Did you think we forgot about the cupcakes?

Last night, around 10 pm, I decided to make some cupcakes. And not just any cupcakes. Dear readers, I do believe that I have stumbled upon the two most glorious recipes in the world of cakey confections. These are winners, no doubt about it.


Note: these were just testers. When it's time for the real deal, there will be a mountain of swirled buttercream atop these cakes. Fret not.

For the cupcake itself, I present to you: Alton Brown's Vanilla Chiffon Cupcakes
And for the very literal icing-on-the-cake: Smitten Kitchen's Swiss Buttercream

For the test batch, my additions were:
- almond extract
- 1/2 tsp of my own chai spice mix (cardamom seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, and black cardamom)
- ground almonds sprinkled on top along with my schmancy Williams Sonoma sprinkles

These babies are light as air, not too sweet, and taste like clouds of heaven in your mouth. I have found it, my holy grail of cupcake recipes. Amen.

Love,
Gabby

A sample of Sample

Last night we visited a caterer, Sample, for our reception, to talk about all the possibilities we had, and were happy to receive a sample. Sample is one of the exclusive caterers for Marcy Casino, and stuck out for three reasons. First, because of a large bold statement saying "We will work with your budget." Second, the menu is creative and everything is fresh and prepared to order. And third, they're right around the corner!



We began our discussion over some fresh raspberry and strawberry bellinis, and discovered that a minimum cost per person was imposed by Marcy Casino, which was disheartening, but nothing too outlandish. We proceeded through the catering menus, to tailor our own package. We even talked about deviating from their options to add our own personal touches.



After the discussion.. we got... Samples! They brought us through their tasting menu, which was fantastic, and provided an example of the quality and freshness of the food that they serve. T'was wonderful!

They do 80% of the weddings at Marcy Casino, and we can definitely see why. The other "options" are hardly options at all by comparison. We were both thoroughly impressed and are excited to continue working with Sample.

Love,
Joe

Results!

Hey folks,
I just wanted to stop in and announce the results of our poll which ended yesterday, the arbitrary date of my choosing.


Good news, the majority of you approve of us doing what we want. So we will continue to do just that!

In other news..
We are going to meet with our caterer on Thursday, so look out for Joe's post later this week about the food that could potentially be in your mouth a year from now. And perhaps we will put up some sort of food-themed poll next. Because we do so love your generous feedback.

Love,
Gabby

For the Aesthetes

Planning a wedding, at least in the beginning stages, is sort of an abstract experience. Mostly it's numbers and figures and dates. If you are the visually stimulated sort, like myself, you need to see things.

I've been asked a few times what our colors are... I didn't really know that was a thing. I mean, I know you might choose a certain color for the bridal party attire, but I was not aware of the authoritative nature of The Colors.

Anyway, I've collected a few scraps of things that I like, and I thought I might share them with you. (This is the fun part.)



Corals and greys. How exactly this is going to translate into an actual wedding, I'm not totally sure. I have bought the fabric for b-maids dresses, and it's close to the peachy-pink you see here. Joe was thinking gray suits for himself and the guys. And I think for flowers, we might do some peachy roses. However it comes together, this is a fun jumping-off point.


Love,
Gabby

Oh! By the way... I wanted to mention that I set our comment moderation to allow people without blogger accounts to comment on posts. So feel free to express your love or distaste in a comment below!

It's Official

People, brace yourselves. We have a date and a venue!

Please mark your calendars for July 30th, 2011, because we will be celebrating our wedding at the Delaware Park Marcy Casino!

We have to be honest, though.... we've been holding out on you guys for a while. We pretty much knew we wanted to have our reception here back when we were first talking about venues. So when my office was planning an event there, I got the opportunity to talk to the events coordinator and I put a hold on a date! Today we went in to talk details and we are very excited to tell you that we officially booked the venue.

All we have to do now is talk to the caterer and send in our deposit. And then find a place for the ceremony, finalize the guest list, sort out guest accomodations, find a photographer.... Okay, so there are like a million things we have to do still. But it's nice that this is sorted out. It's a weird mix of scary and exciting, but we both feel really good about it. So, yay!

Anyway, here are some pics!

Interior pic I nabbed from the Marcy Casino Facebook.

This is what the interior looks like set up by the caterer we plan to use.

Schmancy, right?

So here are some of the reasons why we love Marcy Casino:
- Its location in Delaware park, where we got engaged

- The building was designed by E.B. Green, so it has architectural significance for us aspiring architects
- Beautiful, natural surroundings of the park and Hoyt Lake

And some more practical pros:
- The entire facility is air-conditioned (imperative for a July wedding)

- Includes parking with an attendant, which is great for a city location

- Great photo opportunities (in the park, the rose garden, and on the steps of the Albright-Knox)

- Indoor/outdoor space that can accomodate all our guests
- Great caterers, including Sample

- If we choose to have our ceremony at Forest Lawn Chapel or Christ the King at Canisius, they're both very close to Marcy Casino

The only immediate drawback is that the cost to book was a little more than what we had expected. It's definitely manageable, but I don't think mama's gettin' a new bike anytime soon. I think that we're coming to terms with a more realistic budget (the scary part), but I think we are well on our way to planning a pretty amazing party. We hope you think so too!

Love,

Gabby

Dress-ing

So most of my pre-wedding work is going to be sewing projects. Admittedly, this is something I've brought upon myself. I'm not only making my own dress.. but have committed to sewing three bridesmaid dresses. If anything, it's just to prove how awesome I am. Also, we (bridesmaids included) are going to be saving SO much by not opting for boutique or big box store dresses. Seriously, I bought eight yards of coral cotton twill (decidedly not silk) for $30! You couldn't buy one bridesmaid dress for that!

To spare the uninterested, I'll be posting most of my wedding-related (and otherwise) sewing on my flickr. If you already follow my photostream, you may have noticed some work up there already.



My goal is to finish pretty much all of the sewing this summer. Yes, lofty aspirations, but I cannot imagine trying to find time to cut, sew, fit, and finish a wedding dress while writing my thesis and applying to grad schools this fall/winter/spring.

Soooo... I should probably get crackin'. Like now.