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See what our clients have said about us! Preferred Vendor List my fav ppl to work with, not exclusive or exhaustive, constantly updated, can personally guarantee their quality, etc set backlinks, proper descriptions, the whys, get consent from ppl Venues: Broadturn Farm, Scarborough: zero plastic waste, local organic flowers, gorgeous venue East River Farm: barn, AC, lawn, fab ppl Arrowhead Estate, Ogunquit fab ppl, beautiful grounds, versatile space for minimony to larger celebrations Greenhouse at Highland Farm, Scarborough total diy, clear greenhouse, industrial to romantic to boho, fab ppl, flowers there Linekin Bay Resort, Boothbay Harbor amazing ppl, on site lodging, ocean views Moonset Farm, Cumberland space, flowers, gardens, house, ppl Photographers: Katelyn Mallet: zero waste, boho Two Adventurous Souls Kasey Ivan Leslie Swan Planners: Jenny Richards Cassie Marie Florists: Carolyn Snell Eastern River Farm Bounty o’ Blooms Broadturn Moonset Farm Abby Garden - mostly local Rental Companies: A Family Affair Officiants: Maria - A Sweet Start Cynthia -

Baking sustainably and consciously to support local farms and business, and to work towards a greener world. Our Mission Hanami Cake Design was born out of the desire to ensure that everyone can eat cake. Whether they have dietary restrictions for health or ethical reasons, or are otherwise choosing to eat in a more thoughtful and conscientious way, we want to be able to offer our clients those options without them having to sacrifice flavor or texture. Being vegan (or gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, etc) should never mean that you lose the opportunity to also choose unique custom flavors or luxurious and high end designs. To that end, we are committed to using the highest quality ingredients, which are locally sourced whenever possible. This ensures that not only do our products taste as good as we can make them, but by purchasing them, we are doing our part to support other small local businesses and a lower carbon footprint. In our eternal effort to be as environmentally conscious a business as we can manage, we intentionally and carefully choose ingredients and other supplies that are sustainably made and packaged. We reduce our waste and overall footprint as much as possible by composting, recycling, and eventually—when our business grows large enough—plan to outfit our commercial kitchen with solar panels to be as self-sustaining as we can possibly be. Currently, we are in the process of overhauling all of our packaging to be either entirely highly recyclable or outright compostable. Above all, we are an inclusive vendor! Love is love and regardless of your gender, sexuality, religion, identity, race, or anything else; we look forward to helping celebrate you on your special day! Back

Find answers to many of your questions here! FAQ I want to book with you, what do I need to do? Thank you very much for choosing us to be a part of your special day! :D First and foremost, please fill out our Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)with as much detail as possible. From that form, you can choose to schedule a tasting with us if you would like taste test our flavors and and/or a consultation to discuss the details of your order. While not required, we highly recommend tastings if time and location allows! (Plus it's a lot of fun! :D) From there, our process will guide you through finalizing the details of your order, from custom flavors to design! We require both a non-refundable $500 Retainer and a signed Contract to finalize your booking and save your date. After that, it's smooth sailing as we take care of everything for you! We'll check in to make sure all of your details are in place, coordinate with your planner and other vendors as needed, and deliver and set up your gorgeous cake to perfection to create a show stopping display for when you walk into your reception! What do you offer? Hanami Cake Design is 100% fully customizable and we delight in working with our couples to ensure they get the cake and wedding sweets they've been dreaming of! We offer a vast array of custom sweets including bespoke luxury cakes, cupcakes, macarons, whoopie pies, tarts, doughnuts, and more! From flavors to decoration, we can usually accommodate any and all requests as long as we have enough notice. We love being challenged and experimenting with new ways to make delicious things, and to make them beautiful and unique just for you! Feel free to start your experience with us by filling out our Inquiry Form!(https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries) Can you make things for people with dietary restrictions? Yes! We specialize in allergen-friendly baking and it is our greatest pleasure to be able to provide amazing cakes and sweets to those with dietary restrictions! Nearly anything can be made allergen-friendly, including gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, organic, and refined sugar free. If you or your guests have other dietary restrictions or needs, please let us know and we will do our absolute best to accommodate! That being said, please note that we are not an allergen-free bakery, and as such we cannot guarantee a complete lack of cross contamination for those with serious allergies. While we do everything humanly possible to minimize the risk, equipment and work surfaces are shared with allergen-containing ingredients. Our couples and their guests need to be aware of this so they can make a fully informed decision for their own health. If you have any questions about how we handle allergens in our space, you are always welcome to reach out! :) How much notice do you need? As much as possible! We work closely with all our couples to ensure that each and every detail is exactly as they've always dreamed it to be. However, our high level of customization and attention to detail requires a longer process than most bakeries to ensure our couples' full satisfaction. The season gets busy very quickly and orders placed even a few months out can get tricky to fill. Our availability is always first come first serve, so for weddings, we recommend reaching out at least 6 to 9 months in advance to have the best chance for our availability for your dates. But never fear: we always want to work with couples who want to work with us, so always feel free to reach out! We will definitely do our best to accommodate weddings within that timeframe, just be prepared to think a little fast! :D During the wedding season (April through October), our availability to take on smaller orders is limited but we do sometimes have lighter weeks! Six weeks is required for smaller orders, with more notice if possible so we can provide you with the service you deserve! We cannot guarantee our ability to accommodate orders placed within six weeks. For very small events, please consider one of our Mini Cakes,(https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/mini-cakes) which we designed for small gatherings! While these are still subject to our availability, they usually can be ordered within a week or two of your event--though earlier notice is very much appreciated! :) Do you offer tastings? Yes, we do! Tastings are $50 for two people to try any (and we do mean ANY! :D) four flavors and/or items that you would like to taste. Additional fees apply if you would like to accommodate for more people at your tasting, or wish to try additional or unique flavors. All of our tastings are available for pick up. We will create your flavors, you'll pick up from us here in Biddeford, taste them at your leisure, and then we'll touch base afterwards to discuss your thoughts and sort out the final details! :) We are able to accommodate in-person sit down tastings by request during the off season (November - April), but unfortunately not during the wedding season (May - October). During the off season, which is our prime booking season, we can also ship deconstructed tastings for an additional fee once the weather is cold enough to ensure safer transits. If you live out of state and cannot arrange a standard pick up with us in Southern Maine, please reach out to inquire about shipping a tasting to you. Tastings include a one hour-long consultation afterwards to discuss the your flavors and the details of your order. A proposal is then emailed to you confirming the design and details, along with a Contract for your reference. Your non-refundable Retainer is due then to finalize your booking, and we get to work planning your wedding sweets immediately afterwards! You can schedule your tasting through our Inquiry Form here.(https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries) We have been working hard to sort out more reliable options for our out-of-state couples and are hoping to be able to offer bi-monthly tasting boxes that can be shipped to you soon! Follow us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/hanamicakedesign/)and Instagram (http://instagram.com/hanamicakedesign/)for updates (and to even have input on that month's flavors! :D) What are your popular flavors? We are infinitely customizable, and have no set menu since we don't believe in dictating what our couples have at their celebration! But there are quite a few favorites that our couples keeping coming back to! Some of these include: Classic Vanilla Bean Dark Chocolate Red Wine Dark Chocolate Sweet Almond Matcha (green tea) Lemon Lemon Blueberry Praliné Spiced Carrot Pumpkin Pistachio Lemon Raspberry Hummingbird However, this is by no means the extent of what we do! Anything is possible, and we love to be challenged and to work with our couples to find the perfect custom flavor for them! :D Please reach out via our Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)with any flavors you are interested in exploring! What are your prices? With the high level of care and customization we do for each couple, accurate pricing is impossible to offer without finalizing the full details of your order. But to get a starting place of your investment, please use the following as a rough guide for our starting prices:* Cakes: Classic: $11.00/serving Gluten-Friendly Cakes: $12.00/serving Dairy-Friendly Cakes: $11.50/serving Vegan Friendly Cakes: $12.50/serving Refined Sugar Free Cakes: $13.50/serving Organic Cakes: $17.50/serving Popular Sweets: Heart Shaped Whoopie Pies: $70/dozen Macarons: $55/dozen Tarts: $75/dozen Profiteroles: $55/dozen Baked Doughnuts: $50/dozen Cupcakes: $70/dozen Other Custom Sweets: priced individually, please inquire (hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries) *Starting prices are calculated on a classic Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and do not include decoration, tax, delivery, etc. Please note that these are starting prices and do not reflect custom flavors, fillings, or include decoration. On average, our couples invest around $3,500 for their unique wedding cake and/or sweets. Please also note that we have a $1,500 order minimum for smaller orders. Prices are accurate as of 2026 and subject to change due to market changes, inflation, etc. For best pricing for your specific needs, please fill out our Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)with as much detail as you can provide and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible! Thank you! :) Do you have a minimum? Yes. We have a $1,500 minimum, which accommodates more intimate wedding celebrations such as minimonies or elopements with guests under 30 people. If you are looking for something smaller, consider one of our Mini Cakes,(https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/mini-cakes) which were designed to meet the needs of smaller gatherings! :) We do occasionally offer small selections of treats pop-up style, available for pick up in Biddeford, ME. These are announced last minute via social media so follow us on Instagram (http://instagram.com/hanamicakedesign/)to find out more! Do you just do weddings? We specialize in weddings and other grand events, and during the peak wedding season (April through November), our availability to take on other smaller orders is limited due to how fast our weeks fill up. We do offer our Mini Cakes year round for small celebrations and other #TreatYoSelf moments! You can find more information about those here!(https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/mini-cakes) But with enough notice we might be able to make it work! :D Please fill out our Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)or reach out to hanamicakedesign@gmail.com to inquire! Can you do rush orders? While rush orders might be possible, our ability to complete rush orders entirely depends on the size of your order and what other orders we are already committed to the week of your event. Please contact us at via our Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)or at hanamicakedesign@gmail.com as soon as possible to inquire and we will do our best to try and accommodate your order if possible! Please also note that rush order fees may apply depending on how soon your event is, and the size of your order. Orders placed or finalized within one month of your event will have a minimum 25% rush fee. What is your payment policy? All wedding orders require a $500 non-refundable Retainer and a signed Contract to finalize your booking and save your date, with the remainder due no later than two weeks prior to your event. Orders that have not been paid in full by that point will not be completed. Smaller orders, such as for our Mini Cakes, require full payment at the time your order is placed. What are your payment options? We accept cash, check, and all major credit cards (via Square). What is your cancellation policy? While we understand that situations change, we start work on your order the moment you finalize your booking with us. Our policy of a mandatory non-refundable Retainer is to cover what time and materials have already gone into your order before cancelling. Do you offer delivery? What are your delivery fees? Yes, we are happy to deliver! :) Please contact us via our Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)for a specific quote. Depending on the size and design of your cake, we may be required to deliver and set up your cake for you onsite. Smaller cakes and/or just dessert tables can safely be picked up from us in Biddeford by one of your party or your planner, if desired. Please note that our delivery availability fills up the fastest. If you live out of state or a significant distance from our cake studio in Biddeford, booking us far in advance is highly recommended to ensure we retain the availability to deliver for you if required. Can you also set up our cake/dessert table for us? Yes! Depending on the size of your cake and the complexity of your design, we might be required to do your set up on-site for you. Dessert table set up is an optional service that we're happy to provide if desired! :) Please make sure to include this when you fill out your Inquiry Form (https://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)so we can ensure we can accommodate accordingly! Do you offer display rentals? Yes, we do! Properly displaying your cake and/or sweets to their best advantage is a crucial part of your reception design, and we always chat about this with our couples during our consultations! :) We offer a variety of cake platters, cake stands, and other display items for rent to our couples for a fee. Our rental policy stipulates that all items must be returned to us wiped clean of grease and food residue, undamaged, and within 3 days of your wedding in order to receive your deposit back. You are not required to rent items from us, and are more than welcome to discuss options with your rental company, venue, friends or family members, or source items yourself! If you opt to provide the display items for us, we will give you all of the information necessary regarding dimensions and weight requirements you will need! (Cakes are heavy!!) What are your standard cakes like? Unless otherwise requested or required, all cakes come with four layers of cake, your choice of three possible fillings, crumb coated in white chocolate ganache for stability, and iced in Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Undecorated tiers generally stand approximately 5" high. Do you use fresh flowers on your cakes? Yes, we do! However, for food safety reasons, we do have two very strict requirements for any fresh flowers or greenery that go on our cakes: 1) They must be non-toxic varieties, and 2) They must be organically grown so pesticides and other harmful chemicals do not come in contact with your cake. If your contracted florist does not have access to these options, then no worries! We work with a number of local farms and florists to source safe flowers for our cakes, and will work closely with your florist to ensure that your cake flowers blend seamlessly with their arrangements! :) We can also design your cake with beautiful hand piped buttercream flowers, hand painted floral details, delicate handmade wafer paper flowers, or we can discuss the multitude of design options that do not include flowers at all! :D These are all wonderful options, but especially so if you're getting married during the off-season! Do you offer discounts? Yes! We offer two discounts year-round: 10% off every order for veterans and service members! 15% off your 1st Anniversary: We will remake your wedding cake flavor(s) for your 1st Anniversary Celebration! We also periodically offer discounts or other promotions seasonally or out of the blue! Feel free to follow us to never miss out on a sweet! :) Can you ship orders? We do not ship any of our finished cakes or sweets. However, we have a limited ability to ship tastings for couples during the off-season within the continental USA for an added fee. Please indicate on your Inquiry Form (http://www.hanamicakedesign.com/inquiries)if this will be required. We also have been working hard to sort out other options for our out-of-state couples and are hoping to be able to offer bi-monthly tasting boxes that can be shipped nationwide for a flat rate soon!* Follow us (https://www.instagram.com/hanamicakedesign/)to stay up to date, and even have input on upcoming tasting box flavors! :D *Residents of Alaska and Hawaii will still be able to order, but prices will unfortunately be higher--sorry!

The process starts here! Wedding Inquiries Congratulations and thank you so much for choosing Hanami Cake Design for your wedding! We are so honored to be considered and can't wait to work with you! :D Please read our FAQs before filling out the Inquiry Form below. We require at least three months notice for wedding orders (though we have been known to work miracles!). Please fill out the form in as much detail as possible so we can best be of service! :) We will get back to you as soon as we can! Thank you again!

See the level of detail and care we spend on each item we make Cakes Sweets Let's create the cake you've been dreaming of!

This is how we get started! :D Congratulations and thank you so much for your interest in Hanami Cake Design for your wedding! We are so honored to be considered and can't wait to work with you! :D Please read our FAQs before filling out the Form below. We require at least three months notice for wedding orders (though we have been known to work miracles! :D) Please fill out the form in as much detail as possible so we can best be of service! :) We will get back to you as soon as we can! Thank you again! Please note: I no longer have any availability for events during the following weeks: 8/20/23, 8/26/23, 9/16/23

It's all in the name! What is Hanami? Hanami is a Japanese word referring to the tradition of enjoying the cherry blossom season by picnicking together with their friends, family, or co-workers under a tree in full bloom! It is a tradition that honors and appreciates the transience of beauty, that finds the beauty in imperfections, and taking the time to enjoy life’s pleasures. We found it to be a beautiful and particularly poignant description for what we do here! Back

Hanami Cake Design was born out of the desire to ensure that everyone can eat cake when they want to! she|her|hers Martha M. Elk; Cake designer Martha Elk has been baking for pure pleasure for over a decade. She uncovered her passion while living and working in Japan, where box made desserts--her only claim to fame in the kitchen up until that point--don’t really exist. Martha spent the next four years in Japan learning how to bake from scratch and her baking quickly became a source of creativity, exploration, and discovery in an area of her life previously unknown. She spent the next three years baking in Bar Harbor and Portland for a... more What is Hanami? Hanami is a Japanese word referring to the tradition of enjoying the cherry blossom season by picnicking together with friends, family, or co-workers under a tree in full bloom! It is a tradition that honors and appreciates the transience of beauty, that finds the beauty in imperfections, and taking the time to enjoy life’s pleasures. We found it to be a beautiful and particularly poignant description for what we do here! Our Mission Hanami Cake Design was born out of the desire to ensure that everyone can eat cake whenever they want to! Whether they have dietary restrictions for health or ethical reasons, or are otherwise choosing to eat in a more thoughtful and conscientious way, we want to be able to offer our clients those options without them having to sacrifice flavor or texture. Being vegan (or gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, etc!) should never mean that you lose the opportunity to also choose unique custom flavors or luxurious and high end designs! We are dedicated to finding recipes for everyone to enjoy! ...more

Make your holidays extra sweet with custom sweets for your family and loved ones! Holiday Sweets Celebrate the holidays right by treating yourself and your loved ones to some sumptuous sweets! To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

See what our clients have said about us! “Martha from Hanami Cake Design did an absolutely PERFECT job on our wedding cake. She was very approachable, and very open to all of our ideas. She gave great suggestions to help guide us on the final design and flavors of our cake, while always respecting any choice we made. The tasting was such a good day - you cannot go wrong with any flavor. We went with an almond cake, but definitely recommend the chocolate wine flavor as well (it's a chocolate lover's dream). The final cake looked exactly like the sketch she made, and her sugar flowers are extremely impressive! Everyone who tried it has said it is one of the best cakes they've had. I already told Martha to expect us in a year for our anniversary cake - and maybe we'll get something before then too!” - Devon "Martha created the exact cake we were looking for. She took our muddled description and turned it into art. It was amazingly delicious and she was great to work with. It's clear that she knows exactly what she's doing, and we're excited to get our 1 year anniversary cake remade from her." -Dylan “MY GOD that was the best [wedding] cake I’ve ever eaten. And it was spectacularly gorgeous. You are a genius. My sister-in-law, Rico, loved it. Thank you a million times. I’m sure you will hear from me again. Really- WOW!!” -Anne "We loved our experience with Martha, the cupcakes and whoopie pies were delicious! We also did some gluten-free and dairy free items that were just as tasty. She is prompt and very professional. And her prices are very reasonable." -Melinda "I've ordered several custom birthday cakes for my quirky son and his equally quirky girlfriend. Each was a masterpiece of design and taste. Requests for odd flavors and esoteric decorations were taken in stride and brilliantly executed." - Meryl "If you are looking for a beautiful, unique, delicious SHOW STOPPING wedding cake in Portland/midcoast Maine, look no further than Martha Elk of Hanami Cake Design. Martha was a joy to work with throughout the entire process, from our initial tasting to our wedding day. Martha made us not one, not two, but THREE gorgeous vegan cakes for our wedding weekend...as well as gluten free, vegan cupcakes. Martha was the only cake vendor we found who met our top two criteria: (1) someone who could make us a vegan cake in an array of flavors without limitations (many vendors told us they could only make a plain vanilla or chocolate vegan cake), and (2) someone who was responsive, organized, and professional. We feel so lucky that in addition to meeting those requirements, Martha makes the most delicious vegan desserts we've ever tasted, and she is an absolute artist. Not to be biased, but I have never seen a more beautiful wedding cake than the one Martha created for us. She worked with us very closely to come up with a unique design that incorporated our wedding colors, multiple "on-trend" elements, and encompassed three flavors of vegan cake. She even found an elegant and creative way to incorporate our favorite hobby - rock climbing - by adding two mini gold leaf-covered rock climbers to the cake's prominent geode feature. Our guests absolutely loved it! Her cakes are a bit pricey, but worth every penny. Martha is a cake genius and I highly recommend hiring her for wedding cakes and any other special occasion!" -Ingrid Want to read more?

See what our clients have said about us! Resources Congratulations! You're engaged and planning your wedding and its so incredibly exciting and incredibly...overwhelming! No worries, I got you! :) Below are a bunch of helpful links to help you on your journey! Feel free to explore, use these are a starting place or as a supplement to your own research, and don't forget that you're always welcome to reach out to me. I'm 100% here for you! :) Blog Posts Want a deeper dive into my process and what I do? What to expect when working with me? All the glorious and fun ways we can explore different and unique cake flavors together? I go over all of that and more in different blogs designed to provide my couples' with all the information they'll ever need about cake design, flavors, and more! :) Preferred Vendor List Simply a list of the other wedding professionals that I love to work with! :) I'm always updating it year to year as I find more wonderful people in the industry! These are individuals and companies that I can personally guarantee their impeccable eye, taste, professionalism, quality of work, and know that you'll be in safe hands!

Thank you so much for your order and supporting small businesses, we look forward to making your day a little sweeter! Yayyyy! Thank you so much for your order! We look forward to baking for you! :)