Top of the Cake

Have you heard of the wedding tradition where the bride and groom exchange gifts on their wedding day? Really? You're exchanging rings, vows, promises that you'll love each other together forever...why the need for gifts? Weddings are expensive, so Groomy and I felt like exchanging gifts at our wedding would be silly when the wedding itself, not to mention the honeymoon, is one big gift.

Instead, we decided to splurge on a little something for the wedding that we can enjoy for years after. A custom cake topper! Etsy.com has a ridiculous number of insanely cute cake toppers made by hand out of clay, or wood, or pretty much whatever you want. They range in price from about $50 to more than $200 depending on how customized, and how accurate, you want your cake topper figurines to be.

First, I thought, how about little turtles? Little terrapins that could represent our Alma Mater, the Univeristy of Maryland. Then, I saw these by "Mudcards" out of Austin:

It was then that I thought--I must have this. I could picture our little selves, in clay form, standing on top of our chocolate cake, and then on our mantle at home. I contacted Mudcards, and sent her photos of my dress, hair, flowers, Groom's tux, close-up photos of the two of us, etc. Only a few weeks later, I got this photo in my email:

Ack! Love it! Sure, it's a little cartoon-y, but that's what makes it great. She did an awesome job on the details in my gown (there is a silver overlay to give a look of lace). Although Groomy hasn't seen it yet (he doesn't want to see the gown), we both agree this little splurge is well worth giving up the old traditional gifts.