Wedding cakes and desserts

Nicholas Moore61 said:Everyone seriously needs to try the cakes... whoever you end up with.... ☕

I’ve gotta shout out Vincent and PARF again... they were incredible.... honestly, those guys showed up with the cake a solid thirty minutes before it was even time to "cut" it...

I completely agree with you. I'm just sharing my own experiences and thoughts here. In our case, they also brought the cake out half an hour before serving. It was FANTASTIC! 👍 I highly recommend Smile!

I also had a slice of that PARF cake from Hershey's. It was absolutely divine...
The outer layer was basically just pure frosting (I skipped it because it’s way too sweet), but we absolutely demolished the filling inside

Hey ladies, I have a quick question for anyone living around the Chicago area. So, I ordered a cake from Keira’s bakery—I tried their pastries once and they were absolutely killer—but now I’m wondering if anyone here has actually used them for a big order? Has anyone had any experiences with this place?

Keira!
The cookies are absolutely divine, though I have to admit, their cakes aren't really my thing.
To be fair, I’ve only tried two. One was a cheesecake that turned out alright, but the other—I can’t even remember the flavor, let's just say it didn't exactly wow me.

But those cookies? Seriously incredible!
My only gripe is that they are massive. Like, you could easily split one between two people and call it a day. Back when I was working over in Chicago, we used to order them all the time for office snacks, birthdays, and stuff like that.

Plus, their pastries are top-tier. They’re on a completely different level than any other bakery I've been to!

...so...there...if that actually helps at all...🙂

Mark Kelly4, thank you so much!!!!! You have no idea how much you helped me out! I was stuffing my face with cookies and pastries, practically choking because everything tasted so incredible. Honestly, I couldn't even finish one single cookie—it was just too massive. So, let's just say I definitely put on some weight. I'll let you know how the cake turns out later.😁

Noah Thomas31 said:I’ve had plenty of chances to check out Vice's cakes. Like I mentioned, they look beautiful, but they just aren't that tasty. 👎For that kind of money, you're better off ordering from someone else. There are so many great options to choose from in Washington, D.C. alone.

The only thing I ever grabbed at Vincent's was ice cream, so I can't really speak to the cakes. Honestly, I just stick to that little local bakery because I know everything there is legit and homemade. They actually started baking cakes for Hershey's at the chocolate shop on Broadway. Anyone tried them yet?!?
I was thinking about ordering something there for my husband for Valentine's Day, so I'm looking for the real scoop...

This was our cake from "smile," and honestly, it was fantastic! I don't even need to get into how incredible their pastries were.


As for Vince, I actually prefer his spot over on Masaryk than the one on Ilica Street.😉

Hey there... So, we spent some time wandering through a wedding expo today and stumbled upon these incredible little cakes 😍.. we ended up picking some up to try 🤣... and honestly? They are absolutely delicious and look stunning too. $18/lb 👍—if you ask me, the price is actually a steal. They also carry full-sized cakes, though my fiancé didn't get a chance to ask about those just yet. Still, since he’s basically the resident sweets expert, I'm sure we'll get the scoop on that later.

I have attended this fair myself, along with several of the recent ones. It seems to be much the same every year; I sampled some treats from the small cake house, which were quite pleasant. I believe they go for $23/lb. What dustyheron23 mentioned regarding the $18/lb price point refers to those cookies from that firm out of Columbus (some sort of Bond Pro, if I recall correctly), though they have since rebranded. I am not entirely sure why 🤷, but they are now operating as Absum LLC, Masaryk, Columbus—they have only been on the market for maybe two or three years and are already changing their name, which perhaps isn't the best for their reputation.

I realize we all want to find the most affordable options, but I suppose there must be a reason why some cookies are priced at $23, while others being shipped all the way from Columbus cost $18? It isn't merely about massive profit margins. Some might disagree with my perspective, but I suspect ingredient quality and sourcing play a significant role, which is why I tend to favor the small cake house.

I hit up a wedding expo yesterday and managed to find some cakes for about $20/lb at a local bakery—think somewhere like Magnolia Bakery. Honestly, they were delicious. We’re actually waiting on an older lady to bring us another pound next weekend; she offered us one batch for $80/lb, though we already sampled a bit of another kind for $70/lb...

In my opinion, when you look at those prices, it isn't just about how good the food tastes. Branding and pure popularity play a massive role in what you're actually paying for.

What's the breakdown on your end for dry versus creamy? Around here, the dry ones are sitting at about 40-$17 while the creamy versions go for 60-$23. Is that actually cheap or am I totally overpaying? Honestly, I haven't got a clue what the standard pricing looks like for this stuff

A friend of mine had actually worked out a deal with that guy from Columbus. But then she ended up backing out. Their service includes transportation and sweets, but they won't actually plate anything for you at the restaurant; they just drop everything off wherever you want. So her dilemma was... who on earth was going to handle all that plating in the middle of a busy Saturday shift at the restaurant?

James Ramos said:This was our cake from "smile," and honestly, it was fantastic! I don't even need to get into how incredible their pastries were.


As for Vince, I actually prefer his spot over on Masaryk than the one on Ilica Street.😉

That looks like a beautiful cake. I’ll probably end up getting something just like that myself.😍

Mark Kelly4 said:A friend of mine had actually worked out a deal with that guy from Columbus. But then she ended up backing out. Their service includes transportation and sweets, but they won't actually plate anything for you at the restaurant; they just drop everything off wherever you want. So her dilemma was... who on earth was going to handle all that plating in the middle of a busy Saturday shift at the restaurant?

Hi everyone... I reached out to ask about the delivery, which is roughly $67 for the Chicago area, and the guy told me they *do* plate them, and if I have my own little catering boxes, they can easily arrange those too. 🙏
The company is still operating under Bond Pro—or whatever they're calling themselves these days—though they're likely registered under Abus to allow them to handle multiple types of business ventures. 🤷
Personally, I think their pastries are delicious... as for the price... well, that’s a whole other conversation. Back home in the Midwest, my aunt used to get a pound of sweets for maybe $30-$17, so why is it $50, $60, or even $70-$40 here in Chicago? I honestly don't know. 🤷

Maybe it’s a quality thing, but speaking as someone with an economics background, I suspect it has more to do with sourcing. If they’re getting their supplies from somewhere where overhead is lower—say, a special economic zone with significantly reduced tax rates—they can afford to keep their prices down.
I’m not necessarily singing the praises of this Bond Pro outfit, nor am I certain we’ll end up ordering from them; I'm just trying to look at the situation realistically.
It’s not as if they’re some tiny local bakery or one of those high-end boutique shops that can command premium prices. 🤣
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that they taste good. 🤣😍

Look, ladies, price depends on a ton of factors. High-end bakeries like Magnolia Bakery or Levain have sky-high prices because they’re paying premium rent for storefronts and selling individual treats all day long. A small cake house, on the other hand, is usually just a home business doing custom orders for weddings and events. They don't have the overhead of a retail shop, so their prices stay lower since they specialize in made-to-order stuff. Then you've got a massive wholesaler like Bond out in Columbus—they do high-volume production, their stuff is everywhere, including grocery stores, so they're basically running an assembly line. Their rent in Ohio probably isn't hitting the crazy levels you see in Chicago either. Even those ladies baking from home near $17 can keep prices steady because they aren't dealing with delivery costs or commercial rent; they just use their own kitchen and maybe skip the industrial walk-in cooler.
I think I've just scratched the surface of what drives up a price tag. You've also got tradition, brand reputation, and a whole bunch of other variables. You can't really compare them apple-to-apples. My best advice? Get a word-of-mouth recommendation from someone who actually ate them (since taste is subjective anyway) or just go sample them yourself. That's my move—I'll grab a pound of samples, if they taste good, I buy. Simple as that. Good luck picking

P.S. My sister tried some from Bond and they were actually pretty solid.

dustyheron23 said:Hi everyone... I reached out to ask about the delivery, which is roughly $67 for the Chicago area, and the guy told me they *do* plate them, and if I have my own little catering boxes, they can easily arrange those too. 🙏
The company is still operating under Bond Pro—or whatever they're calling themselves these days—though they're likely registered under Abus to allow them to handle multiple types of business ventures. 🤷
Personally, I think their pastries are delicious... as for the price... well, that’s a whole other conversation. Back home in the Midwest, my aunt used to get a pound of sweets for maybe $30-$17, so why is it $50, $60, or even $70-$40 here in Chicago? I honestly don't know. 🤷

Maybe it’s a quality thing, but speaking as someone with an economics background, I suspect it has more to do with sourcing. If they’re getting their supplies from somewhere where overhead is lower—say, a special economic zone with significantly reduced tax rates—they can afford to keep their prices down.
I’m not necessarily singing the praises of this Bond Pro outfit, nor am I certain we’ll end up ordering from them; I'm just trying to look at the situation realistically.
It’s not as if they’re some tiny local bakery or one of those high-end boutique shops that can command premium prices. 🤣
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that they taste good. 🤣😍

We saw this Bond at the trade show too. Picked up some treats from them and they were actually pretty good... I guess we might end up going with them.
We watched Vince too, but... $30That price per pound is honestly a bit much... maybe too much.

We stopped by Bond's booth earlier..Of course, we had some treats..😁
This year, the price is $18/lb..
We'll definitely be picking up our cookies and cake from them..😍

😠😠This cake situation is going to drive me insane. I found this gorgeous one, and there’s a local baker who can make it happen—but then my godmother jumps in out of nowhere, acting all entitled, saying she’ll provide the cake because her daughter got one from her ten years ago. Like, okay? I was planning to suggest a specific style and show a photo, but everyone is already breathing down my neck asking if I’m being "difficult"—which is totally rude. She’s supposed to pick the cake herself. They actually told me not to even think about showing a picture. Are you kidding me? Just imagine if she brings some red, white, and blue monstrosity because that's her favorite, when my whole theme is green and white... how is that even going to work? It would be great if it were something fancy and elegant, too, but the lady baking it has been doing this for fifty years—basically since the fifties. Aaaaaaaah.😂🤣

I know it’s probably not the nicest way to think, but I’m working so hard to keep everything strictly two-toned and not too busy, and now this cake...🤷🤷

I honestly thought about secretly having my own cake made to match my vision, and then right before serving, I'd have the people in the kitchen swap it out for mine😉. By then, it’ll be too late to change anything, and my godmother will just storm off home like some kind of dragon
. Then again, people will say a cake isn't worth a fight and tell me I'm overreacting, blah, blah, blah...

Christian Ross6, just tell her right now that if she wants to pick a cake, she should pick the one you actually like... Who cares... It’s your wedding... Don't let your mother-in-law dictate everything from the cake to the venue... It's ridiculous...

Dana Gomez89 said:Christian Ross6, just tell her right now that if she wants to pick a cake, she should pick the one you actually like... Who cares... It’s your wedding... Don't let your mother-in-law dictate everything from the cake to the venue... It's ridiculous...

It's not even that she's acting like a bride, it's more like the maid of honor is being totally difficult—I don't even know how to describe it. 😕😕 She told me I should decide everything myself, except for the cake, which is supposed to be her contribution. To me, it feels just as stupid, but honestly? A cake isn't worth dealing with that old lady's drama. Still, I might have enough time left to pull a little something off.