wedding eve

The ceremony is written.  The coleslaw, potato salad, and corn muffins are made.  The rehearsal dinner is over.  My little sister and her nice young man are constructing our wedding cake in my parents' kitchen.   In less than twenty-four hours, my partner-in-crime and I will be partners-for-life.

From this moment on, I refuse to stress, worry, or flip out.  We're doing this thing, and we're doing it right.  I'll be back after the weekend with a photo or two.  Wish us luck!

happy couple

If I'm going to spend days locked in the house, I'm at least going to get something done.  Here's the latest incarnation of our cake toppers.*  There are still some things I would do differently, if I had the project to do over again, but I've put some good work in, and I'm almost ready to call these kids done.  I'll varnish them with a clear coat, and they'll be dry by the time we tuck them into a suitcase at the end of next week.

There are going to be a lot of things going into suitcases over the next few days.  And maybe a few things shipped, too.  When we first talked about having a wedding two thousand miles away from the place where we live, I don't think we really considered some of the details involved.

We've got most of it figured out, I'm happy to say.  Not all of it, of course.  Where would be the fun in that?  We've still got another twenty-two days to kill, right?

If you've got time to kill, might I recommend a visit to A Practical Wedding?  A few posts in the past week or two have really gotten my brain going.  Like this one about dealing with in-laws (an area I've been particularly lucky in...) or this one about Waiting to Do It.  I'm choosy about my wedding blogs, and I do like the ones with lots of pretty pictures and cute diy projects, but I really think Meg over at APW has got it going on.

I hope you all have a happy weekend.  I've got a lot planned, including some mild bridal/bachelorette celebrating and the inevitable purchase of my final issue of Martha Stewart Weddings.*  Hopefully, you're up to something fun, too.  See you on Monday!

*If you squint, you can see my little blue shoes!
**Yes, I know.  It's a bit too late to be gleaning menu ideas or decorating tips, but this is the very last issue I'll ever be able to rationalize purchasing.  I just want to look at all the pictures.  After this, it's over.  I promise.  I can quit anytime I want to...

slacking

Oh, friends.  I am extra sleepy tonight and feeling lazy.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun in wedding blog world, though.  There's always something happening somewhere.

First of all, Souris Mariage is celebrating Food Week.  There are plenty of decisions to be made about wedding food, and Mouse's posts about everything from the margaritas to the main courses have me drooling.  Mini-chimichangas dipped in chipotle sour cream?  Oh, yes, please.

And if you haven't already, take a look at the "Pretty Fall Wedding" on Once Wed.  All the bird details are enough for me to fall in love.  Oh, and then there are the cakes.  And the cupcakes.

If you're in the market for more than just inspiring eyecandy, Sarah over at Truly Smitten has a sweet little DIY project to share.  I'm already thinking of taking a stab at it.  Maybe you should, too?

I hope that's enough to tide you over.  If the universe is willing, I'll be back in full force tomorrow...

on display

{I know I promised you all a recap of our Salvage Bride workshop.

Let it suffice to say that last-minute details were, for the most part, worked out, and, I dare say, a good time was had by all.  It was definitely a party, what with the cake, the pom poms, and even a real live wedding photographer!

Of course, there were things I meant to say that I forgot to.  And things I probably shouldn't have said that slipped out anyway.  I definitely learned a lot, and if I had it to do over again--and hey, maybe someday, I will do it again--I'd sure do a few things differently.  But for now, at least, there's nothing to be done about any of that.

Thanks to those of you that came on Saturday and those that have enquired about the outcome of the event.  Hopefully, we'll have some photos soon that I can share with you all.  Thanks to Sarah K for keeping me on track during those last few hours of planning, to Eliza T for documenting the affair, and to my partner-in-crime for all the shoulder-patting that a girl could ever hope for.}

Now that we're through with all that, let's move on to more important things.  Like cake stands.

Along with Martha Stewart and every other woman I've ever met--oh, and a few guys, too--I love cake stands.  For someone who's probably only baked two or three proper cakes in the past decade, I own way too many of the things.  (I think the current count stands at five, but I'm just getting started...)  Whenever I see one at at the thrift store and don't buy it, I feel a deep and terrible sense of loss.  I am only exaggerating a little bit here.

I don't know what it is that I find so irresistible.  If you share this affliction and have diagnosed its cause, please, by all means, let me know what you've discovered.  All I can be sure of is that I am almost obsessed.

My favorite cake stand might be this one, which I splurged on about a year ago.

Of course, picturing it without a cake on top doesn't do it justice, but I have yet to bake a cake worthy of it.  I think it's beautiful, and if you do, too, you can find one like it at Whitney Smith Pottery's Etsy shop.

For Christmas this past year, my lovely sister-in-law-to-be gave me a little cupcake stand to match.

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

With all the wedding cake talk lately, I've been trying to figure out how to get my rocking-est cake stand to Ohio and back again.  The idea of shipping it makes me a little shaky.  The obvious solution would be to just purchase another one and have it shipped directly there, right?  And why stop with one?

Someone--someone who isn't very fun--has pointed out that I might want to reconsider that plan.  I'll begrudgingly consider some alternatives, but I will have a cake stand at my wedding, folks.  Even if I have to make it myself.

Which I just might try doing.

I've mentioned this once before, but I've been messing around with the idea of making cake stands out of old wiring spools.  I'm especially taken with this big guy...

...but I don't have that entirely figured out, yet.

What I did manage to cobble together recently were these little numbers.

The bases are plastic spools that used to be full of electrical wiring and the tops are plates from the Goodwill.  They aren't finished products, yet, but I think they have potential.

I'm especially blown away by how perfectly this thrift store plate matches the design of some "vintage" Rubbermaid shelf liner I found kicking around the shop.

I'm  also pretty taken by the detail on the rim of this little Noritake plate.

Our cake in June will most likely sit on a cake stand that we've made for ourselves.  I really like the idea, and I'm looking forward to making something great.  It'll be fun to have another cake stand.

None of that will stop me, though, from registering for a few more, just in case...

cheating

If you've been reading my previous posts, then this may come as no surprise to you. Even so, I'll just come right out with it: I'm a pretty big believer in "doing it myself." If something comes prepackaged, pre-assembled, and ready-to-go, it's just not all that appealing to me. Generally, I can't stand those craft kits that come with "everything you need to get started." I'd rather figure it out myself, thank you very much.

Now, having said all that, I'm incredibly excited about what came in the mail yesterday.

It's my very own "paint it yourself kit" from Goose Grease Undone. You can visit their Etsy shop here. And while these may just look like a couple of peg dolls, by this June, they'll be custom-painted cake toppers at our wedding reception.

I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about this. I've never done much painting, especially of something so tiny. The whole thing gets even more serious when you consider it self-portraiture. What if I get my ears wrong? How will I paint his beard? I seriously thought about having Goose Grease handle the whole thing for me, but in the end, I decided I was up for the challenge.

Funny thing is, I'm not even sure we're having a wedding cake. If we do, it will probably be a small one, maybe just for the two of us. If there's no cake, I guess I'll just balance these little guys on top of a pie or something. And afterwards, we'll have them as keepsakes. Wedding souvenirs to put on the mantel or hang on the Christmas tree.

I kind of like them unpainted. It makes them look more--wholesome.

The best part? Look who came through the shop a few months ago. I knew they'd come in handy someday...

cake lights

There's a certain style of light that comes drifting through the shop on a regular basis. Although it no doubt has a proper name, we call it a "cake light," and, as you can see in this photo, it isn't nearly as exciting as its nickname might suggest.

This is the light my great-grandmother Lucille had in her farmhouse kitchen in Ohio. Maybe it's the one you had in your first apartment. This light is all about function, and the only kind of cakes it brings to my mind are good, sturdy, Midwestern cakes. Like bundt cakes. Or maybe a coffee cake. Something respectable, but reserved.

I don't mean to sound dismissive. I actually like cake lights. I think they're kind of homey. Today, though, while I was doing some reorganizing at work, I came across some light shades that I thought were much more deserving of the name "cake."

Martha Stewart Weddings has featured wedding cakes inspired by fashion, and even by architecture. I think someday Martha and her crew should tackle cakes inspired by lighting. Wouldn't one of these look just swell on top of a vintage cake stand?

The lights pictured below are from a church in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The church was damaged by an earthquake and was ultimately demolished several years ago, but the lights live on. I think they're stellar.

So, edible? No. Delectable? Definitely. I've been trying to imagine something like this as a reception table centerpiece. It would definitely be way too posh for our wedding, but hey, a girl can dream...