Wedded bliss and a sneak peek

Life is not measured in the number of breaths we take, but in the moments that take our breath away ~ Hilary Cooper

Our wedding day was one of those days that just took my breath away.

I know it's so corny but it was the happiest day of my life.  Everything turned out perfectly and the things that didn't made hilarious stories.

The sheer overwhelming number of people who helped us make the day happen and the unbelievable generosity of people in their words, gifts and love was simply mind blowing.

You're surrounded all day by the people you care for the most in the world, people who know you inside out and want the best for you and getting to see them smile, enjoy the food and drink and have a good time gave us the BIGGEST buzz.

And to top it off, I got to say my vows to the person I love, in front of all our friends, family and God.

Amazing, overwhelming, indescribable.

Wedding nibbles: Spinach & feta mini quiches

6 days and counting...

Even as I type it out, I can't believe I am 6 days away from walking down the aisle.

It's been in the works for a year and a half now (and really 7 years in the making) but I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that this time next week I am going to be a Mrs. 

It's been a frantic, exciting, emotional roller-coaster ride of organising, baking and delegating.  From the excitement of the getting to celebrate with our loved ones, the giddy happiness of getting married to my man, to the profound sadness that my Dad will not be there to walk me down the aisle, see me in my dress or share in the big day.  It's been intense, stressful, exhilarating and all-consuming.

This week has been a frantic race to get all those last minute nitty gritty details nutted out - a making-lists and ticking-things-off-the-list kinda week.  

Luckily one of the things I had already sorted out, was my contribution to the ceremony nibbles which I made while back up in Auckland.  These bite sized Spinach and Feta Mini Quiches may not be the prettiest appetizer around, but they do pack a flavour punch, and are oh so convenient!

Sneak peek: My wedding cake

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you're right ~ Henry Ford

I think I must have a bit of a stubborn streak. 

Whenever someone tells me, no no you couldn't possibly do that, it just seems to make me want to do it more.

So when everyone was telling me I couldn't possibly bake my own wedding cake, by golly it just strengthened my resolve to do just that.   

Sure I've only ever used fondant once before, sure I've never made a multi-tier cake before, and sure I'm living in a different town and am only flying back 2 days before the wedding...she'll be right, mate I said.

Now with only 11 days to go till The Big Day, the stress levels are getting up there and whether baking my own wedding cake was the wisest decision in the world is yet to be seen.  So, my lovelies, here is a little sneak peek of my wedding cake in all its bumpy 1.5 kg worth of chocolate glory.  Wish me luck!

Weddings weddings weddings and a lemon raspberry & yoghurt roses cake with cream cheese frosting

Goin' to the chapel and we're 

Gonna married,

Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love   

~ Dixie Cups

Wedding fever is in the air.

Now go on, admit it, you watched The Wedding too didn't you?

I swear I wasn't going to.  I was going to resist the hype.   But then, like millions of others all around the world, I got totally sucked in.  The outfits! The hats! That dress!  It's the water-cooler topic of the year.  Everyone has an opinion, from the Pippa vs Kate debate to that hat worn by a certain princess.  It is everyone's fairy tale and a bright happy moment in these tumultuous times.

For me, I have a double dose of wedding fever.  Not only was there the Royal wedding to obsess about but my own wedding is in *eek!* two and a half weeks so I most definitely have wedding on the brain.  I'm sleeping, eating and breathing wedding.  There is just so much to do!  So many decisions to make!  It's like the proverbial eight headed monster - you tick one job off the list and two more sprout in its wake.

So seeing as getting married is what all the cool kids are doing these days, it made sense to have a wedding-ey theme of Love & Marriage for the last round of Baking for Hospice.  For Round 15, I made Lemon Raspberry & Yoghurt Roses Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - it's an incredibly moist tangy lemon cake dotted with bright bursts of raspberries and covered in cream cheese frosting roses.  The rosettes idea is so gorgeous and so easy to do, had I not already baked my own wedding cake (sneak peek to come), I would have been happy to have one just like this on the big day.