December 30, 2009

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Victoria Jackson Weddings/Bella Pictures.

Alesia Benedict and Cake Boss Buddy Valastro.

When it came time to choose a wedding cake, Frank Visconti wasn’t interested in getting involved. Better to leave that to Alesia Benedict, his fiancé, he thought. But after Alesia learned about Buddy Valastro, a Hoboken baker known for pleasing his customers, she really wanted Frank to come along to check him out—and his cakes, too. “This guy’s Italian, he’s from New Jersey. He could be one of your friends,” Alesia told Frank.

Alesia Benedict and Frank Visconti

Victoria Jackson Weddings/Bella Pictures.

Alesia Benedict and Frank Visconti of Mahwah, releasing doves from their cake at their May 9, 2009, wedding, which was also filmed for TLC's Cake Boss.

Victoria Jackson Weddings/Bella Pictures.

Though Frank (New Jersey Bride’s advertising director) didn’t want to go, he says his bride-to-be prevailed by saying he needed to take her because she couldn’t parallel park in Hoboken, home to nightmare parking and Buddy’s now-famous Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop. What they didn’t know at the time was that Buddy was on the verge of becoming the country’s favorite Cake Boss with his hit reality show that debuted on TLC last year.

During their consultation with Buddy, Alesia, who owns a resumé-writing business, did the talking and Frank stayed quiet, sampling cakes and drinking coffee, just like he had planned. But at the end, he spoke up. “I said, ‘Can you do me a favor? Somewhere on the cake can you put a drawing of a dove?’ ” says Frank.

The Mahwah couple was planning their wedding for May 9, 2009, on what would have been Frank’s parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary. Frank’s father died in 2001, and Alesia is very close with Frank’s mother. Frank wanted a dove—made of plastic or icing—to honor his parents, whose traditional Italian wedding cake featured live doves. He was imagining a faux dove so small he’d have to point it out to his mother.

But when Buddy heard the story, his mind traveled back in time. He told the couple how his late father also used to make cakes with real doves flying out, a style popular with Italian couples from the 1960s to the 1980s. “Right off the bat I said, ‘I would love to do a dove cake,’ ” says Buddy.

Alesia appreciated how Buddy took a real interest in them. “He’s a very genuine man,” she says. “He has that old-world kind of feeling of you do well by your customers.”

So the idea evolved: Buddy would create a four-tier cake with ivory roses, grapes, and ivy, and a Plexiglas cage holding two doves that the couple would release, all of which was kept a surprise from their 65 guests. And the surprise for Alesia and Frank was that Buddy wanted to film the dove release for his new reality television show—and wanted the two of them to be on it.

Tag Topics: Lisa A. Flam

Latest Comments

cxjnxs

ass cake

Posted by assey July 27, 2011 17:46:53
Cake Boss/Carlos' Bakery HATERS

I'm shocked this comments section isn't over-run with Cake Boss HATERS like everywhere else. It's ridiculous and disruptive, much like so many people's opinions of NJ residents anyway. Loud and disruptive with something snide to say about everyone and everything. Did it occur to you people that the long lines for that bakery actually subsidize alot of areas in YOUR life? Like public transportation. I doubt it's occured to any of you HATERS but every single one of those people in the line pay sales tax on their purchases and tax money is used to pay for things like police, public transport, city clean-up etc. I live in Florida and altho I can't stand all of the tourists (mainly from NY, NJ, Canada, Ohio, etc) that clog up our roads, our restaurants and stroll their pale jiggly(or orange from spray tans) bodies all over our beaches leaving garbage and their rugrats dirty diapers all over, I'm still gracious to them and don't spend my day trolling the WWW hating on them because they are good for our local and state economy. I've come to have a different opinion of NJ now than I used to, but it's because of the normal people that live there and I include the Valastro's in that group. I used to think everyone acted like the Jersey Shore morons especially with the way New Yorkers make fun of NJ and the vocabulary of a large portion of NJ residents. There's a specific week each year that Walt Disney World fans/visitors/passholders call Jersey Week because so many NJ peeps come down here that week and most of them behave horribly, but not ALL. Cake Boss, despite Remy, helped change my opinion of NJ and it's residents so instead of complaining aboput lines that benefit you, why not thank Buddy for improving NJ's PR.....it would benefit the entire state if the loud mouthed, opinionated whiners would just keep their bad vocabulary's to yourselves and enjoy the attention and revenue all the cable shows about NJ is bringing you? BTW, not every Italian is from Sicily and being Italian is NOT excuse to act like a hot-headed fool...also, until Remy is convicted he isn't classified as a pedophile yet and keep in mind, there are felons all over the world. A sin is a sin so stop grading sins based on your own personal morals! Lying vs. stealing won't work. They are both bad and there isn't a scale to judge sins. One felony may be classified as worse than another, but that only works in legal matters. P/S I can't wait to get up to NJ and be one of the many people in the Carlos' line, annoying ignorant locals. Honk so I know who you are and I'll wave back.

Posted by Chandra October 14, 2010 18:43:09
dove wedding cake

I think it was touching that Buddy made this cake for this couple. It not only honored the grooms father and mother on what would have been their anniversary, but the Buddy has a great reputation for making delicious cakes and pastries. I being a baker and cake decorator also, commend him on what he did. It doesn't matter that it is the only Italian Bakery in New Jersey, the couple could have gone elsewhere if they wished. Job well done, very touching and sentimental for all sides.

Posted by Misty Ferrara February 09, 2010 09:48:33
Carlo's bakery in Hoboken is a joke

This is just ridiculous, come on, seriously doves out of cake?! So did they catch them afterward or they pooped all over their guests and the cake?
I haven't been to that wedding so I can't even imagine that nonsense. However, I've been to Carlo's bakery in Hoboken and not just once and let me tell you any italian bakery in Brooklyn is blowing that bakery out of the water! The only reason that bakery gets so much attention is because it's the only italian bakery in Hoboken/Jersey City area and people have nothing to compare it to. Their cakes might look like masterpieces but they taste like crap. Do yourself a favor and visit italian bakeries in Brooklyn, you'll be surprised.

Posted by Lorina January 30, 2010 15:41:45