Friday, September 4, 2015

Our Wedding : The Party

All these gorgeous photos by Honey by Hive Photography 
At my friend Kendra's wedding, I managed to secure eight pieces of cake. Before you get too bent out of shape about this, please keep in mind how small your average slice of wedding cake is. For every wedding I've been to, I've spent roughly thirty minutes eyeing the dessert table, mentally dividing it into how many guests I estimated to be in attendance, always arriving at the same, stricken conclusion: there wasn't nearly enough to go around.

Always the same feeling of distress, quietly slipping away from my table to strategically position myself as close as possible to the door where the waiters emerge, plates in hand. Always the same panicked routine, and never, ever have I been denied a piece of cake. At Kendra's wedding, I had eight.
I was so horribly sick the next day. I told my parents, who had flown out to Seattle for the occasion, that I was hungover. It just seemed more dignified than the truth. 

All this to say, I put a lot of thought into my own wedding cake. Definitely more than the average bear. I dreamt and fawned and wept over magazines in the same manner that some people obsess over the idea of their dress, or perhaps even, the person they marry in the first place. 
We settled on one small three tiered vanilla cake and an assortment of other round cakes from King Arthur Flour, which, if you're not up on your flour purveyors, is based out of Norwhich, Vermont. They use a european style recipe for their wedding cakes, and it's only available in wedding cake form- meaning you can't just go into their studio and buy half a cake to eat on your lunch break, you have to be committing to spend the rest of your life with another human.  

Which is so, so special, and also terrible. Their wedding cakes are lighter than air, a soft and delicate sponge, and the buttercream frosting is whipped and subtle, not too sweet. I can't stop thinking about them, but I'm not certain I'll ever have the opportunity to ever have another bite. Such uncertainty is difficult to live with.
Because it was cheaper to buy a number of small cakes than to get one big one, and also because I wanted them all, we settled on: vanilla, chocolate with mocha buttercream, lemon raspberry, tiramisu, fresh berries and cream chiffon cake (one regular, one gluten free, which I forgot to label so.....I'm sorry about that.)

Our friend Angie from Pie Mamas in Montpelier Vermont baked us three rhubarb cream crumble pies, a heavenly combination of tart berry and rich custard. SO I HEARD. 

My mom worried at one point that we'd selected too much cake, 'an outrageous amount' I believe were her words, but man, those things were gone. I had one bite, the one Dave fed me for the camera, which I didn't really taste anyway because there was so much going on. Then I went and danced for a little bit, and when I came back- gonzo.

("Whaaaa? But I had a piece of each one!!" exclaimed a handful of friends upon hearing this. To you I say: strong work, and good positioning.) 
A word about the toppers: these incredible Sculpey mice were handcrafted by my little cousin, Noel. He gave David Mouse a kayak paddle and Melina Mouse a camera. Things to note: the red hair, the veil, the way the paws are crooked just so as to make the mice appear a teeny bit nervous. Should there be a fire at our house one day, I'm grabbing the mice first.  
find us on Instagram: thewildercoast
If that isn't enough detail about the cakes, please message me privately and I will be happy to tell you more. 

Here is the rest of the reception. 

Toasts by our fathers, brothers, cousins, friends and Kerry, my english teacher from high school and mentor for the last fifteen years who reminded David that I have "plenty of friends North of the wall." Very important and thank you for the Game of Thrones reference, Kerry. (I was banned from walking down the aisle to A Song of Fire and Ice fairly quickly in the wedding planning process.)

Dad was kind enough to include Lisa in his speech, my best friend who could not make it at the last minute. He spoke about how happy he was, and that he was not 'giving me away' because I wasn't his possession. The next day he came up to me and said, "Kid, I really think your friends liked my speech."

They really did, dad. So did I. 
Austin, the lewd gesture is unintentional. 
We nixed a lot of the traditions, like introductions and a first dance, but I did toss my bouquet. Colleen, the florist, ripped it out of the air caught it. I like to call this series, "You couldn't let the nine year old catch the flowers, could you."
As the sky deepened and the lights inside the tents glowed warmer, our aunts and uncles (so very sharply dressed) gathered around the fire pit outside and children ran races across the field in tiny gowns and little rented tuxedos. But I never left the dance floor, save for a few visits to the photo booth. I never steeled away for a breath, to stand in the cool night air and watch it all from a distance. It simply did not feel ethical to leave the dance floor when our DJ was cranking out every hit ever produced.

Our DJ, the best in the business, was a young man in a blue suit and iridescent shades who broke a handful of hearts when he went home alone, at the end of the night.
(There was an older gentlemen who approached me about halfway through the reception and asked, earnestly, "Your officiant, tell me about his hair." "Isn't is something?" I replied. "It's been that long since I've known him!" The gentleman nodded his head, still puzzled. "Yes," he said. "But....what does it mean?")
 
At 10pm, herded out of the tent by the noise ordinances of our tiny town, we ran through mist and a tunnel of spontaneous sparklers back inside the inn, at which point our photographers put down their cameras and joined us. The DJ set up in the main room and the party continued for another remarkable four hours, everyone flushed with wine and darting through the halls.

Our best friends slept in our suite that night, which is what we wanted- to be in their company until the last possible moment, spread as they are throughout the country. I remember my throat hurting so much as I tried to fall asleep and then sitting bolt upright at 5am when it dawned on me: we forget to label the damn gluten free cake. 
The very next day, we went to the rope swing. 
And that was that. Now we're married, and if everything goes according to plan, we will never have another wedding. I'm glad we made this one count.

Thank you to everyone who travelled from so far.

And thanks to you, for tolerating such an outrageous amount about our wedding.
If you were in attendance, visit honeybyhive to purchase photos, and FREE downloads from the photobooth.
Album: Melina & Dave
Password: Clarke

16 comments:

Erin Marie said...

Three cheers for a most awesome ending to the wedding saga on a most awesome Friday.
Have a great holiday weekend, you beautiful people, you!

Anonymous said...

I'm one of your biggest fans -- LOVE your writing, love your life, your lifestyle, your attitude. I just don't comment very much and that's not fair, I know. How can I resist commenting on your wedding though -- it's NOT too much, I wish there was more. How lovely, how happy, how beautiful. Your joy comes through with every word. Wishing you and David a lifetime of happiness together and I hope we get to read all about it. (I'm signing this as Anonymous simply because I don't have an ID that fits into any of the categories but my name is Nancy and I live in Seattle).

Melina said...

Cheer Erin, raising a NC beer with you! xo -MC

Maria said...

Long time blog reader here...I have never seen a more joyous celebration of love than what's right here in these pictures. Great job by the photographers! You were just radiant...the ever present, most beautiful smile, the dress, Dear God...the shoes!!
I love, Love, Loved how bright the reception was, the setting spectacular. The cakes...there are no words. The rope swing & shots in the water...magical. I am so happy that you found the love of your life. Here's to millions more adventures & your someone special to share them with. xoxo

Melina said...

Nancy in Seattle- thank you for reading and thank you for leaving so kind and thoughtful a comment! blow a kiss to Seattle for me, I'm always missing it just a little bit. xox

Erin said...

This post = pure gold. I was laughing out loud reading it to my husband. Thanks for sharing your special day in all of these great posts! It has been so much fun to follow along. Now I want cake!

Anonymous said...

The wedding photos of the rope swing are my most favorite wedding photos ever!!!

I have to ask but you don't have to tell me: What does the tattoo on your back say?

Amy said...

Congratulations, what a beautiful and fun adventure! I love the wedding photos, thank you for sharing. I am totally inspired to make a Rhubarb Custard Crumble Pie this weekend and completely applaud the abundance of desserts. Congratulations and I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness!

Sarah said...

I'm so happy for you both, and the day seemed perfectly YOU! Congrats!!

Carol Pratt said...

Melina,

I just had to tell you how much I have loved all of your wedding posts (and thank you to your cousin Tracy for linking to your blog on Facebook--don't know if you remember but the last time Dennis and I saw you was at Tracy's wedding, and before that, it was probably when you were a child and we would visit Peter and Debbie with our Belgian Tervuren dogs!)

The beautiful photos and your vivid writing truly capture the joy and love and fun of the occasion. Thank you so much for sharing. Definitely not too much!

I wish you and David the blessing of a long and happy marriage.

Carol Pratt

SJJ said...

Please just write another post. I can't believe we weren't there. I need to know every detail so I can feel like I was there.

Melina said...

Anon-

My tattoo says "this could be heaven." long story short, I promised my college ultimate team that if qualified for nationals I'd get a team tattoo. And we did that year, for the first time! The E in the word heaven is the logo of our team (element.)

Thank you so much for the comment!!

colleen said...

I caught that bouquet fair and square. haha.

Rhett said...

I'd say that was one outstanding wedding! Thanks again for sharing with us!

Liz said...

Ok, like another reader above, I am a long time reader and almost never commenter, but THIS post???? I just had to. SO fantastically beautiful! In my opinion, with a wedding as gorgeous (and fun!) as yours, there can NEVER be too many pictures posted. :) Congratulations and Thank you for sharing your sweet life with us :) P.S. my favorite bit from your wedding are the little mice... i mean, they have belly buttons, for crying out loud! LOVE them!

lynn said...

Congratulations to you both! Loved everything about your wedding.....