It’s just flour and sugar, right?

Not quite….There is a huge range of things that go into creating your custom confection, the ingredients being only a small part of that but lets start there.  In a “standard 3-tier , serves 120-150” cake, there can be as many as a dozen eggs, 5 pounds of pastry flour, half a cup of real vanilla, several pounds of unsalted butter,several bars of premium chocolate, and more! The frosting may contain 3 or 4 more pounds of unsalted butter, another dozen or more egg whites, and several pounds of sugar. If you have a fondant covering, add about 5-8 pounds of that.Now you need equipment. While some of the basics are in nearly every kitchen, not many home bakers have a set of tiered cake pans ranging from 6” to 18” (depending on your cake) and an oven that will fit the larger pans, a heavy-duty stand mixer, professional grade food colors, piping bags and tips, a rolling pin that can roll out a 2 foot diameter circle of fondant, and more. Depending on the design of you cake, there can be hundreds of dollars of specialized tools and molds required. There are boards and boxes to safely deliver your cake and a vehicle large enough to securely transport your masterpiece.In addition, there is the cake artist’s time to bake and create your masterpiece, her (or his) experience, and potentially thousands of dollars and countless hours in workshops, training courses, and conferences spent honing her craft.You are paying for her baking experience in using recipes that are tasty but can stand up to being stacked and shaped, structural engineering of the support systems (that need to be there whether your cake is pillared or not), artistry in decorating, sculpting skills in creating a topper or flowers, expert delivery and repairs of any mishaps that may happen along the way, and more.
A note about delivery: one of the most risky “cost-saving” ideas I’ve seen is to decline to pay for your cake artist to deliver your cake. She knows how to transport it safely and how to repair any minor damage that may occur. If your cake is pillared, or more than 3 tiers high, delivery is essential, but even for smaller cakes, it can be critical.Your wedding cake may have included a tasting session, the creation of a custom design (or modification of an existing one) that suits your needs and taste. Your cake artist may also have the expenses of a storefront, a web site, and various bridal shows to ensure you can find her! Consider also that even the simplest wedding cakes usually take 6-10 hours of time and that more elaborate or difficult designs can take hundreds of hours, it’s a wonder that a wedding cake isn’t much more expensive. If it were marked up in the same manner as a wedding gown or some of the other services you purchase for your wedding, it would be!
Article borrowed from Genevieve @ For the Love of Cake

These days, the options for weddings are endless.  And with The Knot, Wedding Wire, Pinterest and other online sites, couples can easily become overwhelmed planning every aspect of their wedding!  Well we can’t speak to every detail, (but we can refer you to great planners!) we can help with the selection process of the right vendors, and help custom tailor the cake or dessert bar to fit your budget, theme and color scheme.  Yes, the days of freezing the top tier of the wedding cake are mostly gone, (there are some traditions that people just don’t want to give up.)  We get it!  As for the traditional wedding cake, however, we see the trend heading towards smaller cakes, typically two-four tiers, with desserts, cupcakes and other choices for guests.  From cake truffles to french macarons, many couples want to provide their guests with options, but they don’t know how many servings to provide and they don’t want to blow their budget!  That’s where we come in…we recommend coming in for a one on one consultation with Lesley, our wedding consultant.  She will help guide you through the process of choosing the right number of servings, to designing a custom look.  If you are in the planning stages of your dream wedding, call us to schedule your appointment.  Marindessertbar

Thank you to Travis & Marin Berg for allowing us to put together the wedding cake and desserts for their beautiful wedding!


We were thrilled to participate in this years Bridal Premiere Wedding Show at the Westlake Village Hyatt.  We were even more thrilled to share a booth with some of our favorite fellow wedding vendors!  Cindy of An Enlightened Event put together a stunning booth in partnership with the lovely ladies at Pretty Vintage Table.  Debbie and Candace were kind enough to donate the furniture for our booth and with the help of Cindy’s magic, we had an amazing coordinated mini bridal show of our own!  Also partnering with us was the mega talented Mackenzie Purdy Designs.…she designs and sews custom wedding dresses!  Lastly, we had Jaclyn of Casi Cielo and Gerry Ranch, another beautiful garden wedding venue set on over 40 acres!  Our booth design was tailored around the hot wedding colors of mint green, blush pink and gold!

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We designed our wedding cake display to go along with that theme, keeping in mind that many brides like many different things!  We also included coordinating cake pops, and cupcakes.  So far, we have had an overwhelming response from brides and have booked quite a few consultations and weddings from this event.  A huge thank you to Diane Boyd for putting together a fabulous event and we look forward to next year!


Yesterday, I had the good fortune to visit a beautiful new wedding and event venue in Agoura Hills…Triunfo Creek Vineyards.

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Let’s just say, that if I could get married all over again, I would definitely have my dream wedding here!  This place is amazing…even on a nice, chilly fall day, as it was when I stopped by.  Sheila, the General Manager was meeting with a prospective bride, when I arrived, but she was kind enough to include me in the tour of the facility which boasts over 60 acres!  That’s right, 60 acres!  She also mentioned that they are constantly upgrading their facility to include more grassy areas as well as an enclosed patio for events during the cooler fall and winter months.

I think my favorite thing about this place is that it is rustic elegance at is finest!  From the vineyards in the background to the greenest grass I’ve ever seen, Triunfo Creek Vineyards is just perfect for anyone who seeks a venue which can accommodate a huge gathering and yet still feel intimate and close.  I can’t wait to be a part of our first wedding or event here…what can I say…I am in love <3!  Learn more at www.triunfocreekvineyards.com


We are SO excited to be partnering with a new wedding and event planner, Cindy Alexander of An Enlightened Event!

We recently partnered with Cindy and one of her planners, Amber Quirarte, on this beautiful silver, gold and white cake table.  The flowers, linens and other accessories that they provided pulled it all together beautifully!

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In addition to weddings, An Enlightened Event provides other event planning services.  Cindy and her team has assembled an impressive group of vendors and wedding professionals to make your special day flow seamlessly! You can see more of Cindy’s work and find her contact information on her website:  http://www.anenlightenedevent.com/index2.php?v=v1#/home/