Lovely Cakes | Vendor Love
Lovely Cakes is a custom cake studio located in Stratford, Connecticut serving all of Connecticut, Westchester County, and the New York Metro area. Arturo and I have worked with owner, Renata Papadopoulos, and her team several times at various weddings, and my oh my are her cake designs beautiful!
Renata is a proud winner of the Food Network show, Cake Wars, and it certainly shows in her talent! I’m always excited to hear when our couples book with Lovely Cakes because I know the details and styling are going to be phenomenal!
Tell me a bit about you and your business! How did you get started in the wedding industry?
"I started by making cakes for my own kids and before I knew I was in the business of custom birthday cakes. Wedding cakes were a natural transition from celebration cakes. After being selected by Brides Magazine as one of America's Most Beautiful Cakes in 2011, we got some momentum and were able to establish ourselves in the wedding industry.”
What do you love most about your cake design?
"I enjoy all the creativity involved and being able to make something new every week. The best compliment is when a customer says, ‘This cake is so me’.”
What should couples know about your process and about working with you?
"Collect tons of ideas and inspiration! The more they show me the more I get to understand the vibe and style they’re going for. This way we can come up with a cake design that fits their personality and their party aesthetics.”
What is your favorite part about working with couples who are planning their wedding day?
"I love meeting couples and learning their story and plans. I try to keep the meeting fun and light because wedding planning can get stressful sometimes. Grooms always mention how the cake tasting was the best part of wedding planning. Cakes just make people happy!”
What (or who) inspires your creativity?
"It inspires me to know that our cakes will be part of a ritual and tradition. When the couple joins hands to cut the cake together, it symbolizes their first action together as a married couple. When they feed the cake to each other it confirms their promise to serve one another. No other food has the power to make people gather around it, sing around it, and make wishes upon it. There is no other food that you can smash in your loved and be kissed afterward. Cakes are just synonyms with celebrations and creating memories. It inspires me to know that some of these memories will be created around our cakes.”
How early should couples book you to ensure you'll be available for their wedding day?
"We recommend booking with us 3-6 months in advance. The cake design usually draws inspiration from elements of the reception as well as from the invitation or the wedding dress. It’s a good idea to have a clear vision of all the other elements of your wedding before coming for a tasting and design consultation.”
What is one tip or piece of advice you'd give a couple for their wedding day?
"Don’t try to please everyone. So often, couples want to choose a more unusual flavor for their cake but get scared that it will not be a crowd-pleaser. Pick something you love and I’m sure most of your guests will love it too!”
If you don't already, be sure to follow Renata to stay up to date with her latest cake designs!
Facebook: Lovely Cakes
Instagram: @lovelycakesct
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Renata of Lovely Cakes! What type of cake design do you plan to incorporate into your wedding day?
