Best of Columbus Weddings Winner: Lavender & Honey

When Kelly Jo Jackson brought Lavender & Honey to Central Ohio from Florida several years ago, she knew she was entering a crowded space for wedding cakes.

“There are a lot of amazing bakers in the Columbus area,” Jackson says. Because of the pandemic, however, Jackson quickly developed a way to separate her home-based bakery from the pack: delivering tastings of her plethora of cake flavors (from almond sour cream to Swiss hazelnut) and range of filling options (including fudge crunch and toasted almonds) to customers’ doorsteps.

It may have been a pandemic-era innovation, but Jackson soon found that couples enjoyed experimenting with flavors, and settling on their selections, from their couch or kitchen island. Without a baker looking on as couples enjoy their samples, the pressure is off, Jackson says. “It’s a lot more laidback, it’s a lot more private,” she notes. “You could do your tastings in your pajamas if you wanted to, or you can make it a date night. I do have a lot of couples who want to share their experience with parents.”

During a time when in-person get-togethers were scarce, the at-home tastings helped Jackson build her business and reach customers. Even now, word-of-mouth remains key to the bakery’s success. “I get a lot of customers and clients who had my cake at a friend’s wedding,” she says.

One thing is obvious: Central Ohio couples have developed a taste for what Lavender & Honey has to offer. “I feel very fortunate to have developed a following pretty quickly,” Jackson says.