Eight wedding bakers and dessert professionals brought artistry, flavor, family traditions, and a little friendly competition to Sweeney Barn in Manassas for the 2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off, presented by Brides & Weddings and Women’s Wedding Network.
Wedding professionals gathered Sept. 9 for networking, lunch, tastings, and the chance to vote for their favorites in six categories. Three industry judges conducted a separate evaluation to select their Judges’ Choice winner.
Cakebee Wins Best Flavor and Attendees’ Choice
Cakebee LLC, led by cake artist Sally Jasionowski, earned two of the afternoon’s attendee-voted honors: Best Flavor and Attendees’ Choice. Cakebee presented Wildflowers & Waterfalls, a pistachio chiffon cake filled with vanilla mascarpone whipped cream, fresh raspberries and strawberries, and finished with Italian meringue buttercream.
The design drew inspiration from woodland paths, cascading waterfalls, and wildflowers. Painted buttercream florals, wafer-paper details, fresh fruit and cascading ruffles turned the cake into what Jasionowski described as a love letter to nature.
Cakebee specializes in handcrafted tiered wedding cakes and confections, with Jasionowski bringing professional cake training and a particular love of intricate sugar flowers to her work. Cakebee led the Best Flavor voting and later returned to the top of the attendee ballot for Attendees’ Choice.
Ketterman’s Kitchen Takes Most Creative and Best Presentation
Ketterman’s Kitchen earned Most Creative and Best Presentation for Dillyn Ketterman’s Steampunk Princess. The creation featured Mango Créme Coco, combining vanilla chiffon cake, coconut soak, mango crémeux, fresh mango and toasted coconut.
Ketterman’s Kitchen offers custom cakes and cupcakes as well as desserts including cheesecakes, cream puffs and mousse tarts. Attendees gave Ketterman’s Kitchen a decisive lead in the Most Creative voting, while it also finished first for Best Presentation.
Cookie Love Company Wins Best Specialty Item and Judges’ Choice
Cookie Love Company brought a wedding tradition with deep roots to the competition with its Wedding Cookie Table.
Jenn McHugh presented 10 varieties: Sweet Peach Cookies, Kaufman Thumbprint Cookies, Apricot Nut Torte, Salted Caramel Shortbread, Fig Swirl Rolls, Almond and Chocolate Biscotti, Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Rocky Road Cookies and Whoopie Pies.
Their concept draws on the Pittsburgh wedding cookie-table tradition, which brings families together through homemade cookies and recipes passed down through generations. The Cake-Off assortment put a contemporary wedding presentation around that tradition while intentionally offering flavors that could appeal to guests of different ages.
Attendees selected Cookie Love Company as Best Specialty Item. Cookie Love Company also received the event’s Judges’ Choice honor after evaluation by the three Cake-Off judges.
Sweet Sage Wins Best Cupcakes
Sweet Sage, founded by Sherise Campbell, won Best Cupcakes. Sweet Sage’s competition creation, Pearls and Promises, featured three flavor profiles: Vanilla Bean Velvet, White Chocolate Raspberry and Chocolate Tiramisu.
Campbell founded Sweet Sage in 2018 and built a Northern Virginia baking and catering business known for customized desserts and handcrafted cake designs. Sweet Sage led the Best Cupcakes ballot by a wide margin.
Eight Bakers, Eight Very Different Creations
The competition showcased how broad the definition of a wedding dessert has become.
Baden’s Bakery, represented by Amanda Baden, presented Marry Misu, a wedding-cake interpretation of classic Italian tiramisu. Baden made every element from scratch, including the ladyfingers, then combined them with an espresso-and-Grand Marnier soak, mascarpone cream, whipped cream, and cocoa powder. A ladyfinger collar completed the presentation. Baden’s Bakery specializes in wedding cakes, celebrations, and dessert bars.
Cakebee LLC presented the two-time attendee winner Wildflowers & Waterfalls, with pistachio chiffon, mascarpone whipped cream, berries, and Italian meringue buttercream.
Cookie Love Company presented its Wedding Cookie Table, celebrating Pittsburgh tradition through 10 varieties of cookies and specialty sweets.
Divine Dine & Decor, represented by Engy Ghabryal, created The Lovebirds Wedding Cake. The three tiers featured Chocolate, Vanilla, and Red Velvet, each filled with freshly whipped cream and fruit. The white-and-gold design was crowned with two white doves and two golden rings, symbolizing two hearts beginning their journey together. Divine Dine & Decor provides wedding cakes, dessert buffets, sweet bars, wedding decor, and event planning.
Ketterman’s Kitchen presented Steampunk Princess, the winner of Most Creative and Best Presentation.
Sweet Greene Cupcakery, represented by Cheryl Greene, brought Champagne & Roses: A Love Story. The luxury dessert studio specializes in wedding cakes, dessert tables, and custom confections, approaching desserts as both edible art and part of the celebration itself.
Sweet Sage presented Pearls and Promises, which went on to earn Best Cupcakes.
Sweet Wishes Patisserie, represented by Arezoo Nouri, presented Cherry Noir in Bloom, pairing rich dark chocolate cake with house-made tart cherry filling.
Industry Judges Select Their Favorite
The three Cake-Off judges were Victoria Wu of Cakes by Happy Eatery, Dana Henry of Visit Loudoun, and Stephanie Roberts of Wedding Experience. The judges evaluated the competitors separately from the attendee ballot. Their selection, Cookie Love Company, received the Judges’ Choice honor.
The judges’ individual comments and verdicts will be added to Brides & Weddings’ Cake-Off coverage as they are compiled.
Sponsors Help Bring the Cake-Off Together
Several wedding-industry businesses made the afternoon possible.
Sweeney Barn served as Host Sponsor, providing the Manassas setting for the competition, lunch, and networking. The renovated barn combines its original character with contemporary event spaces designed for weddings and celebrations.
Cakes by Happy Eatery served as Cake-Off and Menu Sponsor. Victoria Wu and her team created a build-your-own ramen bar for guests, along with shrimp chip appetizers, lemonade, and hot tea. The Manassas bakery, founded by the Wu family in 1984, is now operated by sisters Victoria and Emily Wu and specializes in custom cakes, pastries, and dessert bars.
Be Seated, founded by Janeen Parrott, served as Linen Sponsor and provided linens for the guest tables. The company provides linens, chair covers, specialty chairs, and other event rentals throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Danielle Towle Photography served as Photo Sponsor, documenting the competition entries, bakers, sponsors, judges, and connections throughout the afternoon. Towle is a Northern Virginia wedding photographer based in Leesburg.
AmorumIQ, represented by Elizabeth Kohnen, and Wedding Experience, represented by Stephanie Roberts, also supported the event. Wedding Experience produces wedding expos serving couples and wedding professionals in Northern Virginia and other Mid-Atlantic markets.
Brides & Weddings served as Presenting Sponsor, with the Cake-Off produced through Women’s Wedding Network.
2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off Winners
Attendee-Voted Awards
Best Flavor: Cakebee LLC
Most Creative: Ketterman’s Kitchen
Best Presentation: Ketterman’s Kitchen
Best Specialty Item: Cookie Love Company
Best Cupcakes: Sweet Sage
Attendees’ Choice: Cakebee LLC
Judges’ Choice: Cookie Love Company
The result was an afternoon that showed wedding desserts can be elegant, nostalgic, experimental, deeply personal, and sometimes all of those things at once.
For Brides & Weddings and Women’s Wedding Network, the Cake-Off was also about bringing wedding professionals together around a table, creating new connections and giving participating businesses another opportunity to put their work in front of the wedding community.
About the Writer
Rebecca Barnes, Publisher, Brides & Weddings, is a longtime marketing and publishing professional and Director of Women’s Wedding Network. Through Brides & Weddings and Women’s Wedding Network, she connects wedding professionals, shares their expertise, and helps engaged couples discover businesses that can bring their wedding vision to life. Barnes is also CEO of Imagine, a destination marketing agency. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, traveling, reading, and visiting Walt Disney World.
