Drew and Robyn’s First Wedding Cake Tasting Didn’t Disappoint! [PICTURES]

Today it's time for Road to a Marriage License to cover one of my favorite parts of any party: the cake!  Robyn and I had our first wedding cake tasting this morning, and it left some great tastes in our mouths!

There is just something about cake.  It was suggested to us that we have cupcakes, or even pie, at our wedding instead of cake; but it just wouldn't be the same.  It just wouldn't be a wedding without wedding cake!

We already had tastings scheduled at some other places, in varying cities (like Berthoud, for example), and we're still looking forward to seeing what they have to offer.  Then, Robyn was doing makeup for another wedding, and they raved about a place in Fort Collins that we had just recently discovered ourselves: Fiona's Delicatessen and Catering.

I know what you're thinking.  "A wedding cake from a deli?  Really, you guys??"  Well that's kind of the same thing I thought at first.  But Fiona's is close to where we live, making it easy to keep in touch with them and avoid any mistakes or mishaps with our cake.  Plus, the one other time I'd been there, I was really impressed by the friendly staff and warm atmosphere.  So I went into the tasting this morning pretty optimistically.  At the very least, I was having cake for breakfast.  Not a bad way to start the day!

When we arrived, there was a tray full of samples waiting for us.  Cakes, icings, and fillings were all lined up and labeled, just begging for us to dig in.  And dig in we did!

Our favorite flavor combinations were 1) lemon poppy seed cake with strawberries & cream filling, 2) red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, and 3) chocolate cake with espresso filling.

One snag we hit was that we were supposed to meet with Fiona's catering manager, but she had to cancel at the last minute.  It ended up being sort of a happy accident, though; because instead we got to meat with the pastry chef who actually makes the cakes!  To me, this was a huge plus, however unintentional it might have been.  She was extremely knowledgeable about our options regarding the cake's color, decorations, and flavor profiles.

As we devoured the samples and complimentary coffee, we talked about pricing.  The research we had done left me expecting to pay a minimum of $600 for a basic, no-frills cake.  I was shocked in the best way to find that Fiona's could make us the exact cake we wanted, complete with three different combinations of the delicious cake and filling we were sampling, all for much, much less than $600.  Score!

Again, we're still keeping our appointments with the other bakeries; but after the great experience we had at Fiona's, they're going to have a lot to live up to!