We’ve known Molly at A Spoon Fulla Sugar for quite some time now! When we first opened our venue and farm, she so kindly brought us samples of her cupcakes, and we instantly fell in love! It was such a thoughtful gesture, especially as we were in the throws of learning the ropes of the “wedding world.” Molly is the sweetest person to work with, and in the sea of confectionary wedding options, her desserts truly taste delicious! You can have cakes or cupcakes that look pretty, but “when the rubber meets the road,” they just have to be delicious too! In addition to wedding cakes, you’ll see their website and social media is filled with amazing, themed cakes—that seem structurally impossible! The latest I’ve seen include a sewing machine cake, an 8-point buck deer head cake, a Dumbo cake, and SO much more.
Today, I’m posting my interview with Molly herself, and we’re talking the 411 on wedding cakes. Admittedly, we all LOVE cake, but after scrambling to find the perfect dress and venue (we’d be happy to help you with that one ;) ), most brides wait a bit to find their cake vendor…and they don’t know where to start. Molly keeps it sweet and simple for us with a few key points.
Cover photo by Brooke Townsend Photography.
Enjoy!
Libby
Libby: Thank you so much, Molly, for contributing to The Lily Journal today! For our readers who aren’t familiar with you and A Spoon Fulla Sugar, could you give us a quick background of the business and operations?
Molly: Of course! We are a family-owned bakery specializing in weddings. We believe your wedding cake should taste just as good as it looks. Classic flavors and quality ingredients combine for an experience you and your guests will never forget.
The bakery is run by husband and wife team Alex and Molly (that’s me!). Alex’s sister started the bakery in 2008 and Alex joined the team in 2009. I started in 2011 and soon after, we started dating and were married in 2015…any guesses who did their cake?
Libby: Haha! Oh I wonder! :)
Molly: Right? LOL In 2017, Jennifer decided to step back to spend more time with her three young kids, and Alex and Molly purchased the bakery. Alex has two bakers/decorators that help him, Sam and Samantha. Molly runs the office with the help of Alex’s sister Jamie as well as Sam and Samantha. On deliveries you may also see Jamie’s husband Brett or their Aunty Kathy. We are a small crew, but we create some of the most amazing and tasty cakes in town.
Libby: That is such a sweet story! I love family-run businesses; they’re the best. I’m not biased or anything! ;) So we’re talking today about the basics of wedding cakes. Let’s talk!
Molly: Great! So a lot of times when we are working with couples they mention they have never done this before, and are looking to us for guidance. We completely understand and are here to guide you through the fun and delicious process. ☺
Libby: Yes! Our brides LOVE any guidance we have to offer!
Molly: There are so many details we can get into, but here are some of the most important things we think you should know before choosing your cake:
Molly: The short answer is at least six to nine months in advance. We have many couples book about a year out. If your date is a popular time (May – October), sometimes even sooner. So often couples put this off and think they can call a couple months before. If you wait that long and your wedding is during peak wedding season, more than likely we are going to be booked. There are only a certain number of weddings we can do in a weekend, and we do close off wedding orders and sometimes all orders for busy weekends.
Molly: There are many factors which go into deciding this. Are you cutting and serving the cake? If so, you need to order enough for everyone, you don’t want a table or two to not get served cake. If you are cutting and setting it out…how many different cake flavors are you having? Some people may try multiple. Is your family big cake-eaters / sweet people?
Molly: While this seems perfect and a great way to save money, keep this in mind:
A. Do they have experience making wedding cakes? An 8” party cake and a three-tier stacked wedding cake are two totally different things.
B. Do they have the time? This isn’t something you can throw together in an hour or two.
C. Are they reliable? Is there a backup plan if they get sick? You would not believe the number of times we get stressed out calls a few weeks or sometimes even a few days prior to a wedding from a bride, a parent or other vendors calling to see if we can fit in one more wedding cake for the weekend because their cake person fell through. The person became sick or couldn’t carry out what the couple wanted. Yes, company may cost a little more, but it may be worth it for the piece of mind…and quality.
Molly: We know there is a wedding budget and you are trying to cut costs, but don’t completely skimp. You get what you pay for. We use quality ingredients (real butter, milk, eggs, gourmet chocolate, imported vanilla, etc.) which aren’t cheap. But we deliver a delicious cake that your guests will still be talking about after the wedding. If you have a budget, as long as it is within reason, we can help guide you to the option best for you. We will steer you away from the elaborate designs and let you know if there are ways to cut costs.
Libby: These are all definitely the top questions even we hear from brides about their wedding cakes! Thank you SO much! Readers: please take a moment to visit A Spoon Fulla Sugar’s website, social media and follow their amazing work!
Photos by Justin Tinapay Photography, Leah Barry Photography, Streetlight Studios, & Portraits by Christie
