Saving your wedding cake

Saving  some of your wedding cake, usually the top tier, is a very old tradition. It was a tradition that began in  times when couples got married with the purpose of starting a family and couples would commonly have children as soon as possible.  The cake could be used around the couples’ first anniversary or when the child was to be christened. People also saved it and ate it together to celebrate special anniversaries.

I touched on this in my last blog, and  although I don’t know how popular this is now days, especially with all of the different types of cakes that people are having.  I’m also unsure of how easy some of these newly popular cakes are to freeze.  A lot of people are choosing not to have the traditional fruit cake, and many people are having cakes that they like, rather than a fruit cake because in the past maybe that was all that was available. If you are thinking about saving some of your wedding cake,  speak to the people making your cake as they will be able to advise you on the best type of cake to have, and ways to freeze your chosen cake.  Make sure that you give instructions to who ever is cutting your cake so that they do not cut into the portion you were planning to save on the day. There are all sorts of instructions on the internet on how to freeze cake successfully so you can also get some tips from there.

So many people are having ‘naked’ wedding cakes, chocolate mud cakes, cupcakes and all sorts of things that reflect what they like and who they are. Rather than having the traditional cake just because it’s expected. (You can read one of my previous blogs about wedding cakes here)  If you are having a wedding cake that is somewhat traditional you can get the top tier made in fruit cake or a cake that freezes well. If you are having cupcakes or some smaller cakes, you may choose to have a cake that you pretend to cut for the photos and choose to save this or part of this cake.

If you are wanting to have your cake on your 1st or other special anniversary another option is to order a new cake from the same people that made your original cake, that way the cake is fresh . Then you are assured that it is going to taste good and you don’t have to order more cake than you actually need for your wedding day.

There are also some variations on saving the cake itself. You could start a new tradition, and save something else from the wedding instead. You could save some of the bonbonnerie that you have or maybe you could save some of the wine or champagne that you had on the day and open it on a special anniversary or at another special function to remind you of your special day.

Do you have any saved wedding cake triumphs or disasters to share?

Thanks to Untamed Images for their stunning photos on the blog this week. Check out their website here and their facebook here.

Post wedding day blues

Once all of the excitement of your wedding day is over – often it can be very difficult to settle in. You have had your big day and it was one of the greatest experiences of your life thus far, it can be hard to accept the big day is over – all of the planning and stress is no more.  There are no more dates set in the calendar, no more bridal showers or hens days – this can often be a little disheartening.

There are quite a few things you can do to keep yourself busy and help keep those lovely memories from your special day alive.

Thank you cards

This is a job that should be done close to the wedding date, it is a good gesture and is easily done earlier rather than later, while you can still remember who gave you what gift. It’s good to write a custom letter to each person, whether is it about a gift given or a lovely moment you shared at the wedding, rather than just a generic message. This can be time consuming but enjoying resurfacing beautiful memories of your wedding day.

Save the cake

Saving the cake is a old tradition from when couples got married to have children and the cake could be used around the couples first anniversary when the child was to be christened, the tradition is still popular for different reasons. However with the wide variety of cakes today, you need to be aware not all cakes or top tiers will freeze well. It is something you will need to research before committing to.

Preserve your dress

You have spent a considerable amount of time and money on your wedding dress, you may want to do some research into having your dress professionally cleaned and then decide if you are going to store it away, or possibly sell it. This is totally up to you; depending on how sentimental you are or if you think you may never wear it again and want to make some money back while it is still in fashion.

Keep your Bouquet

This is something a lot of people don’t really think about, and again it depends if you have a floral bouquet (you can read my blogs about bouquets here). You may decide to research the different options on preserving your bouquet. If you choose to have flowers you can have them dried, pressed, or freeze dried. These things vary in cost and some of them you can do yourself. You may decide to frame them – I have heard lately of people framing them with your wedding certificate or with all the beautiful good luck keepsakes.

Wedding Album

This might take a little while to come to you and may depend on your photographer and package you have purchased – this is an exciting prospect. Whether you go to the studio and work out an album with your photographer, or you get the digital files and spend time designing your own album. It can be a challenging and time consuming project, but something that is worth the time. Those of you who read my blog regularly will know how strongly I feel about great photos and these being some of the best memories, I think this is time well invested and I don’t know of anyone who has put time into a wedding album and been disappointed with the result.

Memory scrap book

It may take time for you to get your photos back from your photographer, some take a while and some seem to get them to you quite quickly, in the meantime you might want to get photos from your friends and family, and get bits and pieces from the ceremony. I did this as I wanted to have something to share with people and I knew it would take a while to get the final album from the photographer (there wasn’t the joy of digital photography back then, nor could I have a great instagram hashtag for people to check out photos from the day) so I used things like the order of service booklet, menus from the tables and photos from family and friends with different perspectives of our special day.

Sell off the things you no longer need

This can be a great way to keep busy and work out what things you want to keep and what you can live without. Especially if you have spent a lot of money on table decorations, you could sell it on eBay, or Gumtree, as a set or you could split it up and sell them separately.

Start to plan something new

Depending whether you went straight on your honeymoon or not you might like to plan a holiday or honeymoon (you can read about Honeymoon decisions I previously blogged about here). Otherwise you might want to plan a girls or boys weekend away or a weekend away with your husband or a bit of a reunion weekend with some friends you didn’t feel you spent enough time with since your wedding.  A big dinner party is a great alternative or something else you can enjoy with your friends and family.

Do you have any great post-wedding tips for people who feel a little ‘lost’ after their big day?

A big thank-you to Kirralee for the use of her lovely photos, check out the link to the blog about this wedding here.

Daniel and Kate

I have been quite excited to work with this lovely couple from the beginning, I have known Daniel for a few years – he is a wonderful photographer and has contributed wedding photos to my blog in the past (click here to see that blog). I knew he would choose a great photographer to take the photos on his very special day.  I haven’t known Kate for very long, however instantly took a liking to her when we first met to plan their wedding day. Kate is a designer, I have seen some of her photography work on Facebook and Instagram, so I was eager to find out what these two creative’s had planned for their wedding day – I knew it would be stylish.

Daniel and Kate have a lot in common, they share a love of Photography, coffee drinking and trips  to Kyneton. They faced a few challenges at the beginning of their relationship – only making their bond stronger. It was during this time they both realized, it was true love and they wanted to share the rest of their lives with one another. They got engaged in Tasmania and soon decided to get the ball rolling for their special day. I was really honoured to be a part of their wedding.

Daniel and Kate were married on a lovely Saturday in June.  It was quite cold to begin with, however turned out to be a lovely sunny day. They were married at The Tylden Harvester, a lovely little restaurant in Tylden – about 10 minutes away from Kyneton, in the Macedon Ranges.  They had about 20 of their closest family and friends there – it was just the loveliest time. The restaurant was closed for the afternoon and had been decorated especially for their special day. It was one of the most lovely, intimate weddings I have witnessed for some time. I loved all of the wonderful decorations and attention to detail in the restaurant. Being winter, there was a lovely wood fire in one of the rooms dedicated for the ceremony. Everything had a lovely intimate feel and everything was closely aligned with their aesthetic.

Farrah Allan took the wedding photos; they suited the theme of the wedding. I loved what Daniel and Kate chose to wear. Daniel wore his hat, I have only ever seen him without it a handful of times in the whole time I have known him. I think Daniel and Kate let their personalities shine through on the day. Kate wore the most lovely lace dress, with a stunning little cardigan and I LOVED the red shoes she chose to wear!

It was the last wedding on my calendar before my baby was due to be born. All of the guests were really lovely and all full of questions about my baby, (couldn’t miss it, I was huge!). I had such a fantastic time and met a lot of wonderful people. Everyone I spoke to was really lovely and friendly. I think Daniel and Kate are exceptionally lucky to have such a great lot of friends and family.  I feel really lucky to be a celebrant; I get to be a part of one of the happiest days of a couple’s life. Especially on occasions like this, when it is such a small and intimate affair.

Thanks to Farrah Allen for letting me use her photos from the day. Check out her website here. If you are in the Macedon Ranges, check out The Tylden Harvester, click here to see their website, go and see Adam there, and ask him to play you something on the piano.