Wedding Registries And Marriages

I'm going today with BM Libra and BM Law to add more items to our registry. That got me thinking about this post I wrote, but never got around to posting. Maybe... ahem... because I still haven't done my post on the first trip to the registry with Momma Kettle and Mr. Kettle.

I looked up our registry info to confirm our China selection to comment on one of Miss Teacup's posts. It turns out there are three, count them, three grooms with Mr. Kettle's exact name getting married in the next 6 months.

To my bride brain, this was ridiculously funny. Don't ask why. I texted Mr. Kettle to see if he was secretly a polygamist. It wouldn't be so secret since he used the same name, but I found it hilarious. It's nice to have the escapes from all the serious things that must be considered and mulled over in the wedding world.

What would you do if you found out your fiance was a polygamist? Sounds like a Lifetime movie, right?

Well, Mr. Kettle did confess to being a polygamist and didn't seem too upset that I'd caught him. It's not like he was trying real hard to hide it. If you knew him at all, you'd know this was his oddball humor. I love his sense of humor and we had a hearty laugh over it.

But it got me to thinking about non-traditional marriages. I know polygamy isn't America's thing, but there are all types of different marriages. There are brides (and grooms) who are on their second, third, or fourth marriage.

There are blended families where they're raising kids from several different mixes of parents. There are marriages where they come from completely different cultures/backgrounds/age ranges. There's the occasional mail-order bride (does that still happem?)

Mr. Kettle and I come from similar backgrounds and home lives. We were both born in 1984. Both of our parents have been together for around 30 years. We both have a college degree with an interest in getting an advanced degree. We both grew up in the south side of the Chicago area. Neither of have children, but we both want a lot. We even went to the same music conservatory as kids, moving in lightly interconnected circles our whole lives. I don't know if that makes things easier, probably not, but there is a level of familiarity there.

I 'd love to hear from you hive. What kind of marriage are you having in terms of backgrounds of the bride and groom?

Organizing My Way Out Of A Funk

I thought I might not fall into the wedding funk that so many bees before me have fallen into. I thought that because I tend to stay looking for the silver lining, I had a fighting chance. Well, like so many wiser bees have said before me, like doesn't stop happening because you're having a wedding.

My great-aunt is in the hospital. My family refuses to acknowledge that I actually need to sleep when I get off work! And I have all these decisions to make that I can't seem to make. Since burying my head in the sand isn't a real option, I had to come up with something else.

Two things make me feel good. 1) Coming up with a plan. 2) Shopping.

So I took a note

List all written. I was feeling pleased with how short it looked. Sorta.



Behind the flash, it says sweetheart table.

 I tried to use all the colors in the pack because I apparently have a compulsion to do so. I got the list written and out and immediately felt better. It worked like magic.

The wall template. I didn't have tape, so I had to use post-its to hold it to the wall...

All hung up! But still missing something...

It needed the markers!

Kittle Kettle wanted to help. She's handing me the hammer. Oh wait, no opposable thumbs.

The combination of shopping and organizing helped me over the hump. I still feel like sticking my head in the ground, but just a little less so. And since we're getting our first mock-up of our invitations tomorrow and our tasting is Saturday, I have things to look forward to that should only make me happy.

How do you get over your wedding-avoiding hump? Did you manage to avoid it completely?

Get In My Belly!

The time is finally coming up this weekend for our tasting with our wedding venue. I'm so excited. I feel like I should store up extra free space for all the food we'll be trying that day. It will be me, Mr. Kettle, Momma and Daddy Kettle, Mima and Poppa Kettle, FSIL Grand, and Grandmother Kettle. We take entourages everywhere we go now, apparently...

On that day, I'll feel like this:

Image via Cystic Fibrosis Fatboy

All the food possibilities overwhelmed me just a bit. Luckily, we only had to choose three entree options. I'm guessing they'll fill in the sides with options that compliment those choices best.

I just had a scary thought. What if we don't try any sides?! Oh, the horror! I'd hate to have to choose sides without knowing how they taste.

I must admit that I'm not so worried about side dishes. I'm really thinking about.. cake!

We're considering having our cake done by the venue as well. I don't have a big fancy cake idea in mind. I just want a basic buttercream cake that mimics the color and pattern on the top of my dress. Don't get me wrong, I have a strong distaste for buttercream, but I dislike fondant even more. And bakeries aren't exactly making wedding cakes with whipped cream, so I'll take what I can get.

We have to choose three entree options. We've chosen: chicken saltembucco (which seems to be spelled 3 different ways), new york strip steak, and chicken piquant. I can't wait to try these. We pretty much know the steak will be our beef option, but we have to decide between the other two for the chicken option.

I love me some strip steak! / Image via Sunrise Foods

Image via Skinny Chef

Image via Delectable Victuals

 Those look pretty tasty, right?

The other choices that have to be made is deciding which cakes to try. They want us to choose 2 batter and three filling.

Our batter options are: white, yellow, chocolate, marble, banana, carrot, red velvet.

Our frosting options are: white buttercream, chocolate buttercream, mocha buttercream, hazelnut buttercream, ivory buttercream.

The filling options are much more numerous. There are three fresh fruit options, two jelly options, four fruit mousse options, eight mousse options (including Bailey's irish cream and Grand Marnier!), six cream options, and one chocolate option. How am I supposed to choose?

I'm leaning towards white cake and red velvet for the batter options. That means ivory buttercream or maybe mocha buttercream. What's the difference between mocha and chocolate? Coffee flavor?

For fillings, I have no idea. I love the french lemon silk idea. Mr. Kettle and I both love lemon. There are a number of options we can't go with simply because of taste preferences of Mr. Kettle (he loathes the texture of most fruit, weird, right?) and the drinking preferences of a lot of our guests. I'd hate for a lot of people to be unable to eat our cake cause the entire filling was from a liqueur.

With those parameters narrowing down the options, I think we'll go with white cake, red velvet cake, white buttercream, and ivory buttercream. I just know Momma Kettle will be happiest with selections that aren't "doing too much". So no mixing crazy flavors. This is my cake. But we're not paying hundreds of dollars for a cake that nobody but me wants to eat!

For the fillings (how can I choose just three?!), I'm going to go with French Lemon Silk, Cream Cheese, and Milk Chocolate Mousse. That should give us enough mixes that may taste good enough to choose one for the wedding.

I know I also have to be prepared to discuss cake design, but I'm not even close to ready to have that discussion yet.

If you could pick out mixes of batter and filling what would you choose? Did you have to choose your cake options before you cake tasting?