Mackenzie Rimann has been making wedding cakes for three years, initially jumping in during the busy summer wedding season in 2019. She had no training when she was first hired on a Lee’s Marketplace in North Salt Lake but now she is head cake decorator.

In addition to hands-on training, the store has provided cake decorating classes to increase her skills. “Vendors come in to train us to do roses and border and stuff like that,” Rimann said. “I usually do 20 or 30 cakes with more on weekends. I do about four wedding cakes a month.” 

Perhaps one of the most life-changing experiences is getting married and the wedding cake is often at the center of the festivities. It should catch the eye, reflect the personalities of the couple marrying and taste amazing. The cake can be a traditional stacked cake covered in frosting and adorned with flowers. Naked cakes are also popular with eye-catching layers and fruit, along with a few posies. Cakes can be adorned with lace, chalk board icing that can be artistically chalked or even edible paint resembling a Tiffany lamp. A minimalist cake might include two layers frosted in cream frosting with an airy topper. The other extreme may consist of multiple tiers with elaborate decorations draping every surface. “Cakes” may not actually contain cake, but rather artfully arranged confections like macaroons, brownies or cupcakes. The cake-shaped arrangement can be lightly decorated as a whole to add coherence. Sometimes the cake can be intimate sized with nearby cupcakes to share with guests. In short, the cake is as individual as the couple making the vows which is why Rimann tries to make every cake special.

Her favorite ones are the simplest ones with plain white frosting and fresh flowers. “Greenery is really popular right now, like eucalyptus,” she said. “Depending on the size and the customization, I would say it probably takes four or five hours to make a wedding cake.”

One of the most challenging aspects of making a wedding cake is getting them to the venue in one piece, Rimann said. “We have a cake safe that is like a big plastic box that has a metal pole that goes through the whole cake. All the tiers get screwed in and it doesn’t go anywhere.”  

She enjoys personally delivering and setting up the cakes she designs. The hole in the top of the cake from the safe can be covered with a topper. Often the flowers decorating the cake are real, though she has had some requests for artificial flowers. This month, one of her cakes is heading up to Oregon with the couple marrying. They requested that half of the cake be Styrofoam for ease of traveling.

“Depending on size and how fancy the cake is the price ranges from about $50 to about $600,” she said. One of the more expensive cakes might be covered in edible gold paint, that takes some skill and a lot of labor to apply. With so many options to choose from, Rimann’s goal is to create something special that will make the wedding day perfect. l