Weddingbee Blog

Last night I had one of my first wedding-themed dreams.

We were running late, or we were rushed - I can’t remember, only that everyone was seated really quickly. The weather was gorgeous, and everyone was sitting in chivari chairs on the high meadow at Westwind (the grassy meadow that overlooks the coastline). I was running late, I had no makeup on, and my hair was just down - normal, straight, flat. The ceremony was starting in a few minutes, so I grabbed a strip of extra lace fabric, and tied my hair in a loose low side ponytail with a lacy bow (I’ve actually been eyeing my mom’s vintage lace scarf! I don’t think she’d actually let me use it, though… it’s sooo pretty). I was wearing my insanely stunning gown, but I was barefoot and late. So I ran the mile from our cabin to the ceremony site. Barefoot. In my designer gown and lace bow.

Everyone was waiting there for me, and although only 20 or so (out of 150!) had made it, they all looked so happy to see me. I caught my breath - and I caught the most beautiful smile from my fiancé, waiting for me at the other end of the aisle. I grabbed some wildflowers from the earth, and, holding them haphazardly at my side, I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend. We had forgotten the rings, but we didn’t care - we said our vows, and we married anyways.

My first wedding dream was riddled with hang-ups and problems, but the thing I remember most of the dream wedding day is how happy I was.
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hen I say I “invented” my own wedding cake recipe, that may have been a bit of an embellishment. Realistically, I edited a few key recipes I found online. Editing recipes can get a little hairy, though. You should be prepared to bake lots of cakes, or just scrap some cakes altogether (cake baking is the most volatile form of stoichiometry I know!). I was looking for something pretty specific, so when I didn’t find it as I imagined, I made it that way.

The specific things I was looking for in my main wedding cake were:

• light, airy, and very fluffy almond-flavored cake
• thick lemon curd filling (it needs to hold its shape so that when sliced it doesn’t run)
• light and airy frosting that tastes more like icing (sugary, but not fondant) than frosting (thick, like butter)

Our main cake is going to be - get this - three layers of almond chiffon cake with lemon poppyseed curd filling, and lavender infused Italian meringue icing. We have a lavender and poppies cake!

sticking to simple decorations is best for me.

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A wedding cake is, generally speaking, a pretty big undertaking. Unless you want to make something like this, you’re going to have to think outside the box a little.

this cake definitely surpasses the box

What’s most important to you - the presentation? the decorations? the flavor? the height? the color? Unless you’re a professional baker (or you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and are willing to take a cake decorating class), you may have to prioritize what you want in a wedding cake, especially if you plan on making it yourself.
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You get your wedding minions family members to do things for you!

This weekend I had my future SMIL (step MIL) pick up a chalkboard that I found on Craigslist.

I’ve mentioned how we’re trying to cut down on paper usage for our wedding by including the use of plantable paper. Another major source of needless paper (that will be thrown out within the hour) is dinner menus at each place setting.

I should tell you right now - Mr. Cubbie and I are major foodies (you didn’t catch on to that with my baking endeavors?). I admit to daydreaming about beautifully prepared menus to align with our beautifully prepared wedding dinner! However, I can’t justify the use of these 80 or so extra pieces of paper (no matter how lovely).

There are other ways to attaining beauty and style when it comes to educating your guests on their impending adventure in Gastronomia - a chalkboard menu!

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I also plan on getting some liquid chalk pens to make the handwriting look cleaner.
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I alluded earlier to having a grandiose plan for baking ourwedding cakes. Well, maybe my plan isn’t exactly grandiose, but I’m the one eating cake over here, so I’m not complaining ;).

Let’s talk numbers. Mr. Bear Cub and I figure about 80 people max will come to our wedding (how did we come to that number? I don’t know, cuz we sure didn’t use math!). There are some fancy cake cutting guides, but let’s be honest with ourselves - we’re not going to get all technical about the sugar rations after cake is smashed in my face! Ahem - cake is NOT smashed in my face.

I read smittenkitchen pretty often (read: religiously), and I’d seen some pretty smashing (har har!) cakes on her site. What - you’ve never heard of this lovely site before? Go there - now. I’ll wait. (I can certainly lose a hefty chunk of time with those recipes!)

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Back? Hungry yet? Don’t worry, there’s still cake!

Honestly, I got my first inspiration for “wedding” cake from the pictures on her website (which she sells, BTW).

Pistachio Petit-Four Cake, via smittenkitchen

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It’s about time I share with you my infatuation for France. I may live in South America, but my heart will always be in France.

About 8 months after Mr. Cubbie and I started dating (and 3 months after moving in together!) we took a trip to France. This was a big deal to me. I [nearly] double majored in French in college (it was either the last semester of 2 French classes or a semester doing astronomy research in Chile), yet had never had the opportunity to go to France! They don’t really offer science classes in study-abroad programs in Europe.

Finally in France, we spent a week at a gîte in the Drôme region, just north of Provence (a cute little cottage!). We went for runs every day through the countryside to town (not a bad way to pick up your produce!). By “countryside”, I mean something like this:

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When it comes to planning your wedding, a lot of women tend to have some driving ideal behind the details - be it money (the lack or abundance thereof), crafting, traditions, etc.

While there are definitely several factors I keep in mind in planning our wedding, the one I think of the most often has been the environmental impact.

Obviously “being green” is becoming more and more a popular aspect of wedding planning (frogs are such trend-setters, eh Kermie?). It seems to me, however, that one’s wedding gets the Green Stamp of Approval if you do anything that’s considered environmental - get local flowers, carpool, throw money at carbon offsets, etc. And with that Green Stamp of Approval we can all rest easy that our wedding didn’t have too negative an impact on the environment.

The fact of the matter is that no matter what, your wedding will negatively impact the environment. You can’t get around it. Maybe a little less than others, but it will have an impact.

You might be thinking now, ‘Well, hey! But you live in South America! And your wedding’s going to be in Oregon! Isn’t that a little hypocritical?’

Well - I guess. I don’t know.
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Even though there are a few road blocks to getting the invitations made, I definitely have an idea of how I want them to turn out.

Actually, I have a really strong idea of how I want them to look - is that normal? I feel like if I were in the States, I could start on this project ASAP; the vision’s all there!

Since my hands are tied in this DIY venture, we’re thinking pretty seriously about having them made in the States. We’ve been talking with some vendors, but I’ll hold off on the details until things are finalized!

On to the paper porn!

If I could make my own DIY invites, first I’d take a local class in letterpressing so I could do that myself, also! Then I’d order a whole bunch of plantable paper from porridgepapers - their seed paper is actually thick enough to hold a letterpress design!

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This is the mantra of Mr. Cubbie’s sister, bridesmaid T. It’s so true! Say it with me, now:

Happy wife, happy life!

Doesn’t that just make you smile?

Mr. Cubbie [thankfully] likes to follow this saying. He truly does love to make me happy - even when it means I ask him to read the Offbeat Bride book.

*Note - being caught reading a book about brides is not considered “cool” by most guys!

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For those brides out there who are perfectly fine with their taffeta-filled weddings, I think that’s fantastic! This book isn’t so much about filling your wedding with quirky details, and nixing the favors, it’s about empowerment over creating the wedding you dream of. And it’s hilarious, to boot!

There are just so many things some guys don’t get when it comes to weddings.
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I never thought I wanted anything more than a few sprigs of lavender to top our wedding cake until I saw this:

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The little birdies that Lauren Alane makes are so cute! I didn’t exactly have a “I need to have it” sort of reaction, but the wheels did start a-turnin’. The thing is, I’m not exactly cheap, I just get this crazy idea in my head every once in a (frequent) while that when I see something artsy I like, I can re-create it. There are plenty of instructions on the net, right?
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There comes a time in wedding planning when you morph into a semi-professional writer. No, I’m not talking about wedding blogging - I’m talking about writing your vows! These are your vows, so the caliber of writing is generally a bit above 7th grade English class.

The vows are kind of like the crux of the whole ceremony - everyone’s dying to hear them, especially your fiancé(e)! I’ve always thought it a shame when a groom pulls out a folded piece of notebook paper to recite his vows. I have to admit, though - it is quite heartfelt to think of your fiancé slaving away over his words of promise, number 2 nibbled to pieces, whittled to the eraser, and stuck behind his ear!

Still, everything else in the wedding is planned in detail - shouldn’t the presentation of your vows be equally beautiful?

Plus, there’s the rest of the ceremony - will our officiant read from memory? From a 3-ring binder? From a folder?

Ever since I saw this picture (below), I knew it would be the perfect volume to contain our vows and the words (that we’re going to write!) from our ceremony.

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The only issue is the sticker price - it’s well worth the $80 tag, but a bit steep for me.
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I feel kinda funny telling my friends what they should wear. Who am I to tell them to buy a $150(ish) dress they might (probably not) wear again? If my bridesmaids want to all wear the same dress, same color, that’s fine by me, but I want them to be comfortable in what they wear to my wedding.

A comfortable bridesmaid is a happy bridesmaid, and a happy bridesmaid is a happy bride! (I know, how self-serving of me.)

Luckily, mismatched bridesmaids dresses are becoming a popular way to inject originality into your wedding day!

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This first pic (above) is one of my favorites - everyone’s in a shade of green or blue, and some of them are wearing patterned dresses! It’s all about the effect on the whole. If you stick to just one color, that color might become overpowering. A spectrum of one or two colors, when put together, results in a wonderfully rich palette! Plus, I love how this means that you & the ’maids will look the best when you’re together as a group!

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One of the best things about our summer camp venue is that the staff is so easy to work with!

They have their own kitchen and staff of chefs, and they’ll cater our wedding, if we want (we’re not even required to use their catering!). You might think, ‘Um.. camp food? For a wedding? Really?’

Really! The weekend we toured Westwind, there were a whole bunch of weddingers bopping around the place in preparation for the nuptials to take place that day. Once a couple of them learned that we were there scouting for our own wedding, they got super psyched to endorse the food at Westwind!

You have to remember, this is the Pacific Northwest. Especially in the Portland area, people are really serious about their gourmet food here. Portland is quickly becoming an “it” city for foodies! With restaurants like Wildwood, Toro Bravo, Tabla, Andina, Bijou Café, and so many more, it’s no wonder! Seriously - whenever Mr. Bear Cub and I are in town, we have to make a list of all the restaurants we want to fit into our schedule!

So, with rave reviews from the local weddingers of that weekend, we decided it could be a great idea to have Westwind cater our wedding. The best part? We have the freedom to design the meal to be completely original.

Mr. Cubbie and I love to cook together, and we’re always inspired by new foods we try on trips.

When we were in France two years ago, we went to this adorable little restaurant in Lille (northern France) called La Petite Voute.
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Okay, so maybe we don’t quite have our marriage license yet - one thing at a time.

We are, however, diligently working on our registry!

There are obviously a million and one ways to make your registry, and even more things to put on the registry. Ever the joker, Mr. Cubbie intro’d our registry as follows:

“Hi! When we’re not out gallivanting around the universe, we have realized that we need a few basic things for our house/life. Things like sea kayaks and industrial grade baking supplies. Here is a short list of things we would really appreciate.”

Like many couples, we really don’t need the basics anymore. We have plates (from college), we have a couch, we have linens (from college)… what else is normal for a bride & groom to get? The only things we don’t have are the things we don’t really need. Like a two person sea kayak. And a sweet KitchenAid stand mixer. Mr. Cubbie wants the KitchenAid almost as much as I do!

The other little snafu is geography. How the hell are we going to get all the crap from the wedding down to Chile? And if we don’t bring it to Chile, where are we going to store it (really!?) for another two years?

When we move back to Oregon in a few years, we both plan on going back to school. It would be such a shame if all the money we diligently saved in Chile was bled into rent!

Realistically, what we need is help buying a house.
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I want a KitchenAid like little kids want to stick their fingers in the wedding cake!

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White people like a lot of stuff, and you can check out the rest of the list here - what a great way to get to know another whitey, like me! (I like that it’s a list. As a whitey myself, this helps. We like lists.)
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