Our Paper Anniversary

We've come to the end of our newly wed status (not that we ever really were). One year married. We made all kinds of plans for what we would do on our first anniversary, but life happened. We were going to eat at the lovely restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner, but with Leeloo only one day post-op and all the stress lately I just wanted a low key dinner near by and a couple of drinks.

It took three tries to find a restaurant close to home without a ridiculousness wait. Forty-five minutes to an hour, really? On a THURSDAY? I know not all of those people were married on Wednesday a year ago. Third time was the charm and we waltzed in and were seated immediately. It was even happy hour. We had a lovely dinner. We toasted...um...something...I think maybe we just said Sláinte! It means "to your health" in Irish. We were just so relieved to take a moment for ourselves. Once we'd had our fill we decided to take a walk.

After our walk we were both ready to get home. I'd given Mike his present as soon as it came in. I ordered him an LED shower head. We've nicknamed it the "rainbow shower." It's a big hit with Mike and the kids. My gift was an upgrade to my engagement ring setting, but my current side stones didn't fit so that's on the back burner for now. When we got home the kids were still awake watching Wreck it Ralph 3D in their jammies. So, I told Mike to cut everyone a piece of of cake from our top tier.

I was very nervous. Year old cake...um...yum? I had even threatened to throw it out once or twice because it took up valuable freezer space. I was completely reassured by how beautiful it still looked. Can you believe that was in the freezer for a year? I mean look at it! It tasted as good as I remembered. Mint chocolate cake with chocolate ganache. Everyone was pleased. I fully intend to contact our baker and tell her so. Once the kids had their cake and brushed their teeth it was off to bed. Mike and I had a quiet evening of old Sci-fi TV. It was lovely. Bring on year two!

The Other Cake Tasting

It's been awhile since I went for it and you may think why even write about the place you didn't pick, but I view it as a learning experience. First of all this place was my first choice when I started planning. I'd read about them on the knot and various local blogs. To my mind they were my answer to Ace of Cakes.

I first contacted them through the Contact Us form on their website. Above their form it says something to the effect of we're busy give us time to get back to you. Well, I sent my request on July 22nd and got an email response on July 24th. I thought, "Not bad, I can live with a 48hr turn around." That begun a chain of emails spanning until late August attempting to get an appointment. Never once did I get a list of days and times in the same email. Always a day or two to which I answer which was better and a day (or three) later I'd get a time/notice it was already taken. Not fun.

I got an appointment and they gave me a special time slot because their policy is to start seeing people at 4:30pm (Rush hour over the bridge? No thanks.). Lara and I ventured out that day excited to taste their wares and see their take on my dream cake. Unfortunately, their address isn't listed ANYWHERE. You can find the street and city, but not the actual number. I never received a confirmation of my appointment or an answer to my last question. So, of course no directions. I'd driven past it before, but it had been awhile. Surely, we'd see the sign.

Turns out after driving up and down the length of the street for too long not to be irritated and leaving 4 messages (2 from me, 1 from Lara and 1 from another bridesmaid) asking for directions that all went to directly to voice mail, it turned out they no longer have a sign. Awesome.

She was incredibly welcoming despite our tardiness. We got right to work on the design.She envisioned a low relief tree on the face of the cake. The rest of the layers would be the texture and colors of moss. The tree would have a door set in it and a vine growing through it. She also added a few black and white anemones to some branches. I thought she really listened to me and completely understood the vibe of the wedding. She (like the other baker) has a fine arts background. She seemed enthusiastic about the idea of my cake.

After mui, mui design talk we moved on to the tasting part. We were off to a good start because none of the choices were neon green. I even discovered in the paperwork I took home under flavor it said "Mint chocolate. NO GREEN." Somewhere there is an army of brides who want green cake. She presented two options for our flavor and a sampling of their other options. She wanted me to see what else they do. The first option for my flavor was made with fresh mint and a chocolate ganache. The second option was made with spearmint oil and white chocolate. I must say before I critique anything, their cake was better to the other place. Very delicious. She did admit she doesn't eat mint due to an unfortunate incident as a child. So she didn't taste the cake and as a result the mint was too strong and the chocolate was too subtle. I preferred the white chocolate option to the ganache hands down.

Thoughtfully eating cake is something I could stand to do all day. As for her other flavors there was a raspberry one I enjoyed and by far my favorite was something called Exotica which had pineapple, passion fruit and mango. Oh, boy do I need an excuse to order that flavor! Yum.

In the end I felt they were disorganized, slow to communicate, hard to find, far from the venue and out of our budget. Mike and I agreed it was better tasting cake. Micheal wasn't excited by fresh mint because it can't be evenly measured and was completely disturbed by someone who doesn't like mint making our cake. Beyond that he pointed out that her design was only pretty from the front. I get this exclusive vibe, maybe it's the no sign thing. I don't feel like they'd work with me and be there when I had questions.

We made the right choice.

Let Me Eat Cake

Cake Topper

It was one of those afternoons where at a certain point I just accepted God did not us at this place on time. It was the first (and last) attempt to make an appointment during Mike's lunch break so we could both go. We decided to take Riley sans nap. She got into my lipstick minutes before we were walking out the door. Between scrubbing her clown make-up job off and waiting for Mike's work call to end we got a late start.

Later than I thought, actually, because the baker called to ask if we were coming to our appointment which was apparently a half hour earlier than I thought. Oops! Traffic was not accommodating either despite it being a weekday afternoon. We arrived flustered and late.

They were warm and welcoming. At a glance Mike and I were worried, the sample cake slice was green. Like neon green. Yikes. She promptly explained that her baker took it upon himself to tint the cake green because it was mint chocolate flavored. It was very good cake. The butter cream between the layers was super light. They used mint flavoring and white chocolate. Mike and I agreed it needed to be more chocolatey. Everything they do is from scratch, never frozen which has apparently become a rarity.

Then we started talking design. She sketched it out as if she could see the picture in my head. Ever meticulous, Mike took stock of and made suggestions for all the tiny details. It's going to look spectacular! The cake designer is thrilled to make it and wanted my photographers name so she can get some professional shots of the masterpiece. Three tiers of tree stump with climbing vine and three tiny lavender flowers. It also has a door in the bottom for the fairy who lives there. Hopefully my dream cake topper will be available in time for the wedding (it's availability has been pushed back from July to August, August to September and now September to October!).

One more piece falling in to place. Mike's a little worried about the flavor being exactly right, but I have faith that now that we've been incredibly clear they'll get it. Our enthusiasm is pretty infectious and a good motivator. It wasn't exactly a relaxing trip home rushing to get Mike back to work with a grouchy over tired toddler who'd had lots of cake in the backseat. Sometimes even when you accomplish things the stress of life and planning a wedding boil over. Today, it boiled over. I'm thrilled to add another member to my "dream team" of vendors and frienders, but I'm also exhausted by life just now and Mike's not faring any better. It's hard when you know exactly what you want because you find the need to let go, compromise or give up entirely.

It comes from loving each other so much that we can't stand to see the other one get less than what they want. I'm not saying we sold out on the cake. I'm quite happy (if a little bummed that I didn't calculate delivery/set-up, tax and cake board rental when I budgeted). It's going to be great, but in Mike's eyes they're doing it "wrong" by not achieving the flavor his way. I also think we both wish we didn't have to have fondant, but that's the price of wanting an Ace of Cake worthy design.

Mint chocolate flavored white cake made to look like a vine covered tree stump fairy house, rock on!

Do Me A Flavor...

Here's the scoop on the cakity, cake. None of the exhaustively researched alternatives made me happpy. Well, at least none of the cost effective options that we could agree on made me happy. So, I tried bakeries again to see if they'd make "our flavor." If you don't remember we want mint chocolate flavored white cake. Sounds simple. It's an aesthetic thing as Mike so delicately puts it "I don't want it to look like everyone has poop on their face."

Seeing me struggling to make someone understand what I was looking for my amazing, amazing friend Megan did some research. She found the magic ingredient to make white cake taste chocolatey (pictured above). She even, bless her, sent us a recipe:

White Cake – Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes three 9-inch layers; serves 10-12
2 ¾ cps cake flour
1 ¼ cps plus 2/3 cp sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cp vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sour cream
½ cp plus 1 tbsp whole milk
6 large egg whites
¼ to ½ tsp LorAnn Mint Chocolate Chip extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour three, 9-inch pans with 1 ½-inch-high sides. Sift flour, 1 ¼ cps sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk oil and egg yolks in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in sour cream, then milk then extract. Whisk in dry ingredients in three additions. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry; fold into batter in 4 additions. Divide batter among prepared pans.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans five minutes. Slide a knife around the outside edge of the cake to release it from the pan. Turn cakes out to cool completely on a metal wire rack.
NB – This cake will shrink as it cools. It makes a more European-textured cake. If you are looking for an airy, box-mix-like cake, this is not it. But this is the type of cake that will stand up to fondant and syrup/glazes without ripping.
NB – The yolks will lend a slightly yellow tone to the cake. But you can avoid that by adding a few drops of Wilton’s White Liquid Color (available at Michael’s).
NB – This is just for three layers of the same size. Your baker is going to have to modify amounts to make enough cake to fit your vision.

We tried the recipe and LOVED it! Megan and I both wish she were closer so she could just make the cake. It would be spectacular, no doubt about it! Things (and distance being what is is) as they are I've narrowed it down to two bakeries. They both offer completely custom flavors, have very artistic designs in their portfolios and have expressed creative flavor solutions.

Option A: Chocolate Pi

Pluses

• Highly Recommended (theknot, weddingwire, etc)
• Bride's Choice Award 2011
• Will Accommodate ANY Custom Flavor or Design
• Cool Name
• They did accomidate me and give me an earlier appointment for next week

Minuses

It's in Tampa

They're Expensive

They're HARD to Reach (14 emails and almost 3wks just trying to get an appointment)

Their appointments start at 4:30pm (Over the bridge in rush hour? Ugh!)

I've yet to speak to a human being

The info on their site is minimal

Option B: It's Icing On The Cake

Pluses

• Recommended by Florist/Family Friend
• Bride's Choice Award 2011/High Ratings on WeddingWire
• Will Accommodate ANY Custom Flavor or Design
• Got a quick call back & Spoke to the owner on my second try!
• Appointments M-W 10am-6p (that's more like it!)
• It's very close to our venue
• Prices are slightly lower
• She has an art background
• We already have an appointment
• Info on website and WeddingWire profile is very informative

Minuses

• Hmmmm...

Ok, so maybe it's looking pretty good for option B, but I feel weird discounting my long ago first choice. After all, getting my photographer pick was such a dream come true. Not just that, but not having at least two options to choose between seems wrong. Maybe, I'll fall in love the rest of the way with option B at the tasting Tuesday. It's possible that first impressions are wrong and I'll go with option A after all. I just hope one of them pans out because this it the last "big thing" for a while.

Just For Fun

Yes, while searching for an image to a not-quite-as-interesting post I found this. I spun my computer around to Mike who said "I love it! Is that rice krispie treats and duct tape? If it's not it should be!".

Puppet proposals? Why not. I don't think the internet makes people more creative I just think it gives creative people a bigger audience. Sigh..proposal videos. Or if you don't have mad Jim Henson skills there's animation :

Fun stuff! While we're on the subject of fun, I'll be assembling my last 10ish save the dates and mailing the would lot out by early next week and publically (as in blogside) announcing our date. As a teaser though I'll share a bit of the date picking process. Weeks ago Mike and I sat with respective lap tops staring at on screen calendars discussing dates we could live with (and were in love with). In the process Mike discover 2012 is a leap year and thought 2/29 would be a good day to tie the knot. That didn't work logistically, but I was curious so I asked "do you want to get married on leap year so we only have to celebrate our anniversary every four years?" Mike answered excitedly "Yeah!" He's such a stinker.

Cake Alternatives

It's just my nature that I want it exactly the way I picture it or something completely different. I immediately started pondering alternatives to cake when I found out plan was a no go. I ran through the possibility of cup cakes...

See, nerds do it too. However, I can't picture the exact right display of cup cakes and out of solidarity with Duff I'd say they're on the bottom of the list.

I love cannoli, but there would be nothing to cut. Even though they'd compliment the dinner menu it would also be really hard to make them cohesive and pretty. I have a legendary fondness for pie as well, but I've never said "Wow! What a beautiful pie." I did see/sample some cake pops at the bridal expo.

I thought they were really good. They seemed different and fun. Would they work as a wedding cake substitute? That's still up for debate. I ate my sample before I was considering my dessert options so Mike has never seen or tasted one. Aside from that Mike has stumped most bakers I've spoken to by requested a white cake flavored like mint chocolate. Leave it to Mike and I to stump 'em.

I am very much open for suggestions, folks. Does anyone know a great baker who would be reasonable and up for a challenge? I'd still like a three tiered cake. Or does anyone have a cake alternative? Something different that we can make pretty. Of course there is the distinct possibility at this point that we may skip the whole thing. Who knows?

Back to the..Er..Oven

My friend who was going to make our cake is moving out of state for her husband's work. I'm sad to see her go and bummed that I have to find another source for wedding cake. So, it goes the ups and downs of planning. I'm really starting to get my ducks in a row now, but my original second choice baker is pricey. Mike and I have a vision fit for an Ace of Cakes episode, but on the priority list budget-wise cake has slipped down in the ranks.

I wish Mike had friends in poession of wedding related skills. I always have helpful friends volunteering to help me with things. I wish he did too. So, now I'll make sure I haven't over looked any talented baker friends and press on.

Let Them Eat Cake!

I'm very excited about our wedding cake. Our own piece of edible art at the reception. Orbiting this sweet centerpiece are quite a few odd traditions. Saving the top tier for the first anniversary, sleeping with a piece under your pillow, mini-me bride and groom a top it...weird, weird.

As with most wedding traditions it stems from you guessed it, fertility. Bread in your belly equals future buns in the oven? In ancient Rome those party animals used to break bread over the bride's head. "History tells us that breaking the bread symbolized the breaking of the bride's virginal state and the subsequent dominance of the groom over her." The frat boys of the ancient world those, Romans.

I can't remember which one because I've seen them all, but in some wedding movie I watched someone was instructed to sleep with a piece of wedding cake under her pillow so she would dream of her future husband. I thought it was a joke, but it's really "a thing" as Liz Lemon would say. In fact, "In the late 18th century this notion led to the curious tradition in which brides would pass tiny crumbs of cake through their rings and then distribute them to guests who could, in turn, place them under their pillows. The custom was curtailed when brides began to get superstitious about taking their rings off after the ceremony."

You can't make this stuff up! Or maybe you could...How many bloggers claiming something was good luck on your wedding day would it take to ingrain it into cultural lure? Food for thought. I digress, the cutting of the cake is supposed to represent the first task the bride and groom perform together. Personally, I love a cake cutting, but isn't the first dance a better symbol for teamwork and togetherness? Heck, isn't throwing a wedding quite the joint venture?

Not to go all Augustus Gloop on ya, but saving cake for later isn't something that fills me with joy. Eating cake that's been in the freezer for a year, also not thrilling. Yet, somehow this is quite the tradition. Apparently, it started as a way to have a pretty tiered cake for the wedding and than use the top tier at the christening (roughly a year later, idealy). Waste not want not I suppose.

As for the mini-mes they are a relatively new edition to the wacky cake traditions party. They became popular in the 1920's which seems fitting for some reason. I can't find any big reason behind making tiny versions of the bride and groom stand on top of a cake, but apparently departments stores helped popularize the idea. I think we should stand a mini version of ourselves on all of our deserts to keep other people from eating them.

I promise to write about our actual wedding cake design soon, but for now I hope your were at least as entertained by all this silliness as I was.

Un-Just Deserts

When we started planning our wedding the first time we had lots of company, my best friend and Mike's sister were both planning their weddings. It was fun to have people to discuss wedding plans with. Sometimes we would even visit vendors together. The girls all got together for lunch one afternoon and went to see the florist. It was a lovely time, but the next attempt at a group visit a wedding vendor went over like a lead balloon.

We decided to make the cake tasting a double date. I made an appointment at what I was told was the best place for wedding cakes in town. Mike's sister and her fiance met us there and from the minute we walked through the door I knew we were in trouble.

Again, maybe tv did me a disservice because I thought all bakeries were like Charm City Cakes just ready and waiting for the next challenge. Ace of Cakes made this place look like an IRS office. It was a decidedly more somber feel. The dusty display cakes were all very traditional white tiered things. The woman who greeted us was another troll. This time in temperament only, so it caught me off guard. Why do so many of them go into wedding related businesses? Or does working in weddings turn you into a troll, neither of the ones I encountered were spring chickens.

She asked us to wait in a curt manner unbefitting our unbridled enthusiasm. I don't know what we did to rub her the wrong way right off the bat, but she clearly sized us up and found us wanting. When she was ready she carried the samples on a tiny paper plate over to a round table with a white table cloth.

Now, Mike and I had a miscommunication and I got all chocolate samples, but he wanted flavored white cake. When we inquired while tasting chocolate if they had white cake they could flavor mint chocolate her dislike for us intensified. We hadn't meant to "waste her time" it had simply been a miscommunication. I can't imagine it doesn't happen all the time since in most cases the bride and her mother plan vendor appointments and men always have strong opinions on food. She informed us with annoyance dripping from her tone that they couldn't do that.

Having been in a position many times where I want something that's hard to come by and having worked in sales I waited for her to offer alternative options. She simply sat. I decided to take a new approach at this point. I didn't have a clear picture of what I wanted for the design of the cake, but I knew I wanted it to be asymmetrical.

I can't be the only bride because there are some perfectly conservative wedding cakes that happen to have off kilter layers.

She looked at a picture I brought of a topsy turvy cake and said, "we don't do that." I was floored. Was this woman the worst salesperson on the planet or did she just hate us? She went on to explain that they didn't work with non-edible elements inside the cakes which is what you would need to support such a cake. Um...huh. So, I asked if we could at least have tiers in a shape besides circles. She told me they would do square or hexagon shaped tiers. It took her a while to find an example in her book at my request. Their books seemed pretty out of date in general featuring large cakes with plastic columns separating tiers and tiny wedding parties on staircases leading down to the table. There was even a cake with a fountain on it. Hello, 1985 wants it's cake back, thanks.

It didn't get any better from there. Being a problem solver Mike got out a pencil and tried to sketch something asymmetrical that could support itself. She shot down three or four of his suggestions without offering any alternatives. I was starting to get depressed. Was what I wanted so weird and impossible? Was the whole wedding planning process going to be this way?

In the end they didn't have a flavor like what we were looking for and the best they could offer designwise was hexagonal tiers stacked facing different directions. They didn't have anything with climbing vines as the decorative element to show me and we didn't press it. She barely mumbled goodbye and I'm sure was relieved to see us go.

In the car the depression turned into rage. How dare they treat us that way! My requests weren't unreasonable. I shouldn't be made to feel bad because I don't want what most brides want. GRRR... Maybe with more research I would have known they only do uncomplicated, conservative cakes there and I would have gone elsewhere from the beginning. They lost not one, but two weddings that day (not counting the brides deterred by the scathing post I left on knot warning others).