Wed By Hand!!!

It's been a long time coming, but Wed By Hand has finally come and gone! While it is bittersweet that the event is over, we had an amazing time and met so many wonderful people. For a moment I felt disappointed that it is now finished, but then I took a look at my dayplanner and realized I don't have time to reminisce! We are so unbelievably busy!! It's onwards and upwards now that we've had our first real wedding show. That being said, I feel I must take a moment to inform everyone that we are now fully booked for consultations until March 26th. I will be starting a cancellation list in case you require to get in before then (please keep in mind we tend to need at least 60 days before the event, and we book on a first come, first serve basis).

Yesterday at Wed By Hand, we had a special offer where couples who booked a consultation with us at the show were entered into a draw to win a $100 wedding morning breakfast pack. We are pleased to announce the winner to you today...

Congratulations to Alina & Aaron !!!

We are sure that you will love the delicious array of croissants, cinnamon buns, scones, etc., that we will have ready for you that morning!

Please note that we are now offering "Wedding Morning Breakfast Packs" that can either be prepared for the morning of the event for pickup, or can be prepared in advance to be freshly baked by you or a family member/friend (great idea for out-of-town weddings!). Just send us an inquiry and we can provide all the information you need!

Alright, back to the show! It's been a lot of preparation for yesterday... I had intended on preparing even more display cakes, but time got the better of me and I had to work on actual cakes for customers instead! It turned out better, though, as we filled up our table (and then some!) with what we had. The prep for this show wasn't as hectic as others we have participated in (it seems like every time we do a show, we wonder why we didn't go in to something like making clothes that don't need to be made the night before to ensure freshness!). It was great to be able to prepare the display cakes ahead of time, so that we only had to concern ourselves with baking samples and a small selection of treats for sale... (as opposed to Go Green in March which is basically a 3 day marathon of intense baking and selling!). Inevitably, some stuff had to be done at the last minute, but it all came together in the end. At about 9:57am, right before the doors opened, the table was set up and I could breathe a sigh of relief!

Right from the start, there was an overwhelming response from so many visitors. The first 3 hours were just insane! We booked a boatload of consultations, and met so many sweet, wonderful, and original people. I was personally surprised by how many people were there that aren't actually getting married - it was great to chat to each and every one of you, though! As this was our first wedding-specific show, we weren't entirely sure what to expect. It was certainly a pleasant experience. I think we really lucked out by being a part of Wed By Hand... Krista (of Urbanite Jewelry) and Robin did an amazing job putting on this show. The vendors were all invited to a meet and greet before the show, so we really felt at home and like we were amongst friends when the big day arrived. We saw a lot of familiar & friendly faces in the crowd, and a lot more new ones! (One lovely couple even came in from Montreal just to attend the show! They were so nice..) (...oh and another incredibly fun couple were up from Waterloo!) Anyway, before I start listing off everyone we met, I'll just leave it by saying I genuinely enjoyed meeting all of you, and I wish you all the best for the future!!

I just wanted to take a minute to highlight some of my favourite vendors from Wed By Hand... (please note these are only some of the great businesses that we have had the pleasure of dealing with in the lead up to this show, and there are simply too many to list here!!)

Splendid Events - Amy is a wedding planner who is an absolute delight to work with ... I guarantee you'll love her immediately! She's full of great ideas, and will help you put together whatever your heart desires!

Urbanite Jewelry - Krista, who put on this wonderful show, is also a jewelry designer of fun, modern, classy pieces with great prices. I bought a lock and key necklace from her the first time I met her, and still get compliments on it to this day!

Flights of Fancy - What can I say? Kate is a new gal on the scene who is constantly busy creating fabulous hairpieces for all occasions. She makes custom pieces, and has others in stock on a daily basis - her energy is inspiring (really... she should figure how to bottle it; I'd buy it!).

Victoire - These gals are our close business friends from years back, and they are getting more into the wedding scene now! We had a blast being set next to them at the show... Mandi particularly enjoyed playing dress-up!

At the School House - I have yet to visit this venue, but Mandi's delivered one of our cakes there! I've heard nothing but great things, and really hope to make it out there one day to see it myself. It looks beautiful!

With Love Bridal - A few months ago I visited their lovely shop situated out in Stittsville. They have a beautiful range of new, consignment, and custom dresses and accessories. Looked like their booth was very busy! Make sure you stop in and say hi!

Purple Urchin Soap - The biggest testament to their products was when Mandi came running back from their booth and put her arm under my nose shouting "SMELL THIS!!!" She was pretty excited, and had a total reason to be. I was lucky to get a free sample in the swag bag - can't wait to use it!

Ok I think that's about it from me today... My last note is that we received our wedding t-shirts just in time for the show this past weekend! What do you think?? They are now on sale at the shop! Keen eyes will notice that the cake in the design has been fashioned after our display cake (the white, green, and pink one) from last year. Thank you to Mailyne for your wonderful designs, and thanks to Loudmouth Printhouse for printing the tshirts!!

Well, that's that now... we have an incredibly busy week ahead of us... Thursday is the Festival of Chocolate (don't forget to come see us compete!), and Saturday is our pick-up date for our strawberry chocolate cake truffles for Valentine's Day. Please note that due to overwhelming orders this weekend, we are now unable to accept orders being placed for February 11th or 12th. Sorry for the inconvenience!

I'm off to bed now, but I hope everyone had a brilliant time yesterday at the show, and I am looking forward to the next event that we'll be able to work together again! Have a wonderful night, and you'll be hearing more from me soon. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some proper photos of my cakes to put up, and I'll talk a bit more about them then. (I think you've heard enough from me tonight!)

Thanks for everything!
Goodnight!
xoxo
Kate

Edited to add: Oh!!! I forgot to mention that I finally got to meet the wonderful ladies from Little Cakes, and Sue from Crazy4Chocolate (truffles to die for)... It was also such a pleasure to meet Sophie Bifield, a wonderful cake decorator in the city (and Sophie, if you see this, I kept meaning to ask where you're from, your accent fascinates me!!) ... Ok seriously I'll stop, but I just wanted to make sure everyone knows about all of these wonderful companies out there!! For reals.. goodnight...!!!