Creatives at work

Cake please! Today we dive into the world of Suzanne from CocoaMoiselle.

Tara Ahern Photography

Who is your bride?

There is no straight forward answer to that question! However, having met hundreds of gorgeous brides over the past 4 years in business, whether it is a boho celebration or an upmarket, lavish wedding, I can definitely tell you that brides who come to CocoaMoiselle are looking for something unique and special. My brides tend to have a keen eye for design and detail, know what they want and have great ideas for their cake. They are stylish ladies,  planning fabulous weddings!

When do you feel most inspired?

I am inspired by everything and anything. A lot of the venues I deliver to have beautiful decorative details everywhere, from the floors to the ceilings!  The Irish countryside is also a sight to behold,and I am lucky to travel through a lot of beautiful places when I am delivering my wedding cakes.

Old buildings and old books, ruined castles, fabric, cutlery, patterns, sculpture and pottery, any kind of art, nature, trees, flowers and poetry, I love it all and appreciate all the beauty in the world. I will often stop for lunch after a delivery in a picturesque spot and take it all in before I go back into work. I'll also stop off at any castles or ruins that catch my eye. One of the perks of the job :)

I love when all baking, filling and covering is done at the bakery. It is time to decorate! I usually stick on a cd and work away on my cake,  decorating and adding details until the cake is finished to perfection.

How do I feel meeting a new bride?

This isn't such a straightforward answer either!  I usually just meet my bride once, at our consultation in the showroom. So we have an hour to get to know each other and go through the design of the cake and of course , taste the cakes.

I am always glad to meet new brides as I know there is a new chance for me to create another beautiful cake.

Sometimes , if my bride lives abroad, We don't get to meet at all, but we do all the planning and design by email. I have also had very cool, laid back brides just email me and order a cake directly from my website photos! Everyone's approach is different but it is always a positive experience for me.

What do I like to hear from a bride?

It is always music to my ears when my bride tells me she trusts my judgement and allows me to design the cake whatever way I think is best.  I love being given a design brief and working from that and allowing for last minute changes to be made as I work on the cake. I love all my cakes, but my favourites are most definitely the ones where I was given a design brief and a budget and let loose!

How did I find my calling?

I was either going to do Fine Art or Culinary Arts in college. I chose culinary arts as I had always loved cooking and saw myself with a career in hospitality. I worked in restaurants as a chef, then as a pastry chef , and developed a love for pastry, desserts and sugar! While living in Melbourne, I took some sugar craft courses and this quickly became an obsession. I haven't looked back since. I've worked in some great restaurants as Pastry Chef and trained in confectionery artsin Toronto . I absolutely love what I do. I've always been driven and wanted to work for myself. I am very lucky to be doing what I do for a living.

What a great insight into Suzanne's business and creative process. Check out all of CocoaMoiselle amazing work here

What questions do you have for your cake supplier, hit the comments below and we will do our best to answer them for you.

Ask The Designer

It is ask the designer time at SFoy HQ and this week it is all about time scale.

Image by Paul Kelly Photography

"How much time do you need to have a design made? I'm worried I haven't left enough time to pick my dress and feeling under pressure to make decisions now!" - This is the most commonly asked question and statement to pass through my inbox, so today we give you all the information on time scale and when best to get started

Every designer works differently and every bridal store will have their own order policy. However, I like to have 6 to 8 months to design and complete a gown. So how does this break down for you the bride? The first appointment with us is a simple chat to get to know you and the ideas you have in mind for your wedding, two weeks after that you will have received sketches from me detailing ideas for your wedding dress. When you have had time to look over them we have a follow up consultation to help finalise the details. This whole process can take between 4 to 6 weeks.

Next step is to custom make your pattern and create your mock up. We book you in to check size and fit. Allowing you to get a look at the style and shape. Now it's order time, we calculate how much fabric will be needed. Ordering in your beads and embellishment. When everything arrives we cut and make your dress. We will now see you every 3 to 4 weeks. At these fittings we will be concentrating on getting everything fitting beautifully, then we add the little details particularly embellishments .

At the final stages we help you to get the overall look, encouraging you to try out different hairstyles, nail polish, lipstick and of course a veil or head piece. Most brides have their final fitting about 2 weeks before pick up day. This fitting is usually just to double check that you are 100% happy.

Every bride, every dress, every day is different. We often do commissions 18 months in advance or in off peak season a dress can be completed sooner but the general rule we give our clients is 6 to 8 months.

Have you a question about your dress you need answered. Email me today and we will tackle it on our next Ask The Designer blog piece .