JoRa Wedding Cakes is not just another cake shop. Joanne Vincent and Hans Raess, the Owners and expert Pastry Chefs, know what it takes to deliver a great wedding cake because they've been doing it since 1987. They're old fashioned in the kitchen (where it counts), contemporary on the design table and open hearted when dealing with people. They still use their own coveted, yet-to-be duplicated buttercream recipes and when you visit their shop you are served a tasting of five different slices of cake and a sketch of your future wedding cake.

It's these things combined with a reputation for serving wonderful designs and competitive prices that keep brides coming back for more. Having spent several afternoons with these charming cake experts, staff at The Ring has a lot to say. Let us explain...

Personally speaking...

Joanne originally wanted to be a chef. Early into her training at a culinary institute (Institut de Tourisme et d'Hotellerie du Quebec) in Montréal, she found that she liked the pastry side of the career most of all. She then took a two year pastry and bakery program that truly taught her everything there is to know about pastries, and of course, about specialty cakes.

Hans trained as a pastry chef in Switzerland before coming to Canada to work alongside Joanne at such renowned locations such as the Ritz Carlton, the Hilton, and the Chateau-Champlain, all in Montréal. Hans also worked for other hotels as well, gaining experience in all types of pastry artistry. Locally, Joanne and Hans have offered their expertise at The Walper Terrace Hotel and the Waterloo Inn.

"We're not just cake decorators," explained Joanne. Being a pastry chef is the equivalent of being a skilled tradesperson. It's who you are as much as what you do. Joanne and Hans have both received a variety of awards for their work such as being associated with Société Des Amis D'escoffier, and a trophy from Grand Salon Culinaire, a prize for Honour and Excellence.

Together, this husband-wife team co-owned a cake supply store for ten years in the Kitchener area, had their own bakery in Prescott for seven and a half years, and after all of their different pastry-oriented endeavours, decided to focus entirely on wedding and special occasion cakes. "That is where our hearts really were. It's what we loved the most..." says Joanne, "And we're really good at it!" With everything combined, Joanne and Hans have been catering to local brides and grooms for over twenty years.

For Tamara Ball, working with Joanne and Hans was the best part of planning her July 2009 wedding. "They were the friendliest people," she says. "I could not have asked for more. Joanne was so patient with me when I changed my mind (a few times) and accommodated every detail."

If it's not fun, it's just a job

At JoRa, designing wedding cakes may be their job, but they don't look at it as such. "For me it's not work, it's fun to do," says Joanne. She explained by saying, "Our cakes are our creations. We like to create, so for us, the more challenging the design or request may be, the more fun it is."

Laura and Adrian Baker could tell when meeting with Joanne and Hans for their August 2009 wedding that they've been in their profession for years and love every minute of it. "Joanne is very personable. She made us feel like we hired a close friend to do the cake," adds Laura. "She had us laughing and feeling very confident by the time we left." They both also loved that JoRa was a husband-wife team, telling us that Joanne and Hans greeted them at the door with a warm welcome and made them feel like part of the family.

Between the two of them, the design is drafted. Then Hans is the one to prepare baking creams, ingredients, and the heart of the wedding cakes - 'the construction', as he refers to it. Joanne does the decorating and intricate designs. Just one look at the cakes here lets you envision just how talented this design team truly is.

One of the biggest reasons that Tim and Sarah Cook had JoRa create their three-tier cake for their July 2009 wedding was because of Joanne and Hans' creativity in designs, taste and attention to detail. "JoRa took interest in our ideas and worked out the best for us and our expectations of our day," says Sarah.

These two professionals will be the first to agree that being organized and ready to work is imperative in a business as detail-oriented as cake design, which luckily for their clients, are attributes they both have.

Wedding style: Up close & personal

Succeeding in the craft of wedding cakes is not easy. Joanne admits to seeing countless style trends come and go, taking many struggling young cake companies with them. That's why a JoRa wedding cake is both versatile and extravagant.

"JoRa had an excellent variety of designs and was very knowledgeable with the trends for the year," Sarah told The Ring. "They had traditional, classic as well as many different ideas that were beautiful and extravagant."

With Joanne and Hans you have the option of ten cake flavours, many filling flavours, two fillings between each layer of cake, colour matching to that of your wedding, bridesmaid gowns, favours or centrepieces, the option of chocolate fondant, and then the unlimited design possibilities. If you'd like to have fresh flowers worked into the design or display of your wedding cake, Joanne is happy to order them and work one-on-one with your florist to arrange everything to your expectations. They can also bring in monograms and other accessories as needed.

One thing that Helga and Samer Fahmy really liked about JoRa Wedding Cakes was that on their first visit, Joanne had a few samples for them to try in the flavours they were looking for. They found Joanne to be very accommodating when she was helping them design their three-tiered wedding cake for their July 2009 wedding. "The design of the cake was exactly what we asked for," says Helga. "The colours matched what we had requested as well. Everyone commented on our wedding cake. Not to mention that it was delicious as well."

The taste of JoRa's cake was the main reason that Alana Kiraly booked them for her August 2009 wedding. "She makes an amazing cream cheese filling that most other cake companies won't make," she adds.

From contemporary, eye-catching, brightly coloured wedding cakes to elegant, traditional wedding designs incorporating flowers and soft lines, JoRa has probably done it all. In fact, Joanne says that anything you dream up is a welcome idea, "Almost nothing is impossible!"

Alana told us that Joanne was very open minded when it came to creating her wedding cake. "'No' was not in Joanne's vocabulary. Any ideas I had she was willing to do for me." She adds that Joanne's style seems to be to make the cake that meets the client's needs.

While Joanne and Hans keep up-to-date on what's new in colours and styles, they mostly attribute their true inspiration to their own visions and those of their clients. The goal, unless otherwise requested, is to always create something special, something that is one-of-a-kind. This is what gets their hearts beating just a bit faster.

Meeting the expert herself

One of Joanne's favourite parts of her job (and one of her specialties) is meeting with couples to plan their wedding cakes. By appointment, these consultations take about forty minutes to an hour, and are used to find out what the bride and groom's ideas and visions are so that a solid design plan can be created for their wedding cake.

"It was a pleasure working with Joanne," say Helga and Samer. "She was very professional, attentive and friendly. Right from the first meeting she made us feel very comfortable and was able to work with our ideas."

Consultations take place in a comfortable office in Joanne and Hans' home. Sample cakes are on display to view, with easily hundreds more designs packed into dozens of photo albums. Joanne also keeps a variety of trade and wedding magazines for additional ideas.

Each time Laura and Adrian visited with Joanne, they say she treated them like they were her most important clients. Laura adds that Joanne was always available to meet with them anytime, which helped with their busy schedules. "I knew that I could count on Joanne to get back to me right away," Laura adds. "As a bride, it is essential to have someone respond to your questions right away so that there is less to worry about. Joanne made it very easy."

Joanne will show you what a 'piece' of cake actually looks like after it's cut. "We talk about the cake, the number of people, the theme, whether to use fresh flowers or gum paste flowers...," says Joanne about the relaxed time she shares with brides.

Each bride and groom can taste up to five flavours when they come in, which helps them through the endless options available to them.

Part of Alana's great experience working with Joanne was the fact that she was able to sample flavours before booking – something she found other cake places didn't offer.

"Everything is dependant upon what the bride and groom want," agree Joanne and Hans. Using tons of books, catalogues and magazines, a design is either put together or chosen exactly from the materials.

Tamara told us that she and her fiancé found a picture from the internet of the exact cake they wanted and Joanne made a replica. "It was not any easy cake to make," according to Tamara. "The cake Joanne did for me was ultra classy with tons of detail. In her showroom, she has cakes of every style. I don't think that there is anything you could ask for that she couldn't do."

"If a bride chooses a cake out of a magazine, we can make a version of that magazine cake, but that fits within her budget," she says. She adds that note because the cakes you see in magazines start anywhere from $750 and can go up to $2500 to create. JoRa is happy to help local couples get what they want without having to pay the hefty price tag that usually accompanies a celebrity-style magazine cake design.

Tamara found JoRa's prices to be the most reasonable in the region (after doing some price comparisons). "For the amount of detail that went into my cake, I felt so lucky to be working with Joanne. The prices absolutely matched the quality that I received. The cake was delicious!"

Laura told us that she felt Joanne was very honest with her and Adrian when she gave them their quote. "She based it on fewer people than we had attending because through her years of experience, she knew that not everyone would be eating it and she didn't want us to have to pay for something unnecessarily… Her cake went beyond our expectations and was worth more than we paid.

Stress-free service & set-up

JoRa Wedding Cakes services the K-W, Cambridge and Guelph areas, personally delivering and setting up their cakes in their clients' reception spaces. This saves you the stress of attempting to transport your beautiful treat without harming or dropping it.

When Joanne and Hans arrive at your reception location, they will set up your display, spread out your flower petals (if you have them), and generally make sure that this element is completely taken care of before they leave. Joanne admits that there is a bit of a personal motive behind their delivery, "We love looking at the final pieces and how they fit into the room when everything is finished."

Sarah loved that Joanne ensured that she would personally arrange the rose petals around Sarah's cake to make sure it was done to her expectations. "I personally think this shows passion as well as a high degree of perfection to her trade, and this is important to me," Sarah told us. She adds that she already has, and will continue to recommend JoRa to friends and family. "When you book with them there are no worries on your day," she says. "All you need to do is show up and remember to eat the cake!"

A few fabulous wedding trends and ideas by JoRa...

Not only are brides looking for works of art for their wedding cake creations, but now there’s a huge focus on making sure that they are as tasty and delicious on the inside as they are beautiful on the outside. "There’s so much talent out there for choice of design and style, brides are realizing that it’s just as important that your guests enjoy the cake and actually eat it, instead of just looking at the creation," Joanna told us.

Brides also seem to be mixing and matching different combinations with different fillings, personalizing the flavours to match the favourites of the bride and groom, including each layer of cake being a different combination.

Details, details, details

• You should book your cake with JoRa approximately 4 to 6 months ahead of time, if possible. Of course, they welcome all inquiries - if they're available Joanne and Hans are happy to fit you into their wedding cake schedule.
• A small $150 deposit is required to book.
• Your full payment is due 1 month before the wedding.

Reaching JoRa Wedding Cakes...

To book an appointment to meet with Joanne to discuss the possibilities for your dream wedding cake, send JoRa Wedding Cakes an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or give them a call at 519-741-9854. JoRa Wedding Cakes is also available online at www.JoRaWeddingCakes.com. Their consultation and showroom is located at 4 Cedar Crest Street in Kitchener (click here for a map). They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.