Every year we like to celebrate our “I Do”s by doing stuff, like recreating our wedding menu, taking a day trip near our engagement spot, cooking up one of our favorite honeymoon meals or even taking a big ol’ trip to Hawaii. This year was no different as we continued some of our anniversary traditions (like our annual picture, which a bunch of you asked about) and we threw in a couple of new celebrations too, like showing our wedding video to Clara for the first time.
It was kind of comical because we realized we had no other way to watch it than on the miniscule screen of John’s old camcorder, so we were all huddled around it and pressed play. We probably hadn’t seen it ourselves for the past five years, so there were a few moments we completely forgot about that had us cracking up. Clara seemed to like seeing some of her cousins as kids instead of teens, and really loved Burger’s cameo, so it was a nice little (pun intended) trip down memory lane.
One thing we always talk about from our wedding planning days is how we never got to do that fun cake-tasting thing. While we love the sweet Ukrop’s cupcakes that we had for our backyard shindig, sitting down at a table and sampling a bunch of cake flavors and icings and fillers kind of sounds like the best part of planning a wedding. So we always laugh about how two dessert loving fools like ourselves missed out on that.
And then John went and did one of the most romantic things he has ever done. He surprised me by coordinating a better-late-than-never cake tasting with an amazing local baker who was happy to have one for us for a little more than she usually charges (since we weren’t actually ordering a cake in the end).
John debated selecting the flavors himself so he could surprise me at the tasting, but thought it would be more fun to pore over the options together beforehand, like we would have for our wedding. So he told me about it on our actual anniversary and then we got to make our flavor picks and taste them at the end of last week (once Amanda at Sweet Fix had whipped them up).
She bakes cupcakes instead of cakes as a way for people to sample the flavors, so it was pretty perfect. Sort of like smashing our original wedding cupcakes and the experience of a cake tasting together. Picking flavors was no easy task (OH, THE OPTIONS!) but we ultimately landed on: chocolate with peanut butter buttercream, princess white with green tea buttercream (princess white is like angel-food cake, this one was John’s favorite), almond with maple buttercream (my favorite – it tasted like a gourmet waffle) and vanilla with strawberry jam filling and strawberry buttercream (Clara’s favorite).
We each got to taste all of the flavors, plus take home a box of extras to enjoy and share with friends. We also took home this less than stellar family picture, thanks to Lady Blurs-a-lot. Don’t mind Teddy, he was just checking out the sample cakes.
Speaking of not-so-perfect family pictures… as some of you remembered, we try to get a family photo along with a photostrip each year on our actual anniversary, so last Monday we made the obligatory trip to the New York Deli (a restaurant here that has an old timey photobooth in the back) with pretty laughable results. One of the funniest things about this booth is that the prints tend to vary wildly. One year they’re super clear, sometimes they’re dark and spotty, and this year we ended up resembling a family of ghosts.
It’s kind of a bummer, but the sign on the machine gives you fair warning…
Gotta love those elves who live in the booth. And as a side note, if any locals know of other real photobooths in RVA, we’d love to hear about them.
We did manage to get one decent family picture on the 7th, thanks to our tripod and the camera remote. We attempted some with Burger but he was all “Um, I’ll sit this one out, weirdos.” (our sweet mild-mannered dog wigs out every year that we try to squeeze him into the picture, so I guess that’s an anniversary tradition too). Teddy’s still working on the whole “smile at camera” thing, but Clara’s not blurry so that’s a victory (and she even managed to work her 4th of July tattoo into the mix). Come to think of it, maybe Teddy’s just checking out her tatt.
In our last house we had all of our anniversary pictures framed together by the bathroom mirror (remember this?), so this latest picture was the kick in the pants that we finally needed to hang them up here. We used a sliver of wall space in the sink nook off of our bedroom, which is nice because it’s something we walk by at the beginning and the end of every day. They start with our first anniversary in the circle frame and go chronologically from top-to-bottom in each column. I didn’t even realize how much I missed seeing those annual photos until we had them back up on the wall.
And last but not least, those who follow us on Instagram saw that we tried to cap off our anniversary with a little romantic dinner (at a place called Wild Ginger). Clara went with Grammy & Tom Tom to her cousin’s swim meet and we brought Teddy with us because “he’ll just sleep.” Well, sleeping didn’t happen at all, but he was a pretty adorable third wheel.
So there you have it. Seven years of being married to my cake-tasting partner in crime, and seven years of sharing what we did for each anniversary on this here blog. What kind of wedding traditions do you guys have? Day trips? Dinners? Dessert binges?
Kristen says
Honestly just curious – why not have a family member babysit for a couple hours so you could celebrate your anniversary with a few adult hours over dinner or the cupcakes? My parents always had at least some alone time. I just think it kind of minimizes the romantic part when you have Clara in tow!
YoungHouseLove says
Clara was with Grammy for diner, but cupcake tasting was fun to do with the whole crew :)
xo
s
katalina says
That is such a sweet and creative and thoughtful anniversary gift and one that Clara can share in.
I would never think of a cake place doing tastings for anniversaries but it is a great idea.
Lynn @ Safebeauty says
I die for stuff like cake tasting surprises. This year has been tough for me medically so I was just happy to be around and chill with mah man and stare at him for a creepily long time (according to him!) over some Chinese take out and for some reason an at home showing of “Crooklyn”? lol! It’s funny because no lie for the last 3 anniversaries we’ve stayed at a hotel and each time Jennifer Lopez in “Enough” is showing on TNT and we get sucked into watching it. So I guess our tradition is watching the least feel good, non rom-com movies ever filmed.
My best, Lynn
*Our actual celebration will happen in August though. On a beach in Sarasota, FL. And a hotel. And dinner at the most fabulous place ever. Like, ever. Owens Fish Camp. When in Sarasota it is an absolute must and I rarely say that about any establishments anymore.
Susan Z.F. says
Happy Anniversary!
We are approaching our 30th anniversary in the Fall and will hopefully travel somewhere fun to celebrate. For our 25th, we renewed our vows in the same church we got married in! A handful of close relatives were with us but the most special part was having our beautiful daughter with us to watch us say our “I do’s” again.
I’m reading about everyone’s anniversary traditions and -BAM- there’s a reader talking about a great restaurant in Sarasota FL where we will be vacationing this summer. Thanks so much for the dinner recommendation! Yet another reason I love this fantastic YHL blog. You have the greatest readers too!
Ashley says
Happy anniversary, you two! Love the pictures and that you got to do a cake tasting!
Cake tasting and catering tasting were our favorite parts of wedding planning! We ended up getting a four-tier cake with buttercream frosting…the bottom layer was yellow cake with white mousse and chocolate ganache (it tasted like Boston Cream Pie, whoa yum!) and the top three layers were yellow cake with white mousse and caramel (it.was.insanely.delicious!). Perfect for our October wedding last fall! We ended up taking the top tier of our cake with us on our mini-moon (we honeymooned in Jamaica 3 months later)–so we enjoyed our wedding cake for breakfast for our first two mornings as a married couple! Breakfast of champions! :) We will get a free anniversary cake from our baker this year on our first anniversary…can’t wait to order it!
JIll says
Beautiful, keep the traditions. My husband and I did not have a wedding. We went to the court house and got married. The restaurant we went to eat that day is no longer open. So for one of our anniversary (forgot which one 11 years already), we went to this local Italian restaurant. We loved it and every year for our anniversary we have Italian at our favorite Italian restaurant. Very simple but we love it.
Tamara @ Provident Home Design says
Happy Anniversary!! Congratulations on 7 years of marriage!!
Emily says
These are all such sweet ways to spend your anniversary! Your anniversary photo is beautiful. Thanks for sharing all of this! You guys are the best! Happy anniversary!
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
Happy anniversary! You all are a beautiful family. :) We’re coming up on 13 years in a few weeks. We got married in college, and I know there were people who didn’t think 2 college kids could cut it–love proving ’em wrong. :)
Meghan says
Happy anniversary! Where do you guys find your white bone frames? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
If you search “capiz frames” they should come up online (maybe on ebay?). I collect them whenever I see them, so the first two were from Target I think, one is from Anthro, a few are from HomeGoods, etc.
xo
s
KathyL says
Did you cry? Cause I cried. This is so so romantic, and something my husband would do to. Aren’t we the lucky ones? xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
I always cry. Ha!
xo
s
KathyL says
**too (he’d do it too!!)
Julianne says
What a great tradition to re-enact parts of your wedding! So fun to include Clara and Teddy, and take family photos each year. Great memories (and wall art to boot!) Happy Anniversary! :O)
Margaret B says
Every year my husband and I break out the champagne toasting glasses we used at our reception and have a glass of bubbly, or sparkling grape juice if I am pregnant or nursing. Then we sit down and have coffee and cake using the Orient Express china tea and dessert set he bought me on our honeymoon. We purchased a second set when we had our second daughter so that both girls will eventually be able to take part with us. One day I plan on passing these down to them so that they can build their own tradition.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet!
xo
s
Susan says
Wow! That is so thoughtful of your husband! I would love a cake tasting…I love sweets and we did not have a traditional wedding (got married in Bolivia on top of a hotel and I happily let my mother-in-law plan the whole thing) so I never did a cake tasting. We aren’t big on celebrating our anniversary anyway…this year we both forgot about it until a few days later. I think we should definitely do something next year!
Stephanie says
Cake tasting – how thoughtful and fun! We never did a cake tasting, either – my caterer friend made our cake as her wedding gift to us. Caterer friends ROCK.
Like a lit of folks here, our cake was red velvet. We always have red velvet cake on our anniversary; my sweet hubs has even found gluten-free red velvet for me. Swoon…
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, red velvet wins for favorite cake in the comments for sure!
xo
s
Tara says
I am sure by now you have heard about the Pocketbooth app (photostrip pics)…or maybe you want to experience the real deal? Just thought I would share!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Tara!
xo
s
Sarah S. says
Happy anniversary!
And I loved seeing you guys in August’s Real Simple!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Sarah! It was such an honor to be invited!
xo
s
Barbara says
Adorable as usual, and so happy you make this such a happy, memory making occasion. My biggest wish is to see you on your 25th (I am much older than you two), and maybe one when you’re both sending Clara and Teddy to their intended spouses. Now THAT would really make me happy.
Sammy says
OMG! 7 years already? Time sure does fly. And the cake tasting! What an original idea! Happy Anniversary!!! xx
Nat says
Happy anniversary guys!!
I would have thought that cake tasting was the best gift ever. My favourite food in the world is cake!
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Aww he just didn’t want to miss a special occasion! On our first wedding anniversary we posed for a pic holding the photo of our first kiss and the next year posed with that photo and our baby boy and hope to keep doing that for every anniversary.
Amy says
I suppose my husband and I were meant for each other because we don’t really do anniversaries. Most years we totally forget unless someone else brings it up. So this year, when our ancient van was dying, we decided to get a new car on our anniversary as a way to finally celebrate it. Maybe some day we’ll get to go on the honeymoon we never had.
Jennifer Olszowy says
At times, reading your blog makes me sad. We only got to stay in Richmond for 5 years. You often mention things I miss. It is also ironic that your “new” house is in a neighborhood I used to walk in daily. Keep on talking about all the great things so I can remember a great place we got to live in. Congrats an another great year! I hope Wild Ginger is still serving yummy food.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jennifer! Maybe someday you’ll find your way back to RVA! We keep hearing from people who moved away that are ending up back here. Don’t they say it sucks you back in? Haha!
xo
s
Charley Girl says
Congrats! This is very refreshing for me – well-timed, as my wedding is in 15 days. I’m loving things right now that put it into perspective. I think it’s so sweet – the cake tasting 7 years later.
MJ says
It is amazing to see how much Teddy looks like Clara did in those early annual photos! What a great tradition. :)
Soiledrotten says
What a lovely story. Can’t wait to see the next 7 years of photos:)
Best Wishes,
Alison
Deborah HH says
John gets an A+ and XOXOXOX for romance!
My husband normally draws a rebus anniversary card for me, which usually leaves me in hysterics instead of romantic!
Janet says
Hey guys – happy anniversary! I am not in Richmond area, but there is a great app for a photo booth that we have a lot of fun with. It’s called Pocket booth and it’s $.99 You can do all sorts of different strips like color, b&w, etc and you can print them out. Not the “real” thing, but lots of fun and they look really good!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Janet!
xo
s
sara says
https://screen.yahoo.com/sketchy/weird-al-yankovic-handy-parody-133702425.html
Unrelated to this post but this made me think of you guys! LOL
YoungHouseLove says
So funny!
xo
s
Nancy S says
Congratulations on 7 years! I live in Richmond too and my first date with my now husband was at New York Deli. We went back a year later and took a picture via the mirror over the bar of us sitting in the same seats. We’ve been married for just over a month now so I’ve another 11 to think of our own anniversary tradition. Love your sweet framed family pics.
Vanessa says
What a fun anniversary! I love your traditions! Congratulations and wishing you both many more joyous anniversaries!
Julie says
Fun! Do you still have the Nikon d3100? I’ve looked for a remote for it but didn’t think it worked with one. I’d love one for family pics if you’ve found one that works! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We have the D3200 and got a remote from amazon (just searched that model number and “camera remote” and I think it came up. It was cheap too!
xo
s
Andrea H says
Love it! The picture tradition and the sweet little boy gurgles while you are having dinner :)
My hubby did something super sweet for me after our wedding in Mexico. It was middle of winter here in Canada a few weeks after the wedding and he organized a surprise bachelorette party for me, complete with weird dares on puzzle pieces and a cryptogram on the back of a puzzle. It was so sweet. Gotta love the romantic hubbies!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute of him! Loved hearing all of your stories, guys. Thanks for sharing!
xo
s
RC says
If you haven’t tried it, scanning in the photostrip and using one of the darkening modes in Photoshop like multiply on one or more duplicates of the original should rescue a lot of detail. Then just print 100% on black background on 8×10 and trim to photo booth size. I’ve rescued old bleached out photos that way.
YoungHouseLove says
So smart!
xo
s
Patrice says
Congrats guys! Your wedding was a blast, brings back so many good memories…and I LOVED the Ukrop’s cupcakes!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Patrice!
xo
s
Seaweed & Raine says
Happy Anniversary! I think it’s awesome that you keep fun traditions alive and well – and John, 10/10 for the cake testing (I don’t think it was something that was done here in Australia when we got married some 12 1/2 years ago…We’d certainly never heard of it before!). Our wedding anniversary falls 2 days before Christmas (don’t ask… Hubs sister announced her wedding date the same day we did – for the same day!!! So we had to change it.), so generally we are at either parents place. That often makes it a non-event. Any good suggestions for getting around that one?
Sheree
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe you could sneak out to dinner even if you’re with the family over the holidays? And if you have kids you could get built-in babysitters! Sometimes we were at the beach with the extended family over our anniversary but we would peel off from the group just for a few hours to do something one on one :)
xo
s
MichelleGB says
Happy Anniversary! And what sweet traditions you have! And an awesome husband! Thanks for sharing this post…
Kara says
Check out the blog A Beautiful Mess…they just released a new photo booth app. PartyParty. Not the same as a family outing to a real photo booth, but another option!
YoungHouseLove says
That one looks really fun!
xo
s
Rosie S says
How fun AND tasty…cupcakes are the best!!! We are the worst for celebrating…our 30th was spent in the cat E.R…….do we know how to party or what?!!?! Good for you and keeping up with your traditions!! Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Hope your cat is ok!
xo
s
Gail says
We met on the windjammer, The Adventure, 43 years ago. A year later we got married. We just got back from another windjammer cruise out of Camden, Maine. This was on the Angelique. It was a wonderful cruise–nothing fancy on a windjammer, but a wonderful trip!
Laura J says
Happy Anniversary!!!
My husband and I always buy white cupcakes from Target’s bakery on our anniversary. We eloped on our lunch break (and went back to work after!), and our “wedding cake” was Target cupcakes (Which are freaking delicious, by the way, but you have to get them from an actual Super Target).
We also splurge on an Indian restaurant here in Norfolk. My husband likes it for many reasons, but mostly because they serve your water in fancy little copper cups that make the water taste AMAZING. (Think of the big deal about the water in “The Other Guys.” That is my husband– for the entire 8 courses. )
Grocery store cupcakes + fancy water= True love.
YoungHouseLove says
So funny about the water in those copper cups!
xo
s
Nelle says
What a thoughtful anniversary gift! Sounds like it was a perfect little outting, wishing u
You both a very happy anniversary guys all the way from Perth Australia x
Emily @ Life on Food says
I am obsessed with your cake tasting adventure. How fun! That was the favorite part of our planning. We lived 6 hours away from where we were getting married and the cake so the samples were overnighted. We literally waited by the front door for 2 hours waiting for the delivery. We took notes and all do narrow down the 12 options. Belly aches ensued. Would love to do it all over again!
Allison says
We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last month. We had the best cake and talk about recreating it all the time. This month, my husband surprised me by ordering a cake topper sized one for my birthday!
danielle says
i just spent a seriously embarrassing amount of time looking at the flavors list on that bakery website.
Susan says
Happy 7th! We’re at 7, as well, with an older girl and younger boy, too!
I can’t figure out how else to ask a question, so here it is – where can I find your bronze door knobs, both with round and rectangular door plates? Also, where can I find the white porcelain knobs with rectangular bronze door plates in your show house?
Thx so much, for all you guys do!
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s that post about the doorknobs in our house: https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/06/knobneeds/
And as for the showhouse ones, those were from a local vendor called Interiors 2K.
xo
s
Elaine cota says
Happy anniversary! Love this post so much!!
NatS says
Our first anniversary is coming up in September, we are not sure what we are doing yet but will probably end up back at the place we got married for dinner or one of our honeymoon restaurants.
I have however had my gift from my husband planned for a few months, I requested that he buy me a gold bracelet that he can buy me a charm for on every anniversary. We both love the idea and I’m beyond excited to find out what charm he has brought me for our first year, I asked that they have significance to something that occurred in that year.
Rachel says
No better way to celebrate than cupcakes :)
Joanna Banana says
yum. you guys are too cool for words. we have no anniversary tradition! i guess we should start one.