Brandon and Sarah's Wedding

It's been a long time. I know. And it's not like things haven't been happening. They have! I just can't seem to adequately split my time between facebook and blogging. Both are gratifying. But facebook has the response-factor. I like the response-factor. Makes me feel like people are reading (dare I say "enjoying") what I put out there. I'm an artist. I'm sensitive. No matter how well Dick Varney trained me to take criticism at 8:00 in the morning during design studio in college. Your opinion still matters to me. It always will.

So back to the stuff that's been occupying my time. My little brother got married. And for months prior to this happy event, I filled my days designing wedding invitations, wedding programs, attending dress fittings, attending bridal showers, throwing a (kick-ass) bachelorette party, baking a cake, frosting a cake, layering a cake, buying books about fondant, purchasing fondant, rolling fondant, and then decorating this cake with colorful fondant polka-dots. The result? A three-layered, three-tiered cake covered in black, white, pink, and orange fondant that tested this newly married couple's ability to feed one other. And it was gorgeous. All night long, people were commenting on how awesome the cake looked. The biggest compliments came later in the evening when I was informed that it actually TASTED really good. Thank goodness! (I wasn't even sure I cared how it tasted - as long as it was pretty)

I also got to be a bridesmaid, so there was the dress shopping and the shoe shopping (oh, the glorious shoe shopping!) and since I was the only bridesmaid who did not live in Iowa or Nebraska, I was also the official wedding dress bustler! (I enjoy strange responsibilities that confuse Ryan) I took a LOT of pictures so maybe it was the daunting task of trying to upload ALL of them that delayed my official post, but here it goes, the story of the wedding and everything I did to help 1. save them money 2. make it beautiful 3. take some of the burden off of Sarah's shoulders.

We'll start with the bachelorette party. It was at my house. I made dinner (a whole meal that involved several steps...I know!) and Red Velvet cupcakes (because it was also Sarah's Birthday). Then we made Sarah open naughty bedroom toys and outfits so we could giggle at Sarah's increasingly red cheeks. (My sister and I did our best NOT to imagine how these things might come in handy during any part of their marriage.)




At 8:30, a limo picked us up to take us to the Power and Light District. We had $30 wrist bands that got us in to all of the bars without paying cover, plus free beer and margaritas everywhere we went - except for Mosaic (which is run by douche bags who think we live in New York or something with their stupid rope and "list". Kiss my ass, Mosaic. You suck.) So Power and Light was really fun.







We started at Shark Bar (fun dancing-on-the-bar factor with great bartenders and pretty people.) We even saw a guy that looked like Chad wearing a shark shirt. That amused us for hours.



Stupid, stupid, stupid, not fair line in front of Mosaic where we stood for 45 minutes while some girl in a TUBE-DRESS filled her club with greasy guys in suits. Why would you let your club become a sausage-fest when there's a super-fun, all-girl party waiting outside to get in? And it wasn't just us. There were MASSES of hot women standing in that line! I know because I was watching. Laurie and I were picking out the crack whores. (she's a detective...fo real)



Tengo sed Cantina, where we basically camped out for the next 4 hours. (plus, I got us in by talking trash about Mosaic and their stupid line. The guy was only letting one-in-one-out, but he let us all go in after hearing my plea.) "yeah...those guys are dicks...have a good night, ladies!" I was so proud.




The point in the night where I assumed everyone was drinking as much as me. (there are pictures of us dancing on tables and poles, but I left them out. This is a G-rated show.) Oh, and I apparently spilled on myself. Awesome.



Just as a side note, I helped my mom with her garage sale a few weeks ago. In it, I sold not one but TWO sombreros. Most people don't own TWO sombreros. But there's something in me that feels the need to collect "souvenirs" from bars. I have pilsner glasses, schooners, shot glasses, decorations, and as luck would have it, I now have this hat. I don't remember taking it, but I was (apparently) determined to do so.


See...crazy hat-stealing weirdo.


The Power and Light District is great for many reasons. They have a big, open "courtyard" area with fire pits and couches. It's also semi-covered with heat-lamps so girls can wear cute dresses and tank tops all year round. (except that girl in the background who worked fishnet tights with shorts. Gross.) It is surrounded by all of the bars and restaurants (upstairs and downstairs) so no matter where you go, you're still in one city block and nobody gets lost. It's also awesome for outdoor concerts. That night, there was a band called The Zeros playing live on stage. As our limo waited for us outside, we danced around and sang to "Buttercup" with all of the determination and screamy-ness we could muster.


Sarah got spanked a lot that night. A LOT!


The next day, I was supposed to roll fondant with my friend Holly. She was coming over to help me with the wedding cake, but I was nauseous and puking until about 3:00. Not fully vertical until 5:00pm. There's a reason I don't party like that anymore. My body forgot how to recover. Rockstar days = officially over.

So...speaking of wedding cake. Here's how it all went down:

Baked and leveled - ready for stacking. Top layer = strawberry + white + strawberry; Middle layer = lemon + white + lemon; Bottom layer = strawberry + white + strawberry. (plus, the white layer was flavored with almond so it was even more super delicious)


The aftermath of the leveler. Such a waste. Went right in to the garbage:


The "filling" between each layer:


Creating a little beaver dam along the edges. Then you fill it up with delicious buttercream icing:


The beaver dam on my lemon layer:


Iced and ready for layer number 2 (which was not at all crumbled and destroyed in the transfer or pieced back together by kitchen gnomes):


All of the layers, filled and ready for another layer and a "crumb coat" (the result of about 10 hours of work up to this point...none of which happened all in the same day.)


Time for layer number 3!


Bottom layer, stacked and leveled and edged to perfection (also quartered and flipped in a way that made so much sense after hours of building "transfer boards" that weren't going to work. Apparently the trick is to freeze them and then they flip super easy. Good to know. Anxiety attack averted.):


Bottom level, coated in icing and ready for fondant:


Ryan, explaining how the fondant has to be 28 inches "from this corner to this corner". Thank goodness for Math Guy. (and the fact that he's wicked strong and rolled out all of that fondant for me - I got tired after 30 seconds and made a whiney noise.)


Dear, sweet Holly, rolling out the black fondant:


Black fondant looks A LOT like leather, but tastes like vanilla:


Bottom layer, covered in fondant...getting orange, pink and black polka dots (on a different day).



SO cute! Top and middle layers done...ready to put back in the fridge for the big day!!


Wedding cake assembled!!! (on the night of the rehearsal dinner, Ryan and I had the daunting task of transferring this thing to the reception hall. I decided to assemble it there and keep it in three different pieces for the car ride. Thank goodness. Each layer was about 30 pounds and had to be supported by dowel rods and angels. (Oh, and I made the cake topper! I cut metal and bent it to look like an "L" - for "Lucas"...even though everybody told me it looked like a heart, which was cute but not my intention. If I'd meant for it to look like a heart, it would have been a heart.


WEDDING DAY!!! Time to cut this seriously adorable cake.


And what un-official wedding day blog entry would be complete without pictures of the girls getting ready, riding in a limo, getting pictures taken, and enjoying a reception? I aim to please, ladies and gentlemen (but mostly Stu and Neuty). I leave you without captions, because wedding stuff pretty much happens the same way every time. You can figure out what's happening. And if not, feel free to leave a comment and ask me about it. I'll respond. You know I will. Because I care: