Our Baker (the other half of our trip to Maine)

I'm pretty sure that Carrie's marathon-length blog posts are wearing her out, so I'll tell you about one of our other big accomplishments from our trip to Maine.  

As Carrie mentioned in the previous post, we tried out a baker prior to our awesome adventure to Boston.  At the end of it we came away from it with mixed feelings.  On one hand the cake was good enough, and the baker had clearly put in a good deal of effort to make sure that we had access to all the varieties and combinations we could order.  We found some combinations we really liked, such as yellow cake frosted with custard filling and lemon frosting. It had a really nice light taste and feel, something we feel is important, considering the fact we're serving barbecue and beer at the reception. Somehow heavy cake on top of that seemed a bit much.  Despite these pleasant discoveries, there were some causes for concern.  The baker was operating on a skeleton crew, and simultaneously attempting to effectively run a storefront and a to-order service.  Overall we got the discomforting feeling that there would be a good chance that our baker would be completely burned out by the time October rolled around, which was reason to pause.  Additionally, we got the distinct impression that they were very good at producing the standard generic baked goods, but not very willing or able to be creative with their work.  Given their workload this is understandable, but it we were really looking for someone who would really be able to give our idea their all.   

I can't remember if we've ever actually laid out what our cake plans are here, so for thoroughnesses sake, I'll describe it.  Instead of the Space: 2001-esqe monolithic wedding cake, Carrie and I have decided to jump on board the cupcake bandwagon.  Our we have several reasons for going this route, some are practical, others are purely a matter of taste (no pun intended).  From a practicality standpoint, cupcakes are a far safer investment.  When a wedding cake decides to take the suicide plunge off a table (as anything expensive is inevitably fated to), its a disaster.  Wedding cakes are notoriously hair-raising to transport and have to be treated like a baby seal in a iron lung.  Cupcakes are far more robust, and even if half of them get obliterated in a freak accident, the other half are still presentable and edible.  Cupcakes are also immensely easier to serve and require no extra silverware and plates, meaning everyone can get their piece of the wedding magic without waiting for someone to peform surgery on the cake and ration it out onto plates.  From a aesthetic point of view, Carrie and I feel that cupcakes are far more fun, and do away with a good deal of the pomp and circumstance we find suffocating in tradional wedding receptions.  To our mind a wedding reception is a party, not a quiz on etiquette and protocol.  Now this isn't to say we've banished the cake completely from our reception, we will have a small single tier cake.   That gives us something to do the cutting with, as well as feed the wedding party, who we will undoubtedly spoil at every chance we get.  

So as we headed down to Boston to meet with our awesome photographer, we fretted over our cake plans, and whether we felt the first baker was up to the challenge.  As our time up in Maine was limited, we were worried that we would have to settle for a less than perfect baker. Fortunately, luck was on our side and the day before our departure we were able to arrange a second tasting with another baker.  From their website I had assumed it was a larger operation, given the quality and quantity of the work on display.  To my surprise, it turned out to be a husband and wife operation based out of their kitchen in South Portland.  Despite the very short notice we were able to give them, they were able to whip together a impressive tasting.  The cake from the first baker was good, the cake from the second was divine.  Peggy Kovensky, the chef of the pair, is clearly someone who is not only dedicated to making great tasting cakes, but also cakes which are truly impressive to look at.  During the conslutation, it was apparent that this baker was not only interested in producing something unique for our wedding, but quite possibly would be constitutionally incapable of producing anything that could be mistaken as generic.  

One of Peggy's skills which truly caught me off-guard was her proficiency with crafting sugar.  When I was initially browsing their website, I had assumed incorrectly that they were adding fresh flowers to their cakes to accentuate the decorations.  Little did I suspect the truth: Peggy hand crafts each flower out of pure sugar with a level of cullinary artistry that frankly left me floored.  After our consultation we quickly had a discussion in which we unanimously decided that this baker was the one for us.  We ran back and immediately signed the paperwork to make sure that we had dibs on such a awesome baker.

You may have noticed I've failed to mention the name of the baker, this was intentional.  I wanted to tell you how awesome they were and how we ended up choosing them before I revealed their name. Since I feel its safe to say that's been accomplished, let me say that Carrie and I are proud to have New England Couture Cakes as our baker for our wedding!  I could go on for another paragraph listing out their staggering credentials, but instead I'll just give you their website address, so you can take a look for yourself.  

http://www.newenglandcouturecakes.com/

Of course, as is usually the case with my luck, they updated their website design after our visit, so now you would have to be blind to miss their awesome edible floral making skills!

Cheers!

Alan

Spring Trip to Maine Part 1: Arrival and The Engagement Shoot

We left for Maine on Friday May 8th taking an afternoon flight up. Not much really happened aside from running into an awesome bartender during our layover between Baltimore and Portland.

We got in late, but it was nice to see the family again. Being welcomed by hugs and smiles is always a nice reward after a long trip. Since it was so late it didn't take long for us to conk out that night.

The following saturday we headed to our first cake testing, Cricket joining us as we trust her culinary wisdom! It was pretty good too! But we wanted to try a few other places we had lined up. It was nice to spend the day hanging out with family and having fun.

The following morning had to be early for us - something that had been planned several months in advance. A pretty day, rather windy but nice and we were out the door headed to Boston by 9am (or at least that's what my adled brain seems to remember it feeling like)

We started our day about an hour earlier than we planned to, because Alan and I got into Boston earlier than we thought we would. The three hour drive wasn't bad, but the entire trip we felt so damned awful for not being able to spend the day with Alan's mom and a bit sorry about my mom as well - it was mother's day after all. Guess we have a whole year to make it up to them both (Love you Cricket & Momma)!!

We got to Boston around one, found a parking space and hoofed it to the apartment complex where Jacklyn met us outside. For a little while we sat around in the lobby talking, and Jacklyn got to do my eye make up because I'm incapable of success at those things (confession: Eye make up was the ONLY make up I wore that day). It was fun to have girl time with my photographer, I have to admit. We also met Jacklyn's partner in crime (who I THINK is her husband???) Chris. He kinda reminds me of a native American Indian because of his facial structure. He also had the pretty and long silver hair tied back in a pony tail. I really wanted to play with it, but thought it might be a bit awkward if I did.

We set out to the nearest T train station and got our tickets for the subway. The first couple shots we took was on the train. Everyone was looking at us, wondering what the heck was going on, and eventually a train security officer came stomping our way looking properly burly and annoyed asking what terrorist plotting we were up to. Chris showed them some of the pictures and thankfully the guard said just to try not to get in the way of other passengers. Finally getting off the train, Alan and I headed out of the station trying to find out way around. We stopped at these brick arches to take a few shots and told just to do cute stuff. We tried to comply.

apparently we did well. . .

We headed onto the Boston Museum of Science, taking pictures along the way. It was fun to laugh and joke with Chris and Jacklyn as we went onward. Getting to the science museum, some guy just HANDED us two tickets so the boys let us have them. Alan and Chris bought their tickets, we dropped off my bag and I switched out shoes then headed on our way to explore the museum!

Inside the museum there's this 'whirly gig' machine that uses various odds and ends to accomplish next to nothing, but it LOOKS SO COOL shows kids how gravity and engineering can go hand in hand. Either way it was a fun backdrop.

After a few clicks we got lost in our own little world. . .

We headed off into various sections in the green wing which held all the natural history stuff. Of course we had fun playing with the exhibits, seeing the stuffed animals (I had no idea a moose was that BIG) and shells!!!

Alan's nickname among many of our friends is 'moose' hence we HAD to get a picture with the moose.

Eventually we found our way into the blue wing, which held the technology and science part of things. Alan has a thing for the vandigraph generator and the tesla coils and . . .well the electricity exhibit brings the mad scientist out in him. He freaking LOVES this section. So we went to go play!

Of course we had to play with the plasma tube, and Jacklyn was literally bouncing with excitement over some of the many ring shots she got with this. Coolest. Ring shot. EVER.

Finally we headed up to the Lighthouse exhibit, which was upstairs. This exhibit is appropriately named but not what you think it is. I was thinking. . .fog horns, and light beams and ocean sounds

What I got was mirrors, fun with RGB lighting, optical illusions and crazy reflective surfaces. Jacklyn was beside herself with excitement over some of this stuff!

After the museum we left to grab some grub. Back on the train we went, Jacklyn and Chris showing us some of the shots they got, talking excitedly and ALL of us talking about food. We were totally hungry. Jacklyn called her brother, had some phone issues (apparently iphone reception is not that great), but eventually we found a place to eat. It was a bowling alley and lounge bar called Kings. We shared calamari, nachos, and had some 'real food' to go along with that as well. All the while talking about photos, vegetarianism, art, and anything else which came to pass. Chris was even so nice as to pick up the tab!

We headed back to the train station to ride back to the apartments we met at, and parking. Jacklyn and Chris did some ninja camera moves on the train and got some pretty sweet shots! But this ring shot is my favorite:

Hopping off the train we hung around the terminal for a bit.

Heading out the the terminal Jacklyn told us she'd take some more shots as we walked back. She found this really awesome ivy covered wall which I'm totally in love with. For some reason it reminds me of James and Lily Potter before they lost 150lbs, which makes it all the more adorkable to me because I'm kinda obsessed with Harry Potter. This is the image:

After we got back to the apartment, Jacklyn and Chris grabbed our stuff out of their trunk (they kept some of the clothing etc we brought with us in their trunk so we wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen). We talked to Jacklyn for a bit more and finally said our goodbyes.

Alan and I left with an amazing sense of awe. We got our photos taken, I didn't freak out or mouse up, we had fun and best of all we totally loved hanging out with our photographers! Jacklyn had originally told me that the shoot would take about 2 to 3 hours, but all together we spent somewhere around 6 or 7 with them. We didn't even REALIZE this fact until I looked at the clock in the van. We had so much fun we didn't even realize how long we'd been gone or how tired we were.

So with the day behind us we headed home back to Maine and fell asleep looking at the stars from our bedroom window.

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If any of you are interesting in Jacklyn's Services or other works (she's got an amazing portfolio which includes everything from weddings to family portraits and some more risque stuff) head over to her website www.jagstudios.net! Rest assured that these are not the only shots that we took and there's loads more. If you'd like to see the rest, shoot us an e-mail at acmewedding@gmail.com and we'll give you all the info to do so!

More to come tomorrow!

- Carrie.

Accomplishing Stuff!

YAY! Stuff is getting accomplished!

I got back from Maine (where said stuff was accomplished) Thursday evening. After two weeks of me without any Alan and Alan without any me, it's an understatement to say we were happy to see one another again.

So far we've got several things done and out of the way.

Number 1 being our caterer!

Yes that is a barbeque. Yes we're having barbeque . No, you're not allowed to touch the barbeque cooker unless you're name is Mark, and you happen to run a business known as the Olde Kennebec Wood Cookery. That's right people, YANKS can do the barbeque too! Mark's been at this biz for a few years, and does his thing for the love of the culinary art. Dishes are prepared hours a head of time slowly cooked over a split wood fire. Mark's set up looks something like the love child of a steam engine and a caboose, but it delivers a quality of food that leaves people raving. I looked long and hard for a person that would be able to fit the bill of our catering needs - the majority of people I contacted were very professional but just didn't have the mind set that I thought would be necessary for the party we're trying to throw. So I kept looking only to find Mark and his mastery of wood cookery. So when you're walking down to the reception site and you can smell the thick mouthwatering smell of spiced,wood cooked food wafting through the autumn air, know that Mark is there eager to give you a taste of his slow cooked culinary masterpieces. You can find out more about Mark and his work at his website.

We've also got the tent stuff figured out. The New England Tent & Awning Co. is a family run business that's been around since the 1920's! They really worked with us to give us the most for our money, and were happy to see that the location for our reception wouldn't be as bad as I was making it out to sound.


This is a picture of the reception site from the main house. The red barn, generally houses boats
during the winter. On our wedding day, the barn will instead be housing the music, any dancing, and sofa's to chill out on. A few feet away in front of the barn is where the tent will be placed with plenty of room to sit and enjoy Mark's delicious food. Heaters will be inside both the tent and the barn for optimum comfort for all. Come October snow shouldn't be an issue, so no worries.

I got a buncha other stuff accomplished too but hey, I gotta leave some stuff to write about later.

- Carrie

FAQ Session 1: Why Maine?

According to Wikipedia, Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQ are a list of questions and answers that pertain to one common subject. When it comes to big shindigs, anyone whose planned a party will tell you people ask a lot of questions - and generally they're the same ones. FAQ Sessions will be posted here for the purpose of answering questions that frequently pop up. If you have any specific questions or concerns feel free to leave a comment or drop a line at our blog e-mail: ACMEWedding@gmail.com. I'm sure we won't be able to think of everything you guys will end up asking us, so feel free to suggest subjects we should touch upon.

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I understand that with our wedding a lot of people will have a lot of questions, because lets just face it - this isn't going to be a run of the mill, uninspired and cookie cutter wedding. Alan and I just aren't the run of the mill, uninspired and cookie cutter, type of couple. We like traditions. We love to wave at them as they pass by. Unless they happen to be particularly functional, or meaningful - then we'll highjack them like the pirates we are.

Some of you may have wondered why we're having our wedding in Maine - others, may not care as long as you get cake and booze. Either way, lets talk about the reasoning behind our "destination" wedding.

Most traditions have the wedding couple head to the brides hometown and get the deed done there. Well . .as much as I love my family and friends in North Carolina I can't stand the state. Any of my friends will tell you that upon graduating high school I literally pounced the opportunity to be anywhere else. Through my trips back and forth from school in Atlanta to home in NC I was surprised to actually find myself missing the stupid sand pit where I grew up. It took me a while to realize this glaringly obvious fact that it's the people you love who tend to make you stay someplace you'd otherwise flee. Frustratingly, they also tug you to come back, and you do! You do come back to that place you loathe because you miss them and you love them and you want to see them again. It didn't take me long after that to figure out that it wouldn't matter where we had the wedding because all that mattered was having those loved ones there. I don't care about the stupid state, I care about them. So not being particularly attached to my home, it didn't feel right for us, and was pushed from the listing.

Then there's Atlanta, where Alan and I currently reside. To be honest we thought about it for a split second or two. Venues there (because of the 'big city' factor) are several shades, and several thousand bucks on the side of uncomfortable. The city is nice, but the traffic is awful, the heat is abominable, and finding your way around Atlanta can be extremely confusing if you're not used to it. Peachtree street is an inside joke in the Big Peach state because those city builders just couldn't stop naming streets after that silly peach. Peachtree Dunwoody, Peachtree Chamblee, Peachtree Battle, Peachtree Crossing, Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Corner, Peachtree, and eventually you'll find the Pitts Road too. And as long as we've lived in Atlanta, we don't really like it. Wedding places should feel special, and as cool as Atlanta can be, it just doesn't feel like the right place for us. So Atlanta was also pushed from the listing.

So then we came to the thought of Maine, and we liked the idea. Alan grew up in Maine. The roads are easier to navigate as they don't name everything the same. The scenery is beautiful. The people are awesome. The ocean is everywhere, and most importantly it's special. It feels like home. As the Shire is to Frodo and Bilbo, Maine is to Alan and I. We love it here.

Many of you may think along the lines of my own mother, "But if you do it in Maine everyones going to have to travel there!" True. Travel is a very real issue - but here's the problem in thinking this way. No matter where we have the party, people will have to travel. We have friends and family all over the place, and travel is just something we can't really get around no matter where we do this.

But one of the big reasons we decided to have our wedding in Maine actually comes straight from the lips of some of our friends and family. Something we noticed as we went about talking to people is that everyone has the same thing to say when we mention Maine, "It's so pretty up there, I wish I could go someday." Well, now you have an excuse!

Understandably some of you may not be able to make it. However, please don't automatically decided you 'just can't do it' without looking into it. Fear not, for we have a travel agent tied up in the closet and he will dish the goods eventually. We are doing everything in our power to pull together ticket info, discount pricing through group rates, and other methods of mayhem to get you there. We'll be posting more information as it becomes available. Info should include travel tips, cost saving ideas, discounted rates, and options for those willing to travel in groups.

Thanks for reading!
- Carrie.