I thought it would be nice to feature a few events suppliers that we’ve met along the way. For me, whether I am choosing a bank or choosing where to buy a new dress, what really sells things to me is ‘people power’. If a business is run by nice people, I am sold! Working in the events industry is such a social business, and we are lucky enough to be constantly working with some of the biggest and best events suppliers in the industry. So… I thought we could introduce you to a few great people that we’ve met who are fab at what they do and share our ethos when it comes to their service!

Today I want to feature Marie Travell from Rainbow Cakes.

So, Marie…Give us a basic description of what you do…

I make cakes for pretty much any occasion you can think of – from decorated cakes for weddings and christenings, to birthday cakes for adults or children. I can even make undecorated cakes for meetings, to sell in shops and cafes, infact, anywhere you’d eat a cake, I can provide the cake for the job!!

What made you go into the cake making business?

I LOVE cake, which is always a good place to start Also when my eldest daughter was coming up for her 1st birthday, I couldn’t find a cake that was ‘just right’ and tasted nice (I never really liked the mass produced shop bought ones), so decided to give it a go and make it myself! That first cake was far from perfect, but tasted yummy and from then on I’ve always made birthday cakes for my husband and kids and Christmas cakes for family. It wasn’t until I offered to make a cake for a raffle prize, and peoples reaction to it that things really started to take off. For the six months following that raffle cake I slowly had orders for more cakes from friends and family, and realised that this was something I could actually turn into a business……and the rest is history!!!!!

Whats your favourite celebration cake you’ve done so far? 

Eeeek that’s a tough one – I love them all as I put so much time and love into each one (as corny as it sounds!!) I do think the Las Vegas wedding cake is my favourite so far – it’s a small cake, but I just love the caracature figures of the bride and groom, who are also good friends of mine.

How long does it take, on average, to prepare one of your wedding masterpieces?

A very basic cake can take 20 hours where a cake with several tiers and lots of sugar flowers can take 70 hours or even more. The Vegas cake for example, while it was only one tier, and didn’t look complicated, took a long time to get the models just right and to make sure all the handpainted pieces were right. Also, that’s just pure man hours – models and sugar flowers etc all need time to dry, so need to be started sometimes weeks in advance!

Do you allow your clients to make suggestions as to what they want, or do they choose from a selection?

Most people who come to me have at least a rough idea what they would like. I’ve only ever had someone tell me a colour scheme and flavour for a cake and nothing else once. It can be tricky if someone has a definate idea what they would like, and it just woulddn’t work in cake/sugar, but that happens so rarely, and I’ll give anything a try! If you watch ‘Ace of Cakes’ on tv then you’ll know that with enough determination, anything is possible!

Whats the craziest suggestion you’ve ever had?

I haven’t had crazy suggestions really – the crazy bit usually comes from me trying to go the ‘extra mile’ to make someones cake amazing. I can remember when I dreamt up the idea for the Vegas cake with the models in an awkward pose (for sugar models) I explained the idea to a lady who’s been making cakes and teaching sugarcraft for years, and she looked concerned, then quickly smiled and said ‘good luck!!’

Any predictions for the biggest wedding cake styles of 2012?

More traditional style wedding cakes but with a modern twist are still really popular – all starting from the Royal Wedding last year, and I think with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year, that will continue. Also gorgeous rich reds and purples look like they’re going to be really popular – especially bold statement sugar flowers on a crisp white cake.

Whats the best part of your job?

I work with cakes everyday – what is there not to love?!?! My husband would say the best part of my job for him is when I’m concocting new recipes as he gets to try them all out! I love every bit of my job, but even though it sounds cliche, I do love unveiling the cake and seeing people’s faces – it makes it all worthwhile!

You can check out Marie’s website for more information – www.rainbowcakes.biz