Cake, you complete me!

Cake!

I.heart.cake. I have an incredible sweet tooth, and a good cake can complete me like Jerry McGuire. So, when the FH and I were trying to decide what kind of cake we wanted, I had to go back to a flavor that I had the pleasure of eating at a bridal show. It tasted just like one of these:

Makes you want one, doesn't it?

Yum-o. Though I love a good chocolate or vanilla cake, something tells me that sometimes you shouldn't always go with what's common (read: safe). My fiance and I love food, so we plan on having all kinds of food at the wedding that are good for the soul, yummy food. That includes the dessert. So, we have a flavor...what should it look like?

We ran across a picture of a cake and we were sold: 

(source)

Doesn't that look amazing? And to open that thing up and discover an orange creme cake? Divine! Come to find out, these are cake pans that anyone can own if they so choose. So, I did what any DIY bride would do...I bought the pans. 

But, you don't think I'm baking my own wedding cake, do you? Of course not, especially since I have two AMAZING (and I mean amazing - they definitely deserve all caps here) Auntie's that bake great cakes. And they don't just taste good, they look great. Take a peek (all photos below are personal): 

SpongeBob and his spatula on a Crabby Patty? How clever is that?!

And these are cupcakes for my son's school birthday party: 

So, they did a test run with the pans to see what a layer would look like. I have to say, this cake was AWESOME! It was my cousin's husband's birthday, so there was double duty here. But hey, any reason to eat cake, right?

This cake was huge. And incredibly delicious. We didn't have orange cake yet, so it was vanilla cake with an orange creme mousse filling. I was in heaven (*swoon). This was so good, we decided that instead of a groom's cake, we're going to have two smaller versions of the wedding cake just like this bad boy. I'm excited. 

Stay tuned for more fun facts about the wedding. I just finished a DIY project that was much more successful than the ice cream cones...can't wait to play show and tell!

We Have a Venue!

FH and I spent a long time searching for a venue that matched some very specific criteria:

• It needs to be in a central location
• It needs to be able to accommodate everyone we would like to attend our wedding
• It needs to not exude religion or make anyone feel uncomfortable for their religious differences 
• It needs to be a space that can have both our ceremony and reception, and
• It needs to be affordable (of course!)

We found it!

I've been frantically clicking through website after website, searching for a place that would ultimately feel like, us. 

Quite an adorable location, right? 

We love it. We literally walked inside, took a deep breathe and asked, "Where do we sign?" The best part about it? They're Unitarians. Meaning, The core of their existence lies on the fact that all people have worth, and should be allowed to seek truth in their own way. Perfect!! 

Anyway, it's perfect for us. More pictures you ask? Why, of course!

This is what the inside looks like when you use it for a ceremony only. We, on the other hand, are using the space for everything it's got. What a beautiful area! Why waste on 1 hour when we can savor it for 6?

(all photos from Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church, Kirkland)

So, we're going to do something that's a little more similar to this. Besides,  who doesn't like the opportunity to chill out while you're watching a wedding? Sometimes you just have to rest your elbows somewhere, right?

My first attempt at DIY

So, I've come to the conclusion that in order for me to have a fun and different wedding without completely breaking my bank, I'm going to have to be creative. Crazy creative, and I may lose a finger or two before the end of this. But, let's not let the technicalities of losing a finger (or two) get in the way of what I want!

So, my first challenge - create containers for tossing silk flower petals. Why not birdseed, rice, or real flower petals? Well, other than the fact that real flower petals are messy at best (they stain floors), and the freeze dried kind are expensive for what I would like to see, my venue doesn't allow anything thrown besides silk flower petals. Well, at least the decision was made for me, right?

Okay, I've seen many different ways these can be made. My choice was with the cone. Unfamiliar with the cone? Basically, it's resembles a waffle cone out of paper, and you stuff petals inside ala ice cream for people to toss. Easy enough, right? Hmmm....I'm proving to myself rather quickly that I'm either going to skip most everything DIY, or I'm going to have to start giving myself a lot more time to get these projects done. I'm hoping for the latter.

So, I printed a circle on a piece of paper, one with my monogram, and one without. Because really, I have no idea how I want this end product to look yet.

And then I used my handy-dandy scalloped edged scissors to cut them out:

I then proceeded to roll them on one end to make a cone:

And then I shoved a bunch of rose petals inside to see how they look:

Ta da! An ice cream cone! Er, I mean, a petal holder. So then I did one with our monogram inside. What better way to showcase our monogram then to plop it onto everything I can, right? Wrong...

Er, where's the monogram? Can you see a little square on the inside right side of the cone? Yep, that's it. Boo. No workie. Oh well, we'll have to do something on the outsides of the cone. Perhaps a tag of sorts that also lets people know I'm not trying to poison them with silk flower ice cream cones, but to give them a chance to peg the bride and groom before we leave!

Well, what do you think? What can I do to explain their purpose and show off our monogram?

I have an addiction

It's true. Hi, my name is Miss Simple Party Planner, and I'm addicted to Farmville. Yep. It's absolutely ridiculous, and has absolutely no meaning. I mean, none. I don't make real food, I don't really feed chickens, and I most certainly am not planting anything that can be harvested in 3 days.

A gardener I am not. In fact, I can't even keep a Chia Pet alive.

(Source)

Mr. T would never have hair if it were up to me. So, perhaps my addiction to Farmville is solely because I cannot farm in real life. It's pathetic, I know, and I'm seeking help. :)

So, blogging about this must be my first stop toward weaning myself off this mindless game, right? No, my first step came in the form of a parody video about the subject. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and maybe you'll come to the same conclusion that I did: Zynga is sucking the brain cells out of my head, one by one. The madness needs to stop!



And, in case you are like me and play all the other ga-zillion games on Facebook, here's another parody for your enjoyment:



Do you have any crazy, unexplainable addictions you would like to share?

There's Just so Much to Do!!

Planning a wedding is well, ridiculous. Not in the sense that we shouldn't plan one at all. But the fact of the matter is, wedding planning has come a long way since the days of my parents getting married.  They were married in a field beside a church, and all of us stood around them in a circle, and they were married. Granted, this is definitely still a possibility. It was a beautiful wedding, and though I was only 8 when they were married, I still have very fond memories of the event. But I'm definitely not my mother, so my wedding should be different, right?

So, that brings me to my current dilemma. We all have weddings, and they're all meant to celebrate our new families, but it's much more than that, really. I hope to create an event that's not only a great party, but an event that creates lasting memories for everyone. But, I need do this without breaking the budget. I mean, yah, it would be awesome to have a wedding on a blimp, but who can afford that? Besides, my fiance would have no part in any wedding where is feet weren't  firmly planted on the ground. :)

So, what do you do? (drum roll, please...)

I think the answer is to make it personal. How can I put pieces into the wedding that scream Mr. & Mrs. SimplePartyPlanner (we're going to have to abbreviate to SSP - it's just so much to type!)? And how do I do that and still make it affordable?

Well, I get to do everything myself (with the help of some AMAZING friends). A little DIY goes a long way, right? And, I get to actually use my thrifty, find anything at a bargain know-how and use it for good! For the record, I hope I get to do the latter more than DIY...you will come to find (and laugh at) my inability to craft.

What have you done in for an event you've planned to make it memorable?

Horray!

I have to be honest. I've been wanting to actually start a blog for a long time now. What's stopped me? Well, I initially thought that I wouldn't have enough interesting content, or I don't have a fancy-shmancy camera for fun fun pictures.

...Okay, I'm a liar. I'm lazy. And though I've told myself over and over again that I should really consider documenting my adventures in wedding planning, I haven't. But, today that all changes! And I'm hoping that an audience will allow me to clear the clutter in my head and save my friends and family from the constant "wedding this, wedding that." See? I'm a multi-tasker! Good stuff.

**Disclaimer - though I may seem one track minded, I tend to tangent *in real life* toward anything that seems relevant for that day. So, every now and then I may post a little something about my band, or my home, or whatever revs me up that day.