My Gluten Free Wedding! (Lots of pics!)

So, as you probably already know (because it's OLD NEWS by now...lol!), Brandon and I got married on April 4th!

It turned out EXACTLY like we wanted: small, simplistic, and FUN! Oh, and for the most part, it was gluten free!!

There were only like 60 people there, which was great. At first we were concerned that the wedding kept growing and growing, but in the end, the amount of people there was perfect. The weather was not as good as we had hoped, but it was better than every other day that week! Apparently in Arizona, we don't get rain in the Spring, just lots of wind and dust! The whole week (and particularly the day before the wedding--it was the worst) had winds of 35 mph with gusts up to 50! There was dust everywhere. Did I forget to mention that our entire wedding and reception was outdoors in a park? Yeah. Fortunately, the wind died down on our wedding day to about 10 mph and eventually stopped in the evening. It was only about 75 that day (it was 85-ish the rest of the week!) so it got COLD at night. Luckily the rental place (Affordable Rentals in Tempe) were AWESOME. We managed to get ahold of them, AFTER HOURS, and they rushed like 6 or 8 heaters out to us. It made a WORLD of difference, and everyone could get their dance on without shivering!

I made my grand entrance on our Arctic Cat, driven by my dad. It was definitely an original idea and reflected our life/personalities perfectly! It was even decorated by the groom himself with tulle (you'll see it in the pictures!) It was definitely a conversation piece!

We had John Ore, a Justice of the Peace from Chandler, as our officiant. Let me tell you, if you are in Arizona and are getting married, we HIGHLY recommend him! He brought a little humor to the ceremony, which all our guests loved (and so did we!).

And now, to the important stuff. Gluten free food!

As I mentioned before, we had our wedding cake done by Sugarlips Cakery. The cake was absolutely beautiful. It was 3 tiers, with the top tier being gluten free. It was a vanilla or white gluten free cake with strawberry and buttercream filling. It was so good. Then the bottom two tiers were regular vanilla cake and raspberry filling. The groom said it was amazing. AND the best part is, they separated the top tier from the others with TWO plate-thingys (I can't for the life of me think of what they're called right now, lol), one the exact size of the cake, and the other a little bigger to make sure none of it touched! HOORAY!

The catering was done by Crackers and Company Cafe. I will never, ever, EVER be able to sing enough praises for Crackers and Company. Seriously. They were absolutely AMAZING!! From the moment we contacted them, they were completely on board for preparing the meal gluten free. They were so helpful and so detailed in the menu. We ended up having:

Pork loin (which had some sort of apple glaze or something...incredible)
A carving station of turkey breast (with cranberry sauce on the side)
Roasted red potatoes (that had peppers in it..everyone LOVED them)
A vegetable medley
Salad topped with all kinds of goodies: mushrooms, peppers, etc (croutons and dressings on the side)

They had a bread display, away from everything. They had servers at the buffet table and totally understood the importance of making sure that spoons did not travel. These people blew my mind. We spoke with the owner directly (she was even at our wedding) and they went over EVERY single thing that was going into the food. They sent me a fax of photocopies of ingredient labels for everything, even the meats. They faxed me copies of emails they sent with their providers, ensuring everything's gluten free status. They even told me that if the meat was not gluten free they would go down to AJ's the day of the wedding and buy me my own pork loin! Oh, and I had originally wanted lemon herb chicken for the menu, but picky eaters created a problem (read: my DAD), so the chef offered to make my maid of honor and I our own lemon herb chicken breasts, aside from everything. They were so accomodating! The chef called me the day before the wedding to read me the ingredient label of something before he made the apple glaze. The owner went to back and grabbed the ranch dressing container they use at the restaurant and let Brandon read the label himself. And to top everything off, they said if it ended up raining on our wedding day, that we could move our reception to their restaurant (not even 5 minutes down the street) and have it all to ourselves at no cost!! OMG, right? I could not have wished, hoped, or DREAMED for a better wedding catering experience. They are incredible, friendly, helpful people at Crackers and Company, and seriously, if you are in Arizona, stop by their restaurant--they have a few locations. (And no I'm not getting paid to say all this, LOL! They just did a phenominal job and really went above and beyond; they deserve all the business they get! I've never been to a single restaurant where I've gotten such great service.)

And now...to the pictures. Our photography was done by Cayla Rynerson Photography...she did such a great job on these photos! She was also a lot of fun and VERY affordable!

These are in no particular order..they uploaded all funny. But there's too many to go back and rearrange :)

Our first kiss as husband and wife!

The gluten free cake! Neither of us trusting the other to not smash it in our face :)

The Arctic Cat!

I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs Brandon S.

The ceremony. It was beautiful! Everything we wanted!

My maid of honor, Michelle, and I!

I love this picture!

The wedding cake! Top tier was gluten free!

A friend of mine called this photo, "erotic." LOL!

My incredible sexy groom! My favorite pics of him.

The boys!

This is very close to being my favorite picture! It's hard to decide, but I LOVE it. Cayla Rynerson Photography...for real, she's awesome.

Husband and wife!

LOVE IT!

So there you go, now I'm a gluten free newlywed!

My Gluten Free Bachelorette Party!

My bachelorette party was on March 28th -- the weekend before my wedding! I have NO pictures pretty much...I was too intoxicated to photograph! LOL!

It started with Misty (Brandon's brother's girlfriend...got that? Lol) making me gluten free cheese danishes, a fruit salad, and a mimosa for breakfast! It turned out great! Then it was off to a full body massage, which I was a little nervous about at first! I've had massage therapy in the past that left me feeling sore and like my muscles were bruised. I enjoyed the massage though and it was definitely what I needed after all the stress that I was under! Turns out my shoulders were incredibly tense and so was my right arm, which explained the numbness that I'd occassionally have in my right hand! The nerves in my fingers felt like they were dancing in jubilee after the arm/hand massage.

After the full body massage, Misty took me for a facial. I have never had a facial before. It was very relaxing, and included a hand/foot massage. I do have to say that it is very weird to have some stranger squeezing gunk out of your pores, lol. She did tell me that I had very nice skin though, so I got over it quickly. I've discovered that I don't really like my feet being massaged...she would rub my feet then rub my legs and I just felt like I was covered in foot-ness. Yes, I am aware that I am weird. The facial was very nice and relaxing, but the moisturizer she put on me last left me feeling greasy and oily. Yuck. It soaked in though, and was eventually fine. It was a day of pampering!

After the facial, Misty and I went to Dos Gringos for lunch and this is where the boozing officially began. We had 2 tequila shots, and on top of that I probably had 4 margaritas (and I think my straw may have found its way into Misty's margarita at some point too). I was HAMMERED. Lol. Chris came over to hang out for a bit after he got done playing softball, so I convinced Brandon to come by too. He was cracking up at my drunk antics. Then, the boys drove Misty and I to the mall to do some shopping! Brandon gave Misty $100 to give me for shopping money! Isn't he the best?!? We were not at the mall long, though, because we had to get home to get ready for our evening! All I ended up buying at the mall was candy, everything else was blurry! HA!

So I went home and threw myself together and Misty picked me up. She had a very STRONG peach belini waiting for me! Oh man.

We met up with everyone at Picazzo's, my favorite gluten free friendly restaurant! My maid of honor Michelle (whom I have sung many praises about before) put together a great bachelorette party/dinner!

She had fun pink Girls Night Out leis for everyone and shot glass favors on the tables! She gave me a Bachelorette sash and a Bride To Be hat, complete with a veil attached to it! I arrived to dinner still drunk, so I was game for anything!

I even started wearing the bows from the presents on my head!


I had a delicious lemon drop martini, which is MY FAVE (and according to other pictures I've seen, I drank Misty's too...what is up with that! HA) We ordered gluten free pizza for everyone, which everyone LOVED. We ordered Ulimate Pepperoni and the Chicken and Applewood Smoked Bacon (my personal favorite). Picazzo's NEVER disappoints!

We opened presents, which I will not be posting pictures of, because, well, it was a bachelorette party and the pictures aren't for kids. :)

The bartender mixed us up some sort of shot, for all of us, on the house! They were TERRIBLE, but that didn't stop me from drinking two!

Michelle did a great job putting everything together, and I had a blast!! After Picazzo's, we had a bit of a house party, where I never saw my mimosa glass empty, so I couldn't even tell you how much I drank. I think there were some shots in there too, that were awful. Bleh. I had so much fun. Michelle, though sober, danced crazy with me to Lady GaGa!

Looking back, the party should have ended there because I was going downhill fast, but the night was still young. We went to a club in Scottsdale named Jackrabbit. It wasn't long before I was puking in the bathroom! Yuck. We did hang out there for a bit, but I got overheated and had to leave. The night was pretty much unsalvagable at that point; I threw up in the bathroom at the club, in a gift bag in the car, and in a trash can at a gas station. All of which got some small amount of puke on my person. If it wasn't my Bachelorette party, I would be horribly embarrassed about getting that drunk. But I hardly ever drink, and that's just what you do, right? Lol.

At least we didn't get arrested or anything, I mean, THAT, would be CRAZY!! :)

For more stories and pictures from the evening, check out the post Michelle wrote here. She remembers a lot more than I do :)

A Gluten Free Bridal Shower

Now that the wedding is over and I FINALLY have full use of my brain back, I am going to post on everything that I didn't have time to blog about before. I'm going to go through them in different posts, otherwise you'd be sitting there reading the one entry for HOURS. So, here we go, my gluten free bridal shower..

My bridal shower was actually on March 7th. I was adament that my bridal shower be 100% gluten free. My reasoning was that I couldn't have an entirely gluten free wedding, so I really wanted my bridal shower to be reflective of what is such a huge part of my life. Plus, there are less people to please. :)

So, me, Michelle, and my mom got together and planned a gluten free menu. Here is what we had:

Gluten free pizza from Uno Chicago Grill
Salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Ranch dressing and Italian dressing on the side
Several different chip/dip selections
Gluten free chocolate cupcakes
Fruit arrangement

My absolute favorite part, were the chocolate gluten free cupcakes from Sugarlips Cakery. My mom surprised me with the design:


They were beautiful! And DELICIOUS! I was craving cupcakes for WEEKS after this because they were so amazing. We did not tell everyone that the food was gluten free until after they had eaten to see if anyone would notice the difference. I also didn't want people to judge the food and then not eat it (it's happened to me before). And, I am happy to report that NO ONE could tell the difference. In fact, everyone went on and on about how good the food was and they couldn't believe it was all gluten free! Most had 2 cupcakes :)

Here is the fruit arrangement from Edible Arrangements. Oh my, these are fantastic and always very popular!


This is my best friend and maid of honor Michelle, and me standing by the game table. She worked so hard on the bridal shower and made it a fantastic event!

She put together all the games that were played and I wish I had pictures of it all! She called Brandon on the sly and asked him questions about himself, that I then had to answer! For every question I got wrong, I had to add another piece of bubbalicious! In my defense, I did get a lot of the questions right, but there were a few that Brandon gave the WRONG answer to! LOL! By the end I had a mouth full of sugary and slimey bubble gum! I was nearly choking on it! BLAH, that was gross, but a really fun game!

Everyone told me afterward what a great job Michelle did at the bridal shower and what a great friend she is! She's been my best friend for like 12 years or so now and I am so grateful for all she did during this whole process! Please go over to Gluten Free Gluttony and tell her how amazing she is!

It's been how long?!

Holy cow, where did a month go?

I figure I need to at least write one entry for February. Lol.

I've been spending a lot of time on Twitter these days, so a lot of the little things I like to say often end up on there. Not following me yet? What are you waiting for?? Click here.

So what have I been up to? Oh man. Let's just say, I have come to the shocking realization that my wedding is 40 days away. Commence panic attack. I admit, I have been slacking lately. I tend to focus on each task at a time and then all of the sudden, WEEKS have passed and my to-do list is still so long! How does anyone survive planning a wedding?!?

As far as the gluten free aspect of the wedding goes..it's going really well. We just had an appointment with the caterers over the weekend and they are more than willing to accomodate me! That is such a relief. I feel like he is really, really taking this seriously. Honestly, I don't really trust most restaurants nowadays, after suffering glutening after glutening when eating out--off of gluten free menus. But he did say that he is taking this very seriously because he does not want to be responsible for sending me to the hospital on my wedding day. I didn't bother telling him that I wouldn't end up in the hospital (just the restroom, lol) because I'd rather he think that's what would happen. :) Maybe he'll think a little harder about double dipping spoons, you know? I'm not sure yet what the final menu will be; I'm still waiting for him to email me a rough price per head. He came up with something special for me that wasn't on the menu, so we're waiting to hear the pricing. As soon as I know for sure, I'll let you know what kind of yummy goodness I'll be enjoying on the big day!

So, against my better judgement, I am on a "diet" right now. Temporary insanity, maybe? We have booked our honeymoon, and we will be spending 6 fabulous days in Jamaica at a Sandals resort. I am beyond THRILLED about this. I cannot wait to be standing with my husband, with our feet in the sand at the edge of crystal blue water sipping on our tropical beverages. It's a dream come true for me! However, beach = bikini, and me + waaaaay too many sweets = one fat ass. LOL! I'm being dramatic, but for real, I am TOTALLY not wanting to be worrying about my cellulite while I'm on my once-in-a-lifetime vacation. To accomplish this, I am making small dietary changes and overall, trying to rid my diet of unneccessary calories. I am eating lean meats, more fruits and veggies, and low-fat dairy. I eat a banana or Dannon Light and Fit yogurt for breakfast. Then, I pack a salad for lunch--topped with hard-boiled egg, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and fat-free feta cheese. I stopped eating Ranch dressing and am now eating Italian dressing, although I will be making the switch to balsamic vinegrette. And, I've switched from Dr. Pepper to Diet Dr. Pepper. And, I've really, really tried cutting back on the sweets. Brandon would argue that I am still eating a LOT, but he didn't see all that I would eat at work. Lol. :) I have cut back. But hey, during "that time of month," I need a freaking caramello (or 12) and no questions need be asked. I am trying though! We even got a gym membership. Look at us, all motivated. :)

Well, I'll leave you with one of our favorite recipes, which is also probably the easiest one I make.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Vegetables

1 pork tenderloin
10 to 12 creamer potatoes (I use half red, and half white), halved
4 to 5 boiling onions, halved
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (lately I've just been buying baby carrots and halving them)
Olive oil
Dried rosemary
Dried sage
Cracked black pepper
Kosher salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Generously spray roasting pan or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place pork tenderloin in pan.

Place potatoes, carrots, and onions around tenderloin. Drizzle oil evenly over tenderloin and vegetables. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. I just eyeball it.

Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes or until tenderloin is done and veggies are tender. Stir the veggies occassionally.

In an effort to be more interesting...

A little post about my personal life..Ignore if you still think I am terribly boring. Lol. :)

I have crossed over to the dark side. Almost literally. As to not be ghostly pasty white on my wedding day, I have ventured into the realm of tanning.

I am admittedly really low maintenance. I get my hair highlighted once a year, typically for my birthday. I get my hair cut not much more often than that either. I don't even style my hair if it isn't a really special occasion. I don't get my nails done, I wear minimal makeup, and I buy clothes for myself next to never. It might sound like I "neglect" myself, but I just don't really feel the need to do all that.

However, trying on my beautiful wedding dress, I realized that my skin has not seen sun since I was probably a sophmore in high school. Even in the Arizona heat, I wear long pants the majority of the time and don't feel comfortable in spaghetti strap tops. So that leaves my legs and shoulders (and everything in between, lol) really, really pale. Not hot.

So today I signed up for a membership at a tanning salon by my work. This is so out of the ordinary for me that I was paranoid in the bed the whole time! Lol. I was thinking, "What are you DOING?! Do you WANT skin cancer and premature aging?!" Oh and my friend/coworker told me that whatever I do, do NOT open my eyes in the bed, while the bulbs are on. WTF, how are you supposed to climb in and close the damn coffin-like door?? So I'm working on my base tan for the wedding, and that's about as far as I'm gonna go. I'm not interested in being crazy bronzed or orange (EEK!). My slightly vain side has to admit that I am kinda excited to have a little bit of color to me, though. :)

In other slightly related wedding news, I have made an appointment with a dentist for tomorrow to talk to them about getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I know what you are thinking, this girl has lost her damn mind! But no. I had braces in high school for two years and afterwards I had the beautiful straight teeth I had desperately wanted growing up (I had terrible crowding in my mouth..I had to get 4 teeth pulled to start). And then my wisdom teeth grow in and mess everything up! It's not nearly bad as it was to begin with (not even close!) but one of my front teeth is pushing forward a little bit and it really irks me in photos. I went throught 2 YEARS of HELL to not be self conscious smiling in pictures, and now here I am. So tomorrow, I am going to the DREADED dentist (did I mention I have a dentist phobia too? Oh man..). Needless to say, I am really nervous! I'll need lots of gluten free ideas for what to eat when you've had 4 teeth RIPPED OUT OF YOUR FACE.

Oh, and to top it all off, I've been craving pizza like nobody's biz.

Farewell to 2008!

Merry (late) Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had great gluten free holidays! I had a FANTASTIC Christmas and got what I have always dreamed about....

A KITCHENAID MIXER!!!

It's beautiful isn't it?

I've been struggling with my pathetic little handheld mixer for a while now, and I've been dying for one of these. My little handheld mixer could not EVER mix bread dough. So if I ever wanted to make delicious gluten free sandwiches, I had to go to my mom's house and mix it there. That's not an easy feat when you're trying to transport 47 different flours. (lol)

So this past weekend, I excitedly made my first loaf of gluten free flax bread in my new mixer. I already see BLT's (remember those?) in my very near future.

This bread is the absolute best bread I have ever tried. Brandon even said that if I make this, he will stop buying regular bread at the grocery store. YAY! Plus, flax seeds are fantastic for your health. Go here to read about all the ways flax seed is good for you!

Gluten Free Flax Seed Bread

(Please follow this link to see the actual recipe. There is a link to her cookbook there as well.)

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups gluten-free flour
1/4 cup garfava flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup water or milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vinegar

Directions

1. Combine flours, flax, starches, gum, yeast, salt.
2. In the mixer, combine wet ingredients, then add the dry.
3. Scrape the sides, and mix on medium for 4-5 minutes.
4. Pour into 9x5 pan, and let rise to top of pan (took about 80 minutes). I always, always let it rise in a turned off oven.
5. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.
6. Remove from pan, cool, and slice.

For the flour, I used the Whole Foods brand 365 gluten free flour mix, and since that already has xantham gum in in, I added half the amount called for in the recipe. Garfava flour is a mix of Garbanzo bean flour and Fava bean flour...it took some searching but I found it at a Whole Foods already mixed by Bob's Red Mill.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve, I will be celebrating it quietly. I am looking forward to 2009 with great excitement! I have just over 90 days to finish all this wedding planning! So far I have the location, the dress and accompaning accessories, the cake, the bridesmaid's dress, the officiant, the DJ, and the flowers. I know what I want to do for favors, and I have received what I ordered for it, now I just have to go get the other parts needed to put them all together. I have picked out invitations, just need to order them. I know who is catering, just have to book them. And I am planning on booking the rental stuff (tables, chairs, etc...did I mention the wedding is in a residential park?) at the Arizona Bridal Show coming up here in about a week and a half. So that leaves odds and end stuff and....a photographer. UGH. WHY do they have to be so EXPENSIVE? I'm sure I've forgotten something, too. Lol. I've somehow managed to keep my cool through all this. No Bridezilla moments...yet. :)

So here's to a healthy, happy, gluten free 2009!

One Year Anniversary

Tomorrow is my one year anniversary of being gluten free. And, coincidentally enough, I will be designing my gluten free wedding cake tomorrow on this milestone anniversary. I'm honestly amazed.

I feel like I am living a fairytale right now. Everything is just falling into place, as if the universe is just going about its master plan and I'm just here to enjoy it all. I am loving every second.

There really isn't a more perfect date for this cake appointment to fall on. It is proof of this incredible transformation and journey that I have made this past year. Before this year, I had never ever succeeded at this diet. No sooner had I started the diet, that I was falling off the wagon again. It was so rough for so many years. I didn't think I would ever be able to abide by this restrictive diet. What good could possibly come from denying myself all of my favorite foods? And how would I not starve to death?

I resented this disease for a long, long time. I even convinced myself that despite my "definitive diagnosis," the doctor had it all wrong and there was something else wrong with me. I told myself that no one could ever get this diet right 100% of the time, so I gave myself permission to stop trying. I would eat these poisonous foods until my body felt on the brink of a strike. Then I'd be on a loose (ahem...very loose) gluten free diet for a few days until I was met with my nemisis -- a sandwich. I'm sure everyone around me rolled their eyes when I told them I was going gluten free again! I probably said that SO many times, and every time I wouldn't follow through.

I had my "Why Me?" period too. I wanted everyone to feel as sorry for me as I felt for myself. I was downright depressed at the thought of giving up seemingly EVERYTHING for the rest of my life. I felt like my future was bleak. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to live without chicken nuggets, or macaroni and cheese, or french toast! How could I go to Disneyland and NOT have a churro? Was I never going to get a corn dog or funnel cake at the Arizona State Fair ever again?

Then I got mad. I distinctly remember saying, or rather, yelling, "THIS IS FREAKING STUPID!! HOW DO THEY EXPECT ANYONE TO DO THIS STUPID DIET! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!!" I thought, unless I starve to death or enjoy walking around looking like a twig, there's no way I could survive giving up gluten.

And then my body didn't give me a choice. It told me when the it was time to stop making excuses for how I was living and to start looking at the reality of the situation. A year ago I was so miserably ill. I could barely stomach any food without extreme nausea and stomach cramps. There was one day that I couldn't leave the house because I honestly could not get my butt off the toilet. That day I took twice the recommended dosage of immodium and it didn't do a thing. I had to have my boyfriend get me wet wipes because I was going so frequently. I would cry on the toilet and then cry when I tried to sit down. I'm sorry for giving so much information, I just really want everyone to know that there comes a point when your body just can't take it anymore. And I know most of us probably have similar horror stories. After the extreme diarrhea subsided, I had cramps so bad in my abdomen that I couldn't do anything. It was hard to stand, sit, breathe, talk, think, sleep. I couldn't eat anything. My appetite vanished. I'd try to eat things easy on my stomach, and I'd get a bite or two in and have to stop. I couldn't handle soda for weeks. For the first time since my diagnosis, I listened to what my body was telling me.

After a short time of a light, gluten free diet, I started feeling better. A lot better. This time was different. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like once I started, I couldn't quit. I wasn't going to let myself down. And most importantly, I didn't want to let Brandon down. I don't know if he fully understands how much motivation he gave me then and how much he continues to give me. I knew if I gave up again, he would be really disappointed in me, and that was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. I would think of having to tell him that I ate some sort of glutenous treat that day and how bad it would make me feel to let him down. That was my motivation. I was amazed at how easy it became to turn forbidden items down. And soon it became, "Well, I haven't cheated once in two months, I can't ruin this streak now!" I could see with every passing month that Brandon was so proud of me, and heck, I was really proud of me too. I had accomplished the impossible.

And that brings us to today. In the beginning, there was a LOT of researching. A lot of finding out that oops, maybe this ketchup isn't gluten free after all! (see previous post). Lets face it, I had a lot of learning to do in the kitchen too. Everything I made before was convenient, frozen, terrible-for-my-gut foods. I had to learn how to make everything. But in the process of learning how to cook, I learned a lot about myself. Cooking and baking is now a passion of mine that I crave. I don't even care what I make, I just have to be in the kitchen. Brandon has always been my biggest supporter. He is up for anything I want to try. Even when I have cooked something that I am hesistant about, he soothes my worried nerves and most importantly, he eats it without a complaint. He is just as knowledgable about this disease as I am, and he speaks up for me when sometimes I am too shy to do it myself.

That is why I am so excited to be picking out my gluten free wedding cake on this anniversary. I consider having a gluten free wedding cake to be a HUGE accomplishment for me, and I owe it all to him--the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with. I've never been happier in my whole life.

Sugarlips Cakery -- Offering Gluten Free Wedding Cake

I found a bakery here in Arizona close by that makes gluten free wedding cakes! It was not easy. The closest place I found before was 2 hours away! And I'd have to transport my own cake the day before the wedding. Umm...no.

Sugarlips Cakery.

They don't do free gluten free cake testings, so we had to buy the smallest cake they made, pictured below.


25 dollars to make sure I didn't hate their gluten free cake. 25 dollars to make sure I didn't spend hundreds of dollars on a cake I didn't like. 25 dollars to get a cake that was SUPPOSED to have strawberry filling, but did not.

I harbor a little bitternes, I know. But I searched far and wide for this cake, and I am determined to be able to eat some cake at my own wedding! So, on to the important stuff...taste...

The cake is good. You can tell by looking at the cake and its texture that it is "different." The flavor does not taste like regular cake, however, that is not to say it isn't good. On the first bite, I'm like, Hmm this is different, but then after I find I actually like this different flavor. The texture is not light, airy, and fluffy like regular cake either. It is dense, and rough almost.

I know that it sounds like I am giving this cake a bad review. I can't say that I am not a little disappointed that this gluten free cake does not miraculously taste like the real thing. My dream was to have a completely gluten free wedding cake that everyone would eat and no one would be the wiser. But I like the cake, and my fiance likes the cake. I have decided that we will have a gluten free portion of the cake, probably suspended by pillars or whatever they do, so it does not touch the rest of the cake. This will be the portion of the cake that we will eat and shove in each other's faces. Our gluten free guests (which will be a total of....one. Woohoo! Michelle!) can also eat this. Then the rest of the cake will be regular cake. This will save us 50 cents per serving on the majority of the cake. And I know it'll get eaten and people won't throw it away.

Or I could just go really simple and serve Ring Tings from Shabtai Gourmet...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am excited to hear about everyone's gluten free celebrations!

To say that I am a little nervous for the Thanksgiving feast this year would be an understatement. This is my first entirely gluten free Thanksgiving, and I'm eating surrounded by gluten-filled food. I am incredibly sensitive now (I got miserably ill from a shared stick of butter) and I'm so worried I am going to get sick. It almost seems inevitable for things to get cross-contaminated somehow. On a good note though, this is when you realize just how incredible the people in your life are. Brandon's mom is not stuffing the turkey, she's cooking the stuffing in a separate pan. Her friend is also bringing gluten free stuffing! It's amazing, really. I don't expect anyone to alter their meals just because I can't eat something. I can't say how appreciative I am when someone goes out of their way, just because they want to. I guess you could say that I am really thankful for all these wonderful, understanding, and accomodating people in my life!

So my plan of attack for the day is this: I am taking my own gluten free gravy. I am going to watch spoons like a hawk. Any double dipped spoons, and I will not be eating the dish, gluten free or not. I'm going to stick to the basics: turkey, gluten free gravy, mashed potatoes (made from real potatoes, not flakes). And I'm going to avoid sticks of butter! Good luck to everyone not attending an entirely gluten free thanksgiving!

Something else I am thankful for this year: my wonderful fiance! Yes, we got engaged! Last week was our 3-year anniversary, and in a perfectly-devised, surprise plan, Brandon proposed! I was shocked! We're getting married at the beginning of April '09, so we have just over 4 months to pull together a (gluten free) wedding! I have spent a week scouring for a gluten free wedding cake! I have found a place miraculously down the street from the wedding site! It honestly is a miracle because I only found 2 places in all of Arizona that offers gluten free cakes, one of which is over 2 hours away and I'd have to transport my own (incredibly expensive) cake. We pick up our sample gluten free cake on Tuesday! I am so excited! I'll be sure to share all of the gluten free details with everyone!

Happy Turkey Day!