Vendor Spotlight with The Jenny Layne Bakery!

Cake, cake cake, who doesn’t love cake?  We recently asked Jenny Layne, owner of The Jenny Layne Bakery a few questions about the biz and she gave some fabulous answers!

Jenny is one of our favorites, and we’re sure she will be one of yours too!

1. What led you to this specific wedding industry?

Cakes. Cakes. and more cake. And dessert. I LOVE sweets. I even sleep next to a bag of candy. I know, it’s terrible, but I love anything with sugar pretty much. I made cakes in college, and when I graduated, I knew I wanted to open up a bakery. I made friends with a local florist, and she is the one who really introduced me to planners, venues, brides, and more florists. She was extremely supportive of my dream, and really wanted to share this side of the industry with me. After I started making wedding cakes, I fell in love with the joys of marriage, the brides and grooms who trusted me, and all the amazing vendors I get to work with who pull together every weekend to create magical moments in people’s lives.

2. What do you love most about being a Cake Baker, decorator, and Entreprenuer?

I love coming to work everyday to a place I have built from sugar and flour. I love the creative aspects of every side of my job. From altering recipes and experimenting in the kitchen, to creating edible works of art. My team definitely makes the job fun and entertaining. I love watching them excel at their artwork, and getting excited when they learn something new. We all love a challenge from hanging a cake upside down, to building structures that support 400lb motorcycles made of cake, and Star Wars AT-AT walkers. I also love being my own boss and getting to make all the decisions : )

3. What are your favorite wedding trends right now?

I love gothic romance. I have always been a sucker for black. You can use the color in so many ways to make a cake dark, dramatic, or elegant. I love edible lace and fancy cakes with lots of flowers. I’m tired of seeing naked cakes and horizontal texture. I mean, they’re beautiful cakes, especially when you glam them up, add candied fruit, or flowers, but I’m an artist. I want to make something creative and different. One-of-a-kind Jenny Layne originals! Oh, and I love dessert tables. Mostly because there are so many options for your guests and they make a statement at the wedding.

4. How long have you been in the industry?

I have been making cakes for almost 13 years! I’ve been making wedding cakes for a decade.

5. What makes you unique from other wedding vendors?

Well, I’m unique because there is only one Jenny : ) You can’t take the same idea to 3 different bakers and have the same cake made, unless you show them a picture of course. I love when people come to us and have no idea what they want. It give us the opportunity to create, be original, and make something custom that represents the bride and groom and their wedding. The Jenny Layne Bakery is unique because of the artist who work here, the customer service you receive, and quality of our product, all for an afforable price

6. Tell me about your most memorable and fun wedding/event.

I’ll always love my own wedding the most. Mark, my husband, and I really went all out with a wicked, weird, and wonderful theme. We had a tarot card reader, magician, DJ spinning records, theme dressed bartenders, and guests. Even a ring BEAR! We loved having “Tim Burton” theme decor all over from punch bowls & cake mixers over flowing with flowers, tree limbs hanging over tables with bird cages, musical instruments, and tea cups hanging from the ceiling. We even hung my wedding cake UPSIDE DOWN from a rafter beam, over a table full of delicious dessert options.

7. Tell us one thing we might not otherwise know about you.

I have never taken a cake decorating class. I am self taught. I received my business degree from Texas Tech University and wrote a business plan to open a bakery. It’s the only thing I have ever done after graduating college. I have taught and shown each one of my employees how to work with our different mediums, and allowed them to develop their own ways of decorating so we can be as unique as possible.

8.  If you weren’t in your current field, what would you be doing?

If it was my choice, I would be doing something else artistic, either floral, food, or design. My Dad is a professional sports photographer. I was assisting him for a while, and had the bakery not taken off, I could have very well followed in those foot steps.

9.  What do you do when you aren’t working?

I listen to a lot of music. I love concerts, music festivals, camping, being with friends, throwing parties, cooking, loving on my kitties, playing with my dog, drawing, painting, planting and getting dirty in my garden. Anything outside I’m always down to do. I enjoy rock climbing, volleyball, massages, make up, and sleeping in next to the man I love!

10. Do you have any special discounts or offers for Walters Wedding Estates brides at this time?

We always offer gift certificates at the Walters Wedding Estates Open Houses. I try and stay incredibly competitive in my pricing, and I like to be able to do that for all my brides, no matter where they choose to have their receptions. I do this by treating each couple equally, and offering the best pricing, product, and service I can from the beginning all the way to the delivery.