Big Day Nostalgia

I promised a throw-back post about our fabulous wedding day, so here it is!

Because this monumental day was a year and a week ago, it is fun to look back at the thousands (literally) of pictures, thanks to LHM Photography, that document that day.  Even the wildly imperfect parts of the day were wonderful because of all of our family and friends that were there to support us and celebrate with us.

Thinking back... the only moment of that day that was upsetting happened when I was alone for 30 minutes to take a shower.  When I got out of that shower and began to blow out my hair, I got a call from my dad saying that there we would likely have the ceremony at Fort McNair (the reception venue) because there was no electricity at the church.  My only response: "Why am I alone right now?!"... with tears, of course.  Because I knew that everything would be better once my sister (aka the most clutch MOH ever!) returned to the bridesmaids suite. And it was.  We had the ceremony in a VERY hot church, followed by the reception in a VERY hot officer's club (turns out that their AC was out, too).  There were some other hiccoughs, too, but I mostly just remember how happy Michael and I were to share that day with everyone. We had the time of our lives!

Pre-Sweat Fest... oh, wedding, I mean... ;)

Y'all don't even want to know what's happening underneath the layers of silk organza, satin and tulle of my dress... it was like a bikram yoga studio in that church...

We felt a little better outside...

My girls and I standing on the edge of the Potomac River... I won't mention the part when Caroline (my dear cousin to the left of me) loses her balance, grabs me, and we nearly fall in. I guess 5 inch heels aren't the steadiest footwear...

A few different views of me and my dress.  The dress was everything... I wish I could wear it every day!

Our WONDERFUL families. Enough said!

The guys... I've really missed each and every one of them this year!

Pretty flowers and candles...

The Cake... this is what it looked like when it tasted like the best cake I'd ever had (thanks Alexandria Pastry Shop!). That is what I'm telling my husband in that photo. It's my omg-this-is-so-good face. Have I mentioned that I can be kind of a foodie?

This was the part where my wonderful Jewish uncle, Jed Mescon, decided that Michael and I should have a Jewish wedding reception.  It was SO much fun... and hilarious.  My face in this one: omg-layers-of-organza-on-a-satin-chaircover-is-incredibly-slippery!!!

Part of our exit... Notice the industrial fan directly behind me ;)

Washington Things: Part 3

In order to continue the theme of making our anniversary very true to our Seattle/Tacoma locale, I found some local 'champagne' (sparkling wine) to have with our cake.  In case you didn't notice from our first, first anniversary in February, cake and champagne together is one of my favorite things.

This 'champagne' comes from a division of Chateau Ste. Michelle, the quintessential Washington winery. It surprised me.  I paid $9 for the bottle at a local Trader Joe's, and at that price, I would definitely buy it again.  I am still partial towards Pommery (real Champagne), of course, but it is more than triple the price.

Also, I'm sure that our faux 'champagne' would've tasted better in actual crystal flutes. These are the glasses that are part of our kitchenette set-up. 

Anyhow, we really enjoyed having our cake and 'champagne' for breakfast!

Year Old Cake

In case you don't know, it is a tradition to save the top layer of wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary. It's supposed to be a sweet reminder of the wedding, and a chance to eat a full slice, rather than just a bite.

Usually, the cake is wrapped, frozen in the back of a freezer, and forgotten until the one year anniversary comes around.  Our poor top tier was not so fortunate.  Because of our transient lifestyle this year, our cake lived with my parents until this past week. Here is a little timeline of what this cake endured:

June 30, 2012- Cake sat out in a 90ish degree room for at least 5 hours (I'll do a throwback post about our      wedding day sometime soon) before being stored in my parent's freezer in Arlington, VA.

July 28, 2012- Cake moves from freezer in Arlington four hours away to my parent's new freezer in Norfolk, VA.

Novermber 2012- Cake moves 25 yards away to yet another new home/freezer at my parent's new home.

June 25, 2013- Cake arrives, semi-thawed in Seattle, WA. Box marked "fragile" is crushed in two places.

This is the end result of such trauma:

Big dent on the left, smooshed in various places across the top...

I had to explain all of that before I could talk about how it tasted because for having gone through all of that, it tasted pretty darn good.  However, it did not taste as good as it did in 2012 when it was one of the best cakes I've ever had in my life.  Almond cake with fresh raspberry buttercream gets a little soggy over time.  Who knew?

We shared a big slice and a bottle of 'champagne' for breakfast... it was the start of the perfect first anniversary!