Wedding cakes and desserts

Meli... if you need cake recommendations, look no further. We used them for our wedding and they were fantastic—super professional and incredibly kind people. They have two bakery locations in the city, one over in Brooklyn and another in Queens. They aren't cheap, but honestly, the quality justifies the price tag every single time. A kilo runs about $33, but I don't regret spending a single cent because it was worth it.

Noah Nelson6 said:Meli... if you need cake recommendations, look no further. We used them for our wedding and they were fantastic—super professional and incredibly kind people. They have two bakery locations in the city, one over in Brooklyn and another in Queens. They aren't cheap, but honestly, the quality justifies the price tag every single time. A kilo runs about $33, but I don't regret spending a single cent because it was worth it.

I've had Meli's treats plenty of times🙂 and they really are delicious.
Never tried their wedding stuff though—can you actually pick out specific pieces for a custom mix, or do they just do a standard assortment?
Also, let me know if they deliver and if there's an extra fee for that...

I'm really curious to know which pastries are actually worth the price $33/lb. I don't believe that a higher price tag always guarantees better quality. My cake for a 70-person event cost $217 and everyone loved it. Plus, my aunt—who is basically like a second mother to me—made some desserts, and I just ordered 4 lbs of creamy ones... they were a huge hit too. So... ☕

Now listen, it might not be worth much in actual value, but you’re definitely paying for the prestige of the name, wouldn't you agree ☕ 😬
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Besides, isn't it standard practice to have a formal ingredient declaration for baked goods? 😕

steelangler16 said:Now listen, it might not be worth much in actual value, but you’re definitely paying for the prestige of the name, wouldn't you agree ☕ 😬
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Besides, isn't it standard practice to have a formal ingredient declaration for baked goods? 😕

James, you're basically signing off to guarantee nobody gets sick! 😍 And that's part of the fun. 🙂

Are you absolutely certain that’s even possible?

Wuhu! I feel like there might be some extra room for savings here 😁 by the end of this, I’ll be hosting a total budget wedding 😂

steelangler16 said:Are you absolutely certain that’s even possible?

Wuhu! I feel like there might be some extra room for savings here 😁 by the end of this, I’ll be hosting a total budget wedding 😂

That’s exactly how I handled mine. I just bought 3 kg of creamy pastries, and then used that single receipt and my signature to account for all 12 kg of desserts!😍

Walter Martinez2 said:James, you're basically signing off to guarantee nobody gets sick! 😍 And that's part of the fun. 🙂

That doesn't really fly in every single eatery... pretty sure those types are in the minority.

Most people with any self-respect—well, most of them anyway—demand to see the label. They aren't about to gamble on getting sick in some diner. Once word gets out, people don't care about the specific bacteria; they just remember the name of the restaurant.

Daniel Smith8 said:That doesn't really fly in every single eatery... pretty sure those types are in the minority.

Most people with any self-respect—well, most of them anyway—demand to see the label. They aren't about to gamble on getting sick in some diner. Once word gets out, people don't care about the specific bacteria; they just remember the name of the restaurant.

People tend to overcomplicate things and make life difficult for one another by focusing solely on the money. I attended a wedding at a well-known hotel near Washington, D.C., and a friend had a similar experience at a restaurant in Philadelphia.
It’s not that they lack integrity. In fact, it’s precisely because they go the extra mile for their clients rather than just chasing a profit that they stay in business. 🤣

Unfortunately, there are plenty of vendors here who only care about their reputation being "big name" rather than actually being good.

I figured I’d jump in here with a quick declaration regarding the dessert situation... we opted for a venue that was essentially a blank slate—just an empty hall without any catering, tableware, or anything else provided...
And once we finally tracked down a caterer, she gave us her take on the sweets; she mentioned that she would handle all the paperwork and sign off on everything, including both her own selections and my bridal cake choices... well, that's just how we're handling things—everything will be officially documented on paper.😉

Walter Martinez2 said:People tend to overcomplicate things and make life difficult for one another by focusing solely on the money. I attended a wedding at a well-known hotel near Washington, D.C., and a friend had a similar experience at a restaurant in Philadelphia.
It’s not that they lack integrity. In fact, it’s precisely because they go the extra mile for their clients rather than just chasing a profit that they stay in business. 🤣

Unfortunately, there are plenty of vendors here who only care about their reputation being "big name" rather than actually being good.

I don't see how any of this has to do with money. When we got married, we used IBM, and they were extremely clear that all the desserts needed official certification. We just hired professionals who were properly registered for that, and the problem was solved.
What does chasing money have to do with this? Who's even chasing money? 😕

Daniel Smith8 said:I don't see how any of this has to do with money. When we got married, we used IBM, and they were extremely clear that all the desserts needed official certification. We just hired professionals who were properly registered for that, and the problem was solved.
What does chasing money have to do with this? Who's even chasing money? 😕

If they allow guests to bring their own wine, I don't see why they wouldn't allow cakes too... ☕

IBM doesn't allow you to bring your own wine, from what I hear. Just hard liquor.

And what's the point of them lecturing me about bringing cookies with labels? It’s not like they forced me to take them from them in the first place.

Daniel Smith8 said:IBM doesn't allow you to bring your own wine, from what I hear. Just hard liquor.

And what's the point of them lecturing me about bringing cookies with labels? It’s not like they forced me to take them from them in the first place.

What kind of harm is done if I bring homemade cookies without a label, where I personally act as James that they can sue—instead of some small business—if someone gets sick, when in reality the lawsuit would be against me anyway rather than the restaurant?
I don't think this should be an issue. If I have my own wine and can bake my own treats, and I'm willing to take responsibility for it, why won't they work with me? Especially nowadays, I don't want to waste money on overpriced catering when I can make it myself for half the price. It's common knowledge that anything labeled "for a wedding" ends up costing twice as much.☕

Because poisoned guests will just go around claiming they got sick at that specific restaurant, rather than from some cookies Walter Martinez2 baked.

And then everything goes to hell for the restaurant. It’s nearly impossible to recover, even if everyone eventually realizes it was Walter Martinez2's cookies and not their kitchen staff that caused the issue. Once the damage is done, it's done. They can sue and issue denials all they want, but their reputation is already trashed.

I have nothing to add...🙂

Daniel Smith8 said:Because poisoned guests will just go around claiming they got sick at that specific restaurant, rather than from some cookies Walter Martinez2 baked.

And then everything goes to hell for the restaurant. It’s nearly impossible to recover, even if everyone eventually realizes it was Walter Martinez2's cookies and not their kitchen staff that caused the issue. Once the damage is done, it's done. They can sue and issue denials all they want, but their reputation is already trashed.

Following your logic, people could also claim they ate terrible desserts at the Mayan wedding at a certain restaurant. They might not even mention the specific treats or realize where they were ordered from—just like with my situation. Those guests were family and friends, and I doubt anyone would start talking trash about me or the hotel if that actually happened.

well... she actually baked those cookies all by herself 🙂

Walter Martinez2 said:What kind of harm is done if I bring homemade cookies without a label, where I personally act as James that they can sue—instead of some small business—if someone gets sick, when in reality the lawsuit would be against me anyway rather than the restaurant?
I don't think this should be an issue. If I have my own wine and can bake my own treats, and I'm willing to take responsibility for it, why won't they work with me? Especially nowadays, I don't want to waste money on overpriced catering when I can make it myself for half the price. It's common knowledge that anything labeled "for a wedding" ends up costing twice as much.☕

Unfortunately, that’s just not how things work!
It’s simple, really. You just need that confirmation from the small business office and you're all set! That’s it. Done.

We bake our own cakes and pastries—it’s actually what we do for a living—and I can tell you, we have never had a single instance of food poisoning or anything even remotely close to that. It’s a completely different story compared to those small local businesses around here that have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Still, we’re going to end up buying a few kilos from them just so we can attach their certification to our products. Apparently, that's just how things work now; there's no other way to get by. 🤷
That’s just how it’s gotta be. Period.

I’ve always had a soft spot for baking, but honestly, I can't even fathom the thought of whipping up a single dessert for my own wedding. And frankly, I have no desire to terrorize my friends and family into doing the heavy lifting for me—which, let's be real, is exactly what some people in our circle tend to do. It might seem like ordering custom sweets is an expensive luxury at first glance, but once you actually sit down and factor in the hours spent prepping, the cost of ingredients, the electricity bill, the decorating, and the delivery... I would gladly hand over that cash just to avoid standing over a hot oven trying to stabilize buttercream when it's a blistering 95 degrees outside.
O.T. I’m heading over to Sweetwater today to finalize the dessert spread for the guests and the welcome treats at my place; the catering for the reception hall was settled ages ago 🙂 I'll report back with my thoughts...