Unique company tops the cake

Andrew Edwards

When Rena Puebla got married, she was none too happy with the

figurines available to top her wedding cake.

“My marriage is interracial, and there was nothing out there for

us,” Puebla said.

Her solution was to start Renellie International, a new Costa

Mesa-based company dedicated to producing interchangeable,

multi-racial cake toppers. Puebla, who has 19 years of experience in

event planning, teamed up with gift-basket designer Ellie Genuardi to

form the company, which started business in January.

Puebla and Genuardi spent about one year designing their series of

polystone resin figurines. They wanted to make sure their sculptor

crafted the figures’ facial features just right.

“We drove him crazy, but they had to be perfect,” Genuardi said.

The company sells bride and groom figurines designed with

African-American, Asian, Latino and white features. Instead of using

a one-size-fits all template, Puebla’s figurines were designed to

reflect differences in facial appearances, not just skin tones.

“Usually, when you get figurines, a lot of people will have them

where they’re all the same, just different colors,” Puebla said.

So far, the company’s most popular model is the Asian bride

figure. The lowest seller is an all-white set.

Puebla and Genuardi pointed out that because the figures are

interchangeable, its possible to order a pair of grooms or two

brides.

“We knew that it was a really big industry,” Genuardi said, noting

that selling figurines to same-sex couples was part of their initial

business plan.

The series includes a bride figurine that Puebla and Genuardi

described as having a “tailored” look. Instead of a gown, the figure

is sculpted with a white jacket and is an option available to female

couples, as well as women celebrating anniversaries.

The pair are promoting their cake toppers to bridal shops and cake

companies and have sold out of their initial order of about 450

figurines.

Renellie International can be contacted at (714) 979-0200. The

company’s products can be viewed online at https://www.weddingate.com.