In the fall of 2008 cathy moved to boston for a new job. One week into her new Beantown life she raced in a Princeton alumni boat at the head of the Charles Regatta with her old teammates. That evening a friend hosted a reunion party for many of the alumns who were in town for the races. Cathy assumed she would know everyone at the party, but fate threw a good looking stranger into her path {you guessed it…Dan}. Cathy spotted a group of men she didn’t recognize and among them was a handsome man with dark, wavy hair and green eyes. Cathy assumed he was married because the group of friends he was with all had wedding bands. After a while dan introduced himself to Cathy and it turned out he was single {and even better looking up close, according to Cathy!}. They spent the evening chatting about the Red Sox and all things Boston. Dan asked for Cathy’s number much to the delight of their friends who were eagerly watching them. One small snafu… Cathy thought that Dan’s name was Dave, so it took a while for him to loose the nickname “Dan-Dave”. A match was made!

{All the Details}

Wedding Gown: Oscar de la Renta, shoes: Nina, Jewlery: David Yurman earings, Lo Boheme hairpiece, Bridal Shop: L’elite, Bridesmaids: Priscilla of Boston, Hair and Makeup: Leanna Chaney & Gretchen Mauras, Ceremony Music: Classical Occasions, Ceremony Programs: Pink Orchid invitations {etsy}, Caterer: The Catered Affair {shout out to Erin Davies!}, Linens: Be Our Guest, Florist: Sayles Livingston, Wedding Cake: The Catered Affair, Invitations: Reaves Engraving, Save the Dates: Jenny Randle {bride’s sister}, Band: Kahootz, Favors: blackberry jam & mini photolounge by Snap!, Lodging: Fairmont Copley Hotel & Lenox Hotel

when we are getting to know our brides and grooms during our intial meeting we always ask them about what they are planning for their cake {because we love cake and plan on eating a peice or two at the wedding, it’s important to keep our photo energy up after all}… want to see a happy little snapper’s little face suddenly turn tragically sad? then answer our cake question like this, “oh… cake… i don’t know, i really don’t care about cake.”  that my friends is blasphemy pure and simple. i mean, dinner is just an obstacle to be overcome in order to get to the cake isn’t it? your wedding  cake can be beautiful focal point of your wedding reception. your cake can quite frankly, pull the whole room together. choosing a unique cake is a chance to express your personalities. cake is thoughtful, so show your guests how much you love them and don’t leave their sweet tooth(s) hanging! cake is a traditional symbol of marriage and a time honored tradition. indulge me why i attempt to turn any of you cake haters into cake lovers {do as the snappers do}.

before the fancy sparkly iced cakes (see photo above) of this century were created… there was the wedding cake of the Roman Empire. Apparently, “when in rome” the groom would break a piece of specially baked barley bread over his bride’s head. some have speculated that breaking the bread symbolized the breaking of the bride’s virginal state and the groom’s subsequent physical dominance over her. hmmm, kind of chauvanistic and more than a touch barbaric. wonder why that tradition fell to the wayside?! not making much of a case for wedding cake you say? well read on…

In medeival england, stories involved stacking small sweet buns in a pile in front of the newlyweds. the couple would attempt to kiss over the pile, success in this process meant that there would be many children in their future. this is why it’s important to kiss after you cut the cake! from the middle of the 17th century to the early 19th century, a dish called the bride’s pie was popular. a main “ingredient” was a glass ring, and the lucky lady who found the ring was said to be the next to be married. mmm, pie.

by the late 19th century wedding cakes were starting to look like the cakes of today. cutting the wedding cake together became a symbol of the first task the bride and groom preform jointly as husband and wife. the first piece of cake is cut by the bride with the help from the groom. distributing peices of the wedding cake to the guests also dates back to roman times. following the tradition of breaking the bread over the bride’s head, guests would scramble for the crumbs that fell to the ground. eating the crumbs was supposed to ensure fertility. today, feeding the cake to each other is a symbol of the mutual commitment of the bride and the groom to provide for one another {awwww}.

wedding cake toppers became popular in the Us in 1950′s, usually a small model of the bride and groom in their formal attire. how fun are these… an antique topper and a modern day equivalent.

of course, wedding cake toppers can be figures that share a hobby or other passion. or they could just be something fun and funky.

still not convinced? still ready to throw centuries of tradition out the window? if we can’t talk you into a giant cake then how about a fun display of cupcakes? we love ourselves a dessert table. not only do we love to photograph them {after wiping the drool off our lenses} but we’ll be happy to sample all the flavors for you as well. here are two examples of awesome cupcake/dessert tables from last season. you must admit, it’s pretty darn festive.

but don’t take it from us. take it from the pillars of society, royalty, and well …hollywood weirdos. i give you the cakes of: jackie kennedy, prince william and kate middleton, king hussein, grace kelly, and last but certainly least… katie holmes and tom cruise.

so as you may have guessed we have sampled a lot of cake in our time {thank god for elastic waist bands} anyway, if you’ve got to have a giant sparkly cake, or even a small sweet little cake, our favorite pastry chef of all time is mark soliday at confectionery designs. no, mark did not pay us in cake for this endorsement but we wouldn’t object if he tried.
seriously though, moist…flavorful on the inside, work of art on the outside. run don’t walk to the phone. mark’s motto? it doesn’t matter what the question is, cake is the answer. amen to that.