Class Schedule

A basics class for those wanting to learn the art of rolled fondant or those looking to improve their rolled fondant skills.

Working with cake, students will cover a cake with rolled fondant and take their cake to enjoy at home.

Topics covered in class include:

*Properties of fondant

*Preparing cake for fondant

*Rolling techniques

*Covering cake with fondant

*Storage

*Finishing techniques

If you are new to the cake decorating world or need help with perfecting your buttercream, this is the class for you!  Minette will demonstrate how to make the perfect buttercream.  Students will then learn to fill and frost a 7" round cake.  Learn how to achieve a clean beautiful finish with buttercream.

Students will leave with their buttercream cake to enjoy at home.

Date:  June 2, 2012Time:  9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Cost:  $95.00  Supplies are furnished for class use

I am proud to team with two of the most knowledgable business women in the wedding world, Beth Fahey co-owner of Creative Cakes in Tinley Park, Il (Chicago suburb) and Donna Von Bruening, owner  of Donna Von Bruening Photographers in Savannah, GA.

This day long seminar will focus on three very important aspects of the wedding cake business,  Marketing/Advertising - Finding Your Client, Pricing for Profit, and Contracts.   If you are an established business owner, new business owner, or thinking of starting a wedding cake business this is a seminar you will not want to miss.

Here are the topics:

Finding YOUR Client - Donna Von Bruening

Donna will help you find what makes YOUR product unique and then help you target the clients that want YOUR product. You don't have to spend hours of time on staying connected via social media or spending thousands of dollars on advertising that you have no idea if it works. You'll learn how to decide which type of marketing and advertising will work for your business for the best return on investment.

Wedding Cakes:  Pricing for Profits - Beth Fahey

Profit is Good. It is a necessary and healthy way to think about your business. The problem is, most cake decorators don’t know how to price for profit and often underprice their services. Beth Fahey demystifies pricing wedding cakes, with practical tools like accurate product costing, forecasting cash flow in a seasonal business, and ultimately, which percentages are the ones to pay attention to - including identifying a “healthy” net operating profit.

Wedding Cake Contracts - Minette Rushing

We all know contracts are a part of doing business.  Wedding cake contracts are so much more than “I will make you a cake and you will pay me x amount.” What information should be included in a wedding cake contract?  Minette Rushing will take you step by step through the process she used in writing her own contract.   Through this journey we will examine our business policies and their role in the wedding cake contract.

Meet the panel:

Donna Von Bruening - DVB Photographers

Principal Photographer and founder of DVB Photographers as well as several wedding-related businesses including Savannah Wedding Professional and The Wedding Sojourn, Donna understands niche marketing. She is an accomplished blogger, lecturer, business consultant and leader in the wedding industry Her vision and keen instinct for identifying the right clientele for the right product has creating a consistent 10% or more growth in her business for over 15 years.

Beth Fahey - Creative Cakes

Beth Fahey co-owns Creative Cakes (Tinley Park, IL) alongside her sister Becky Palermo. Creative Cakes specializes in highly customized wedding, shaped, and party cakes. Her contributions to her business are mainly in the areas of marketing and finance, although she does still spend time in production icing cakes. Prior to owning a bakery, Beth worked as a camera assistant in movies and television. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association (CARBA) and the Retail Bakers of America (RBA).

Minette Rushing - Custom Cakes

Minette  Rushing is an award winning cake designer and owner of Custom Cakes in Savannah, GA.  Her boutique wedding cake studio has been serving the greater Savannah and low country of South Carolina for over 15 years.  In addition to creating wedding cakes, Minette hosts sugar art classes at her shop and teaches nationwide.

Date:  Monday, July 23, 2012

Where:  Custom Cakes, 7060 Hodgson Memorial Dr., Savannah, GA   31406

Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Cost:  $319 and includes a continental breakfast and a light lunch

Everything you always wanted to know about wedding cakes and then some.  In this four day course, students will work with real cake and move step by step through the fundamentals of creating and constructing their wedding cakes.  We will address  contracts, pricing, construction, a little physics (sorry but we have to because proper stacking techniques are very important), and also wedding cake design trends.  For those who are new to cake decorating, this course will offer you a strong foundation in creating beautiful, well crafted wedding cakes.  If you are an experienced cake decorator, looking to refine your skills and gain a more professional look for your cakes, this class is for you.

Students will also create their own sugar flowers to use in decorating their wedding cake.  We will make sugar hydrangea, roses and filler flowers.

Students will leave with a wedding cake manual,  the forms we use at Custom Cakes for our wedding cake orders, and their three tiered cakes.  I am excited to share with you the things I've learned in the 15 + years of crafting wedding cakes.

Here's our class project:

Dates:  July 27 -30, 2012

Place:  Custom Cakes, 7060 Hodgson Memorial Dr., Savannah, GA   31406

Time:  9:30a.m. - 4:30p.m.

Price:  $997  - supplies for class use proved.  A light lunch will be provided.

*If you would like to pay in 3 equal installments, please call the shop at:  912-356-0072

*Please note that payments are NON-REFUNDABLE