Mrs. Beagle, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, FinanceEngagement Date: July 12, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Church Ceremony/Reception at The Waterford HouseAbout Me: I am a true, but rare, Austinite---I was born, raised, and continue to live in this great city! Although
I am an engineer by day, I feed my inner creative side through crafting, sewing, and obsessing over Martha Stewart. I love coffee, my mister, NPR, and exploring all the nooks and crannies of Austin.
I can't wait to share my adventures in DIY and wedding planning with all of you!
This is one item I thought we didn’t need. That was before wedding planning. After we picked out our cake, the baker offered to rent us a cake stand similar to this:
Miss French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
When I originally discussed our decision for our cake, I noted that I really wanted to get a simple white cake stand to fit the cake. I had discussed this with the first baker we met with, and found out that the stand needed to be 16″ in diameter, since the bottom tier would be 14″. So, I began to search for cake stands/pedestals in…
Miss Rainbow, TampaAge and Occupation: 22, Makeup ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Electrical Engineer/ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 27, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Gamble PlantationAbout Me: I'm a quirky (and slightly Type-A) freelance makeup artist who was born in Washington State, raised in Alabama, and now living with my one and only in sunny Florida. I'm fashion and beauty obsessed, and have recently discovered my inner domestic diva extraordinaire. I'm a wannabe chef, decorating addict, and trying desperately to be as crafty as possible---albeit only with a glue gun. I'm hopelessly in love with my fiance, and all things sparkly and feathery. Despite the glittery exterior, I'm a total hippie on the inside. When I'm not making up pretty faces, I love doing what I can to help people, animals, and the environment. Someday the FI and I will change the world, but first we're tackling our modern-vintage-Marie-Antoinette-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland inspired wedding. I just can't wait to be Mrs. Rainbow!
This post is dedicated to cake, sweet cake. I LOVE wedding cakes. Not necessarily what’s inside (I don’t really like cake, more on that later), but the beautiful, delicate, gorgeous outside. Needless to say, as soon as the FI and I were engaged, the cake hunt had begun. I scoured pages and pages of wedding cakes before we chose "the one". Here are a few of my favorites:
Mrs. Bunny, ColumbusAge and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, ReporterEngagement Date: September 23, 2008Wedding Date: July 2009Venue: Everal Barn, WestervilleAbout Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts.
Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
Oy, the Bunny Bridal Countdown has been languishing as of late. We’d best get a move on or it’ll be my first anniversary before I finish recapping that shindig!
After polishing off the too-small experimental Pepperidge Farm coconut cake, I was back to square one with no cake ideas.
All the cakes I saw online were too fancy or too complicated. I wanted something simple, rustic, and…
Miss French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
Our first round of cake tasting went well, all things considered. The people who helped us were very nice, and obviously well versed in weddings. We were seated at a little bistro table (the bakery is tiny) and given 2 pieces each of the four types of cake that I had listed. Those flavors again:
Genoise cake with vanilla mousse and fresh strawberries covered with white…
Miss French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
Saturday was our first cake tasting, and I was possibly a little too excited about it. If it has anything to do with frosting and sugar and butter, well… I’m going to be excited. We went to a tasting at one of the more well known shops in our area. They did my sister’s cake (which was delish) and have gotten great reviews.
Miss Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
Another term, similar to icing on the cake, is “that’s just gravy”. I never associated the two until this past Memorial Day when my Grandma asked for her slice of yellow cake to be placed in the pool of gravy that had collected after she finished her mashed potatoes.
Whether it’s icing, or gravy, this post is really about cake toppers. There were two that I’ve…
Mrs. Lollipop, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 26, Computational LinguistFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project ManagerEngagement Date: August 2, 2006Wedding Date: September 2, 2007Blogging Since: July 17, 2007Venue: The PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh ZooAbout Me: I'm a Pittsburgh transplant who grew up in the deep south. I have a weakness for exotic alphabets, DIY projects, mobster movies and international travel. My fiance and I are both non-native Japanese speakers and we have a bullfrog named Skinny.
So, Mr. L and I had penguin cake toppers on our wedding cake, but I know that if Mr. L had been in charge, we would have had hamburger cake toppers. On a hamburger shaped cake. Scratch that, they would have been on top of a giant pile of hamburgers, because the man does not really care for cake.
Miss Parfait, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Senior Online ConsultantEngagement Date: February 14, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Signature EventsAbout Me: I have a soft spot for all things sweet and romantic. Desserts, love songs, sappy movies? Yes, yes, and ohh yes. My fiance and I enjoy singing to our dogs, creating crazy ice cream sundaes, and generally being lovey dovey cuddle bunnies. We also do socially acceptable things like dancing, throwing Frisbees, playing high stakes board games, and taking unreasonably fun road-trips. We're planning a Korean/Serbian wedding with plenty of playful, personal touches!
I have one more wishful wedding indulgence that cannot/will not/could not possibly take place in real life. Since we’re all dreamers here, I’ll express it anyway!
I would love to have one of our wedding-related celebrations at Laduree, a cake and pastry shop specializing in French goodies. I’ve fallen for their perfectly-organized store interiors, cute window displays, fancy packaging, and unique sweets. So what’s holding me back from booking my ladies-only festivities there? The location.
Mrs. Cloud, RichmondAge and Occupation: 25, Sales RepFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Customer Service Manager/DJEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Cathedral of the Sacred Heart & The Jefferson HotelAbout Me: Mr. Cloud and I are Yankees planning a Southern wedding to show our families from Boston and New York our fabulous city. We are complete opposites, resulting in a wedding to include bridesmaids in pearls and groomsmen in Adidas shell toes. I’m a sorority girl at heart with strong addictions to my blackberry, cherry Chapstick, Coach purses, the Boston Red Sox and our fur baby, Bella. I can’t wait to the throw the party of our lives and of course, marry my best friend!
Yes, I realize this is starting to get a little bit ridiculous. I went over and over and over what I wanted it to look like, and finally settled on something I love. That should be it, right? Not so much. I blame the fabulous Mrs. Cupcake for this one.
Here I was all settled with my cake decisions, and then I got the flu. Not…
Miss Dachshund, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 24, Legal Office AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Computer TechnicianEngagement Date: April 18, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Victorian Gardens of Two SistersAbout Me: I’m a 24-year-old Californian bride-to-be who found love in the most unlikely of places - an online video game! I’m a farmer’s daughter living in rural Central California, but will always have a special place in my heart for the city. My future husband is a 27-year-old extraordinarily tall, exceptionally cute, and undoubtedly Canadian boy who was able to sweep me off my feet and take me for his bride. I love color, folksy songs that make me smile, interior design, kettle corn, my one-year-old puppy, Juno, and my fiance, of course! We’re planning a DIY garden wedding with a laundry-list of projects, all while dealing with the bureaucracy that is American Immigration!
Living in a small town definitely has its perks. So the nearest IKEA or Crate and Barrel might be 200 miles away, but we are getting a Macy’s, and our freeways will never look like this:
Mrs. Bunny, ColumbusAge and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, ReporterEngagement Date: September 23, 2008Wedding Date: July 2009Venue: Everal Barn, WestervilleAbout Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts.
Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
Don’t forget to hop in your time machine for the Bunny Bridal Countdown!
Can you believe that in all my days of planning, I was still without a plan for a wedding cake with less than a month to go?
Neither Mr. Bunny nor I have ever been too keen on cake, so we planned on having a homemade cookie bar instead. Mama Bunny, however, insisted we at least have a cake to cut.
Mrs. Cloud, RichmondAge and Occupation: 25, Sales RepFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Customer Service Manager/DJEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Cathedral of the Sacred Heart & The Jefferson HotelAbout Me: Mr. Cloud and I are Yankees planning a Southern wedding to show our families from Boston and New York our fabulous city. We are complete opposites, resulting in a wedding to include bridesmaids in pearls and groomsmen in Adidas shell toes. I’m a sorority girl at heart with strong addictions to my blackberry, cherry Chapstick, Coach purses, the Boston Red Sox and our fur baby, Bella. I can’t wait to the throw the party of our lives and of course, marry my best friend!
If you remember, I was all over the place looking at cakes. And I have been stressing about this little decision for far too long now. It was time to buckle down, make a decision, and let it go (which has really become the theme of all of my decisions these days, actually).
I pulled up the now very large wedding folder on my computer, clicked on…
Mrs. Sunbeam, San Francisco/Grove City, PAAge and Occupation: 26, Grad Student & Office ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Motion DesignerEngagement Date: May 10, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Harbison Chapel & The Maple Lane FarmAbout Me: Mr. Sunbeam and I are high school sweethearts. We both come from a small town in PA but are growing to love the California lifestyle. He loves wine and I love cheese... the perfect combination! When I'm not drooling over wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school, out being a foodie, or attempting to "walk" our cat at the park. Two things guaranteed to excite me are wedding cakes and breaking out my suitcase to travel. Mr. Sunbeam and I are personalizing our hometown wedding to celebrate our high school sweetheart status and PA roots with a few CA touches. After ten years of dating we couldn't be more excited to call each other husband and wife!
Like many of you, we too loved cakes A & D. We spent an hour or so in Photoshop trying to combine them and wouldn’t you know it.. we were left with cake C!
Mr. Sunbeam felt the off-centered lace pattern of the cake looked a little more modern, and I was a big fan of the flowers sprinkled around the cake. I was smitten by…
Miss Frozen Yogurt, DallasAge and Occupation: 28, Special Projects CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Equity TraderEngagement Date: March 19, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Marie Gabrielle, DallasAbout Me: I was born and raised in Texas, and have lived in several of the cities across the state, but I currently reside in Austin. I went to college in Boston and have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. I love reading, shopping, wine, reuniting with college friends that are scattered across the country, reality TV, trying out new recipes, and attempting all the DIY projects that come along with wedding planning. I'm a "bleeding heart, save the world type" and thankfully my job allows me to work on legislation and policy to help out those in need. I met Mr. Frozen Yogurt in a bar, though he doesn't even drink! And now we are planning a modern yet vintage wedding in Dallas while dealing with the trials and tribulations of first time homeownership.
I emailed Marie Gabrielle to see if they provide a cake stand for our wedding, and they don’t. I know you can rent one from the place you get your cake from, but typically it’s at least $50, and I could buy one for that price. Also, I don’t think I want the traditional large, silver cake stand that are usually seen at weddings.