Cake

So almost everyone with whom I've spoken, from Pamma and family to friends, has brought up food and Kosher issues. I certainly like the idea of a nice juicy steak in front of me as we celebrate, and I don't think that idea will ever go away. However, the reality is that it's seeming more and more like a costly and prohibitive idea. Meat, especially kosher meat, is extremely expensive, even when going the chicken route. It simply costs more than dairy and fish dishes. Furthermore, there would have to be a vegetarian option anyways as some people don't eat meat of any kind and may not even eat fish. This in itself presents a problem with a kosher meal as a non-meat dish can't even have dairy in it! Eggplant-stuffed Eggplant, anybody? Main course aside, all the accoutrement is just as essential to the meal. Meat means no Caesar salad. Sorry, fake kosher mayo, oil, and croutons is not a Caesar salad. Meat means no delicious Parmesan crisps. Meat means I can't even have a white russian.

Now, that's just the meal itself. Cocktail hour and dessert haven't even been considered. If it's a meat meal, cocktails must be meat, which would again jack up the cost. This also nixes the pipe dream of sushi during cocktail hour as we can't let fish and meat be together. Dairy cocktails mean a *separate* kosher kitchen, as meat preparation would need to begin at the same time as dairy cocktails.

Finally, cake. I've had some delicious pareve cakes. Many Shabbat celebrations at the Tahan household are capped off with an amazing cake from Unique bakery in Encino. A simple 10" round cake, however, is well over $30 and only feeds 10-12 if it's stretched. I can only imagine the cost of a wedding cake. And honestly, as amazing as Unique's cakes are, a good red velvet or cheesecake trump it hands down.

Bring on the Caesar, bring on some pesto gnocchi, bring on the sushi, BRING ON THE CAKE!!!

Planning Status

Photographer √ (Ben Hoffman- Two Sparrows Photo)
Ketubah √ (I know it's early, but it's one less thing we have to find)
Videographer √ -John Jennings and Takahiro Watanabe

We are still working on editing our wedding guest list down from nearly 500 to a more doable 250. (We feel very blessed to even know that we have that many people we would love to share our wedding with!)

Starting to look at venues with Terri next Monday! Yay!

We have a tentative date. I always knew I wanted to get married in the springtime, so when Michael mentioned April 28, 2013, I loved it. It's a significant date to us, and it's Lag BaOmer, a very festive day in Judaism to get married. It also gives us plenty of time to plan and save, and really enjoy our engagement and wedding planning.

Ketubah

Might have found a Ketubah (the marriage contract). It's a beautiful design that would go well with the voice print. This design depicts the golden spark that is central to the life of the couple. This spark is revealed in the design and enhanced by the words of a marriage contract. Let us know what you think!

Thinking we like this Ketubah better...check it by clicking here. A couple’s new unity symbolizes a new life. The pair combines their souls in order to create a new existence, fermenting at the source, DNA. They also become the centralization of the text, representing the circle of life. At the height of the piece are words describing the lover’s singular eternal empowerment: Life, Chai; Koach=strength; Love for the Earth, Ahavat Olam; and ONE= Echad. ~~~ “Destiny” art work is inspired by NASA’s Destiny Laboratory, where researchers conduct experiments and studies about life on our planet. The circular text also depicts what NASA calls an ‘Optical Gem’, a window used on the station to view and study Earth.