In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, Iron Diamond Media owner Sonja Babich sits down with Kelsey Ryder, the talent behind Omaha, Nebraska-based Love More Sweets, to talk about her journey from the Midwest to New York City and back again, the artistry behind her remarkably realistic sugar flowers and why couples should expect their wedding cake to taste every bit as incredible as it looks.

Ryder’s approach to wedding cake design is rooted in both formal pastry training and a lifelong love of sweets. Born and raised in Omaha, she explored culinary arts while still in high school before spending time in corporate America and eventually pursuing a longtime dream of moving to New York City. With the support of her husband, Anthony, Ryder attended the Institute of Culinary Education and sought out opportunities that would help distinguish her work when she returned to the Midwest. That experience exposed her to chefs from around the world and introduced her to the intricate art of handmade sugar flowers—a skill that has since become a defining element of her designs. Today, that ambition has taken on even greater meaning as Ryder balances entrepreneurship with motherhood, with her young daughter, Annie Rose, getting a front-row seat to watching her mom build a business around something she loves.

Although Ryder creates visually striking wedding cakes, she considers herself a pastry chef first and a cake designer second—and that distinction is important. Flavor is the starting point for every Love More Sweets wedding cake, with Ryder drawing on her culinary education to create combinations that go beyond traditional offerings. One example is her Brazilian-inspired carrot cake, a carrot-forward variation paired with chocolate-honey ganache for richness and balance. When couples begin the wedding cake process with Ryder, they choose from a tasting menu featuring roughly 15 to 20 carefully tested cake and filling combinations. She continues experimenting, testing and gathering feedback as she develops new flavors, all with the goal of creating desserts with complexity and depth. As Ryder explains during the conversation, a cake can be beautiful, but its appearance means little if the flavor doesn’t live up to it.

That pastry background also gives Ryder plenty of room to rethink familiar favorites. Her mocha tiramisu cake translates the beloved Italian dessert into a tiered wedding cake, while special requests can lead her into even more intricate territory, including a mille-feuille made with layers of laminated puff pastry and pastry cream. Ryder also offers some useful behind-the-scenes cake knowledge for couples: properly wrapped cake can hold up remarkably well in the freezer and retain its moisture, while refrigeration can actually dry it out. But flavor is only half of the equation. Her handmade sugar flowers can require days of work as individual petals are thinned, textured, veined, dried, colored and assembled. Peonies are among her favorites, and Ryder frequently studies real flowers—including those growing in her own garden—to capture the details that make her edible versions look remarkably lifelike.

In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, Iron Diamond Media owner Sonja Babich sits down with Kelsey Ryder, the talent behind Omaha, Nebraska-based Love More Sweets, to talk about her journey from the Midwest to New York City and back again, the artistry behind her remarkably realistic sugar flowers and why couples should expect their wedding cake to taste every bit as incredible as it looks.

Ryder’s approach to wedding cake design is rooted in both formal pastry training and a lifelong love of sweets. Born and raised in Omaha, she explored culinary arts while still in high school before spending time in corporate America and eventually pursuing a longtime dream of moving to New York City. With the support of her husband, Anthony, Ryder attended the Institute of Culinary Education and sought out opportunities that would help distinguish her work when she returned to the Midwest. That experience exposed her to chefs from around the world and introduced her to the intricate art of handmade sugar flowers—a skill that has since become a defining element of her designs. Today, that ambition has taken on even greater meaning as Ryder balances entrepreneurship with motherhood, with her young daughter, Annie Rose, getting a front-row seat to watching her mom build a business around something she loves.

Although Ryder creates visually striking wedding cakes, she considers herself a pastry chef first and a cake designer second—and that distinction is important. Flavor is the starting point for every Love More Sweets wedding cake, with Ryder drawing on her culinary education to create combinations that go beyond traditional offerings. One example is her Brazilian-inspired carrot cake, a carrot-forward variation paired with chocolate-honey ganache for richness and balance. When couples begin the wedding cake process with Ryder, they choose from a tasting menu featuring roughly 15 to 20 carefully tested cake and filling combinations. She continues experimenting, testing and gathering feedback as she develops new flavors, all with the goal of creating desserts with complexity and depth. As Ryder explains during the conversation, a cake can be beautiful, but its appearance means little if the flavor doesn’t live up to it.

That pastry background also gives Ryder plenty of room to rethink familiar favorites. Her mocha tiramisu cake translates the beloved Italian dessert into a tiered wedding cake, while special requests can lead her into even more intricate territory, including a mille-feuille made with layers of laminated puff pastry and pastry cream. Ryder also offers some useful behind-the-scenes cake knowledge for couples: properly wrapped cake can hold up remarkably well in the freezer and retain its moisture, while refrigeration can actually dry it out. But flavor is only half of the equation. Her handmade sugar flowers can require days of work as individual petals are thinned, textured, veined, dried, colored and assembled. Peonies are among her favorites, and Ryder frequently studies real flowers—including those growing in her own garden—to capture the details that make her edible versions look remarkably lifelike.