The Wedding Cake

Ben and I were talking about the top tier of our wedding cake last night - as we were reflecting on the last 9 years. I wish we'd had smartphones back then to take pictures of the actual event, but this story will have to suffice. You see, the cake had made an incredible journey. 

We were living in Las Vegas in the summer of 2007, and had driven across the country to get married in Illinois (another hilarious adventure to discuss some other time). We spent a week or two taking care of last-minute wedding preparations and hanging out with friends and family. After the wedding, we packed everything up and headed back to Nevada in our tiny Ford Focus. Saving the traditional piece of wedding cake to share on our first anniversary was something we hadn't thought about until the time to pack it up actually arrived. 

We borrowed a generic plastic container from my mom to put the cake in - and a cooler to keep it chilled as we made a multi-day drive across the country. Ben took care of packing it up. 

We stopped for the night somewhere along the way, and hauled our stuff into the hotel. We brought our suitcases and the cats upstairs, then I grabbed the cooler with the cake so I could put fresh ice in it. And I heard sloshing. Sloshing.

I opened the cooler and found our wedding cake floating inside the tupperware. Floating. 

I asked "why didn't you use ziploc bags in this cooler for the cake?!" 

I had to pour water out of the container into the hotel room sink, using the lid to apply the slightest amount of pressure to squeeze as many drops out of the cake as I could.

(He remembers some other - more emotional - details. I don't remember that, but it doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility.)

Even last night, as we were laughing about this event in our newlywed lives, he said he was still thinking, "Where would I find a ziploc bag large enough to fit over that whole container?" 

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

We kept the cake anyway. Because tradition. 

And it stayed frozen for a year in Vegas, then we drove across the country again - moving to Kentucky. This time we were sure to pack the ice in ziploc bags as we traveled. And when our first anniversary came up, we took it out of the freezer, had a good laugh, and even took some bites! 

Marriage is all about love and laughter and forgiveness. 

Thanks for all of the above, Ben!