In the wedding industry I am continually meeting amazing business owners with incredible stories and backgrounds. So I’ve decided to start a new blog series, featuring local event professionals in the Triangle area. These pieces will be a little peek into the lives of the my fellow business owners, a little bit about them and weddings from their point of view.
So to kick off the series, I have an important confession:
I Love Cake
More specifically, I love Love Cake! I met Kristina Solloway in early 2016, and we hit it off right away. It may have been her sweet and sincere nature, or her sense of humor, which I continue to admire about her. But I’m sure it helped that Kristina arrived at our first meeting with a box of cupcakes for me to take home. And they were DELICIOUS!! I owe a huge thank you to our friend Dagmar for introducing us. Kristina has been a joy to know and to work with this past year, and I am always happy to recommend Love Cake to my friends and clients! Read about how she got started here.
After Kristina agreed to this interview we brought Audrey Priel, owner of Rose Trail Images, on-board. Audrey and I met Kristina at her house, planning to hang out with her while she decorated a cake. Which is exactly what we did, but only after enjoying a delicious home cooked breakfast! I don’t believe Love Cake has bacon and french toast casserole on their menu, but let me tell you it was every bit as delicious as her cakes!
After breakfast we moved into Kristina’s studio. She has a beautifully organized space set-up right off her kitchen, so she can easily move from baking to decorating. I never knew there were so any tools needed for cake design! But throughout the morning I realized there was a lot a didn’t know about cakes… like the fact that using vodka when painting a cake allows it to dry faster. So it never hurts to keep a bottle handy 😉
As Kristina rolled out her fondant and sliced it into pieces for the cake, I asked her about her own wedding. But I kept interrupting her and myself to ask questions about her decorating process. It was all so new and exciting for me! I did manage to learn a bit about both Kristina’s wedding and what she was doing with the fondant.
Kristina is from Albany, NY, but she and her husband have been in North Carolina since 1998. I loved hearing about the things she remembers from their wedding, even 17 years later! Here are some of the details she shared about her wedding:
Wedding Venue: Reception hall of a Greek Orthodox Church in Albany, NY (that’s right, the hall, not the church itself).
Catering: “I remember there was Penne Alla Vodka, and shrimp.”
Decor: Lots of DIY, helium balloons. There was one giant balloon filled with confetti, which her husband (an engineer) rigged so that it would pop overhead during their first dance!
Husband was in charge of: Tuxes, Confetti, and Captain Morgan.
First Dance: Angel Eyes
Favorite Moments: The confetti balloon! Or the Food fight. Yes, there was a food fight.
Cake: Three heart-shaped cakes, one was carrot. There was also a dessert table, with cheese cakes, Italian pastries, etc.
Advice for Brides: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, no one notices as much as you do. Lighten up, it’ll all work out, you’re getting married! That one day is not the story of your marriage, it is just the beginning.” Also, “Stick to your guns about the things that are important to you instead of giving in to what everyone else wants”.
I also learned that Kristina has been an artist since before she started cake decorating. She used to do oil paintings, and now enjoys Bible Art Journaling with watercolors. Her favorite wedding cake flavor is Coconut with almond flavored cream cheese frosting, and her dream cake would be to create a 3 tier cake decorated with chocolate cigarettes and fresh fruit. Yum! Someone commission that quick so I can see it!
Thank you so much Kristina, for letting Audrey and I hang out with you while you worked! And Audrey, thank you for these wonderful images! Here are a few more from our cake decorating adventure!
I am excited to work with both Love Cake and Rose Trail Images this year, and to continue this local vendor spotlight series!
You can learn more about Kristina Solloway and Love Cake on her website, and follow her on Facebook or Instagram.
See the whole shoot on Rose Trail Images’ blog. Don’t forget to follow Audrey on Facebook and Instagram!