Mmmm...year old cake!

Mr. Onion and I joined the ranks of newlyweds to save the top of their wedding cake to enjoy a year later and I have to admit...it tasted pretty darn good (more on the cake later)!

Cake made by Alison at Mirabelle's Cafe in Burlington, VT.

Mr. Onion and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary by heading back to Burlington, VT where we were married last September. We stayed at the Willard Street Inn where it all began and enjoyed the weather and being outdoors in such a beautiful part of the county.


Here we are on the steps at the inn on our wedding day.


And here we are on the steps this past weekend. We asked a very kind guest at the inn if she'd mind taking our picture explaining our story and connection with the inn. She told us she and her husband had been married for almost 60 years and assured us that our love would continue to grow!


Our room was lovely and very romantic. It was a bit of a splurge, but we didn't get each other gifts -- the trip was our shared gift!


The breakfast at the Willard Street Inn is a major highlight! Not only is it delicious (they have a chef who comes in every morning just to make three yummy breakfast choices -- usually an egg dish, and a sweeter dish (pancakes/french toast) and a granola and yogurt for a lighter breakfast), but their breakfast room is stunning!


You might remember Mr. Onion and I had our "first sight" here on our wedding day.


The owners are wonderful gardeners and grow these amazing dahlias that make you feel welcome at the guest book table....


More dahlias at reception and on the breakfast tables. I thought this was a lovely idea for wedding reception or cocktail table decorations. This is such an easy DIY flower project and something that can be done in advance.


Then we headed to town and Mr. Onion came across a brick on the market place that was so sweet....what a way to propose! I wish I knew the story of the couple.



That night we had a romantic celebration dinner at Leunig's -- the best restaurant in town! When our waitress approached our table she smiled and said "You guys got married at Adrianas last year. I served your party and it was an amazing wedding!" Burlington is such a small town and I was pleased to see a familiar face.



The next morning we got up early to enjoy the day. We drove out to the Grand Isle, a small island in Lake Champlain that is quite close to Burlington.



Then we headed back to the Lake Champlain waterfront in Burlington where we took our engagement photos.


On the waterfront is Splash Cafe where a wedding reception was going to be held that evening -- we saw many well dressed guests on their way, but sadly, no bride and groom sightings!


The weather really turned out to be lovely...a little chilly, but sunny!


And we made a friend! He was fearless and came right up to us hoping we had bread for him.


At the end of the day we headed back to the inn to try our wedding cake and see how freezing for a year would work. MIL Onion did a fantastic job. If you plan to freeze the top of your wedding cake, here are some tips.

1) Know the size of the top layer and get a Tupperware a little bigger (round/square) depending on the shape of the cake.

2) Talk to your reception staff beforehand to let them know you plan to do this so they don't serve the top of the cake.

3) To preserve the cake put in the fridge so it sets up a bit (this way it won't get too squished), then wrap in plastic wrap, (two layers), then tinfoil (two layers), THEN place in Tupperware.


4) Bring a cooler or freezer bag to store it in and transport home.

5) Prepare your freezer (or friend/parent/in-law freezer) before hand so you know the Tupperware will fit and you can keep it frozen for a year.


And enjoy, but don't eat the whole cake!! We brought the rest home to share with our families.

We had a fantastic time and enjoyed remembering our wonderful wedding day. But the best part was to reflect on our first year of marriage and to spend a whole weekend of down-time with each other...no cell phones, no work emails...just us! We both feel so fortunate everyday and are sure to tell each other as often as we can. I look forward to all our future adventures...including closing on our first home (more on that later). Did you tell your partner you loved them today?! Don't forget...it never gets old :)

PS. A very happy anniversary to my date twins -- Mr. & Mrs. Corn and Mr. & Mrs. Emerald!!

Connecticut Wedding

This past weekend Mr. Onion and I attended his cousin's wedding at Wickham Park, a beautiful venue in CT. You might remember them from their engagement photos or their fan-freakin'-tastic save-the-date.



This couple is what people mean when they say "made for each other!" Yes, that is the cake being cut with a battle-ready, high carbon steel, full tang replica of Uma Thurman's Hatori Hanzo sword from "Kill Bill". One of my favorite personal touches of the evening.

I'll share with you some beautiful photos of moments that as a guest, we didn't get to share. The bride and groom getting ready and one of the coolest most hard-core bridesmaid gifts I've ever seen!


The bride's beautiful gown.


Happily putting on the gown.


The detail of the back was the best part!


How romantic and old Hollywood classic is this photo?!


The groom looking very handsome.


The rings.


The bride made her bridesmaids these awesome “strap-on” knives - so Laura Croft! Also note: The music to introduce the parents was the Star Wars theme. The music to introduce the wedding party was the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". And the bride and groom entered to the tune of "The Anvil of Crom". So freakin' cool.


Husband and wife!! The highlight of the entire wedding for me was their vows which they wrote themselves and didn't share with each other prior to the ceremony. They were so personal (but not so insider that we all couldn't feel a part of the experience), funny, touching and true to their feelings. The most amazing thing is how they really mirrored each other.

The bride went first and one of her vows was to always make him iced tea and cookies (his two favorite things). She talked about their first meeting and conversation and how she knew he was someone she wanted to know everything about. Then it was the grooms turn and he began with "You know how much I loved iced tea and cookies..." and on and on about all the things he loved almost all of which she'd mentioned..."well I love you more than all of those things combined." I laughed and cried right along with them and their 15 minute ceremony was over in a flash.


One of my favorite photos -- it really captures the beauty of the day.

See more professional photos on their talented photographer's blog. Victoria Souza Photography is a husband and wife team just like our photographers! They worked so well together and the result was just lovely.

For those of you looking for a beautiful outdoor ceremony/reception location, here are a few photos of Wickham Park before the ceremony began...just stunning!






And one non-pro photo of the happy couple taken by my cousin-in-law (Mr. Onion's cousin's wife).

More photos of us at the wedding to come when I can get them off my mother's camera which I had to borrow because I forgot ours in NY. Also, Mr. Onion's brother got some great shots of the wedding and of us all gussied up!

Congratulations to you both!! I couldn't be happier to have you as cousins-in-law!

Location: Wickham Park, Manchester, CT
Photographer: Victoria Souza
Hair: Keri Shea
DJ: After Hours DJ Entertainment

Ben & Jerry's for the bride & groom!

Hello, my name is Mrs. Onion. You may have forgotten me...I was married last September and I am JUST now finishing my re-cap. Forgive me (hangs head in shame).

I love Ben & Jerry's ice cream and when I realized there was a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop directly across from our reception restaurant I knew I had to have an ice cream cone with Mr. Onion on our wedding day. I was so set on this idea that I had the smallest bite of our oh so delicious wedding cake (which killed me) so I could have room for ice cream.


Walking the few steps to the scoop shop.


Waiting in line -- it was so strange that no one seemed to notice I was a bride. I guess it's Burlington so they are soooo used to seeing brides that they don't look twice. However, one family behind us finally asked (only when they saw two photographers), "Are you a bride?" to which I smiled and said "YES! We got married this afternoon." The father said "Oh, if I'd known, I would have gotten you a present!" Only in VT. I half expected him to offer to buy my ice cream, but no such luck.


And here is the photo I promised. This is my "WHAT? No coffee heath bar crunch?! What is a girl to do??" face.


Mr. Onion points out there is mint chocolate chunk and harmony is restored.


Then we notice Mr. Onion's best friend/groomsman saw we slipped out of the reception and wanted to know what was going on so he followed us!


More cuteness...


I'm not sure what warented the hand on the hip anymore, but I'm sure Mr. Onion was teasing me about something.


I love him enough to share...


This is my favorite of this series and it will totally end up framed!


On our way back to the restaurant we ran into my mother and two family friends who hadn't gotten a chance to see my wedding ring and engagement ring together yet.



Taking advantage of the street lamp and empty street on the Church Street Marketplace.


And Daria walked us back to the restuarnt before she and Andy headed home to releave the babysitter.

[This concludes the professional photos re-cap.]

Up next...the after party and how Mrs. Onion wasn't allowed into a pub as the bouncer didn't think she was legal!!

Photos: Daria Bishop Photography
My Dress: Romona Keveza from Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
Mr. Onion's suit: Alan David Custom
Reception: Adrianas Restaurant (sadly they closed a few months after our wedding).

Sharing the Joy!

I love photography and my favorite photographs are of people. When I was in high school I took 3 years of photography classes, independent studies and spent extra time on Saturday after class in the dark room. It was with that passion that I decided on our own photographer, Daria Bishop, and it is with similar passion that Mr. Onion's cousin and his sweet fiance picked their photographer, Victoria Souza.



The bride and groom are getting married in Connecticut in August and I just had to share some of their engagement photos. Vickie captured their personalities so well and I've never seen an engagement session where there are so many sweet photos as well as seriously steamy photos.



A la Mr. & Mrs. Onion, no?!


See?


So sweet - you just feel calm and sigh when you see this photo.


A subtle ring shot.


Click to enlarge this one to see the tree -- such great light too.





I'm so happy for them and I can't wait to share in their wedding day next month. Congratulations you guys!!



Vicki and Daria have something in common -- their partner in crime is also their partner in life. Both team shoot with their husbands!

See the rest of the photos on Victoria's blog. She shoots in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New England, as well as the United States and International Destinations. Check out her website victoriasouza.com for more eye candy.