Lauren Kitchens; Inset: Kat Harris & Lindsey Shea
Lauren Scruggs and Jason Kennedy had not one, but two special cakes to celebrate their wedding – a traditional confection for the reception and a groom’s cake (which doubled as Kennedy’s birthday cake!) at the rehearsal dinner.
Since the day before the couple’s Dec. 12 nuptials also served as the E! News co-host’s 33rd birthday, the groom got a proper celebratory dessert. Served at the rehearsal dinner, “the groom’s cake was peanut butter flavored with peanut butter and jelly filling, and vanilla buttercream icing,” the couple’s baker Lauren Kitchens, owner of Fancy Cakes by Lauren, tells PEOPLE. “We went with masculine colors of black and caramel with a mid-century starburst design.”
Lauren Kitchens
For the main event, the couple choose a six-tiered cake with two flavors (amaretto with toffee filling and vanilla with salted caramel mousse) layered with vanilla buttercream icing from the Dallas-based bakery. “We made enough cake for each guest to have a serving of both flavors,” Kitchens explains.
And the cake was designed to complement the overall “warm winter feeling” of the wedding, says Scruggs, 26.
“Lauren sent me her Pinterest board so I could see her vision for the wedding,” the baker says. “Although her style seemed traditional and feminine with pinks and blush colors, she was leaning towards a contemporary feel. I knew a white cake with a simple scroll wasn’t the cake for her. We needed to give her a show-stopping cake.”
The “light and ethereal cake” was designed with layers of paper thin ombre chocolate ruffles with buttercream covered tiers, a lace appliqué made from Swiss fondant and hand-made deep pink sugar flowers to make it pop, Kitchens describes.
“The wedding and reception always needs to be as glamorous as the bride and groom. It was up to me to make a cake fit for Lauren’s sweetness, charm and beauty,” she says.
So, what were the couple’s reactions? “Jason saw it first and said it was beautiful and then Lauren saw it and practically cried she was so thrilled.”
For more on Lauren and Jason’s romantic wedding, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday. And The Kennedy Wedding: Jason and Lauren Get Married will air on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on E!
–Michelle Ward
