Cake Vendors #2 - visits and decisions made

Soooooooooooooooooooo
Ed and I had our 3 tastings/meetings today.
All had pictures of their work and all gave us written quotes. Here are our reviews (in NO order of meeting or preference):

CV#1 - Recommended by a couple of people who used them for their weddings. We were able to sample 3 flavors (lemon butter, traditional white and butter cake). The cakes were pretty good. We did show her pictures, etc., and she was able to draw pictures of what we were asking for from the pictures we showed her, etc. Her quote was the lowest of the three that we met with.

CV#2 - Artist by educational training; We knew that this wasn't going to be a tasting, but a meeting of what we were looking for. She asked for pictures of cakes we liked, flowers we liked and tidbits about us. She asked about our wedding colors and she asked to see my dress (mind you, NO ONE has seen my dress but my Mom and the store where I bought it from!). I agreed because she wanted to get a feel for our "taste" and making the cake suit to OUR needs, not a picture we brought in. She is really into doing unique cakes, not "cookie cutter" designs. She gave Ed EXACTLY what he wanted in his cake and then some (red "K", diamond shapes, etc.). She looked at my dress and was able to draw a cake that mimicked the designs in my dress (we did hide this part from Ed). Her quote was the highest of the three people we met with.

CV#3 - The pastry chef where my Mom and I had lunch the other day. She offered us samples of 3 of the flavors that I asked for (red velvet,Italian cream and lemon). Her lemon was QUITE tasty! The Italian cream was pretty good, too. The red velvet was okay. It's REALLY hard to make a GOOD, MOIST red velvet cake. She was able to draw what we were looking for after seeing pictures, listening to our needs, etc. The quote was the middle of the road for the three people we met with.

Ed and I, after a TIRING day, went back to his house and discussed all three vendors. We have made a decision. We chose CV#2, The Cake Diva, because of her artistry and recommendations from others that have used her (they have LOVED the taste AND looks of her cakes). No, we weren't able to taste her cakes, but from A LOT of people that have used her, they RAVED about her and would use her over in a heartbeat. We will inform CV#2 of our choice shortly (days are already filling up FAST for May weddings).