About this vendor
Melissa Gray is an award-winning cake artist whose signature style embodies the Asheville ethos — always breathtaking, sometimes quirky, definitely one of a kind — and absolutely delicious. Her original flavor combinations recently scored her a published recipe in American Cake Decorator Magazine, and now her stunning creations are available for weddings throughout the Asheville area.
Melissa’s classical pastry skills, natural artistic talent, and meticulously precise technique are matched only by her obsession with exquisite taste, divine texture, and continually stretching the limits of what’s possible (with cake).
*It’s not all sugar flowers and buttercream, though! Cakes by Gray also specializes in distinctive dessert bars that feature everything from gourmet cake pops to gummy bears m
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Cakes & Desserts
- Cake Accessories
- Cake Serving Sets
- Cake Stands
- Cake Toppers
- Cake Cutting & Serving
- Cake Delivery & Setup
Dietary Options
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Kosher
- Nut Free
- Organic
- Sugar Free
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.3
out of 5.018 reviews
If you want a unique and delicious wedding cake, Melissa of Cakes by Gray should be your first choice! Her tasting was fun, interactive, and so creative. Her flavors span from traditional to wild and you get to be the driver of how creative you want the cake to be. Our wedding cake turned out beautifully, and all of our guests absolutely loved the exciting flavors. Our favorite flavor combo had to be the almond cake, pineapple curd, and lavender buttercream. The chocolate cake with cherry jam and black pepper buttercream was a crowd favorite - we actually didn't even get to have any before it all disappeared! We can't recommend Cakes by Gray enough!
Melissa was fantastic. From her unique flavor combinations, of which we were able to try all at her thorough tasting, to the absolutly beautiful cake and cupcakes she created for us, she was amazing! Her artistry really shines through and her love of creation. She was professional in delivery and set up and worked well with our wedding planner. We could not have imagiend a more delicious cake.
Melissa forgot my wedding cake. No call, no show and we were left with nothing after paying in full two months prior. After leaving a one-star review on Google, she threatened us with legal action by "slander" even though slander would have to be false information. Obviously that has not happened because there is no such thing as slanderous truth. There's nothing false about me and my guests not eating her cake because it wasn't there. She demanded I not only take down my review, but also somehow possess the bodies of the guests at my wedding who also chose to leave a bad review so those could be taken down, or else face a lawsuit. Even though each and every one of those guests dealt with the negative consequences of her mistake as well. The cake was supposed to feed 40, meaning 40 guests are at liberty to be upset.
Her excuse to me on a phone call made in anger (after telling me in email that all further contact would be from her attorneys) was that we did not send her a timeline, but she never asked for one and this was not in the contract. On the phone, she said she did not forget it at all...which means she purposely blindsided a bride without so much as a phone call just because that bride didn't adhere to an imaginary requirement she made up to cover up her unprofessionalism. You decide if you want to do business with that. I feel every bride deserves to at least be warned of the possibility of her business practices getting in the way of your receiving the desired product. She indeed failed to silence or intimidate me, but I should never had to deal with the harassment in the first place (on my honeymoon at that) after she is the one to have been in breach of her own contract. Her words from her email say so much: "I was prepared to write you a very apologetic email today with multiple ideas on how I could make up for this, but you have gone too far." So I no longer deserve an apology either, especially because she is convinced she did nothing wrong. After all, if she purposely didn't give me a cake, what's there to apologize for? She is being a child throwing a tantrum who can't face the consequences of her gigantic mistake. Please go with a bakery who will make you a real cake, not an imaginary one that comes with imaginary rules.
To make a long story short I asked for my contract from Melissa about a month after the tasting and after giving her $500 deposit. She emailed me back saying that she was going on a vacation and will write the contract after she returns.
Every other vendor I have worked with has been able to get me a contract in less than 2 days. I kindly asked for a refund of $450 (minus $50 for the tasting) and gave Melissa ample time to reply. She finally did and said she was taking out an extra $50 for "a retainer fee" (mind you, nothing has been signed at this point so this fee is fiat). She also reminded me that she did not have to refund me anything at all and had every right to keep all of the $500.
It shouldn't have taken a month to get a contract from her. Melissa never communicated as to why it was taking so long for her to complete a contract. Anyway, for any brides out there: please, please, please get a contract signed by both parties before giving any vendor any money.
Absolutely disappointed by Melissa’s professionalism and commitment to her clients. With my sister’s wedding being canceled due to a mandated order by Governor Cooper regarding the COVID-19 virus, we reached out to Melissa with heavy hearts to discuss our order. Instead, she had not responded to any calls, voicemails, or emails. As a professional, it is her job to act responsibly, and with the upmost regard for clients. Melissa has decided to profit from a national pandemic. Shame!
Melissa is amazing and has such an eye for unique flavors! She was so much fun to have a tasting event with, and cracked us up with jokes the entire time. She gave us so many different options for the big day, but we chose to go with a small two tier cake with 6 dozen cupcakes in assorted flavors. One of our cupcakes was blue cheese almond flavored and was such a HIT! My dad wouldn't stop talking about how perfect the consistency of the cake was the day after the wedding (which he's hard to please). If you're looking for a stand out cake and/or dessert table with crazy flavors - definitely choose Cakes by Gray.
Melissa from Cakes by Gray is such a talented baker and has some of the most interesting flavors for wedding cakes! Our tasting with her was so fun and delicious! When it came time to selecting our cake flavors, we opted to do a strawberry cake with a basil filling for one tier and an almond cake with pear purée and cinnamon filling for the other tier. I loved that we were able to incorporate so many amazing flavors into our cake! We also decided to do a little dessert bar of mini pecan pies, chocolate peanut butter shooters (my husband’s personal favorite), vanilla chai cake pops, and rainbow cookie donuts (a creation my husband personally requested...our guests absolutely loved them!!). Now that the wedding is over, I can say that not only were all the desserts displayed in such an aesthetically pleasing way, but everything tasted so delicious as well!! I highly recommend Melissa!!
Melissa was absolutely wonderful to work with. From the tastings, to emails and phone calls about the day, and putting our vision together with her beautiful cake, cupcakes, and wedding favor cookies. I couldn't recommend her more. Everything was delicious!
Melissa was absolutely fabulous! I am so happy I went with her for my cake-- it was perfect!! Not only did it look beautiful, it tasted AMAZING!! I got so many compliments about the cake the day of. I chose to do a dessert bar with her as well, and the macaroons and cupcakes were a DREAM! (again, the display was beautiful and they tasted even better!) She truly is talented-- if you are trying to decide-- choose Cakes by Gray! :)
My husband and I did several cake tastings for our wedding (because....why not??) and we had almost settled on a different baker, but we were able to squeeze in a tasting with Melissa at the last minute, and as soon as we met her I knew we had found the right one! The tasting itself was the best -- she had everything meticulously and beautifully laid out, and we had so much fun trying all the different flavors and fillings and picking our favorites! (Side note, I'm usually not a big fan of buttercream, but I could eat Melissa's by the spoonful.) We ended up getting a bigger cake than we initially wanted, just because it was so delicious and we couldn't narrow down all the flavors we wanted. She offers a lot of flavor options, from the classics to the interesting and unique.
Aside from the cake itself, Melissa was responsive, reliable, super friendly, and accommodating when we changed our minds five times about the size and flavors we wanted. She also worked with us on budget, and nailed the simple and elegant look we wanted. Melissa clearly puts a lot of love into her work and it shows. We couldn't have been happier!
Melissa is SO talented with her creative flavors and designs that I was instantly drawn to her when booking a baker for our wedding. Because we were having a very small and intimate wedding of only 36 guests Melissa gave us a box full of cupcakes for our cake tasting! She not only filled the box with the options we wanted to try but she also gave us many more options of her very best recommendations. I must admit that they were all so very delicious that it made it very hard to choose! We settled on a 3-tiered marble and red velvet "naked" cake. The top and bottom tiers were marble and the middle tier was red velvet, all covered in buttercream icing. We also had Melissa make caramel-dipped Granny Smith apples for us and our guests as a delicious wedding favor. We received so many compliments over how beautiful the cake was and how delicious the cake and the apples were! I'm so glad I stumbled upon Melissa and were able to book her for our most important and special day. Thank you Melissa!!
Melissa went above and beyond for our cake. She was the only artist that was up for the navy blue fondant challenge. I brought her a picture of a cake from Pinterest and she blew that out of the water. And the taste was amazing! Thank you so much!
Melissa was fantastic to work with and her desserts were amazing! We couldn't have been happier
Cakes by Gray have been excellent to work with. Her responsiveness and willingness to answer a million questions won me over with her, not to mention all the little pieces of heaven she made for our wedding reception. I'm grateful for crossing paths. Thank you!
Cakes by Gray was the PERFECT choice for us! We could not have asked for better service! She consulted with us numerous times before the wedding and listened to every one of our ideas and concerns. If you're looking for amazing cakes your guests will rave about, look no further! Our guests went back for more and still couldn't get enough. For great service, good prices, and excellent follow through, go with Cakes by Gray.
Cakes by Gray did a wonderful job creating the most delicious wedding cake (and beautiful!) Melissa was professional and went out of her way to create a cake that reflected our shappy chic wedding. From the tasting she did for us (that was so yummy!) to the constant follow up, she made sure our special day ended with the perfect cake. We received so many compliments from our guest about the cake! Hat's off Melissa!
Melissa did a 60th wedding anniversary cake for me, and it was spectacular. Everyone loved it. I would highly recommend her for a delicious, efficient, and dependable experience.
My cake was beautiful and tasted amazing. Wedding cake is wedding cake, right? That's what I thought. I was just looking to get something pretty. What I got was a gorgeous cake AND the best tasting cake I've ever had in my life! I am now looking forward to enjoying a Cakes By Gray cake for my daughter's birthday.
Contact
Asheville and the surrounding areas