Countdown Checklist: 3 months

Making lists usually always makes me feel a little better, but not after completing this month's countdown checklist. I think I've got the wedding blues. Hmmph.

• Finalize the menu and flowers. No.

• Order favors, if desired. No.
  

• Make a list of the people giving toasts. No.
  

• Finalize the readings. No.
  

• Purchase your undergarments. No.
  

• Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception. No.
  

• Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs. No.
  

• Purchase the rings. No.
  

• Send your event schedule to the vendors. No.
  

Status on old, unfinished checklist items:

• Select and purchase invitations, and hire a calligrapher, if desired. No.
  

• Meet with the officiant. No.
  

• Book a florist. No.
  

• Select and order the cake. YES!!! Oh sweet Jesus, Hallelujah, can I get a YES, man! (Click here for more details.)
  

• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. No.
  

• Schedule hair and makeup artists. No.

Umm.... FAIL. Looks like August will be spent with my head buried in the white wedding sand. All I can say is, there'd better be a fruity frozen slushy drink with a cute little umbrella in it waiting for me come September when I finally surface. Any takers?

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 3 month checklist]

Wedding Cake: Check!

We did it! We signed off on a cake vendor this weekend! Hooray, Team Clay & Meredith!

After Simon Lee backed out on the original quote they submitted back in January (jerks; I keep vowing to give them a long Yelp post), I was totally bummed thinking I had underestimated our cake budget. Are all cake vendors sneaky with their pricing? Do wedding cakes just cost an arm and a leg, and tough cookies, I've gotta deal with it?

After blogging and mourning over my wedding cake woes, several awesome friends reached out with both condolences and suggestions, which is how I found out about Kyle, TX-based cake shop The Sweet Stuff, owned by Type-A, uber responsible and organized Michelle. (You can tell, we have a bond. Awesome, trustworthy wedding vendors are so key to my grassroots, DIY-wedding. They complete me.)

Beautiful cakes, competitive pricing, and awesome service... I was literally bursting on Saturday morning after our breakfast cake tasting and consultation! (What? People have coffee cake for breakfast all the time. Don't judge.)

Here's the skinny on what we chose:

Flavor White Cake
Filling Fresh-Sliced Strawberries & Bavarian Cream
Icing Buttercream (aka, Heaven)

All that for literally half of my original budget (instead of double my budget with Simon Lee.) So excited, relieved, and above all, just ready to get married! Apparently, a good cake find will do that to a girl.

My "Father of the Bride" Moment

Austin wedding cake vendors... actually, take that back.... wedding vendors in general... are completely out of their minds! Totally nuts! I can't believe it took me 6 months to figure that out. Gah!

So Clay and I went cake testing yesterday. Um, $1000? For cake? I agree with George Banks and Clay's mom: it's flour and water! How does that equate to almost $7 per piece?

[Scene from Father of the Bride. Skip to 3:00 for the cake scene below.]

George: A cake, Franck, is made of flour and water. My first car didn't cost $1200.

Franck: Well... welcome to the 90's, Mr. Banks!

The 90's indeed. How about the 10's? Back to the drawing board on this one. Guess I'll just have to try out more vendors. Taste test their cakes, too. My life is so rough.