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!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Great wedding venue! Candace is awesome.

Reviewed on Facebook

We chose Cakes By Gray for our Wedding. The tasting was amazing and I have been excited since then. Melissa did not let us down! Our Cake and cupcakes were so delicious that I saw multiple people grab seconds! I had my planner grab some for us to take home with us and even two days later.. STILL DELICIOUS!!! The flavors are not only unique, but they are also creative and flavorful. I can't recommend her more.. If you want a delicious and beautiful cake, then you know who to talk to. Thank You melissa!!!!! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Beautiful Venue, and The owner is wonderful , vey cozy

Reviewed on Facebook

Cakes by Gray delivered exactly what I was looking for in a groom's cake. My husband was very specific on what he wanted, and Melissa definitely delivered! For anyone wanting a super unique cake, I would definitely recommend Cakes by Gray! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I could have been married anywhere. I married the love of my life here....magical place.

Reviewed on Facebook

Honeysuckle Hill was the perfect location for our Rehearsal Dinner! The expansive property offered lots for kids and adults alike to explore. Property Owner Candace Hightower was incredible with her service, follow up during planning, and attention to detail - helping us create a magical ambiance in her breathtaking barn. Two thumbs WAY up for Honeysuckle Hill! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

We had a three layer cake that looked like a birch tree. It looked great. We had three flavors - marble, pink champagne and vanilla chia, all of them were very delicious! My only complaint is that sometimes she is a little hard to get a hold of but she is a very busy lady! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I highly recommend Honeysuckle Hill as a wedding venue!! It is a wonderful blend of indoor/outdoor vibes with a beautiful red barn. We were married in the hayloft of the barn (the chapel) with rain trickling down on the tin roof. The sound of rain on the roof was beautiful and is a moment I will never forget. Honeysuckle Hill was the perfect venue for us... close to downtown Asheville and so many things were included from tables and chairs to beautiful mix matched china. The team was easy to work with and very accommodating. You can have a full DIY wedding to a full on production with vendors that know and love the area. It’s a win win. I loved every moment of it and so thankful we chose Honeysuckle Hill for our big day!!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

4.27.19 Best Day Ever. My wedding was a absolute dream. The space is unique and stunning on its own. Add your own personal flair and it will be something you will never forget. Candace the owner of HH was truly an intricate part of our successful day. She guided us along the way but also knew I had a very specific vision and look for the day and let me do my thing. Hearing people come into your wedding as say this is so the Kendall was truly one of the best feelings as I created this day alongside my husband, families, and Candace. The day was something we will never forget. If your looking for a venue with unique features, close to Asheville, and an true best of class owner this is the spot for you!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

The Barn at Honeysuckle Hill is a beautiful venue. It has great indoor and outdoor spaces and we felt like Honeysuckle Hill already included many of the items most venues would require us to rent along with some very special furniture pieces and added decor that really added a whole other level of ambiance and variety to our wedding. During our tour we were introduced to the owner of the venue, Candace Hightower. She knows her space, she knows all the vendors in the Asheville area, and she definitely knows how to execute one heck of a party! Candace is extremely organized. Coordinating all the moving pieces with her was a breeze as she takes all the hard work out of the process, leaving you the ability to sit back and actually enjoy the ride! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Candace is a true professional who is an expert at executing the Wedding of your dreams! Our Daughter was married April 6, 2019.
The Venue was perfect! We had so many compliments on the setting and facility! The sun light coming through the barn / chapel was magical! Any issues that came up, Candace calmly and expertly had a solution. There were minimal issues since she helped us plan every detail as our 60 day and day of planner / coordinator. We highly recommend Candace and The Barn at Honey Suckle Hill, you will not be disappointed. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Candace and her team were absolutely incredible. Candace is extremely organized and efficient. She made sure we had every detail organized and figured out. The venue is stunning! We could have not asked for a more perfect setting. I would highly recommend this venue! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Everything about Honeysuckle was amazing for our day. It is truly beautiful on its own so we really didn't need a lot of decorations. They made everything so easy and smooth, and our day wouldn't have been possible with out the wonderful crew they had to help us. It was very important to me to have a venue that had both an indoor ceremony and reception space and Honeysuckle delivered. I would highly recommend this venue to anyone!!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Melissa is amazing to work with. The cake and macaroons were outstanding. Great fresh flavors and the cake was exceptionally moist. The decorating was beyond anything I could have imagined. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

I’m not even sure how to put into words in describing how simply PHENOMENAL the birthday cake a friend had Cakes by Gray make for my birthday party. Simply put, it was the greatest cake I’ve ever eaten! Cakes by Gray is hands down THE BEST anywhere around! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We would highly recommend honeysuckle hill! We recently shot our first wedding there and it was a great experience. Candace the owner greeted us with a big smile and hug upon arriving and made us feel very welcome as vendors. The space itself has so much character and since our couple was having an intimate wedding we were able to spend a lot of time with them focusing on couples portraits. The space, time, and atmosphere we were given made it a venue we can't wait to visit again! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We provided the music for a beautiful wedding at Honeysuckle Hill, and the event was top notch. We could tell they took the time to perfect each detail, and the entire event from ceremony to reception appeared seamless and organized. 5 Stars, and a full endorsement from Carolina Music Planner. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Melissa is such a treat (ha!) to work with. From our cupcake tasting, it was clear we were working with an inventive, enthusiastic spirit. Initially, I assumed we'd choose a couple of cupcake flavors and move on, but we ended up with 5! and they were all such a hit. Our couple's cake was a strawberry-lemon concoction, which is my all-time favorite. We can't wait to have the rest on our anniversary. Melissa's set up was beautiful, incorporating our topper and greenery from our florist into a gorgeous tablescape. Cakes by Gray will be hearing from us for birthdays, etc. long into the future. (Picture with Wall-E and Eva courtesy of Amber Greene Photography) More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Honeysuckle Hill was my dream venue. Candace and the rest of the mingle team do a great job as making your wedding exactly how you imagined it. I got compliments from a lot of my guests on how beautiful everything was and how easy it was to find the venue. Even my older traditional grandmother who was first unsure about me not getting married in a church said it was the most beautiful ceremony she had ever been to! I highly recommend this venue especially if you’re looking for a single location for your ceremony and reception. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

My husband and I threw together an elopement (in secret) in 5 weeks. Candace (owner of HH) made this possible for us by being the most flexible, accommodating, helpful, sweet person alive! We did all of our planning without ever seeing the venue in person so I was of course a littler nervous about what we were signing into but WOW, it was just beautiful. Candace has a little piece of heaven in Asheville and it is just the perfect venue for any wedding with the barn chapel, lily pond, ourdoor areas. I could not be happier with how our day, photos, everything, turned out! Thank you Candace! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Our church family gathered together for baby dedication! What an incredibly beautiful landscape to behold! The Barn is simply Amazing I honestly didn’t want to leave! My hopes are to return soon to such a quaint venue! It’s the most beautiful ever! You better run to The Barn at Honeysuckle Hill! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

My husband and I eloped here 10/31 and it was just magical! Such a beautiful venue with a chapel, barn, lily pond and more! We were able to take tons of photos all over the property and Candace was so awesome to work with. Can’t recommend them enough- our elopement was 6 weeks in the making and it was 100% stress free thanks to Candace and her vendors. Thanks for everything y’all! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

The Barn at Honeysuckle is absolutely beautiful. Candace was a huge help in making our day a smooth success. My husband and I cannot believe how absolutley perfect our day was! We definitely recommend Honeysuckle! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

We met Melissa of Cakes by Gray during our whirlwind wedding planning over the last winter holidays. She had set up a beautiful cake tasting for us at Engaged Asheville and we were blown away by her flavors!

As we talked to her about our vision of a geode cake her eyes grew wide and she said can I show you something. We said of course! She shared a picture of an EPIC geode cake and I was in love. This cake was a challenge especially for an 150 person wedding but she was excited to create this one of a kind work of art!

She did not disappoint! Not only did we have a one of a kind geode masterpiece as a focal point of our wedding but the CAKE TASTED AMAZING! All the guests said it was the BEST CAKE THEY HAVE EVER HAD! People were eating multiple pieces and loving the unique flavor combinations.

She really went above and beyond to make our cake a work of art from a visual and culinary experience. THANK YOU! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

My husband and I always knew we wanted to have our wedding in Asheville. However, we did not realize when the day came that we would be living abroad and unable to scout venues ourselves. Luckily, my mother in law was up for the task making appointments across all the major venues in the Asheville area.

She visited Honeysuckle Hill and immediately sent us a message to say I THINK I FOUND THE ONE. She was very impressed with space - a beautiful red barn, rustic indoor chapel, large grounds, and lily pond. What was even better was the venues owner Candace also owns Mingle Events & Vintage Rentals and Engaged Asheville. She has years or experience planning and designing weddings and bringing together the wedding vendor community to work together as one unit!

This was a big plus for us as planning a wedding from abroad we could not spend a lot of time vetting vendors.

When we were able to visit the space while home for the holidays we were SO happy! Candace was also wonderful allowing different family members (Mom, sister, etc.) to stop by to see the venue during different visits. As we had a lot of help from our family to make the day come together it was super helpful that they could check out the space.
The space is gorgeous on its own and is very warm and inviting. We worked with Candace and the Mingle team to hand pick the vendor dream vendor to make our unique vision come to life. We had beautiful flowers from Smash Events Inc. who were also our caterers as well as bespoke lettering by JoyUnscripted. We also added personal elements through picture displays that Candace helped us set up with vintage touches from Mingle Vintage Rentals.

We were so happy we chose Honeysuckle Hill as our wedding day was absolutely amazing! The sunlight shining through the old tobacco barn during the ceremony to an open cocktail hour with enough space for kids to run around a family and friends to catch up without being squished into a room. Before the wedding, we had never had a change to visit the space at night and it COMES ALIVE. The soft lighting and grey wood has a warm glow. As well as the patio and fire pit provide a dance floor reprieve and the perfect space for conversation. We were able to easily fit our 150 guests and have something for everyone.

Final plus (that I think it sometimes overlooked) is the venue is easy to navigate! If you have older guests or anyone relying on support from a cane or walker, they do not have to worry about navigating steps or hills on the property.

Thank you again Candace - we had the most beautiful day at Honeysuckle Hill! Thank you for making our dream a reality and for all your hard work coordinating with us from Europe. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

My husband and I always knew we wanted to have our wedding in Asheville. However, we did not realize when the day came that we would be living abroad and unable to scout venues ourselves. Luckily, my mother in law was up for the task making appointments across all the major venues in the Asheville area. She visited Honeysuckle Hill and immediately sent us a message to say I THINK I FOUND THE ONE. She was very impressed with space - a beautiful red barn, rustic indoor chapel, large grounds, and lily pond. What was even better was the venues owner Candace also owns Mingle Events & Vintage Rentals and Engaged Asheville. She has years or experience planning and designing weddings and bringing together the wedding vendor community to work together as one unit! This was a big plus for us as planning a wedding from abroad we could not spend a lot of time vetting vendors. When we were able to visit the space while home for the holidays we were SO happy! Candace was also wonderful allowing different family members (Mom, sister, etc.) to stop by to see the venue during different visits. As we had a lot of help from our family to make the day come together it was super helpful that they could check out the space. The space is gorgeous on its own and is very warm and inviting. We worked with Candace and the Mingle team to hand pick the vendor dream team to make our unique vision come to life. We had beautiful flowers from Smash Events Inc. who were also our caterers as well as bespoke lettering by JoyUnscripted. We also added personal elements through picture displays that Candace helped us set up with vintage touches from Mingle Vintage Rentals. We were so happy we chose Honeysuckle Hill as our wedding day was absolutely amazing! The sunlight shining through the old tobacco barn during the ceremony to an open cocktail hour with enough space for kids to run around a family and friends to catch up without being squished into a room. Before the wedding, we had never had a change to visit the space at night and it COMES ALIVE. The soft lighting and grey wood has a warm glow. As well as the patio and fire pit provide a dance floor reprieve and the perfect space for conversation. We were able to easily fit our 150 guests and have something for everyone. Final plus (that I think it sometimes overlooked) is the venue is easy to navigate! If you have older guests or anyone relying on support from a cane or walker, they do not have to worry about navigating steps or hills on the property. Thank you again Candace - we had the most beautiful day at Honeysuckle Hill! Thank you for making our dream a reality and for all your hard work coordinating with us from Europe. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

They were professional, warm, organized and SO SO SO good at what they do!! The venue is GORGEOUS and we fell in love with it the second we drove up. It is extremely well taken care of, the bridal suite and grooms den are absolutely beautiful and the chapel is such a sweet and gorgeous ceremony backdrop. There’s a kitchen onsite which is helpful and plenty of parking and a parking attendant who can help guide guests. The lily pond was one of several beautiful spots on the property for pictures. I can’t say enough great things about this place!! It’s a magical place to say “I do”. ❤️❤️❤️ More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Honeysuckle Hill is an AMAZING place for a wedding! I had looked at many places for our daughter's September wedding, but wasn't 100% on anything, until I saw HH! I brought my daughter to look at it and she was sold; she didn't need to see anything else. It was just perfect. We did the "all inclusive" package and it was worth every penny. I had heard so many stories from other friends who, by the time their daughter's weddings had arrived, were so stressed out, exhausted and weren't even able to enjoy the wedding. This was NOT the case for us at all. Candace Hightower, the owner of HH, is beyond amazing. She has fully vetted out vendors who are reliable, fun, professional and beyond talented. Picking from her people was such an easy process, everyone was seriously beyond great to work with and although it's still a lot of work to plan a wedding, this process was a true joy of a journey! I cannot recommend The Barn at Honeysuckle Hill enough. It's not just a beautiful place, it was a beautiful experience, the entire way. Emily was our wedding co-ordinator and she totally rocked it! On the day of the wedding, everything was covered so that we as a family could enjoy the day. They kept telling me that even as the Mother of the Bride, I would be a guest at the wedding and it was so true. We felt so loved and cared for and the day was perfect. :) More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I'm a hobby baker/cake decorator so I was ready to be very picky about our wedding cake. Melissa gave my husband and I a wonderful tasting, and I was already familiar with her mad art skillz, so we knew immediately she was The One! She made us a beautiful 2-tier white cake with a golden drip and decorated it with our local blooms from Flourish Flower Farm. Each tier was absolutely delicious and we're lucky our caterers saved us the top tier or we wouldn't have gotten more than a few bites of our own delicious cake! She also made us several dozen cookies for our cookies and milk bar. Our guests went crazy for all of it. You can get a cake from Publix or Walmart... There's nothing wrong with that. Everyone will eat it regardless! But if you want to really treat yourself and WOW your guests, hire a real artist and chef like Melissa! You won't regret it. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We cannot say enough good things about Honeysuckle. They made our wedding a DREAM. After our venue canceled 13 days before our wedding, Candace and her team saved the day. So beautiful and worth every penny! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Melissa made a Minnie Mouse cake and cupcakes for my grand daughters birthday and it looked amazing and tasted amazing. She was booked with several weddings during the week I requested, but she was a sweetheart and worked us in. She is lovely to do business with and we will definitely use her again for future events More...

Reviewed on Facebook

AMAZING. Not a morsel left. She made my husband’s dream come true with a chocolate cake with a Highland Brewing Oatmeal Stout buttercream frosting. ...WHAT? That was just one tier. I still dream about this cake, and I am not a cake person! Our one year anniversary is coming up. I will be ordering our anniversary cake from dear Melissa! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

This venue was perfect for my wedding! It was absolutely perfect! Candace was extremely flexible and accommodating for when we needed to visit the venue. She was friendly and inviting and helped make my wedding day so special. I would recommend this venue to anyone. And the venue is so beautiful! The décor was exactly the way I wanted it to look and her and her team helped to make that happen. During our 30 day visit, she wanted to make sure that she did everything to make my vision happen. Candace was a delight to work with! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

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! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

My husband and I did several cake tastings (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! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

This place is BEAUTIFUL! So chic, and we had the best time ever! Big open space inside with plenty of room for tons of tables and dancing. Outdoor areas to visit, and play corn hole. The chapel is THE cutest, most intimate little place to share such pivotal moments. There’s also amazing scenery for pictures. I hope someone else I know gets married here. � More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Melissa Gray made an incredible selection of cakes and cupcakes for our wedding. The presentation was beautiful and the cake was delicious. We also really enjoyed the tasting she organized for us to select different flavor combinations! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Melissa is very professional and we were very excited to work with her. She has the same crazy taste buds as we do. We were thrilled with the unique but amazing flavors. We were grateful she was even able to make a masala chai cake for us. Our guests loved her cakes! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Melissa was an absolute pleasure to work with. The tasting was delightful, my husband was blown away at the number of choices available. Our wedding almond cake with raspberry filling was so unbelievably delicious. I wish we were able to save some to have again. And the display she provided was gorgeous. The only issue I had was communicating with the assistant to make sure everything was all set & contract complete, I wouldn't hear back for about a week or so. But other than that, everything was absolutely phenomenal. I would definitely recommend her services to anyone! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

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!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I can't say enough about how gorgeous this venue is. But the real gem is Candace, the owner. When my dear friend's venue canceled on them 2 weeks before their wedding, Candace stepped in and single-handedly saved their wedding day, offering up Honeysuckle Hill on super short notice, and working with the couple tirelessly throughout the week to make sure their day was perfect. She worked with them on their budget, and provided everything from tables, to china, to decor, and staff, all with just 13 days notice. As a wedding photographer myself I've worked with Candace on other weddings and I can't say enough about her amazing heart to serve. She works to make sure that every couples' wedding is perfection, even if that means mopping up spilled drinks on the dance floor! If you book this venue you can expect to be treated like royalty, and every aspect of your wedding day will be attended to. Don't even look at any other venues; The Barn at Honeysuckle Hill is the BEST. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Our wedding at Honeysuckle Hill was magical! It was the perfect venue for our 130 guests to eat, dance, and play lawn games. The space is just the right mix of NC rustic and modern industrial. Highly recommend! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

We absolutely fell in love with Melissa and her baking. For our wedding, we opted for a dessert bar. She hit it out of the park with cake pops, mini cupcakes (with wonderful flavors. ..the chocolate cake w/ lavender icing is a must!), lemon bars, mini tarts, cookies. She also made my husband and I our own desserts (banana pudding for him and a dark chocolate and orange pudding for me). Both were outstanding. We were so busy at the wedding that we didn't get to taste them until after and we were in heaven! Melissa's goodies are creative, well thought out, and so delicious. Everyone was very happy and more importantly, my husband and I were very pleased and satisfied. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Son and my daughter-in-law had their wedding they're. perfect!

Reviewed on Google Maps