select features they would like. If they want to meet up for a chat happy to do so but most couples are happy with messaging. Once a final design and price are reached, we book in and a deposit is agreed to be paid on a certain date.

Naked Cakes are my signature at the moment, but perhaps that’s because they have been in fashion these last few years so I’ve not had many requests for iced cakes! However, when I do make iced cakes I often make handmade sugarpaste flowers for them.

I had a couple where they loved Harry Potter and The Walking Dead, but they also loved the look of pretty, rose gold cakes. So they sent me their favourite parts from the shows(such as the blood hand prints from Walking Dead)and I sketched up a design to combine everything. The cakes where iced rose gold and had a piece of white icing flowing down the centre where all the items where stuck to, and at the very bottom there was a zombie crawling out from under it all! It was such fun to make and design.

Since I was little I’ve always loved baking with my mum, gran or Aunty. As I got older I used to watch and then help my Aunty (who has always been the family cake maker and icer!). I’ve also always enjoyed art too and so the two hobbies combined to become a profession. I started out mainly making birthday cakes and Christening cakes whilst I worked in a cafe as a baker/cook, then once I built up enough business I took my cakes full time. I made a few wedding cakes for friends and family, then over the summer of 2018 I had 3 wedding cakes where the couples were getting married at the beautiful Danby Castle. The lovely proprietor, Carolyn, took my card and invited me to their wedding open days and since then my business focus has shifted from everyday and birthday cakes to wedding cakes.