While every wedding at Hopkins Heartland typically includes desserts, not every wedding gets the full sweet experience of Lara McKone and her one woman show, Dachside Bakery. Lara’s sweet personality and years of experience are apparent with every custom confection that graces our events. As with every vendor connection that we blog, there is a story to tell, and I am honored to share Lara’s story, and how we have connected as friends and business women over the last few years.
A lifelong baker and lover of all things Martha Stewart, Lara completed her Art History degree along with pastry school at the Art Institute of Cincinnati. Her professional career began decorating shortbread cookies at Queen City Cookies. ( side note- she’s still amazing at decorating shortbread cookies). From there she co-launched a shop called Sweets & Spurs in Oklahoma City, which led to her position at The Stephenson Cancer Center. This is where Lara reports that she truly blossomed, learning the intricate aesthetics of food presentation, and offering cake decorating and cupcake classes for cancer patients and their families, providing comfort food & sweet treats during a very difficult time in their lives.
After years of hard work, Lara and her husband Brennan had saved enough money to buy a little camper to travel the entire United States, with their 2 mini Dachshunds, for a full year! (hence the name of her business, Dachside Bakery) This is something that so many of us dream about, and Lara actually DID it!
Of all the places that Lara and Brennan had ventured, Delaware is where their heart landed. Lara began baking for family & friends and created a home baking business. One night, while out to dinner with my friend Lisa, she casually mentioned Lara who was an amazingly talented baker. Being that I was also a new wedding venue business owner, I reached out and we connected instantly!
The same friend who introduced me to Lara will also be hosting her daughter’s wedding here at Hopkins Heartland this summer!! I absolutely love when connections become beginnings, and develop into journeys. Hopkins Heartland is lucky to have known Lisa, who knew of a baker, who overwhelms us with her beautiful, thoughtful, and meaningful sweet treats.
Lara has risen to every challenge we have given her. We’ve done 2 completely different styled shoots, and she was at every meeting, listening intently, and developing the perfect dessert to complement our collective creative designs. I’ll never forget the look on the faces of our top designers, as we were developing the concepts for our recent modern spring styled shoot at the Honey Bee venue. Lara listened to all the ideas, viewed the mood boards, and quietly dropped her bomb. “Baklava, cut at sharp angles, dripping with honey.” Everyone’s jaw dropped, swooning, as the lead designer says, “perfect.”
Last fall, once again, Lara confidently embraced her role of dessert designer and did what she does best; she listened. She heard what we all had to say, patiently processed every element, and created the cozy warm feeling of Fall on the Farm. With personal pecan pies, toasted marshmallow, cinnamon bites, and cranberry cupcakes, it’s like she not only embraced every flavor of fall but every texture as well.
I’ve seen it time and time again. Lara listens to her couples. She diligently and genuinely learns their stories, their experiences, their tastes, and their personalities. Although she appears delicate and meek, Lara possesses a super-power. She can create pure happiness with a dessert that is a perfect reflection of the betrothed.
Lara McKone’s
Dachside Bakery
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May 8, 2021
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