Bonnie Brunt Cakes

Bonnie Brunt runs this cake studio from her family's farm in St. Matthews, about 40 miles southeast of Columbia, with a team of five decorators including a Studio Art graduate who leads sugar flower work and a Johnson & Wales-trained pastry cook. Brunt first sold cakes out of her home in the late 1980s, stopped for about a decade, and rebuilt the business starting in 2010; it has since grown into a full-time wedding cake studio serving the Midlands and beyond.

Buttercream wedding cakes start around $6 per serving, with the shop's average custom order closer to $6.50; two flavors are included per tiered cake, with a $35 charge for each additional flavor and extra fees for premium options. Recipes include Mississippi sweet potato, fresh strawberry, and red velvet cakes finished in buttercream, cream cheese, or hand-piped sugar flowers, and the team coordinates directly with a couple's florist to place fresh flowers on the cake. A limited gluten-free cake is available, though the kitchen is not celiac-safe.

Cake consultations run $55 to $60 for an in-person tasting of up to four guests, or a free virtual tasting by video call; a $250 non-refundable deposit reserves a wedding date, which the shop recommends booking six to twelve months ahead. Delivery and setup across the Midlands costs a standard $135, with additional fees for longer trips; the shop has delivered cakes as far as Charlotte and Charleston. Pickup hours run Monday through Thursday at 440 Great Circle Dr. in St. Matthews.