Wedding Countdown: Eight Months To Go!

It's amazing how much time has flown by. A part of me wistfully thinks about the fact that if Andrew and I had gotten a year after we got engaged, we'd be married as soon as this May. And then the rational part of me kicks in and says no way, it's GREAT to be engaged and that I should savor every moment of this special phase of my life. I've even had strangers on the street tell me this after seeing my ring, and it builds an odd sort of camraderie amongst strangers.

Anyway, I digress. It's crazy to think we're pass the half way mark! As I mentioned in my last countdown post, we were on the hunt for a DJ, and I'm happy to announce that we're going with C-Zone Music. We really liked their philosophy of no "cheese" or no props on the dance floor, and even more importantly, clicked with the personality of the DJ we met with and were assured of his professionalism (and his ability to rock a party!) By a coincidence, we met the owner Greg by chance at our wedding venue's food tasting, and were even more assured in our choice!

So what's next? One of the things I've been looking forward to the most as a baker - the wedding cake!

I've got a few places in mind to check out, especially with a lot of great bakeries located in the Newton and Brookline area. Last but not least, I want to schedule an appointment with the bakery that made my engagement cake, Truly Jorgs Patisserie.

Onto to the fun part, inspiration cakes!  All I know at this point is that I want a buttercream frosted cake since the taste of the cake is just as important as the look of the cake. And as beautiful as fondant is, let's face it, it's tasteless and a waste of calories. I know, strong feelings against fondant, but I really believe that nothing can beat the flavor or texture of a good buttercream frosting.

Anyway, these are some of the cakes that I think are gorgeous - I don't think I'd be able to replicate the look of this, especially without fondant, but it's still fun to figure out what I want the cake to look like. And to be truthful, I think I want a lot of color and a floral element.

Onto the cakes (all from Martha Stewart Weddings).

I love the diffent shades of pink, the topper and the fun design - very cute but probably wouldn't work with my wedding's theme and colors:

This is probably more like what my cake could realistically end up looking like (with slightly different colors) - I love the addition of fiddlehead ferns:

I just love the simple design of this cake - sticking with just one dominat color and a beautiful flower really makes a strong statement. Of course, I'd use a different color and a different flower.

Two of my all-time favorites actually come from the same issue of Martha Stewart Weddings where they profiled cake designs inspired by fabrics - I heart this cake, I love the pale grey color and the texture of the floral pattern - simply beautiful.

I also love this cake and the combination of colors, as well as a mix of very busy layers of decoration and a more simple layer. Again, this is clearly a fondant cake but I wonder if the effect could be replicated with a smooth buttercream layer and piped on flowers? I'd also have to tweak it suit a fall wedding more.

Trust me, once we start going on cake tasting appointments, I will be sharing every bite with you!

Also, in case you haven't been approached by me yet, please vote for me and Andrew in the Crate & Barrel Ultimate Wedding contest. And tell your friends! :)