We are excited to introduce Above & Beyond Cakes, a family-owned bakery where passion and artistry combine to create extraordinary custom cakes and desserts. With over 25 years of experience, this award-winning bakery has built a reputation for crafting high-end cakes that consistently exceed expectations. Founded in 1999 by Meghan, a self-taught baker, Above & Beyond Cakes started in California and relocated to Tennessee in 2022. Whether you’re looking for a wedding cake, a sculpted 3D design, or a custom dessert bar, Above & Beyond Cakes can bring your dreams to life, making every occasion sweeter. Keep reading to discover more about Above & Beyond Cakes and how they can make your next celebration truly unforgettable.
Tell us a little bit about you and how you got started!
We are Above & Beyond Cakes. Established in 1999 as a self-taught home baker, we made specialty cakes for friends and family. That business grew, and with the help of my husband Daniel, in 2012, we opened our 1st commercial bakery & kitchen in Elk Grove, CA. During the first 5 years of our business, we solidified our reputation and became the #1 sought-after high-end bakery in the Northern California region. We had a reach of over 200 venues and a referral demographic of over 500 vendors. Our little mom and pop bakery was able to produce and deliver upwards of 10 wedding cakes and 10 custom cakes to the surrounding areas each week. Our biggest obstacle was having more requests than we could physically handle and finding the right skilled employees who could execute the level of product we demanded. In 2018, we made the decision to operate as an “appointment only” bakery, and we closed the retail portion of our operation. From 2018 until we relocated to Tennessee in 2022, we appeared on numerous local news segments, won numerous local “best bakery” awards, and contracted with several venues as their exclusive bakery for events.
What makes your business unique?
I would say we are unique because we have 25 years of baking and artistry skills, a mandate of perfection in all we create, and we genuinely want to make our clients happy. We have a motto that “If you can dream it, we can create it”, and we do! Over the last 25 years, we have never shied away from any request or challenge. Our reputation was known by other bakeries and home bakers that we could execute 6-foot-tall wedding cakes, fully sculpted character cakes, custom dessert bars, etc., where clients were sent to us regularly when the competitor bakery did not have the skill or staff to create what was requested.
What services do you offer?
We offer wedding cakes, birthday cakes, baby shower cakes, Quinceañera cakes, anniversary cakes, 3D sculptures, 2D sculptures, anything cakes, and dessert bars. Our menu can accommodate dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, Keto, eggless, kosher, and fully vegan requests.
What do you enjoy most about working in the wedding industry?
What we love the most is starting a relationship with our wedding couples and creating a trusting, long-lasting friendship with them that blossoms into future celebration cakes for their family. We also enjoy the wedding industry because the vendors and relationships we create with them become a trusted tool for future couples to utilize. As vendors, we learn about each other, we complement each other, and our referrals to each other have a history and confidence that the client can trust as well.
What is your favorite part of working with couples?
The uniqueness of our clients is what I enjoy the most. At our tastings, we don’t just jump into trying cake and getting the design figured out. We talk at length about them, how they met, what vision they have for their wedding day, their reception, and their cake. This is a big reason why we cannot provide a price list or create an accurate quote over the phone. Those details matter, and we customize their order to fit their budget and discuss alternatives to expensive designs if needed.
One piece of advice for couples?
How can I give only one piece of advice? Oh man, I would have to say communicate and listen to the other person. Talk it out.
Childhood career aspiration?
Hahaha, in elementary school, I wanted to be a paleontologist or an archeologist. But during those years, I also spent most of my time in the kitchen baking. In high school, I definitely knew I wanted to be a pastry chef. I toured a few culinary academies my senior year, but my fear of leaving home kept me from pursuing a degree at the college level. I married at the age of 20 and worked at Costco in their bakery department and as a supervisor. I pursued my baking independently from home and opened my own bakery eventually… following my dream!
Any fun facts or hidden talents?
We live only 5 minutes away from our bakery, which is amazing! Daniel and I have four boys, ages 10, 11, 17, and 19, and they are so wonderful. Our teenagers help us at the bakery doing customer service, bakery prep and packaging, maintenance, cleaning, and a lot of dishes 🙂 Our home is also a small farm, which is USDA-licensed. We currently have goats, sheep, ducks, geese, and chickens.
Our commercial kitchen & bakery is open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays, and we offer over 30 different desserts to purchase.
Fun fact! In 25 years of making custom cakes, we have never canceled or required the rescheduling of an order. We will strive to keep that streak a reality 🙂 We attempt not to take more orders than we can handle. If a situation occurs when we do, it’s all hands on deck until it is done…going several days without sleep and sleeping at the bakery has happened…that is how dedicated we are to making it right.
Reach out to Above and Beyond Cakes today and let them turn your cake dreams into a delicious reality.