Cupcake Bar

I believe wedding inspiration can be found almost anywhere, and this weekend it struck at my husbands company holiday party. Maybe in my newlywed bliss I missed this trend, but this looked like a novel idea to me. I call it "The Cupcake Bar."

Everyone I know loves cupcakes, and everyone I know also loves "create your own" type of experiences, so why not put the two together? The guys in chefs hats are probably an unnecessary, expensive addition, but at this party they were the "frosters." I picked up my fruit toppings, chose my cupcake and frosting, and then chose some pecans and peanut butter candies to seal the deal.

I ended up with a monster black and white cupcake that I didn't even come close to finishing. My tip if you decide to do this: make sure your cupcakes are good. The frosting was overly sweet and the cupcakes were overly dry at this party. Points for a great idea though!

Has this been happenings at weddings all over the country and I somehow missed it? I LOVE this concept and am now wishing I would have incorporated it at my own wedding!

That Wedding: Putting My Face On

I think I woke up that morning with a smile on my face. It was my wedding day, the day I would be sealed to the man I loved for time and all eternity. I was officially a blushing, beaming bride.

Even though all of my guests were staying at the Embassy Suites right next to the Bellevue temple, I opted to sleep at Hotel 1000 with BM Princess Jess using my employee discount. I couldn't pass up the luxury beds and the amazing bathtub! You better believe I indulged in a very heavenly bath the night before the wedding to calm down and fall asleep. I woke up at 5:30 am, threw on my bee jumpsuit, and arranged my wedding decor and luggage in two different piles for the Hotel 1000 staff to move for me (have I mentioned previously how absolutely fabulous Hotel 1000 was!)

We arrived at Embassy Suites right on time, and I proceeded to wake everyone up and invade MOH Shay Shay's room for the next few hours in order to get ready. Aunt April came in and it was time to get started on my hair.

Morning Greeting from That Wife on Vimeo.

I had done a lot of research looking into hiring someone to come in and do my hair and makeup, but my mom suggested that we ask my Aunt, a local hairstylist, to do it instead. We covered the cost of her room, and she did 2 trials (plus a haircut) and did the wedding day hair in exchange. I'm so glad I chose to have someone close to me contribute their talent instead of spending hundreds of dollars to have it done.

Once the curlers were pulled out things started to get messy.

I have a really tender head, which means I do not do well having my hair done.

I mean, really, really, do not like having my hair done.

I passed the time by texting back and forth with Mr. Avocado. I received a text from my sister-in-law in Poland that morning and it made me so happy!

Even though their presence was necessary until we exited the temple around 1:00 pm, my bridal party was still right there for me, getting up at 7 AM to sit around and watch me get ready. Or so they though they would just be sitting around....

I took those bMAID shirts seriously.

BM Meggie was assigned steaming duties.

BM Lova became the videographer.

And Bridesman Trevy somehow got roped into climbing on top of the bedroom armoire for some dress shots.

If you are doing your own hair, having a toothbrush on hand is essential. Spray it with hairspray and lightly comb down the frizzies. It's a trick my cousin taught me a few years back and it's the only way to get your updo to lay nice and sleek.

A nice shot of the final product. I really loved the romantic little curls she created on the sides.

I thought my hair was done, so I got started on my makeup.

Aunt April just couldn't seem to keep her hands off my updo though, poking and prodding to try and make it look perfect. It's definitely important to have someone doing your hair/makeup that really cares about the final outcome!

Somehow in all of the madness MOH Shay found time to transform into a little hottie!

I'm not sure how she had time to get ready, since I was constantly calling her over and asking "What do you think?"

My dad came in to check on my progess and I attempted to convey to him how big my hair was when we started the whole process.

With hair and makeup done, it was time for the fake lashes. I decided to go with the MAC individual lashes, expertly applied by MOH Shay. I liked them much better than the whole lash strips I have worn previously, but I don't think I could have applied them on my own. Also, splurge on the nice MAC glue over the drugstore kind, it really made a difference for me.

One last check in the mirror to make sure everything looks perfect...

because Evelyn has been waiting so patiently for me all this time!

All photos by my second true love, Kelli Nicole

Previously:
That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!
That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon
That Wedding: Harbor Sailing

That Wedding: Harbor Sailing

After Whole Foods it was time for our second non-hosted activity of the wedding weekend. We had no idea if the weather would cooperate, and if it didn't it would be miserable time, but we really lucked out.

Harbor sailing turned out to be the perfect choice because guests were able to split up into different areas depending on what they were comfortable with. Their was a guide on the outside at the back of the boat, so guests could hang out and listen to the tour, or they could sit inside. Most of us ended up congregating at the front of the boat where we could just barely hear the tour guide and were able to have our own windy conversations.

Kelli Nicole

Again, we had to convey to guests that we weren't paying for their cruising, so we used the wedding website (and a few emails) to get the word out.

We plan on getting down to Pier 55 after lunch as soon as possible, as it is located right on Alaskan Way next to Pike's Place Market and so their will be plenty of sights to see while we wait for the boat to depart.

Tickets are $15.61 per adult and we will be catching the 4:00 pm cruise on October 10th. Reservations are recommended, but walk ups are welcome. We recommend purchasing tickets online as we would hate to have guests drive down to the pier and be unable to join us because the cruise is sold out. Click on this link to purchase tickets for the 4:00 pm cruise on October 10th.
Click on this link to purchase tickets for the 4:00 pm cruise on October 10th.

Please note that this is a public cruise, and so the boat will be leaving promptly at 4:00 pm. Please allow time for traffic, parking, and purchasing of tickets as you estimate your arrival time.

Everyone who planned on coming did, in fact, make it to the pier on time, and we all waited around excitedly to line up and board. Here I am with BM Meggie and Bridesman Trevy.

Shaylene Rene

Kelli Nicole even managed to catch the boat in time to have some relaxed fun with us. I loved being able to spend some "non-professional" time with her that weekend, because I was just a little bit bossy whenever she was around the next day.

Kelli Nicole

She has really mastered taking self portraits with that huge camera of hers.

Shaylene Rene

We wanted to take a family photo, but every time I got in front of a camera my hair started to attack my face. Everyone looks really great here, except myself.

Kelli Nicole

If my hair wasn't attacking me, it was attacking the person next to me.

Kelli Nicole

My sister captured this fantastic shot of us, where my hair seems to be cooperating for the photo.

Shaylene Rene

Isn't BM Princess Jess a rockstar? She always looks so gorgeous.

Shaylene Rene

I brought along my old Super 8mm camera and some film in hopes that I would be able to have someone shoot some footage on the wedding day but it didn't work out.

Shaylene Rene

My parents are still so in love after all of these years.

Shaylene Rene

I still love my bridal party, even if they called my harbor cruise a booze cruise (Office fans).

Shaylene Rene

I don't think we could have asked for a better pre-wedding day activity to allow us to mingle with our guests!

Previously:
That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!
That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon

That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon

There are many things that are very common at most weddings that LDS weddings just don't do. You won't find any alcohol present, which usually means no dancing (Please note that Mormons DO dance. I always find it funny when people ask if that is not allowed as part of our belief system, alcohol just seems helps people feel a little more comfortable on the dance floor and so dancing is more prevalent at other weddings.)

Another thing we don't have is a traditional ceremony, which eliminates the need for a rehearsal. No rehearsal = no need for a rehearsal dinner. Eliminating the rehearsal dinner was great for our budget, but I still wanted that casual dining time with close friend and family. My dad had originally been lobbying for a wedding catered by Whole Foods (not gonna happen Daddy-O), so we did the next best thing and invited guests to join us there for lunch the day before the wedding.

Source
I would have loved to be using my own photo right here, but I was told to put my camera away as soon as I walked in the door and took the first photo. Grrrrr!

The dilemma was conveying to guests that this was a lunch they would be paying for out of their own pocket. Whole Foods was a great option for this because you can spend anywhere from $5-$20 on your meal, and the selection ranges from sushi to macaroni and cheese. I ended up putting the information about Whole Foods under a section of our wedding website called "Non-hosted Friday Activities" and included this description:

We invite all those who wish to join us to join us for lunch at Whole Foods. Yes, Whole Foods is a grocery store, but they have one of the best buffet selections we have ever seen! Guests should budget between $8 and $15 per person to eat lunch at Whole Foods. The price of a meal will vary greatly from person to person as their are many choices and many different ways to build a meal. The organic and natural food variety choices can include seafood, pizza, paninis, sushi, fresh fruit and veggies, home baked classics, pasta and more.

Everyone got the message, and Whole Foods luncheon was a big success. Somehow we lucked out and were offered use of a private room for lunch, which definitely made up for them forbidding the use of my camera inside the store.

Grandma Moo (affectionately named such because she lives on a dairy farm) chose to go with a delicious hoagie.

I had presented my bridesmaids with part 1 of their gift the night before, but part 2 arrived with my Aunt at lunch. I was positively giddy about presenting them.

I made them open them all at the exact same time. Ohhhhh, what are they girls?

Cute little gray hoodies, which they are modeling oh so well the morning of the wedding. I love when bridesmaids have matching outfits while the bride gets ready, and my girls were all wonderful and humored me by wearing them.

Kelli Nicole Photography

I'm sure no one appreciated this as much as I did. I wish I had one for myself now because I just think my little design is so funny!

Kelli Nicole Photography

My Aunt also delivered my bee jacket to be worn while getting dressed the next morning. I put it right one and didn't want to take it off.

Previously:

That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!

That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!

There is only way to start wedding recaps, IMHO, and that's at the beginning. With all 3000 of my wedding weekend pictures organized and sufficiently drooled over it is time for me to indulge in the pleasure that we formally call wedding recaps, but is really just a way for me to experience the wedding all over again in the midst of my "post traumatic wedding syndrome."

The Thursday before the wedding had me bouncing around with excitement and putting extra effort into looking pretty, for I was to see Mr. Avocado for the first time in 10 weeks! I dreamt of walking out of Hotel 1000 and glamorously jumping into his arms in front of a crowd of clapping tourists. That did not happen.

To make a long story short, seeing my groom involved him missing the hotel entrance, forcing me to walk a block to find him, a quick hug and kiss, lots of stress from a groom who hadn't finished writing his non-vows, paying for 30 minute parking when we should have done 1 hour, scarfing down our meal in record time to avoid a parking ticket, and hurrying back to the hotel to drop me off for a spa appointment.

We did manage to snap one cell phone picture together of a completely un-memorable experience.

Mr. Avo dropped me off in front of Hotel 1000, where we said our goodbyes for the night, as we wouldn't be seeing each other until we met up in the Seattle Temple the next morning for my endowment session.

Of course things started looking up as soon as I set foot in the spa, and afterward I emerged glowing and relaxed to find the first of 5 bridesmaids had already arrived for bridesmaid party night!

Yes, we called it bridesmaid party, for without any sign of male genitalia or naughty games I didn't feel it deserved to be labeled a bachlorette party. What did this party involve? Friends, laughter, gift giving, delicious dinner (delicious for some), and a whole lot of karaoke!

Dinner was at The Pink Door where I had heard tales of trapeze artists and magicians, but our dinner was rather uneventful.

I can't say that the decor wasn't delightful though!

From left to right, MOH Shay, BM Princess Jess, Miss Avocado, BM Lova, BM Beni Bop, BM Maggie

From there we walked over to the karaoke place that Mrs. Cherry Pie visited and wrote about on Weddingbee. The walk was just a little bit chilly.

I was all over the song list book as soon as we got in the room.

The remote was, to put it lightly, antiquated.

I sang my little heart out.

There was dancing.

There were group renditions of "I'll Be There For You."

And there was Miss Avo, excitedly making a fool of herself all night long.

It was just what a stressed bride-to-be needs right before her big day.