Hi everyone, and thanks for tagging me; I haven’t been on CC in a while - not necessarily because of wedding stuff… just life happened. H and I arrived at our VRBO last night and have guests arriving this afternoon, then late tonight. The bachelorette party is currently going on at Harry Potter World, and it looks like they’re having a blast from pictures I’ve seen so far. D1 got D2 a t-shirt that says, “From Muggle To Mrs.” The weather couldn’t be more perfect; H and I hit up Costco last night and are ready for everyone’s arrival (we have about ten people staying at our house with us). So far D2 is calm - we were given the most important job yesterday… we had to pick up her dress from the alterations place down in LA on our way from LAX up to Santa Ynez. I was so nervous with that thing in the back of the car!! I have a couple of very small projects to finish up that should take less than a half hour and may assign it to one of the bridesmaids tomorrow or Friday.
I can’t believe how green, lush and colorful everything is here compared to last October when I was up here with D2 to finalize some arrangements. Today is the birthday of one of our guests arriving this afternoon, so H and I will join them for a birthday celebration tonight in Santa Ynez (I called ahead to make sure they have a special birthday treat to offer her as a surprise) as the others won’t arrive until after 10PM. But I walked over to the tasting room of the winery we’re staying at and picked up a bottle of sparkling wine for when everyone is here. Maybe it’s just the property we’re staying in right now, but I feel amazingly calm. We’re sitting outside on a large patio with many seating areas, a hot tub, and infinity pool, looking out over the mountains. I just wish more people were here right now to enjoy this view from, but I know they’re having fun bachelorette partying it up! I wish everyone’s wedding experience could be this calm and serene! Yes, I know there’s still three days to go, but as of yet, it’s just so pleasant.
DD is having a Venetian table of desserts instead of a traditional wedding cake…for, the guests.
We are having two small cakes made by a friend who is a fabulous cake baker and decorator…a brides cke and a grooms cake. These will be used for the traditional cake cutting.
I love the idea of the bachelorette the week prior to,the wedding. I will need to suggest that to DD at some point…as her bridal party all live a distance away…and minimizing trips would be a good idea.
Y’all need to look at the news story where the woman is able to wear her wedding gown 60 years after their wedding! The H sure couldn’t wear his suit I am sure - the man belly. Cute picture.
@“great lakes mom” - Vietnam sounds wonderful. I haven’t been but would love to go one day. S and fiancé looked at Nestldown they absolutely loved it. It is extremely costly.
S and his fiancé are thinking pie instead of cake.
Are most steering away from a traditional wedding cake due to price? I understand it can be quite costly.
Someone I know had a fake cake. It looked real and had a small section of real cake to cut but was fake. It was a budget decision as it was cheaper to go that route and have other desserts.
Several of the weddings I attended never served the cake to the guests anyway. We had cookies, candy or other desserts at our seats. As I recall, our cake was very reasonable (many decades ago) – one cake was for display and us to cut and then there were sheet cakes that were cut and served to any guest who wanted it.
Are most steering away from a traditional wedding cake due to price? I understand it can be quite costly.>>
My sister and her DH don’t really like cake and saw no point in spending a fortune for one so they had a cookie bar. My DD and her DH don’t really like it either and had an ice cream bar. DD did buy a sheet cake from a grocery store at the last minute.
My daughter and SIL did not want a wedding cake. They didn’t see the point in the added expense, and are not very sentimental. They thought the idea of freezing a cake for later was silly too. They did cupcakes and had take-home boxes. We did spend quite a bit of time finding the right bakery and got about 6 varieties including gluten free. I think everyone enjoyed more time dancing. No cake cutting, no garter tossing, etc. Just the toasts and a blessing. The dance floor was never empty the entire night except for when the band and everyone was eating dinner.
Price has nothing to do with the cake decision for DD. The Venetian table costs the same as the wedding cake would cost. But DD feels that will be a better variety for guests to choose from.
No bouquet toss or garter toss here either. Actually…no garter. But DD and FSIL will cut their little cakes.
DD wanted more of a variety than cupcakes. We have been to weddings with cupcakes, or pie, or cake…and all were lovely. It’s a personal choice.
D’s cake was $600 if I remember and the groom’s cake was around $300-350. Compared to other costs of her wedding, I didn’t find that extravagant. There was a baker we preferred, but D wanted more money in the flower budget and opted for the cheaper cake. I would have made the opposite choice! Unfortunately, D & SIL didn’t to sample the cake and there wasn’t a layer to be saved for their anniversary.
Around here…many…and I mean MANY wedding cakes are actually a top layer that is a real cake…and everything underneath is decorated boxes. They look gorgeous but cost a fraction of a decorated tiered cake.
The top layer is used for the traditional cutting…and the “cake” is wheeled away. Guests are served from sheet cakes which are far less costly than a tiered wedding cake. Those sheet cakes are in the back!
D is having cake AND macaroons - groom loves the former and D loves the latter.
So excited – D and I are going dress shopping in two weeks, and then in May we (she) have appointments in Chicago to go dress shopping there, too. For our Chicago trip we also have tickets to Hamilton!!
I think my S realized that he had seen many uneaten pieces of cake left on the table at the weddings he’s attended, so didn’t want any part of the budget going to waste. The B’s mother wanted a cake-cutting, so they compromised on a small, ceremonial cake, followed by the dessert buffet. I actually like this idea and think it will make everyone happy. When I look back on my wedding cake, what I remember most is the cake-tasting, not what it looked like at the wedding!