Back to PressDudes site

Kari Smith delayed returning to her job at the bank; she wanted to stay home to care for her babies. Her husband, Ken, a long-haul trucker, suggested that, as Kari liked making cakes, she could sell them from home.

Kari’s mother-in-law was skeptical: “Dear, bake cakes for your friends? What kind of a job is that?”

Undaunted, Kari has turned her cake-baking talents and decorative skills into a major business, catering to customers around the globe.

Kari and Ken created Elite Party Rentals in the rural village of Moonstone, near Barrie, more than a decade ago. Kari baked and decorated cakes for locals, often for weddings. Ken made sure she was registered at a Barrie bridal show. The orders started rolling in.

Some customers asked her to decorate the banquet hall or reception area. Kari was unhappy with most decorating supplies available at the halls or from local caterers.

Ken took the initiative, and, while on the road, bought anything he could find that to Kari create the perfect wedding party, including plates, drapery, candelabras and table vases for floral arrangements.

Kari started staging corporate product launches, private parties, anniversaries and grand openings. With little advertising, the business continued to grow.

“It spread by word of mouth and then, with buzz, on the Internet,” says Kari.

Couples, often those working abroad, began contacting Elite with requests to plan and handle all their wedding arrangements prior to their arrival in Canada.

“We’ve done weddings here for people from China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand,” says Kari. “One bride wrote asking me to handle everything, including cake, invitations, and decorations. She arrived in Ontario a week early, attended her wedding, then returned to her work in Japan. I never got to meet her, but got a nice letter from her afterwards, saying everything was beautiful.”

Elite now caters and manages weddings ranging in price from $10,000 to $100,000.

The Smiths invest in supplies that broaden their range of services. For example, new convection ovens let professional chefs prepare food right at the event’s location.

Their service area now covers most of central Ontario — from Toronto to the Muskokas. This year, the company’s ever-growing inventory necessitated a move from Moonstone to Barrie.

“We’ve rented 2,200 square feet of space for a showroom, and storage of our supplies and equipment,” Kari says. There is also a fleet of three trucks and six trailers to carry supplies to and from events.

Ken gave up his trucking job in 2006 to join Kari full time. He imported specialized shipping containers from California. The colour-coded and custom-fitted containers hold Elite’s dishes, glassware and other supplies for transport, for quick loading and unloading.

“I never dreamed our business would grow so large,” says Kari, who will help stage close to 1,000 events this year. “Whatever, the event request, we never say, ‘No.’