Personally speaking...

Colleen has been studying her craft for the last eleven years. Originally a graphic designer with a love for baking, Colleen began taking the Wilton courses 1, 2 and 3. She found that the art of cake design gave her a new way to satisfy her creativity. This happily married woman attended McCall’s School in Toronto for an intensive training course in cake decorating. Nine years ago, C.E.S. designs opened its doors with this self-described perfectionist at the helm. Now, she makes cakes for all occasions from birthdays to anniversaries and showers to retirements - but particularly puts focus on perfecting cakes for your wedding day.

Even though she already has her Masters Diploma in cake decorating, Colleen finds herself a habitual student, always learning something new. "I like to learn different techniques and keep myself 'in tune' with the latest styles in bridal cakes." The latest addition to her roster of talents is cake painting. She can paint anything you would like on your cake from flowers to monogrammed letters, or even people.

Staff at The Ring loved Colleen because she makes it obvious that every cake she creates is as much a work of art for her, as it is a wedding tradition for you.

Timing & details are everything

To achieve a beautiful wedding cake, timing and details are everything. Colleen starts by baking the cake itself and letting it stand until completely cool. Then she begins the task of filling the layers of your cake, delicately icing it, and then decorating it to your style, shape and colour specifications. From start to finish, it takes approximately two to three days of designing, baking, cooling, decorating, and perfecting to create one wedding cake.

But just making a beautiful cake isn't everything. Making a beautiful cake that is right for you and your wedding day is. Colleen explains, "Every cake must be picture perfect. Cakes are becoming one of the most important aspects of a bride's wedding day. It has to fit into the décor. And it has to look great." Together, you will work with Colleen to create a design that compliments the style of your wedding. This could mean sculpting sugar replicas of your bouquet's flowers or even mimicking the draping of the fabric on your dress with the draping of icing from layer to layer. It's all about you and your day, and Colleen admits that she isn’t satisfied with your finished cake until it’s perfect. Colleen says she can also work with fresh flowers for your cake, but that most people choose gum paste flowers (so it's a good thing she's so fantastic at them).

A taste of what's to come

Colleen will be the first to point out that taste is just as important as appearance. After all, the primary purpose of a wedding cake is to be eaten!

Colleen offers her couples a wide variety of flavours, including chocolate, white chocolate, carrot, marble, red velvet, mocha, and more. All icing is Italian buttercream with assorted flavours to suit different tastes. Fillings are available in every flavour under the sun, with the favourites still being lemon, raspberry, mocha and nougat. Colleen will also use strawberries for filling when they are in season.

When you meet with Colleen to discuss the all-important design details, colour and shape choices, and style of cake, you'll also go over the various flavour options as well.

Booking Colleen...

While Colleen recommends booking your cake with her eight months to a year in advance, if she isn’t already booked for your wedding date she is happy to squeeze in last minute bookings.

Colleen does approximately thirty-five cakes per year and limits herself to this commitment. She does receive many more than thirty-five cake requests and admits to feeling terrible whenever she has to turn couples away, but for Colleen, it's about quality. "I feel very strongly about limiting the number of weddings I do in order to ensure that I am able to offer the same top quality to every bride... I have to do it. I love what I do... I never want it to become more of a job than a passion."

Pricing it out

C.E.S. designs' prices are determined by the complexity of the cake design and the number of guests you'll be serving but Colleen is happy to work within any bride's budget. While it's best to speak with Colleen for the most accurate quote, as a guideline, the average bride spends about $500 for a three-tier cake, which is big enough to feed approximately 140 people.

detailsdetailsdetails

• Colleen restricts the number of cakes she makes in order to give each design her full attention. You should book with her approximately 8 months to a year in advance, but at least 6 to 8 months is required.

• Deposit is not required at time of booking with C.E.S. designs.

• Your total balance is due 2 weeks before the wedding.

Inotherwords...

"I wanted to send you a thank you for the beautiful cake you created for our daughter Emily's wedding. As I mentioned on the phone, not only did it look fabulous, it tasted great! In fact it was so good that our other daughter Amy has decided to serve it as the formal dessert at her wedding. The bride and groom will cut the cake just before dinner and then the hall will cut it and prepare it for serving. We are going to have it served with a champagne toast - your cakes deserve that kind of attention." - Sandra

"Thank you so much for making our beautiful cake. Everyone just loved it... it really was fabulous." - Sabrina

"Thank you for all your hard work and especially your expertise in making the wedding cake of my dreams! I tried both the raspberry chocolate and buttercream vanilla layers and couldn't decide what was yummier!" - Lara

More from Colleen...

For more information, to ask questions, or to set up an appointment, you can reach Colleen Stafford of C.E.S. designs by phone at 519-641-4552, or by email at stafcoll@rogers.com. She is happy to help you out in any way she can.

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca
* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of C.E.S. designs.