Today marks one year that Jeff and I have been married. As you read this we’re in Seattle, hopefully getting ready for a nice anniversary dinner.

When I think back on our wedding, what sticks out most in my mind is how fast it went by. I know everyone says that, but it’s true that all those months and months of planning boil down to what seem like only a few moments.

Our relationship has had that kind of distorted perception of time too. It’s strange for me to remember that Jeff and I have only even known each other for about 3 and a half years. We marvel now and again at how despite that short span of time we both feel like we’ve been together for years longer. We’ve managed to fit so many wonderful experiences and memories into our 3 and a half years that it has seemed to go by more slowly.

We had a small informal ceremony at Wahoo! restaurant in Decatur. It really is a great event space with it’s casual garden-like feel.

I got ready in a back room with my mom, Jeff’s mom, and my sister and her children. I wore a casual shirtdress from Anthropologie that I plan to wear again and again throughout the years.

When the time came I didn’t really feel nervous, but when I get nervous I tend to become very calm and organized and focused on the task at hand. So because I didn’t seem nervous to anyone else, it’s fair to guess that I probably was.

We never rehearsed any of the ceremony, and luckily it all went perfectly. Dad walked me down the aisle, my sister took my bouquet, Jeff and I held hands, and everything fell into place.

That’s when the nerves kicked in! I had been keeping my composure for so long that once we were married and whisked away to a back room, I needed a drink!

Jeff and I shared a plate of food and endless kisses while we waited for everyone to be served from the buffet, then we rejoined them for our first dance and dances with our parents.

Then it was time for cake! Only we didn’t exactly have one….

I have always wanted donuts in lieu of a wedding cake and I got my wish! Everyone loved our whimsical wedding “cake.”

There wasn’t much time to visit with family before many of our out-of-town guests had to head out, but we had to get home to pack for the honeymoon anyway.

This year together has felt like 10, which is not at all to say that it has dragged by but that it has been so full and rich that I can’t believe I could love so much in such a short amount of time. Thank you Jeff, at this rate you’ll give me my dream of living a 1000 years together, if only in the depth and breadth of our memories.

On to the honeymoon!

Thanks for all the love while I was sick, I am 100% back to normal now! Now I can finally catch up with posting. Here’s what we did over the weekend, even though I was ill I wouldn’t have missed it for anything!

This past Saturday we got to attend the wedding ceremony for two of our dear friends, Chinua and Katie. They have been married for 2 years and have a gorgeous little boy together and were excited to finally add the experience of their “big day” to their family memories.

They got married at the same restaurant we did, Wahoo! It’s a beautiful venue with great food and a garden-like setting.

We chatted with the bride, groom, their adorable son Anhur, and old friends for about an hour before it all began.

Chinua’s father got things started with a speech about marriage that had all the ladies tearing up.

Then the lovely couple got to exchange their heartfelt vows….

And kiss!

I stuck with softer foods for lunch because I was still quite ill. It was all delicious though.

And signed the guest book…

We have a running joke with them that as soon as we get pregnant with our first child they’re starting on baby number 2. It’s not even really a joke, though. I may have to inform Katie that I’m pregnant even before Jeff and I’s parents! 😉

After the ceremony and lunch, the party moved to Twain’s for beer hour.

There were snacks…

And cupcakes!

We had a little of both. Jeff got a maple cupcake that he loved.

I thought this strawberry was insane.

I’ve known Chinua for nearly a decade now. He’s been my friend, my coworker, and even my boss at different points over the years. He couldn’t have found a better partner in Katie. She has become an equally wonderful friend and I adore both of them.

Congrats guys on 2 years of happy marriage!

And May 1st is our anniversary too! I’m even bringing my wedding dress to Seattle to wear to dinner that night. (It’s casual, it doesn’t necessarily look like a wedding dress.) I’ll fill you guys in on our trip when we get back!

If you’ve missed any of my cake baking adventures so far, check out these posts first:

• Welcome to cake-bakin’ week!
• Bake til you drop
• Wear your crumbcoat
• Star of the stripes

The wedding was on Saturday, and as you read this the bride and groom are sunning it up in Mexico for their honeymoon.

Jeff and I spent yesterday doing absolutely nothing. Pajamas all day. With a stressful week of cake-baking, trafficky travel, and wedding festivities – we were beat. Here’s how it all went down…

We arrived at the wedding venue, Tennessee River Place, to an amazing pastoral scene. Big fluffy buffalo and strutting geese dotted the green grass.

There was an intense storm the day before so the ground was still wet. The overcast sky meant that the wedding and reception would be moved indoors rather than at the riverfront.

I had the good luck of getting an entire industrial kitchen to myself to finish the cake. I completely underestimated how long it would take to finish up, so I was scrambling a bit to get it all done before I needed to go get myself dressed and ready.

The first thing I did was fix a few cracks and flaws in the fondant. The drive to the wedding site was unpaved and the gravel had the cakes sliding all over the place in the car. It’s amazing what a little vegetable shortening will do though. You can put a little on your finger and rub it in circles over a crack and it will largely disappear! I did that all over and with the exception of a few deeper dings, it smoothed out nicely.

Then I got to work on cutting and inserting the 4 support dowels…

I had to take those two on the right out again and cut them down to cake level. I also took the bottom cake layer off of its transport base and glued it to the decorative stand with a little buttercream.

I put the second layer on top, wrapped the bases in ribbon, and started postioning the topper accents.

I used some cut roses to make a floral crown to fill out the top. I just cut the stems short and angled and pushed them right into the cake. I fluffed the flowers up a little by pulling the petals open a bit.

And…………………………….wait for it………………….here it is!!!

And a close-up of that floral crown…

Squeee!!!! 😀

I left it in the kitchen and went to go get dressed. Jeff was not a huge fan of his groomsman outfit, but I thought he looked handsome.

About an hour later, it was time for the ceremony!

Yay! Another Tucker girl enters the family!

Everyone filed out and we headed straight into dinner.

We were served barbecue, but not some sloppy greasy hole-in-the wall barbecue, this was really nice and tasted great.

But who cares about dinner, you wanna see cake right?

Tada!

Isn’t Kevin’s groom cake awesome? It’s not even covered in fondant! I can’t believe they were able to get buttercream that smooth.

Here’s a close-up of mine again…

And then the part that I knew was coming but couldn’t prepare for, cutting it! I’ll admit that it was a little heart-wrenching to watch it get hacked up, but by that time I was pretty ready to move on to the part of my life where I don’t have to think about cake 24 hours a day, so I wasn’t too sad to see it go.

And it tasted great too. I love both of the recipes I used for the cake and for the buttercream. I’ve had so many wedding cakes with sickeningly sweet crusty icing and bland textureless cake.

Mine was a little firmer and thicker like a sugar cookie cake and had a delicious buttery flavor. The buttercream was soft and velvety and while it was certainly very sweet, it wasn’t a diabetic coma waiting to happen. 😉

The bride and groom loved the cake, which was all I needed to hear. I got many complements that evening and I was so proud. Last week while I was going crazy putting this thing together I was sure I’d never do it again. Now though, I’ve learned so many tips for how to make it easier next time that I think I could see myself having another go at it.

Thanks for following me on this journey! I have learned so much about this process and I’m really happy with what I did.