An ideal couple for Melissa Capyk, Owner of Wild Cakes in Brantford, is two fun-loving, outgoing people who want every detail of their wedding to stand out so it can be fabulous for their guests and a true reflection of themselves. One way to stand out and really give a wow factor is to showcase your personalities through a unique cake created by Melissa – cakes that are not just wild, but also wildly beautiful and custom designed. Add to that the quality of having a cake baked from scratch using the best ingredients and delicious choices, you'll probably agree with local brides who say Melissa's cakes are the best they've ever tasted.

Wild Cakes offers unique designs for custom cakes, cookies and personalized cake toppers and say that no theme is too 'out there' or too simple. Melissa has been mastering her cake artistry over the past eight years, four of which have been professionally and has competed in several cake competitions as well as been featured on CHCH Morning Live. As a member of several online communities Melissa says she continually discovers new tricks and trends of the trade. We met Melissa, took a look at the cakes that have Brantford, Hamilton and Cambridge area brides raving (some of which look more like sculptures than cakes) and found out more about this outgoing and enthusiastic professional. Let us tell you more...

Personally speaking...

While Melissa had been working a full-time day job she was also running a small business on the side until she decided to follow her dreams and pursue cake artistry full-time. Wild Cakes was opened in December 2007 but Melissa says she was creating cakes for family and friends for about six years prior to that.

For the most part Melissa was self taught and quite clearly has a natural artistic ability and talent for baking and cake design. Melissa also continually attends demonstrations by well-known cake artists whenever she can to brush up on and discover new tricks, tools and techniques so she can constantly push the envelope further with each cake. Melissa spent two years studying Fine Arts at McMaster University and has a Diploma from Mohawk College in Architectural Technology – both of which add even more of an artistic edge to her and her style.

Melissa is not only the cake artist at Wild Cakes, as she told us, "I'm also the receptionist, marketing manager, chief dishwasher and everything in between." She's the one who meets with brides and personally delivers almost every cake.

Around the town

Instead of attending to the demands of a retail shop, Melissa prefers to focus on the quality of her designs and product. For this reason, she works from a commercial kitchen and consultations are by appointment only so she can ensure she devotes her full attention for the entire hour.

We're not the only ones who think Melissa's designs are fabulous, either, as she won the Sponsor's Choice Award in the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry (CSSA) sugar arts competition in 2006 and also competed in the prestigious Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show (OSSAS) wedding cake competition in Tulsa Oklahoma. She was featured on CHCH Morning Live in September 2008 - check it out by clicking here.

Even other cake designers think highly of Melissa, as was the case for Meaghan Preston who had Wild Cakes create her June 2008 wedding reception cake. "Melissa was recommended to me by another cake designer who felt that she would be able to create the perfect cake for me." And, to return the favour, Meaghan says she has recommended, and will continue to recommend, Melissa to everyone she knows who wants an original wedding cake.

Being so well-known and represented in the community has influenced Melissa's clientele as well. One of the main reasons that Kristen Volponi had her three-tier wedding cake designed at Wild Cakes for her October 2004 wedding was because they are a local company. Kristen told The Ring, "Staying close to home and having a taste of home was very important to us. At the first meeting, I knew that Melissa was open to any ideas that I brought to the table and she had her own fantastic ideas as well. She was able to lead the meeting and provide all the necessary information right on the spot." Kristen loves Wild Cakes so much that she recommends them to everyone she knows who is getting married or celebrating a special occasion, and has also returned to Wild Cakes several times herself since her wedding for an anniversary cake, two baptism cakes and two birthday cakes.

Melissa also donates cakes, gift certificates and instructional time to Brantford Symphony Orchestra, Girl Guides and St. Jude's Church and is sponsoring a kids' under-seven soccer team.

Wild Cakes is very active in the online world so Melissa can keep up with the latest trends as a member of the International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES). She's featured on the websites for StumbleUpon, Cake Wrecks, Toronto Wedding Professionals, Great White Snark and Wikidomo. "Wild Cakes is also a proud member of Baked from Scratch, an online group of cake and cupcake artists who are dedicated to maintaining the quality that only true scratch baking can provide," Melissa told us.

The growing wedding cake orders...

Wild Cakes makes cakes for every event, including birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, retirements, baptisms, showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties (yes, some of them are even naughty) and more. "We love making traditionally pretty cakes with a customized twist, funky unique cakes, even 3-D replicas of everyday objects," Melissa told us. But what seems to have gained the most popularity since Melissa went professional are her wedding cakes. In her first wedding season she made over thirty cakes.

With each wedding cake she creates, Melissa says she loves discovering new tools and ways of making each cake unique, "from stencils to airbrush, new colours, glitters and much, much more!" Beyond that, Melissa also loves the feedback she receives from happy couples. "Comments from the bride that the cake was a perfect extension of the personality or wedding theme always make my day."

Christie and Michael Martin were one such happy couple who had their four-tier wedding cake designed by Wild Cakes for their July 2008 wedding. Christie told The Ring, "Melissa had a lot of elegant choices. We wanted something traditional but unique. Melissa was extremely flexible and designed our cake based on a few different photos of other cakes that we sent." She added that since they were planning their Brantford wedding from Calgary, it was great to have such unique and interesting photos on the Wild Cakes' website.

Take a walk on the wild side...

Many of the couples who visit Wild Cakes have some wild ideas of their own, says Melissa. "They have unusual themes and want their wedding to be an event! Even if they choose a more traditional style cake, they want it to be a reflection of their taste and style. They want a gorgeous centerpiece for their reception but do not want to sacrifice flavour for beauty." But with so many unique designs, Melissa told us that no theme is too 'out there' or too simple. Or, too similar, as Melissa says that her artistry is one of her biggest selling points. "We don't just keep using the same techniques over and over. Every cake is something special."

Kristen had her dream wedding cake come to life with help from Melissa. She says, "I loved the fact that I was able to help create and bring my dream wedding cake to life. From design to colours to taste... Wild Cakes was able to show me something and I could choose it or I could work with Melissa and create my own masterpiece."

With a style all their own, Melissa describes Wild Cakes' as, well... wild! "Wildly beautiful, wildly unique and custom designed cakes... We love the unexpected." Meaghan had a travel themed wedding cake designed because she and her now husband were married in Bali and had a reception in Canada. She told us, "Melissa actually custom designed our cake; we met and discussed some options and the end result was better than we could have hoped for. Every detail was perfect, including the passports on top of the wedding cake... Definitely original and unique!" She adds that reception guests are still talking about the cake and how it perfectly tied in with their theme and with her and her husband's personalities.

Wildly delicious...

Quality is a huge focus at Wild Cakes and a big contributor to their popularity. "We bake every cake from scratch using only premium ingredients," Melissa told us. "Our Italian Meringue Buttercream is uniquely rich and smooth without being too sweet." She even says her fondant (which she knows not many people are fond of) is tasty and reminiscent of cotton candy.

Since every cake design is custom and unique, Melissa doesn't really have one that's the most popular. However, out of the cake flavours (which had us drooling just by their names) she says the chocolate fudge cake and the pink lemonade flavours are extremely popular and the newly added chocolate mojito is also gaining popularity.

Melissa told us that that feedback from couples who visit Wild Cakes has been positive: "Most comment that the cake was a perfect extension of their personality or wedding theme, and it was the best tasting cake they'd ever had!" Not surprising with cake flavours like mocha madness and cranberry almond, frostings like Canadian maple and raspberry indulgence (made with real raspberries!) and fillings like cookies 'n' cream.

Cakes, cookies and toppers...

Wild Cakes offers custom cakes, cookies and personalized cake toppers. Melissa told The Ring that their unique designs and attention to quality are just some of the reasons that brides love Wild Cakes. "Two of our most commented on and exciting designs have been our Corpse Bride cake... and our nearly three foot tall Gothic architectural inspired castle cake." She adds that both of these cakes (aside from being really cool) serve to show that even unusual themes can be made beautiful.

Every cake created is priced based on time and ingredients required. However, Melissa says that most cakes will fall into these basic ranges:
• Fondant cakes: $4.50 to $8 per serving
• Carved cakes: $5.50 to $10 per serving
• Cupcakes, regular size: $2.75 to $5 each
• Mini Cupcakes: $1 to $1.75 each
• Mini Cakes (tiered) : $10 to $20 each

"Their prices are very reasonable," says Kristen, who describes Wild Cakes' style as fresh, modern and delectable. "For the quality, taste and style, you cannot find a better price." Christie and Michael would agree as they told us that Wild Cakes' prices fell within their budget and that they received great value for the price they paid.

The custom decorated sugar cookies made at Wild Cakes would be fabulous as favours and Melissa says can be coordinated with your wedding theme and colours.

Custom cake toppers are also a hit at Wild Cakes. "They are hand made in polymer clay to resemble the happy couple and can be customized to reflect their interests or special features. We also source out several unique topper options like artisan paper crowns from France, local crystal monograms, custom cake jewellery and more," Melissa told us.

Returning a year later...

The most common question that Melissa hears from couples is in regards to saving the top layer of their wedding cake, which she has a very unique solution to. You can save money now by not ordering the extra servings to put in your freezer and Melissa will waive the minimum order so that you can order a replica of your wedding cake (serving two to four people) for your first anniversary, giving you a delicious and fresh way to celebrate.

Walking you through the process...

Email or fill out the form on the Wild Cakes' website to book a free, no obligation consultation with Melissa. During this consultation, Melissa requests that you bring ideas, wedding colours, theme, dress fabric swatches (yours and/or bridesmaids'), photos of cakes you love and hate, flowers and décor ideas that will be part of your wedding and any other ideas you want to include. You will also get samples of cake to take home with you to taste and share.

Melissa even sent Christie and Michael a box of cupcakes via FedEx to Calgary so they could taste them before deciding on flavours. "The cupcakes were delicious so we settled on a four-tier cake with four different flavours." They add that even though they were planning from afar, the planning went smoothly. "We just loved how easy it was to coordinate with Melissa, she was very prompt with her emails/phone calls."

Melissa recommends booking six months to one year before your wedding, but keep in mind that if you're booking at least six months before the wedding the deposit is only $100, whereas after six months it's 50% of your order. Both deposit prices are non-refundable and applied to the final cost of your order. Melissa can accommodate late bookings if the date is still available.

You touch base with Melissa two to three weeks before your wedding to confirm the guest count, design and flavour if you haven't already told her that after the cake tasting. The balance is also due two weeks before.

If the design requires further refinement, Melissa says she is generally able to work out most of the details by email, but will schedule a second consultation if required. "We work with all details of the wedding; sometimes it's the lace on the wedding gown, an image on the invitations, the flower choices or even a treasured nickname." If you're serving your cake for dessert, Melissa suggests ordering 110% of your guest count. If you're serving it for a late night snack, she says 60% to 75% of the guest count is average.

On the day of your wedding, Melissa personally delivers and sets up the cake at the designated time and location. Then all you and your guests have to do is enjoy it. Wild Cakes requires a $70 minimum per order. Delivery in Brantford is $25 and $30 in Cambridge. Melissa will also deliver elsewhere and can give you a quote on the exact price.

"Working with Melissa was great; she was very patient with us and offered lots of different options. It was a very pleasant experience," says Meaghan – a bride who experienced Wild Cakes' style, unique designs and professional attitude first hand.

Details, details, details

• It is ideal to book Wild Cakes 6 months to 1 year before your wedding; on shorter notice, Melissa will try to fit you in.
• To secure your cake order 6 months or more before your wedding, a $100 non-refundable deposit is required; after 6 months it's 50% of your total with the balance due 2 weeks before the wedding.
• A $70 minimum is required per order.
• Delivery is available to Brantford for $25 and Cambridge for $30; call for a quote for travel charges to other cities.

Meet for a consultation...

To meet with Melissa Capyk of Wild Cakes, discuss your cake ideas and receive some cake to taste, give her a call at 519-732-9513, or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information and samples of Melissa's wild cakes are available online at www.wildcakes.ca.