Thursday, August 14, 2014

So...where does the cake topper go?

Inspired by Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous writer's workshop

2) Write a blog post inspired by the word: cupcakes

When I was young, I had my entire wedding planned out.  I knew who would wear what, what I would wear, how I'd have a big cake, what the first dance would be, how the entire day would go -- and then how my entire life would go afterward.  Time passed almost exactly not at all how I planned.

Turns out, not getting most of what I had wished for was exactly right.  In my mid-40s I met the perfect man, we bought a house, got engaged and planned a two-part wedding.  Thankfully my tastes have changed since I was 22 and the wedding planning was fairly simple.  Part one was the wedding, performed by one of my dearest friends with only 6 other people present, and exactly three months later came part two, the reception.

After the wedding, we had a lovely dinner and a very simple cake.  I found a cake topper that was perfect and which sits upon our mantle.  It is an Irish framed trinity knot and on the bottom it reads: May your hands be forever blessed in friendship and your hearts joined forever in love.

The reception was a little bit larger (around 100 or so people), held in a historic barn on a beautiful July afternoon.  The one thing I really really really wanted, rather than a wedding cake, was to serve wedding cupcakes.  Two bite cupcakes.  I love cupcakes.  I think they are more fun than cake and they look so festive.  I honestly thought finding them would be a snap.  Turns out, that was the most cumbersome part of the entire process.  So many bakeries - so few who would make and deliver 250 cupcakes.  Oh, many would make them, but not deliver.  So...I was supposed to move the cupcakes?  Honestly?  Where - in the back of my Saturn Vue?  On the way to my reception?  Sure.  Right.  Forget that.  When I did find a bakery willing to deliver, the cost per (pretty small) cupcake was more than the per slice cost of  larger cake.  It was crazy.

As fate would have it, one day on Facebook, my childhood friend Michelle posted that her two sisters, Bridget and Jannine, were launching a very special baking business.  They did not have a storefront.  They made handcrafted artisan desserts and baked goods.  I saw the website and I believe my mouth watered and I might have wept a little.  Their work was beautiful.  And the descriptions...man oh man...incredible.  Oh - and they made two-bite cupcakes - which they would deliver.  SOLD!

I contacted Jannine and, due to our schedules and my bad timing, we were not going to be able to connect to do a tasting.  I can honestly tell you that I had no problem with that whatsoever.  I believed in their skills...these two are serious artists.  So I ordered four different flavors without a tasting and was 100% relaxed about it.  Some people felt it necessary to tell me I was insane to do that - what if they didn't taste good???  My response was pretty much - what if?  I believed all will be well.

Our wedding reception was in July 2011.  To this day, those cupcakes still come up in conversation and the discussion always goes something like "...those were the most AMAZING cupcakes I EVER had..."  Every time.  Not only did they wow our guests, they thoughtfully put one of each flavor into a little box for us to freeze, so that on our first anniversary we would have wedding cupcakes to eat.  We ate them the next morning.  There was no way those babies were going to last.

This past autumn, Bridget and Jannine turned off their ovens.  I am still sad.  After the wedding, we ordered a number of birthday cakes (see one here) and an anniversary (blackberry/blueberry) pie from them.  They made each event so very special with their artistry and the love you could taste in each bite.  The best part was being able to connect with both of them - I love them - such a wonderful bonus.

Life may sometimes go exactly the way you plan it, though more often than not you will detour over and over and over.  If you get anxious along the way -- I say to you -- skip the tasting and just let the road lead where it will.

xo


5 comments:

  1. I love the idea of wedding cupcakes!

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  2. They came in at the perfect time and it's so sad they had to move on! I wish they were still in business because you've got me sold on them and now I want to order. lol Thanks a lot!! ;)

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  3. I saw your Gravatar on a comment at Choice Morsels and had to click over. We have THREE black cats, so the photo on yours was intriguing!
    This is a great story and the last paragraph is just perfect. Skip the tasting and just go for it! Very true.
    Glad I came over - looking forward to reading more!

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  4. Thank you ladies for visiting!!

    Kathy -- you have no idea how sad we are.

    Lisa...thank you! That kitty is my girl Camille. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  5. What a novel idea! The two-bite cupcakes look scrumptious! And I'm sure they were divine. They looked like they were made with care and love.

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