Wedding Blog

After a delicious dinner and wonderful toasts, we slipped momentarily away for some private portraits, some of which you saw earlier, and more of which I will show you later. (As luck would have it, the pouring rain stopped just as we finished eating!) Then, we hurried back to the reception tent, where our delectable desserts were waiting for us: A vanilla-huckleberry cake with buttercream frosting and mini cherry & huckleberry tartlets, all made fresh by the famous bakery at the Polebridge Mercantile.

In our rehearsal recap, I showed you a few behind-the-scenes pictures of Dan from the Polebridge Merc bakery putting together our delicious cake. Here is the finished product:

It was just as delicious as it looked, perhaps even better! The buttercream was fresh and soft and the huckleberries gave the vanilla cake an amazing and unique flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had wedding cake as good. I secretly covet the top layer that we’ve sequestered in our freezer every time I look at these pictures…

One of the things we learned about working with Polebridge over the course of our wedding was that unlike many mainstream, conventional wedding venues/vendors, they prefer very little directional input from their customers. Part of the charm of Polebridge is its free spirit, and the personality that shines through the creations of the Mercantile, bakery, and saloon.

We got the feeling that it left a bad taste in their mouths whenever we pushed too much to have things done a certain way. And when we were too specific, we seemed like “pushy city folk”. So, when it came to things like our food and our cake, we gave them free rein to do things their way with a few suggestions. After all, Polebridge is known for its savory flavors for a reason, and we figured they couldn’t go wrong!

With the cake, we didn’t give Dan any guidelines for decoration. It just wasn’t a big deal to us, or worth potentially butting heads over. We simply let him know how many people we were hoping to feed (it was less than $3 a slice!), and he provided a vintage design that perfectly fit our locale. Heather from the saloon gathered fresh herbs and wildflowers to decorate the cake.

While I would have preferred smooth icing, and I could have done without the plastic “columns”, control over cake design was something I was definitely willing to sacrifice to avoid coming off as a “Big City Bridezilla” to our Polebridge people. And looking at this photo, I think it came out beautifully…

In order to incorporate the Mister’s favorite desert (cherry pie!), we ordered a bunch of 5-inch tartlets from the bakery in both cherry and huckleberry. They were set out on vintage crates on our dessert tables.

Guests were invited to take both cake and a tartlet, and although we had ordered less dessert than we had attendees, there was still some left over. I think after the buffet, most people only wanted a small serving of dessert with their coffee, and split cake and a tartlet among two or three people.

These tartlets were SO good, it was amazing. I was absolutely full at the time but looking back, I wish I’d eaten more.

After admiring our desserts, it was time to desecrate them. That’s right, cuttin’ the cake with a big ol’ knife. I had to wield it dangerously in front of Mr. CP to demonstrate my power. Check out his face…

After he got over his momentary terror of his new wife, we moved on to our first cooperative venture. And a 1, and a 2, and a… slice…

We had agreed that there was to be no cake-smashing at our wedding. We’re both far to vain to tolerate cake on our faces or the potential for it to fall on our fancy clothes. Instead, we both fed each other the first bite of cake at the same time. Mr. CP made me work to get my piece, but I really wanted it…

Success! Yum, it was the most delicious wedding cake I’d ever had.

And, uh, don’t mind my cleavage. The cups sewn into my dress combined with the natural bra I got for $5 at an online sale provided more than “ample” support… it was enough to make me look seriously boobalicious in some photos.

One bite was not enough! I wanted to eat the whole thing…

Mr. CP insisted on his very own cherry tartlet because it was his “special treat” on his “special day”. I think he must have had two or three before the night was over.

Doesn’t this look like a plate full of deliciousness?

Oh, man, I am so hungry right now.

In another touching tribute to their bond, Mr. CP’s dad took it as his duty to feed Mr. CP some dessert, making sure he didn’t get any on his suit.

I love the look of concentration on his dad’s face. Mr. CP is definitely savoring that bite of pie…

Sugar-high and super-happy, we stepped outside the tent to enjoy our desserts. Lightened of their load, the rain clouds were breaking up to let the setting sun shine through…

Just as we took this picture, we were treated to another surprise: a rainbow!

I don’t think we got any pictures with the spectre itself, because it was quite faint and low to the horizon, but here you can see us hamming up our adoration for the dramatic skies…

The setting sun was breaking through the rain clouds in classic sun shafts, something that photographers call “God rays” (though the technical term is crepuscular rays). Our photographer put these to use in a few amazing bridal portraits that I will show you shortly.

Next, we take a moment at the end of dessert to make our marriage official by signing our license…

[Credits: All images courtesy of Piknik Studios.]

Previously:
Married in Montana: The Rehearsal
Married in Montana: The Girls Get Ready
Married in Montana: The Guys Get Ready
Married in Montana: The Bus Ride to Polebridge
Married in Montana: Pre-Ceremony Preparations
Married in Montana: Staging the Ceremony
Married in Montana: Our Wedding Ceremony (Part 1 of 2)
Married in Montana: Our Wedding Ceremony (Part 2 of 2)
Married in Montana: Receiving Line & Refreshments
Married in Montana: Cocktail Hour
Married in Montana: Bride & Groom Portraits
Married in Montana: Family Photos
Married in Montana: Wedding Party Portraits
Married in Montana: Our Rustic Reception
Married in Montana: Toasting