Part XVI: Reception Details – the Cake

Sorry, I’ve been on hiatus from posting my wedding pics. Things have been busy here in Radish land. Hopefully you guys still remember me around here and are still interested in my post-wedding details.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the details or our wedding cake with you.  Here it is, the most well-photographed pastry I have ever eaten! Isn’t it purty?

I loved our wedding cake, I really did. I put a minimal amount of thought into it, and It was beautiful and, most importantly, delicious!

It was made with about 90% organic ingredients and it was so, so good. I’m really picky about deserts, so having it taste great was the main priority for me! The top layer was carrot cake, the middle was chocolate with cherry filling, and the base was vanilla with raspberry filling. On the side were about a dozen vegan cupcakes, since a lot of our friends are vegan.

The best thing about our cake, though? It was super cheap!! A friend of my mom’s is a baker and she did it for us. It was enough to feed about 200 people and we only had to pay about $250. Quite a steal in my opinion.

I got the birdcage topper at AC Moore for about $30. It’s the “song of love topper” made by Wilton. Like everyone else, I originally wanted an Ann Wood topper, but that was far too rich for my blood, so I went with this instead. We had a very loose bird/garden/antique kind of theme, so it worked nicely.

The flowers were edible but I have no idea what she made them out of. Frosting maybe?

I was so impressed with the overall look of the cake. I really didn’t giver her any detailed specifications. I didn’t even meet with her about the cake until about a month before the wedding, and by the time I was so burnt out on details that I didn’t even care.

Basically, I just gave her the birdcage topper that I got and told her to make something that went along with it that wasn’t too busy looking. I was shocked when I got to the reception and saw how perfect the cake came out. It was like she knew what I wanted better than I did. It even seemed to match with my venue somehow.

If anyone is looking for a great cake baker in the Syracuse NY area, the woman who made ours, Terri Lynn, works for Gingersnap Bakery and she does wedding cakes there, too.

**All photographs by Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography**

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!
XI: Waiting Around
XII: The Grande Entrance
XIII: Shall We Dance?
XIV: Sister Radish’s Adorable Toast
XVI: The Best Man’s Toast

Stay tuned – there’s still more to come.  Someday I’ll finish the whole story, I promise!

So long, long hair!

I did it … the post-wedding chop!!

I went to the fabulous Art & Science salon in Chicago (the Wicker Park location) where my stylist, Kim, cut off over a foot of hair. I’m really happy with it, but I still feel a little naked!

I had some seriously long hair before this. I’ve been pretty much growing out my hair since 2003. Not really for the wedding (although that may be part of the reason I didn’t cut it sooner), it was more a combination of being too lazy and cheap to get it cut, and being in some kind of personal contest with myself to see how long I could grow it out.

But my hair was just SO unhealthy and frizzy, and it’s naturally curly/wavy and thick so it was always in tangles and totally messy. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Not to mention I was shedding more than my cat!

I had similar hair when I was a little kid, and my little pet parakeet actually DIED in my hair. True story! I was playing with the bird and it was sitting on my shoulder when it got startled for some reason and flew into the rats nets that was my hair. It totally spazzed out, and got all caught in my hair. It worked itself up into a tizzy until it somehow choked itself (or maybe broke its neck) in my own hair! So you see, clearly this head of hair can be a hazard and I certainly don’t want to harm anymore pets or wildlife

And by the way, apparently, it’s not good to brush your hair out while it’s still wet because it will give you split ends everywhere! Am I the only person in the world that didn’t know this?! I just leaned this the last time I went for a trim. The stylist was so perplexed at how I could possibly have so many split ends all over my head, and after some hair-detective work, she figured out that is what I was doing wrong. I’m so embarrassed…

Anyway here is a photo-montage tribute to my old, long hair. We had some good time together… (cue some sappy music)…

(click on image to enlarge)

So who else has, or plans to, cut it all off after the wedding?

Small Steps to a Greener Wedding

Happy Earth Day!

(image from Treehugger.com)

There has been a lot of talk about green weddings lately and it can almost start to sound like just another passing wedding fad. But unlike powder blue tuxedos this is a wedding trend worth keeping around! But planning a green wedding can seem like a daunting task for already busy brides & grooms. When planning a wedding, there are already so many things to think about and so many details to coordinate that I can understand why some couples might not want to take on anything extra.

Some couples may think that having a green wedding is an “all or nothing” kind of thing, and if you aren’t going to go all the way then why bother? I mean, let’s be honest here, many brides may not be willing to go as far as getting a hemp wedding dress (though there are some beautiful ones out there now days) and many budget-conscious couples simply can’t afford the extra cost of organic flowers, food, or wine.

But remember – every little thing counts and even if you can only incorporate a few small green elements it can still make a bid difference. There are many small and easy things that every couple can do to make their wedding more environmentally conscious without breaking the bank or causing any extra stress.

Some of the easiest ways to make your wedding more eco-friendly is to just NOT do things! That’s easy enough, right?

A few things to consider skipping out on:

Favors - don’t have the time/energy/money to make eco-friendly wedding favors? Then just skip favors altogether or give a charity favor like Mrs. Lovebug!

Table Cameras – Disposable table cameras were all the rage for awhile there, but with the ever growing popularity of digital photography there is really no need. I guarantee you that at least one guest at every table will have their own digital camera in tow, so follow Mrs. Lemon’s lead and ask them to upload them to a photo-sharing website instead.

Mrs. Lemon’s photo-sharing cards

Flowers – Okay, so surely you won’t want to skip flowers altogether, but think about ways to reduce them. For example, we didn’t bother with any floral arrangements or decorations in our church since it was already quite ornate and had a lot of color. Or maybe you can cut down on how many flowers you use at the reception by considering some alternative centerpiece ideas like candles. It will save you money too!

The Radishes wedding ceremony. See – we really didn’t need to add any extra decorations. (photo by Tim Forbes)

Printed Photo Proofs – Almost all wedding photographers shoot in digital format now (which is great for the planet!) but many photography packages still include printed proofs. If the your package includes this, ask if you can get the proofs in digital format on a disk instead. Photo paper is still quite pollutive and this will help reduce the impact of that.

Unnecessary Packaging & Plastics – Avoid them like the plague!

Personalization – Of course, there are some things you may really want to get personalized with your names or monogram, but just think twice about it and only do it if it’s something you really, really care about or want to save as a keepsake.

Some simple things that can make your wedding greener:

Flowers – Organic flowers are best, but they can be cost prohibitive. If you can’t fit an organic bouquet in your budget, consider using wild flowers or if you’re a green thumb grow your own. If you’re the crafty type, get creative like bride Thryn Albin and make an oragami bouquet from recycled paper!

Thryn’s origami bouquets (photo from zzilch’s Flickr page)

Have Edible Favors – If you do want to give wedding favors (I did!) then think about having an edible favor. That’s always a crowd pleaser and will minimize waste.  For ours, we used homemade organic cookies in a simple wax paper bag.

Mrs. Radish’s homemade cookie favors

Invitations – There are all kind of beautiful, super green invitation options out there, such as printing them on seed paper or hemp paper… But if all that sounds a little more hippie than hip to you, go for something simpler and just print them on recycled card stock.  You can do it yourself or any good stationer should be able to offer recycled card stock as an option.

Handmade paper invitations from Porridge Papers. (photo from Flickr)

Centerpieces – Use potted plants instead of traditional flower arrangements. They can be taken home with guests later or donated to a hospital or nursing home. We did this for our wedding and it also saved us a lot of money since we bought the plants directly from a local greenhouse and we didn’t have to hire a florist.

Some of our centerpieces. Photo by Tim Forbes

Flower girl/Ring bearer Gifts – Having trouble thinking of something to give the little ones in your wedding party as a thank you gift? How about adopting an endangered species in their name! Groups like the World Wildlife Fund, the Defenders of Wildlife, and the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Adoption package from the National Zoo

Use Organics Where You Can Afford it – We really wanted to serve an all-organic menu at our reception, but this proved to be WAY out of our price range. But we could afford to have a wedding cake made with organic ingredients.

Our wedding cake. Photo by Tim Forbes.

Green Dress Cleaning – After the wedding when it comes time to have your dress cleaned go with a “green” dry cleaner rather than a traditional one, if possible. Traditional dry cleaning uses a lot of toxic chemicals.  You can learn more about it from the National Geographic Green Guide -  here.

Do you think it helps to go green even in small ways?  Does anyone want to have a greener wedding but felt overwhelmed by the cost of things like organic flowers, etc.?

Do you plan to incorporate some “green” elements into their wedding, or if you are already married did you?

… and be honest – are any of you turned off by the idea of having an eco-conscious wedding because of all the recent media hype around all things green?

Our First Tax Return… How Romantic??

Today is April 15th and you all know what that means… taxes! For the Radishes, this is also a new “marriage milestone” for us. This year marked our very first very first tax return that we filed together as a married couple. Maybe we should frame it or add it to our scrapbook

(the Radish family with a copy of our tax return… unfortunately, we could NOT claim the cat as a dependent)

Anyway, this was one of those funny moments since our wedding that I was like, “Wow, we are REALLY married now!” We’ve been together for so long and we lived together for about two years before we got married, so sometimes married life isn’t much different than non-married life was.

But there’s nothing like shared tax liability to make your union feel official!

Oh, and by the way, I always assumed that you would get a better deal on taxes once your married, but in our case that did not prove to be true. We used the “married filing separately” status because it got a slightly larger (though still meager) tax return than filing jointly… but I would’ve gotten a really big return if I was still single. Maybe next year?

Did everyone get their taxes out yet? For all the brides-to-bee, are you looking forward to changing your filing status? For the married readers, did your first married tax time work out as you expected?

Part XV: Best Man’s Toast

After sister Radish gave the maid of honor’s toast, it was our best man’s turn. He is Mr. Radish’s best friend and partner in crime. They met in undergrad and then they both moved out to Chicago for grad school (he went to the Art Institute of Chicago and Mr. R went to the University of Chicago). After Mr. Radish finished his program, I moved out here and the three of us got a 3-bedroom apartment together and became quite the dynamic trio. Good time, good times…

We all lived together for about 2 1/2 years until our roomie/best man decided to move to Europe for awhile (he has dual US/Polish citizenship). I can’t say I blame him but we were sad to see him go. The three of us had some awesome times together and he’s been such a good friend to us. We still miss him a lot, but he is back in the states now (in New York) at least, so we do see him more often.

Like sister Radish, he isn’t big on public speaking, but he did a great job and it meant a lot to us since he is practically family.

He’s a funny guy as you can see from all the laughter

Aww… we love this dude!

Photo credits: Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!
XI: Waiting Around
XII: The Grande Entrance
XIII: Shall We Dance?
XIV: Sister Radish’s Adorable Toast

Part XIV: Sister Radish’s Adorable Toast

Little sister Radish was the maid of honor so, of course, it was her job to give a toast.  She is very timid and she was nervous about it for weeks before the wedding.  When she finally got up to give the toast it was so cute!  I have it on video but I haven’t figured out how to upload it yet.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of exactly what she read but, basically, she said how she always looked up to me growing up and wanted to be just like me when she grew up, and how she was so happy that I met my soul-mate and she hopes that someday she’ll be so lucky.   It was very sweet.

During the speech she started to tear up (so did I!) and then she would start laughing at the same time. It was totally adorable!  Then I started doing the same laughing/crying mix because she was.  I guess we are alike

Yay! Good job little sister Radish!

Did anyone else have a very memorable toast? Does anyone else have/or did you have someone very shy give your toast?

Photo credits: Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!
XI: Waiting Around
XII: The Grande Entrance
XIII: Shall We Dance?

XIII: Shall We Dance?

Believe it or not, I am actually a trained dancer. I tap-danced and pliéd my way through adolescence, but thanks to knee problems, I gave up dancing about 10 years ago. I like to think that I retained some gracefulness and a sense of rhythm

Mr. Radish, on the other hand, has never been much of a dancer. He was a great hockey player though, so I knew he had the needed coordination and agility in him somewhere. I tried to teach him a few moves, but he approached it like he was playing hockey with me — I was nearly hip-checked several times!! But I really wanted to avoid doing what I call the 8th Grade Shuffle (you know… the awkward, swaying back and forth thing that was the slow dance du jour at your middle school dances) so we got professional help and took ballroom dancing lessons. It was a good thing we did because when the big day rolled around, I must admit we looked pretty sharp out there and all of our guests were totally surprised.

We chose Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (click on song title to listen to a clip) by Spiritualized as the soundtrack to our first married dance. We went to see Spiritualized in concert on our very first date and they played this song, so it’s a very significant song to us. It also just so happens to be the perfect speed for dancing, and it’s in a 3/4 time signature, which is a waltz … and my favorite type of ballroom dance.

Well, here it is… our big Dancing With the Stars-esque moment!

Deep concentration mode!

Here comes the dip… this was the scariest part for me!

… and the big finish!

Yay! We did it and there was no toe-stomping or tripping Notice all the clapping in the background… we totally rocked it!

Mr. Radish did such an awesome job! I was so proud of him. He was totally the Fred Astaire to my Ginger Rogers

And here’s some non-professional photos, just for fun. Lot’s of twirling action going on.

I have no idea why I look so mad in this picture! I swear I was happy — really!

***Professional photo credits go to Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography.***

I must say, learning to dance together was actually really fun and was one of the more relaxing and enjoyable things that we did during the course of planning the wedding. Even if you are already a pretty good dancer, I recommend taking some lessons because if nothing else, it’s just a great way to spend some time together and get a little exercise to boot. I honestly kind of miss dancing together now that it’s over. Maybe someday we’ll take some more lessons just for kicks.

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!
XI: Waiting Around
XII: The Grande Entrance

Up next – the toasts!

XII: the Grande Entrance

We decided to do the whole traditional “grand entrance” thing at our reception. That was the funny thing about our wedding…we ended up doing a lot more of the standard wedding traditions than we originally thought we would. It just kind of worked out that way. Anyhow, we wanted to do our first dance before dinner was served so we did the grand entrance and then went right into our first dance.

We had two songs picked out for the entrances but they were too obscure and our DJ didn’t have them in his collection. I planned to bring them on CD for him and I totally forgot about it! It was no big deal, though. Mr. Radish made a last-minute executive decision and we used “Rock and Roll” and “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. Not necessarily your common wedding-fare, but Mr. Radish is a big old guitar geek and loves the Zep.

Before the newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Radish were introduced, the rest of our wedding party got their moment in the spotlight.

* All professional photos by Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography *
My grandmother escorted by my step-father. She had a knee replacement surgery about 6 months before the wedding, so she was really happy that she healed up in time for the wedding and she insisted on walking out for the introductions. We were going to just have her stand from her seat, but she wanted to show off her new knee!

My mother escorted by my uncle. She decided to walk out with him instead of my step-father because my uncle walked me down the aisle. My mom always makes a stink face in pictures. She’s very intractable.

Mr. Radish’s parents.

Now for the bridesmaids & groomsmen…

A lonely groomsman. We were short a bridesmaid so he had to fly solo.

More cute kids…

Maid of honor (baby sister Radish) and Best Dude.

Here we are!

This is actually a non-pro picture from my uncle… but I like it.

Up next – our first dance!

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!
XI: Waiting Around

XI: Waiting Around

Previously on The Radishes Get Hitched…
I: Here Comes the Groom
II: My Ladies in Waiting
III: Here Comes the Bride
IV: Meanwhile, Back at the Church
V: The Procession
VI: My LAST Unmarried Moments!
VII: Ceremony Highlights
VIII: Making in Official!
IX: Well Received
X: Say Cheese!

**As always, all photo credits go to Tim Forbes of Forbes Creative Photography.**

We were running a little behind at the church, and then we got LOST on the way to the reception so we didn’t get to the reception venue until about a 35 minutes into the cocktail hour. My photographer, along with his assistant for the day, Scott McQuarrie, got to the reception a good 20 minutes before us and, lucky for me, they decided to make good use of their time! I’m almost glad we were late because they got some of these great candid shots of everyone during the cocktail hour.

This is actually from the church (hmm… maybe the pews give it away?). My baby brother was waiting while we were getting pictures with my parents in the church.

Back at the reception site, it looks like the kids had no trouble finding the candy buffet! I think they have radar for that kind of stuff.

I really love this picture of my father-in-law. The face he’s making is so “him.” He’s a retired math professor and has a very dry wit. It looks like he’s thinking “Get that camera out of my face. Aren’t you supposed to be taking pictures of the bride?”

Another one of Mr. Radish’s nephews enjoying some candy. He’s a handsome little devil. He was supposed to be in the wedding, but there was a miscommunication with his parents so it didn’t work out. Too bad.

Our best man… looking sharp! I’m loving his boutonnière, too. My sister made them for us using some silk anemone’s from the Paper Source with some shimmery ribbon I got from the Marta Stewart line at Michael’s.

My Grandma! She’s the cutest.

My uncle with his date.

My mother with her two brothers, also known as my uncles.

Mr. Radish arriving with his new brother-in-law close behind.

Here I come (finally!) with my entourage.

Actually, it just looks like I have an entourage. The only person actually “with” me is my friend in the brown dress who drove us to the reception. The other girls are just friends of mine who were mingling in the background. But it seems much cooler to have an “entourage.”  It looks like some paparazzi might jump out of the bushes any second!

Well,  that concludes this episode.  Up next in the Radish wedding saga – our “grand” entrance.

Oscar Inspiration

The 80th annual Academy Awards ceremony last night brought out all the stars and glamor on the red carpet. So, similar to the post I did about the Screen Actor’s Guild awards, here are some dresses that I thought could be great inspiration to those of you out there who are thinking of getting custom gowns.

Keisha Whitaker looked stunning, didn’t she? Forest is one lucky guy! I don’t know who designed her gown, but I just love it and I think it would make a gorgeous wedding gown.

I’m normally not a big fan of beadwork but this is just exquisite. I also love her hair and makeup. Simple but perfect!

Former Felicity star and recent mother Keri Russell looked smashing in this Nina Ricci gown. It’s rather simple in the front but a really great cut. I remember thinking this looked great on stage, too. It had a lot of movement and looked incredibly graceful.

The back and side of the gown are really impressive. I love the layers and the way it drapes.

Stacy London of television’s What Not To Wear proved that she does, indeed, know what to wear. I think she looks great in this flowing black gown. Just imagine it in white… and it could make a beautiful wedding dress.

Katherine Heigle, 27 Dresses star and WeddingBee favorite, looked amazing in this scarlet red Escada gown.

I love the shoulder detail.

Red was popular this year. Miley Ray Cyrus, Hannah Montana star and daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus of “Achey Breaky Heart” fame, looked lovely in this Valentino dress. I really love the back of it.

The front was nice too, but not quite as exciting.

Cameron Diaz looked hot, as usual, in this blush pink taffeta gown by John Galliano.

Check out that back view. That’s one perky derrière!

Multiple Oscar-winning actress Hillary Swank in Versace. There’s a bit much going on with the feathers and stuff on this gown, but I really like the cut and the draping over the one shoulder.

Renee Zellweger in a sparkling Carolina Herrera.

Calista Flockhart wore vintage Valentino from Rare Vintage in NYC.  Very Roman goddess-like.

Jennifer Garner in a very couture-looking gown from Oscar de la Renta. The ruffle details on the bottom of the dress are beautiful.

Best supporting actress nominee, Saoirse Ronan from Atonement, looked so lovely in this gorgeous green dress from Alberta Ferretti. I think this could make a gorgeous flower girl dress in a smaller size. Or maybe a nice junior bridesmaid gown?

And finally, my personal favorite — this year’s Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard. She is just so adorable. I have a total girl crush on her! She is just glowing and looks amazing in this John Paul Gautier dress. I know, it’s a bit daring and maybe a little too high-fashion for a wedding, but perhaps some inspiration can be drawn from it.

Great hair and makeup too!

How cute was her acceptance speech? It’s always refreshing to see some real, genuine emotion and surprise from the winners.

Well, hopefully some of you custom-gown girls out there can draw some inspiration from these looks. Are there any that I missed? Any great dresses that you loved?

*** photo credits:  Associated Press and Splash News ***