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kaleidoscopeminds · 4 years ago

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I’m going blind from this sweet craving

This came about because I wanted to write some Cake and my brain just went bakery!!! au!!!! Anyway this is very self-indulgent and driven by my own baking obsession. Please enjoy 6k of me talking about cake (literally) and a cheeky bit of side mashton because I couldn’t resist. For the club because everything I do is for the club <3

Warnings: horribly tooth rotting fluff, too many baking metaphors

Title from Cake by the Ocean by DNCE because I think I’m funny

Luke places the last piece of broken Oreo carefully atop the whirl of buttercream and wipes his hands on his apron, reviewing the set of cupcakes in front of him. He knows he’s hypercritical of his own work; he gets called a perfectionist by Michael at any opportunity (and not in a complimentary way), but he still maintains that it’s the only way to be to make anything good.

He deems this double dozen of the Oreo chocolate as close to perfect as he’s going to manage this morning and slides them next to the strawberries and cream set with mini meringue topping he just finished. He goes to the walk-in refrigerator and pulls out the layer cake that he made before he left yesterday, and then crosses over to dry storage to wheel out the trolley containing the carefully wrapped crates of bread that Ashton, their bread supplier, had dropped off about an hour ago.

He pulls the trays of croissants, pain au chocolat and pain aux raisins out of the oven deftly, and slides them onto a cooling rack to leave for a couple of minutes, before he can transfer them to the cabinet in the front of the bakery, and checks the clock. It’s 6:40, so he’s just on time to get everything stacked up in the front if he has a bit of help.

He hears the door at the front of the cafe slam, handle jangling ominously as it closes again and Luke smiles to himself, grabbing the trays of cupcakes and heading out into the front, opening the swing door with his hip.

“Hi Mikey,” Luke calls over as Michael struggles out of his jacket, pushing his glasses up onto his nose and grumbling incoherently.

“I’m not late,” Michael starts, attempting to pull his apron out of his backpack and hang up his jacket on the hook at the same time.

Luke doesn’t say anything, just turns his head to look deliberately at the large clock hanging over the coffee machine behind the counter and raises his eyebrows, smiling slightly.

“Well, barely,” Michael responds defensively. “You’re not the boss of me, Luke Hemmings.”

Luke laughs, “Unfortunately for you, I am. Supervising baker remember?” He opens up the display cabinet and slides the cakes carefully into place.

“Promotions gone to your overly large blonde head already, I see,” Michael says, struggling with his apron ties where they’ve got tangled around his belt.

Luke laughs again and goes over to Michael, untangling him and turning him round to tie his apron for him. “Go and drink your coffee Mikey, I made one for you about 10 minutes ago, should still be hot. I’ll get the rest of the stuff out to the front.”

“I think I’m in love with you,” Michael says genuinely, quickly walking behind the counter and finding the insulated travel mug Luke had filled with a latte earlier that morning. He pulls off the lid and Luke watches him practically inhale it, smiling fondly as he makes his way back into the kitchen.

“Remind me again why I always seem to be making coffee for you when you’re the trained barista?” Luke calls out as he carefully lifts the 4 layered cake onto a stand and carries it back out to the front.

“Ooh that looks fucking good what’s in that?” Michael asks, eyes lighting up at the sight of the cake in Luke’s careful grip. “And it's because you won’t admit it but you’re in love with me too,” He adds, putting his coffee down so he can take the cake off Luke to put on top of the cabinet.

“Chocolate hazelnut with Nutella and praline,” Luke replies with a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you Michael but we would never work, I couldn’t be with someone who hates mornings,” He says solemnly as he returns to the kitchen, lightly checking the pastries to make sure they’re cool enough before tipping them onto another tray.

“You’re going to be on your own for a while then!” Luke hears Michael call, and he laughs as he comes back through the swing door. “No one likes mornings,” Michael continues crabbily, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp.

“You know who does like mornings?” Luke asks as he passes over the tray to Michael. “Our lovely bread baker.”

Michael blushes and ducks his head at the mention of Ashton. “Why don’t you ask him out then,” He grumbles, lining the pastries up neatly with the tongs in his hand.

“Not my type.” Luke wiggles his eyebrows at Michael. “Plus I think he might be more interested in barista types than cake-making types.”

“Shut up Luke,” Michael groans back. “I’ve told you before, he barely knows who I am. I only see the man for about 5 minutes every day when he comes to pick up the crates.”

“And yet every morning. I have to tell him that ‘No Michael’s not here yet, sorry,’” Luke smirks. “Honestly Mikey, you’re missing out not being here at half past five, lots of Ashton content.”

“Yes but that would involve, you know, being here at half past five,” Michael replies sarcastically. “Did Em make any tarts for today?” He asks.

“Yeah they look great, she’s done a new orange curd one with chocolate pastry which I’m excited to try.” Luke accepts the change of subject and goes back towards the kitchen. “Do you want to come and grab your boyfriend’s bread? Think that’ll be the last of it then.”

Michael glares at Luke and pretends to trip him up as he walks past, then follows him into the back.

“You’re such a dickhead sometimes you know that,” Michael says grumpily, pulling out the loaves of bread and stacking them on the counter.

Luke laughs, it’s too easy to get a rise out of Michael, particularly first thing in the morning and especially when it comes to Ashton. He opens the fridge again and as always sends a silent thank you to the angel that is Em, their evening baker, and the only reason they’re able to produce enough goods for the cafe. It honestly changed his life when his boss decided to employ an extra baker, now he can actually leave when the cafe closes; she picks up anything that Luke doesn’t manage to finish, as well as shaping the pastries to chill overnight and producing a few dozen tarts for the next day. He checks the new orange curd tarts and their customer favourite, the strawberry ones (perfect as always), and slides them off the shelves.

“You were literally declaring your love for me not 10 minutes ago I believe,” Luke says, checking the fridge to make sure he’s not missed anything.

He turns around frowning at the lack of a bitchy response, but Michael’s distracted by something in one of the crates.

“You okay there?” Luke questions.

“Yes,” Michael mumbles, blushing furiously, attempting to pull the crate out of Luke’s view. Luke quickly walks over, interest piqued, and grabs the crate out of Michael’s hands, ignoring his noise of protest.

In the bottom of the crate there’s one of Michael’s favourite chocolate chip hot cross buns, but instead of a cross on top there’s a carefully shaped ‘M’. Luke laughs delightedly.

“He barely knows who you are, hm?” Luke teases.

“Its..” Michael coughs embarrassed. “It’s probably just a friendly thing.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Come off it Mikey, that’s the most obvious display of affection in enriched dough form that I’ve ever seen. Where’s my L eh? Nowhere to be seen.”

“Shut up,” Michael says, but he reaches into the crate and pulls out the bun, wrapping it in some baking paper with utmost care, before walking out into the front of the cafe.

“You’re meant to be stocking the actual breads!” Luke calls after him, grabbing the tarts and following Michael out.

Michael just raises his middle finger at him as he gently slides the wrapped bun into his backpack, still blushing.

Luke laughs and goes to fetch them himself, stacking them in the baskets at the side of the counter, ready to be sold or to be sliced for their toasties.

“Right I’m gonna start on tomorrow’s cake, let me know when you need a hand.” Luke says, turning to Michael who’s absentmindedly filling up the coffee grinder with beans and not looking like he’s heard Luke in the slightest.

“Earth to Michael, come in Michael.” Luke nudges Michael’s arm with his elbow and Michael looks up with a start.

“Oh yeah, sorry. That’s fine,” Michael replies quickly.

“Are you going to be okay out here on your own?” Luke jokes. “You look like you could burn yourself on steam or tip grounds everywhere at any minute.”

“Yes Luke,” Michael replies testily. “Now go and make some cake and let me do my job, I’ll call you when it gets busy.”

This is the way it works with the two of them in the morning, Luke getting a head start on his batters while Michael deals with the dribs and drabs of the early customers. When it gets to 8am and the little cafe starts getting really busy, Luke will step out to the front to help, and they will work seamlessly together; Michael tamping coffee and steaming milk expertly, whilst Luke takes orders and fills bags with breakfast pastries and muffins. After the rush dies down, Luke will retreat back into the kitchen and start the doughs for the next days’ croissants, until lunch time and he’ll be back out to give Michael a hand with slicing bread and toasting sandwiches.

He enjoys the buzz of service with Michael, moving round each other with a well practised air and smiling at customers, his favourite bit is getting glimpses of the joy they get from something that he’s created. He’s most comfortable in the kitchen though; in the sweetly calming clouds of icing sugar and the reassuring warmth of the ovens, most at ease on his own with slightly sticky hands, flour perpetually dusting all of his clothes and with a speaker quietly playing his favourite songs into the vanilla scented air.

“Luke!” He hears Michael’s voice float through the door, just as he’s closing the oven door on 3 sandwich pans of fresh raspberry filled sponge.

“Coming!” He responds, setting his timer for 30 minutes, and pinning it to the top of his apron, before washing his hands and heading out of the door to join Michael. He sees there’s a queue building up and quickly steps behind the counter and smiles at the next customer as Michael pours milk into 3 flat whites in quick succession, a perfect leaf in milk foam appearing in each of them with an artful flick of his wrist.

“Hi, what can I get you?” He smiles at the man who’s just approached the counter.

“A small black Americano to take away, and make it quickly, I’ve already been here 15 minutes and some of us have actual jobs to work you know,” an older man in a suit barks at him, not looking up from his phone.

“So sorry for the delay Sir, we’re very busy as you can see. Can I take a name for that?” Luke grits his teeth but maintains the smile on his face with some effort.

“It’s Richard,” the man says pompously. “And maybe you should employ more staff if you’re this busy.”

“We’ll take your feedback on board,” Luke replies, his smile coming forced. He writes the man's order, and “Dick” in tiny writing underneath on a cup before turning round and putting it on top of the coffee machine, rolling his eyes at Michael as he does so. Michael smirks in return, pressing his lips together to quell a laugh and slotting the portafilter into place under the grinder.

“That’ll be £2.00 please.”

“Actually I think I’d like to speak to the manager about the poor service before I pay,” The man says brusquely.

“She’s not here at the moment unfortunately,” Luke responds, not bothering to maintain the smile.

“Well then I’d like to speak to the most senior person here,” The man continues.

“You’re looking at him,” Luke replies coolly, crossing his arms. He’s never been good at dealing with difficult customers, which is why he prefers being in his quiet domain in the kitchen, but he’s dealt with men like this before, all talk but no action when pushed.

“I think you’re being incredibly rude, you’ve made me wait a ridiculous amount of time for a coffee which is priced extortionately, and now you’re going to be disrespectful to my face,” The man snaps.

“Maybe if people like you just paid and left then nobody would have to wait as long.” A calm voice comes from behind the man.

Luke looks around the rapidly reddening man in front of him to see the source of the voice and sees a man around his age in a suit, with a pair of headphones slung around his neck. Luke tries not to stare but the man is gorgeous, all deep brown eyes the colour of rich dark chocolate ganache, and swooping dark hair, his eyebrows raised and plump lips pursed slightly.

The older man starts spluttering angrily, “And who do you think you are to say something like that to me?”

The younger man just shrugs and continues to look at him calmly, not bothering to elaborate. Luke takes the opportunity to hold out the card machine towards the older man.

“£2.00 please,” He repeats.

The man scowls and taps his card against the machine.

“You can wait at the end for your drink,” Luke says with a dry smile.

The man grunts but moves away to the side with a glare.

“Thanks,” Luke says quietly, smiling at the younger man as he approaches.

The man’s lips spread into a genuine smile and Luke thinks they look even better that way if that were possible. “No worries, I think you were handling it fine, it was just an observation.” His voice is warm and deep, reminding Luke of a buttery caramel sauce.

Luke bites his lip and tries not to blush. “What can I get for you?”

“Flat white, please,” The man says, still smiling at Luke.

“Name?” Luke attempts to hide his face behind the cup he’s just picked up.

“Calum,” He says. “But I think I’ll take that to have in if you don’t mind?”

“Of course!” Luke says quickly, fumbling his pen slightly as he switches the paper cup for a ceramic one, peeling a sticky note so he can write Calum’s order. “Anything to eat?”

“I’m new here, what do you recommend?” Calum says, cocking his head slightly before looking over the display case. “It all looks amazing.”

Luke definitely blushes this time and clears his throat. “Well the pains au chocolat are quite good I think,” he says nervously.

“Let’s go with that then.” Calum smiles again and Luke thinks his legs might have melted into his shoes but he can’t seem to move them to check if that’s true or not.

“Or if you wanted something sweeter you could go with one of the lemon muffins, or the strawberry cupc-”

“Luke,” Michael interrupts from behind him. “Please stop flirting with this nice man and get on with serving the other eight nice people we have waiting?” He begs.

If Luke thought he was blushing before it's nothing compared to the heat he feels in his face now. He turns to Michael and throws him daggers.

“The pain au chocolat sounds perfect.” Calum fishes out his wallet. “And your colleague’s right, I’m being a bit of a hypocrite after telling that twat to hurry up aren’t I?” He pushes a hand through his hair and smiles apologetically.

“No, you’re fine it’s no problem at all,” Luke manages to get out. “That’ll be £5.60.”

Luke lets Calum tap his card on the machine and then busies himself with pulling the pastry out and onto a plate which he places on a tray with a napkin, ready for Michael to put the coffee on when it's been made.

“Why don’t you go and sit down, Luke will bring it over in a few minutes if you’re not in too much of a rush?” Michael suggests, pressing the buttons on the coffee machine and sliding a cup underneath to catch the espresso starting to stream out.

Calum looks bemusedly at Michael for a second before shrugging. “That’d be great, yeah. My office is just round the corner so I’ve got a few minutes. Thanks… Luke.” He says Luke’s name like he’s deciding how he likes the taste of it in his mouth, before quirking his lips once more, and heading to a table in the corner of the cafe.

“What are you doing?” Luke hisses at Michael as he takes the next customer’s order, writing quickly on another cup and fishing change out of the till when the woman hands over a five pound note. “You were just making a point about how busy we were!”

“I’m not telling you to go and sit down with him,” Michael whispers back, only just audible over the sound of the coffee grinder. “But he’s obviously into you, just take his coffee and flirt a bit and then come back and help me!”

Luke takes the most recent batch of completed coffees and distributes them to the waiting customers, smiling slightly when the rude man snatches it off him and storms out on his phone without even checking the name on the cup. He takes another order and passes it to Michael, just as Michael finishes off a flat white with a perfect heart.

“There,” He says in a pleased voice, setting it down next to the pain au chocolat on Calum’s tray. “Now off you go.”

Luke smiles at the woman he’s just served then glares at the tray and at Michael. “What have you put a heart on it for!” He yelps.

“It’s called flirting!” Michael starts steaming another jug of milk.

“He’s going to think you like him not me!” Luke protests.

“Just go!” Michael hisses, finishing up another coffee and handing it to a waiting customer. “Hi, how are you?” He intercepts the next person waiting at the counter before Luke can do anything about it.

Luke huffs noisily and picks up the tray reluctantly. He wouldn’t go over at all, but Calum did help him with the arsehole customer so the least he can do is actually provide the service he came in for and give the man his coffee. He heads over to where Calum is sat, with his headphones on and jiggling his knee as he types something into his phone. He looks up at the sounds of Luke putting his plate down on the table and smiles gratefully. Luke then sets down the coffee next to the plate and tries to tamp down his instinct to run away immediately. Calum looks at the coffee and then up at Luke, eyes twinkling and a blush in his cheeks.

“Hope you have a great day!” Luke squeaks out and speed walks back to the counter.

“So?” Michael asks as he fishes out a croissant and places it in a bag, tapping the end of the tongs on the glass.

“Uh, I told him to have a good day then ran away before he could respond,“ Luke mutters, snatching the bag off Michael and handing it off to the customer in front of him.

“Luke -” Michael starts.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Luke snaps. “Make coffee.”

“Okay boss,” Michael says, barely repressing a giggle.

Luke spends the next 15 minutes regretting every life choice he’s ever made and resolutely not looking towards the corner Calum is sat in, focusing entirely on the rush of customers. At about 8:45 he sees out the corner of his eye that Calum has stood up, brushing a few crumbs off his knee and patting his pockets. Luke turns around and busies himself with writing the next order on a cup for Michael so that Calum can leave without making eye contact with him. When he deems that it’s been long enough, he turns back to the counter, but standing just off to the side is Calum, scuffing a hand up through the back of his hair and smiling shyly at Luke again.

“Just wanted to say, an inspired choice on the pain au chocolat.” He says. “Send my compliments to the chef,”

“Oh erm, thanks, I will.” Luke stutters out.

“Bye, Luke,” Calum says. “Maybe see you tomorrow, and... Hope you have a great day too.” His face breaks out into a wider smile that reminds Luke of the feeling of getting just the right consistency for macaron batter, or a perfectly smooth finish on a cake or the way good puff pastry flakes into the perfect fragments when you cut through a mille-feuille. Or something.

With that Calum slips his headphones back onto his head and leaves the cafe.

“You are a useless sack of shit you know that,” Michael scoffs at him.

“Fuck off,” Luke mutters under his breath. “Two words. Ashton. Irwin.” Michael glares back at him.

They get through the last half hour of the rush as normal, Luke pausing only briefly to pull the sponges out of the oven, and he’s twitching more than ever to get back into the safety of his kitchen with some dough in his hands and the comforting whirr of his mixers.

“Okay I’m all good here, you can go,” Michael smiles at him shaking his head.

Luke basically runs through the doors into the back and inhales deeply. God, he needs to get a grip.

It continues like this over the next few weeks. Calum will come in most mornings, and sometimes he’s in a rush, smiling apologetically as he orders to take away. Most mornings though, he will appear earlier, choose something to eat on Luke’s recommendation and sits at the table in the corner for 20 minutes before complimenting what he’s eaten on his way out. Luke never speaks to him short of suggesting a new pastry or muffin (and maybe he’s also developing new options everyday just to be able to give Calum something else to praise), but he does spend quite a lot of time looking at Calum sitting in his corner, long fingers wrapping around his mug of coffee and mouth chewing thoughtfully on whatever Luke’s provided him with whilst he jiggles his knee to his music.

Luke swears that sometimes when he chances one of these looks over to him whilst he’s serving a customer, Calum is looking back at him, but his brown eyes always blink away as soon as Luke’s catch them.

Predictably, Michael is absolutely insufferable about it.

“Loverboy’s looking at you again,” He smirks, checking the most recent order Luke has written for him.

“Shut up, Mikey,” Luke says petulantly. “He is not.”

“He’s always looking at you, Luke,” Michael laughs. “You’re actually driving me mad, please just ask him out or something, you two have the most obvious thing for each other ever. ”

“We do not, he doesn’t like me like that,” Luke protests. “He could be looking at you for all we know, you were the one who put a heart on his flat white,” he adds, sourly.

“You should see his face drop when he comes in here and you’re already in the back,” Michael responds knowingly. “He looks like someone’s pissed in his coffee every time you’re not here to stammer at him about what cakes you’ve made.”

Luke’s face flames red and he turns his back on Michael deliberately to serve the next customer, as he hears Michael’s suppressed giggles behind him. Look, he knows Michael might have a point and that he could just talk to Calum, but Luke doesn’t really know how, unless he’s talking about pastry or ganache or sponges words just don’t come that easily to him. Especially when faced with someone who looks like Calum does. He sighs and closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them, as if summoned by Luke’s thoughts, there Calum is at the edge of the counter.

“Blueberry muffin was particularly good today,” He says quietly with his usual smile. “Have a good day, Luke.” He gives a small wave and exits the cafe. Luke opens his mouth to say something before he can leave, but nothing comes out so he just closes it again. He kicks the edge of the counter grumpily.

“I’m literally the worst ever,” He groans, spinning round and going through to the kitchen, swinging the door behind him, Michael’s laughs following him through.

Luke is having what he thinks might be the most disastrous day ever. It’s after 5pm, the cafe has just closed and he would normally think about going home soon but Em’s got the day off and he’s not been able to make half of the stuff he needs to for tomorrow. Every ganache he’s attempted has split, he’s burnt one batch of cupcakes and under-cooked another so they’ve sunk in the centre, he’s crystallised his caramel so its unusable, and the chocolate he tempered for the triple chocolate layer cake he has planned has come out mottled and dull. He hates to admit it but the worst part of it was that he didn’t even see Calum this morning, he worked out the front much longer than he normally does in the hope of seeing the other man, but he never turned up. Michael had just raised his eyebrows and given him a knowing grin as he had slumped back into the kitchen at well past half-nine. He sighs at himself as he pushes a hand through his curly hair which he’s had to pull back into a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck, and tips another set of cakes into the bin.

He hears a knock on the back door of the kitchen, and the door opening. A curly brown head appears round the door frame.

“Hi Luke, Is this a bad time?” Ashton says, surveying the disarray before him, bowls and utensils on every surface, half finished cakes and fillings littering the other available spaces.

Luke huffs out a laugh and wipes his hands on his apron. “No you’re fine come on in, just having one of those days. Sorry for the state of it in here.”

Ashton smiles at him and steps into the kitchen, going to the store where he knows they keep the empty bread crates. “No worries at all mate! Oh I brought my flatmate with me, hope you don’t mind. Calum had the day off today and I roped him into helping me do the pick-ups.”

Luke’s mouth drops open as Calum Calum sidesteps into the kitchen and smiles at Luke embarrassed. “Uh, hi?”

Luke just gapes, spatula limp in one hand.

“Just going out the front for a sec, Cal, just need to check something with Michael!” Ashton calls quickly exiting the room. Luke thinks he spots a smirk on Ashton’s face and his eyes narrow in suspicion.

“Uh, sorry for barging in on you like this,” Calum starts, standing awkwardly by the door still. “When Ash said he did deliveries for cafes in the local area I didn’t know he meant yours as well.”

“Missed you this morning,” Luke blurts out, then promptly feels himself turn red, again. Jesus Christ where did that come from? He wants to disappear like, immediately and wonders whether he could shut himself in the walk-in without Calum noticing.

A small pleased smile appears on Calum’s face and he blushes slightly. “I thought it might be a bit desperate to also turn up when I’m not even in the office. But I guess I’m here anyway.”

“Well I’m glad,” Luke says quietly, ducking his head and biting his lip.

Calum’s eyes twinkle at him. “So this is where the magic happens?” He asks, examining his surroundings.

Luke groans. “Don’t look at it like his,” he begs. “I’m usually such an organised worker I promise, I’m just, having a few issues.”

Calum smiles and comes over to stand next to Luke. Luke inhales sharply and thinks that Calum smells like the freshly baked bread in Ashton’s van but also something else, sweet and spicy, like a hot cinnamon and apple cake or a warm speculoos biscuit just out of the oven.

“Can I help with anything while I’m here?” He asks softly, reaching out hesitantly and barely grazing Luke’s elbow. Luke focuses on trying to regulate his breaths which is proving almost impossible with Calum standing so close to him, the feeling of his warm hand through his sleeve and the sight of the concerned smile on his face.

“It’ll be okay I think,” he manages to get out breathily. “Thanks though, that’s very sweet of you.”

“No, I think that’s you,” Calum says quietly, reddening a bit but looking up to meet Luke’s eyes.

He reaches out and brushes a hand gently through an escaping curl on Luke’s face.

“You’ve got a bit of flour here.” He says quietly, tilting his head to one side and twisting Luke’s hair around his finger briefly. “And here,” Calum continues, skimming his fingers across Luke’s cheekbone. “Here too,” he murmurs, stepping even closer to Luke and dragging his fingertips under Luke’s chin and down the side of his neck, leaving them to rest curling slightly into the collar of Luke’s shirt and looking at Luke in the eyes. Luke’s not sure if he can breathe, lost in the gentle stroke of Calum’s hand and the swirling chocolate of his eyes, feeling the pink blush dusting across his skin, left in the wake of Calum’s touch. His eyes flicker down to Calum’s lips, and he sees them curve into a smile, before he leans forward slightly and catches Luke’s own lips in a soft kiss.

“Hm,” Calum murmurs as he pulls away slightly. “You taste sweet too.”

Luke honestly thinks this might be the best moment of his life so far, and slides his hand over Calum’s shoulder to pull him back towards him, but just as he does he hears a scuffling sound from outside the swing door into the main cafe.

“Mikey is that you?” Luke asks suspiciously, stepping away from Calum slightly and turning towards the door. Calum steps back too, but loops an arm loosely around Luke’s waist, fingers playing with the ties of his apron.

“No,” a voice comes through the door.

“Get in here,” Luke says bossily, “You too Ashton I know you’re out there.”

The two of them appear in the doorway, Michael having the good grace to look a little ashamed but Ashton doesn’t even bother, a huge shit eating grin on his face.

“What is going on here?” Luke demands, narrowing his eyes at the pair of them. He’s trying to stay stern but it's proving very difficult when he can feel Calum’s hands skim along his side and him gently nose his shoulder blade as he huffs out a giggle behind him.

“What I think is going on is that you, Lukey, and dearest Cal Pal might have been having a moment?” Ashton smirks at the two of them.

“I don’t know how you two are involved in this but I know you are and I want you to explain yourselves,” Luke says petulantly. He then looks at Ashton and Michael closer and catches sight of their hands clasped, hidden slightly behind Ashton.

“What is going on here?!” Luke repeats again, gesturing at their hands. He sees Michael (and Ashton come to think of it) every day, how has he missed this? Probably because he’s been lost in thoughts of Calum for the last 3 weeks he reasons with himself.

Michael blushes to the roots of his hair and pulls away from Ashton slightly but Ashton just tugs him into his body, curving his hand around Michael's hip and pressing a kiss into his neck before releasing him.

“Well Michael and I started talking the other week, and we found out that by some miracle that the Calum that happened to be coming in everyday to stare at Luke for 20 minutes and leave, was the same Calum who lives in my flat and won’t stop talking about the gorgeous cake maker who works at the cafe round the corner from his office.” Ashton says, laughing, as Calum makes a wounded noise of protest and hides his face in Luke’s shoulder. “And this very Luke that Calum wouldn’t stop talking about happened to be the Luke that I deliver bread to every morning and apparently won’t stop throwing longing glances at Calum from the other side of the counter when he thinks he’s not looking.”

Luke squeaks, and feels Calum giggle behind him, both arms coming round his waist and dropping his chin onto Luke’s shoulder.

“And you two thought you would mastermind a plan then I suppose,” Calum says amusedly.

“Why aren’t you more annoyed by this,” Luke gripes, turning his head to try to glare at Calum but managing only to brush his nose against his cheek.

“Because I got what I wanted out of it, regardless of the method,” Calum says sweetly, and Luke blushes again.

“That doesn’t explain.. This!” Luke gestures at Michael and Ashton, he doesn’t know quite why his brain has fixated on this development when he has Calum basically draped along his back but what has happened in the last 10 minutes has been too much for his brain to handle.

“Well we had to come up with a plan so I asked Ashton if he wanted to go for food,” Michael finally pipes up, a small pleased smile on his face.

“You did?” Luke asks in what he acknowledges is probably quite a rude way but this was a turn of events he was not expecting.

“Well maybe watching you pine so disgustingly made me want to do something about it,” Michael retorts, but there’s no heat in it.

“I knew the hot cross bun would work,” Ashton says solemnly, and Michael jabs him in the ribs with his elbow.

“Okay, I’ve decided that’s enough of the two of you,” Calum says. “Go and scheme elsewhere now please.”

Ashton laughs and salutes them before tugging Michael out of the back door.

“I honestly can’t believe this,” Luke begins, “they think they can just meddle in our business and force us into the same room together and that we’ll just kiss and they can pat themselves on the back for a job well done?”

Calum is quiet beside him and Luke turns to look at him. “Well?”

Calum smiles at him, that one that makes Luke feel like he’s floating in sweet mallow clouds and tips his head slightly to the side. “I mean I’m sorry Luke but that’s exactly how it happened, so yes I suppose they can.”

Luke begins to make a noise of protest but Calum just grabs the front of his apron and pulls him back towards him.

“You can carry this on later, but can we stop talking about Michael and Ashton for one second? I was sort of busy before they came in,” Calum whispers over Luke’s lips.

“Yeah okay,” Luke responds, leaning into Calum and catching his lips back against his own.

Calum pulls away after a couple of minutes and brushes another rogue curl out of Luke’s face. “So about that help you turned down earlier, I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll start cleaning some of these things up and you can get on and do what you do best.” Calum leans in and gives him one last peck before heading over to the sink and starting to run the tap.

Luke smiles, slightly dazed and runs his fingers over his lips, thinking Calum tastes pretty sweet himself, a little bit like the warm vanilla air in his kitchen and a lot like home.

#5sos fanfiction #cake fic #5sos fic #cake #meg fic #this is meg from the past as i have SCHEDULED this as i am busy #ya girl wrote some cake content and it's entirely self-serving #this is probably too long to read nicely on tumblr i should probably sort an ao3 acc #also apologies for any errors im still getting to grips with this and i didn't get anyone to read this for me first #also FUN FACT all the things luke talks about making are my own recipes and things i make 😌 thats how self serving this js

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thirstyforbishiesimagines · 6 years ago

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Can I get some Eugene x mc nsfw where they are baking together but things get a bit more heated?

Here you go, Anon! Hope you like! ＼(º □ º l|l)/

x Mod Bambi

Dessert - Eugene x Reader

* image from LucyDreams, Dangerous Fellows

Word Count: 2,500

Fluffy NSFW

Warning: Minor Profanity (18+)

“Hey Eugene, can you grab me 2 eggs please? They’re on the counter next to the fridge.”

You had invited your blonde-haired friend over to your apartment for take-out and had planned to make cupcakes for dessert. You had always felt that baking could potentially bring two people together… or that’s what you had hoped for anyway.

You couldn’t deny your growing feelings for Eugene; the more time you spent with each other, the more you fell for his wittiness, humour and that snide charm of his.

However, he never really made it clear whether he liked you or not. There was always flirty banter between the both of you but you had always felt… friend-zoned.

Nonetheless, you loved his company and thought a friendship is be better than not seeing him at all.

Eugene carefully gave you the eggs and watched curiously as you cracked one into the bowl single handedly.

“Pfft… Show-off… Let me try!”

You smirked at him and handed him the other. Eugene taps the egg on the edge of the bowl with one hand. Not realising his strength, he ended up smashing it and shattering the eggshells into the mixture.

You giggled at his failed attempt and started picking out the residue from the mixture. Eugene swore under his breath, brows furrowed and annoyed by his lack of baking skills.

“It takes a bit of practice,” You assured him with a gentle smile. He quickly turned his head away trying to hide his frustration and the growing pink blush. “Maybe, you can stir the batter while I get the milk?”

“Sure, whatever.” He said, followed by an exasperated sigh.

You fetched a wooden spoon out of a drawer and offered it to your sulking friend, smiling brightly so that he wouldn’t feel deterred from helping. Eugene snatches the utensil from you and shoved it into the bowl with vexation.

Milk in hand; you slowly poured the creamy liquid into the mixture while Eugene began to stir gently, trying his best not to spill any out the side. You took a glance at him and couldn’t help but smile. He was concentrating so hard at the task with his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. He looked absolutely adorable!

“And that’s that!”

You whipped your head around and beamed vibrantly at Eugene.

The batter was complete. You pick up two tablespoons from the dish rack as you bounce excitedly.

He chuckled, “You get waaay too excited over the most simplest things.”

Returning the sass, you poked your tongue out at him. He smirked and gave you a little boop on the nose with the tip of his index finger.

“Come on… Let’s get these in the oven. I’m hungry again!”

After all the patties were filled with cake mixture, you popped the cupcakes into the oven.

Eugene perched himself on top of the island counter, centred in the kitchen. He observed you eagerly as you cheekily licked a bit of batter off the wooden spoon. The corner of his lips curled up slightly as he scoffed, “You do know that you just ate raw eggs, right?”

You shrugged and passed the utensil to him smugly. Eugene, delighted, began to demolish the rest himself and watched you prepare the frosting happily.

You finished whisking the butter and began sifting the powdered sugar into a new bowl. Once that was done, you switched on the stand mixer and let the machine handle the rest. You hummed cheerfully, bopping to a tune in your head as you adjusted the consistency of the buttercream with splashes of milk accordingly.

Eugene’s gaze upon you softened, affection clear in his eyes. He smiled, watching quietly as you transfer the buttercream into a piping bag.

“Can I taste test?”

Your focus shifted towards him as he hopped off the counter. Your eyes smiled along with your lips, nodding to the eager young man making his way to the frosting.

As Eugene reached out to smear a bit of buttercream on his finger, he suddenly knocks over the bag of powdered sugar, spilling it everywhere. The contents within decorated the air, creating a cloud of sweetness in the kitchen.

You both coughed and spluttered, and then burst out into a hearty laugh from the look of your crush.

Eugene was pretty much covered from head to toe with white powder, a confused expression plastered on his sugary face.

You couldn’t help but tease Eugene about his lack of finesse.

“You really are clumsy! Oh my goodness, look! Even your face is covered in sugar!” You tried your hardest to hide your amusement with your hand over your mouth.

Eugene brushed himself off frantically, making more of a mess in the process. He shoots you an irritated glare, which only made you laugh even more. “You look so cute, though!”

He huffed and then smeared the buttercream from his finger onto the tip of your nose.

You were stunned by the sudden attack on your face, your eyes crossing as you looked at the frosted smudge.

It was now Eugene’s turn to laugh at your expense. He clutched at his abdominals as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Now THAT was cute! I’ve never seen that look on your face!”

He grinned at you, satisfied with his playful act of revenge. You gave him a fake little pout, accompanied with puppy-dog eyes as you crossed your arms against your chest.

“Here.” Still chuckling, Eugene approached you with a giant smile on his face and held both your arms as he kissed your nose with his soft lips. His hot tongue licked away the buttercream, your body quivering from the sensation. You closed your eyes as you take in a sharp inhale, clearly caught off guard by this intimate gesture. However, you find yourself hoping for more.

Realising what he had just done, Eugene pulled his face away from yours, wide-eyed at his impulsive invasion of space. Your face felt heated with embarrassment and the both of you turned away from each other with red cheeks to match.

You peeked up at him and met his amber gaze. Eugene’s eyes were soft, enticing, and his grip on your arms grew tighter. His eyes lingered upon your now parted lips, breath heavy with lust.

You bit your lips unknowingly, eagerly waiting for what would happen next. He leaned closer, tilting his head slightly so your noses were touching on the side. You closed your eyes once more, ready for your lips to meet.

* DING *

Startled, the both of you jump from the sound of the oven timer.

“What the fuck?!” Flustered, Eugene released you from his grasp and quickly stepped away from you, bewildered by the noise.

Your heart pounded in your chest due to the interruption of your stupidly loud oven and also, from your close encounter with Eugene.

“Uurrghh!” You let out an irritated sigh, feeling silly and hopeless as you switched off the oven. Keeping your eyes away from Eugene, you put your mitts on and placed the cupcakes onto a cooling rack. You allowed yourself a quick glance towards his completely stiff form as he rubbed the back of his neck, also avoiding eye contact. You stared back down at the baked goods as questions reeled through your unsettled mind.

Was he just about to kiss you? Will he do it again? Did he really want you that way?

You felt your eyes well up as you tried to calm your aching heart with your hand on your chest.

Does he want to take this friendship further? Why does he keep confusing you? Maybe you should make the move instead?

Suddenly you felt a hand grab onto your arm to spin you around, the small of your back now pinned to the kitchen bench. Eugene covered your eyes with his hand, prohibiting you from seeing his face glow crimson as a blooming rose.

Before you could even process what was going on, Eugene crashed his lips onto yours with urgency and hunger. You returned his kiss with the same fervent passion, moaning desperately into the mouth of the man you long desired. You edged your tongue along the corner of his lips and he welcomed it with his own; a tango forming between your parted lips, between kisses of need.

Eugene gently removes his hand away from your eyes and combed his fingers into your hair. Your fingers gripped onto his shirt, not wanting to let him go.

He finally pulled away, only just, as both your lips stayed connect ever so slightly.

“I don’t think… I can… hold back anymore…” He held his forehead on yours, breathless and waiting earnestly for your response.

You cupped his cheeks and felt the warmth radiating from his boyish face before you whispered softly on his lips, peering up at him intently, “Then don’t…”

This time your kisses were slow and more sensual; kisses that told each other that you craved one another, emotionally and physically.

You wrapped your arms around Eugene’s neck as his hands began their journey down the side of your body. He pressed his body into you, a hand caressing your derriere; you gasp as you feel him harden against your hips.

His lips soon trailed along the contours of your jaw, then down your neck and across your collarbone. He stroked your breast through your t-shirt with his nose and then kneeled down on the hardwood kitchen floor tracing feather-like kisses on your belly.

Eugene kept his amber eyes fixated on you as he unbuttoned your jeans and dragged them down towards your ankles before peppering kisses up your thigh.

“Nnhhgg…” You let out a throaty whine, your head tipped back, biting down onto your lower lip as he encased his whole mouth around your clit through your clothed sex, sucking and lapping attentively. You threw off his signature black cap to run your fingers through his fluffy blonde tresses; he closed his eyes and sighed contently from your touch.

You could feel yourself dampen with sexual excitement as he continued to spoil you with nips and kisses from his overworking lips, a hand exploring the softness of your breast under your bra.

You continued to mewl with pleasure, knees buckling and weak, holding onto the kitchen counter for support.

Eugene was keen to venture further, dying to know what you would really taste like, and to know what type of sounds could come out of that beautiful mouth of yours.

Finally, he slipped your cotton panties off and you gingerly step out of your clothes, your entire body electrified with need.

You’ve always fantasised what it would be like to be with Eugene; to do something intimate, and the look that he gave you confirmed that he felt the same. It was a look of desire, a look of yearning, which replaced his normally moody expression.

He grabbed hold of your legs and lifted you up so your bottom was seated on the ridge of the counter. He was at a perfect height while standing on his knees, face directly in front of your glistening pussy and he inhaled the scent of your arousal, his cock straining in his pants.

Loud moans flowed from your constantly O-shaped lips as Eugene ravenously lapped between your legs; your clit swollen from his stimulating tongue. Pent up with sexual tension, he loosened his pants and began palming himself through his briefs, growling with ecstasy. The carnal vibration of his groans sent a sensation through you and you trembled with pleasure, edging closer to your release.

“Eugene…” You rolled your head forward, his name whispered with sensuality emanating from your voice.

He stood up; dropping his pants to the floor and climbed on top of your heaving form.

Instinctively you widen your legs, wrapping them around his hips as he positioned himself in between, rubbing his rigid shaft all over your wetness.

Foreheads pressed against each other… Hooded eyes locked on to one another… You were both breathless, drunk with desire, you reached up to stroke Eugene’s cheek, showing him that you cherished him and that you wanted more than just this amorous moment.

“Can I have you…?” You whispered softly.

Eyes closed, he leaned into your touch; sighing deeply, attempting to absorb the love that you were conveying. He lightly nuzzled your nose and then slowly slid the head of his cock into you.

Mouth agape, you let out a quiet mewl and then tilted your head up to embrace his lips, tasting your sweetness from his previous exploration.

“Will you have me…?” He murmured back, breaking away from your heady kiss.

You barely answered him as he began to sink further into you, stretching your pussy walls with his girth. Both your lips met once more, tongues tangled wildly.

Eugene made love to you in a slow manner, yearning to please you in a way that would make you want him as his partner, his girlfriend.

You were ready to come at any moment.

Your hand coiled in his hair as you rocked your hips into him, harmonising with his rhythm. Feeling your movements, Eugene began to thrust faster. He kept his pace steady, making sure it was you that would be first to climax; he longed to see your beautiful face change to a state of bliss because of him.

“(Y/N)…” He groaned seductively against your overstimulated lips.

“Eugene…” You sighed as you continued to shower him with kisses.

He repeated your name several times and that was when you felt that knowing sensation blossoming in your core.

Your back arched and you came forcefully, fire blazing throughout body. Eugene, intoxicated, watched you reach your orgasmic high.

No longer able to resist his urges, hepursued his own release; plunging madly into you. The sound of skin slappingechoed through the room as he fucked you vigorously until he came undone, hotsemen coating your insides, making you cry out a second time.

Eugene collapsed on you, his head resting in the crook of your neck, the both of you basking in the aftermath of sex. You stroked his back tenderly and then looked at the mess you had both created in the kitchen. You smiled as you recall Eugene swiping the contents onto the floorboards creating space for your unexpected tryst.

A couple of cupcakes had tumbled off the counter… powered sugar dusted every surface… However, the buttercream was still safe. You soon felt Eugene’s lips brushing against your bare shoulder and he propped his head up to follow your gaze. He chuckled at the sight of the chaos.

“Having you as dessert was surprising… I wouldn’t mind going for seconds.”

You giggled and kissed your new lover softly.

x mod bambi

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nikki-reuclife · 6 years ago

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Wedding Cupcakes

Hi there with the Cupcakes Near Me, Im planing to make three dozen of cupcakes for my youngsters social gathering. The cupcakes may make the kissing a bit messy, but I am sport. When we make sugar cookies I wish to divide this recipe into a number of small bowls and coloration every bowl with a distinct hue of food coloring. Actually, many bakeries around the globe use this cupcake recipe as their go-to vanilla cupcake. Place cupcake liners in muffin tin. I will share some approaches on how to name your cupcake store, some generally used words and a few questions that you should ask your self when selecting a reputation. And a cupcake. This is the reason I am fats. Open the Cupcake Maker lid and pop the crammed cases into the 6 holes. This template comes with over 200 animated slides. My friend’s sister insists on getting the Sprinkle Bomb each time she comes to go to, while my favorite is the purple velvet. Pink velvet cupcakes, what does that imply, you ask?

In addition to you could even have an thought by going by the content material that is obtainable over the website. Since everybody has their very own concept of how buttercream ought to style, I’ve included recipes for the 3 most popular sorts (plus, I just couldn’t assist myself): basic, cream cheese, and meringue. Around the 12 months, there are numerous special deals and circulars that you'll remember of when you enrol for the circular and you're going to get this everywhere in the 12 months. Utilizing a heatproof bowl over a pan of warm water, melt the chocolate, corn syrup and butter, stirring often till easy. That is especially true when using the higher quantity of oil. Wallet Control: At N 500 per cupcake, Honey's Cupcakes doesn't do numerous damage to your wallet. You probably have tasted cupcakes higher than Honey's wherever in Lagos, be a expensive and drop a comment.

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The baby shower cupcakes are the major attraction inside the respective parties, so they must be fabulously designed and made tasty too. There are several fantastic ideas for making and decorating the fabulous cakes. You can follow them and reach your goals in making attractive cakes for that sheer excitement of your guests who are planning to attend your party. If you would like to prepare cupcakes, you must have the subsequent basic baking implements. To begin with, you must have cupcake pans that can in assorted sizes from mini to jumbo. In addition, you should obtain paper-baking cups which can be found in a number of colors and prints. These fluted cup cake liners is likely to make your cupcakes look prettier, and make them easier to release in the pan. These paper liners also make clearing up a piece of cake. Measuring cups and spoons, an electric powered powered mixer, and an oven can also be essential kitchen implements. If you wish to embellish your cupcakes, also put money into icing bags or tubes. If your affordability is lean, you can even use resealable plastic bags to add designs in your cupcakes.

Know what occasion your cupcakes are for. Is it Halloween, 4th of July or maybe Christmas? Depending on what occasion it is will have a big impact on the colours you need to be using. For example, if it really is Christmas, then festive colours will be so as like red and green. Choosing the right colours to fit the occasion will make your cupcakes that bit special. Inspired by Angie Dudley's invention, I decided to begin trying out these sweet treats and before long I was making all sorts of designs and flavour combinations. My friends and family kept asking me for further and I even were able to appeal to several parties which led to increasingly more demand. It is worthwhile mentioning that there are two kinds of cake pops in the marketplace, the baked version, along with the considerably more popular non-baked version. Similarly to muffins, the baked pops are manufactured by making a mixture, then rolling it into cake balls and finally baking them in the oven. However my preference is by using non-baked ones. The non-baked version are produced from a cream based mixture, rolled in to a ball and chilled inside fridge. Finally they may be dipped in a crunchy coating (usually chocolate) and after that decorated using various decoration techniques. It takes a bit practice unless you can perfect your technique and start producing very attractive and delicious looking treats, yet it's not too difficult. So move over macaroons and cupcakes and give cake pops a try... give yourself a break to a little bit of heaven today.

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chardscarf12-blog · 6 years ago

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How to Plan the Perfect Vegan Wedding

This is the final post of our vegan wedding series sponsored by WeddingWire! We used WeddingWire to help us plan our magical wedding, and to discover and keep track of our favorite vendors. Now that the wedding is over, I’m excited to share more of our planning journey with you. Wedding photos by Hailley Howard.

It really has never been easier to plan and execute the perfect vegan wedding! Around the country there are plenty of vegan and vegan-friendly caterers, tons of options for bride and groom fashion, and growing awareness and respect for this way of living. It’s a beautiful time to have a compassionate wedding full of L.O.V.E for all beings!

Planning our vegan wedding was super time-consuming, but (most of the time..) we were able to see it as a fun challenge. Like many couples we were on a tight budget so we needed to get creative and find affordable ways to pull off the celebration. Hopefully this guide will make it easier and even more fun for you to plan your dream vegan wedding!

VENUE

We found our beautiful venue, The 1909 Topanga Canyon, on WeddingWire. I used the site to look at tons of venues in the Los Angeles area. It’s super easy to search for nearby vendors using your zip code.

The mostly outdoor venue, located just north of LA, is everything we dreamed of. It’s surrounded by lush green trees, and has a beautiful interior space for getting ready and a large terraced banquet room for the party. We were shocked to discover that it was in our price range, and we even got an off-season discount.

One major thing that made this venue work for us was that they allow you to bring in any caterer to do the food and cake. This allowance is crucial when planning the perfect vegan wedding. So many venues require you to use their “preferred” vendors for everything from the flowers to the food. You’ll be hard pressed to find an amazing vegan caterer on these lists of “preferred” vendors, so look for venues that allow you to bring who you want.

Watch our wedding video to see more of our gorgeous venue!

CATERING

If you remember my blog post & video about vegan wedding catering, you know I wanted your vote for which caterer we should choose. The fan favorite (and our favorite) was vegan celebrity-chef Lauren Von der Pool, and oh my did she swerve that food! Our guests, only a handful of whom were vegan, got up for seconds and thirds. No leftovers to take home!

On the all-vegan menu was:

Superfood Shitake Kale Salad

Southern Fried Crispy Chicken served with Mumbo Sauce

Caribbean Red Bean Stew

Crispy Potato Salad topped with micro greens

African Street Corn – Eritrean berbere spiced corn coated in a buttery garlic aioli

Coconut Braised Greens – tender greens stewed in a buttery coconut milk miso broth

Sweet Potato Purée – organic white sweet potatoes married to cardamom

Chicken & Waffles

Everything was so delicious!

Serving dinner buffet-style was a money saver for us. Our venue required us to use their servers, so Lauren didn’t have to hire her own. The guests loved the buffet because it gave them an easy way to help themselves to more of Lauren’s incredible vegan soul food. During your caterer search be sure you understand pricing based on how the meal will be served. You should also keep in mind any serving requirements the venue may have.

In Los Angeles there are plenty of vegan caterers, but in some cities you may have to hire a non-vegan company to prepare a vegan meal for your guests. Make sure to schedule a tasting with each potential caterer you interview. Find out if they’ve done vegan weddings in the past, and ask for a referral from previous vegan clients. If you’re set on having a vegan company cater your wedding, but can’t find one near you, consider asking a vegan restaurant or food truck to cater.

CAKE

A wedding isn’t complete without the perfect romantic dessert! My husband Maxx and I wanted a beautiful classic wedding cake, and hired Krysten Littles of Baby Love Sweetery to make it. You met Krysten in our vegan catering & wedding video! She’s the sweetest, and so are her creations! For the wedding she made us a 2 tier chocolate salted caramel cake with pleated buttercream icing. Isn’t it gorgeous! My only regret is not saving myself a slice for the next day. Our wedding was nearly 3 months ago, and I still think about that cake almost daily.

If you cannot find a vegan cake maker for your wedding, you may have to ask a non-vegan bakery to make your vegan cake. Be sure to have a taste test, and get referrals from their previous vegan clients. Don’t forget to look at surrounding towns. Cake makers will often travel to deliver your cake, as long as it’s not too far away.

ALCOHOL

Though most alcoholic beverages are vegan, the process of making them may not be. This is especially true for wine. For example, though it doesn’t end up in the finished product, many wines are filtered with fish bladder. We wanted to make sure that all of our beverages were vegan too, so we relied on the website Barnivore to point us the right direction. Barnivore is a site that compiles a list of alcoholic beverages and whether or not they’re vegan. I admit, I cannot remember which white wine and rosé we ended up picking up. For red wine we went with Cocobon, a red blend from California. For champagne we chose Moët. We also served kombucha from Suja, and an alcoholic kombucha from Booch Craft (my drink of choice the whole evening because it never gives me a hangover).

Bringing your own alcohol will save you hundreds or thousands on your big day. Our venue allowed us to bring our own alcohol, but it had to be served by a licensed bartender. We hired a bartender through the website Tend, and they brought the ice. My dad picked up the booze, cups, and napkins a couple days before the wedding. The venue already had a bar area, but bartenders will bring their own if need be.

WEDDING PLANNER

We hired Michelle Newson of Onederland Events to be our wedding planner, and she was one of a kind wonderful! (She was another WeddingWire discovery.) Since Maxx and I both work full time we really appreciated someone else keeping our planning timeline and agenda in order. She helped us make sure we had everything we needed for the wedding (including things like table linens that we certainly would have overlooked), and was there to coordinate on the day of. On our wedding day all I had to do was get ready with my family and walk down the aisle. I wasn’t stressed at all thanks to Michelle. I did a blog post to help you decide if you should hire a wedding planner for your vegan wedding. Read it here.

CLOTHING

Finding the perfect wedding dress and clothing-plus-accessories for Maxx was probably the most time consuming activity on our planning list. It was important to us that our clothing be vegan, but also affordable, yet still stylish and good quality. We also didn’t want to support the many unsavory practices that are prevalent in the apparel industry, from unethical labor practices to disregard for the environment.

Our solution? Second hand. I found my wedding dress on Poshmark (an online used clothing marketplace) for $230. It was in perfect condition, but was too long. My alterations cost $170.

For the vegan groom you should also consider buying second hand. Not only is it less expensive, but it’s the more sustainable, earth-friendly option. Maxx also bought his suit on Poshmark and then had it tailored to fit like a charm. All in all he spent less than $200. Men’s suits are often made with wool, so keep that in mind, vegan groom. Look for a suit that is made out of an animal-friendly fabric like cotton, linen, or something synthetic.

Read more about finding the perfect vegan wedding dress, plus clothing and accessories for the groom in my previous blog post.

FLORIST

Our lovely florist was Susan of Eventive Moments. We found her on WeddingWire. What we loved so much about the venue was its natural beauty. Susan understood that and agreed we didn’t need too much extra brought in. She worked with our budget, and gave us great tips to save money on this very important decor.

Tip #1: Choose local seasonal flowers. Just like produce, local and seasonal is always more affordable. Plus it looks fresher and more alive! Rather than having specific flowers you must use, have ideal colors. Your florist can suggest flowers that are in season, and that fit your color scheme. Keep an open mind, you may discover your new favorite flower!

Tip #2: Rework your arrangements. During the cocktail hour our wedding planner and her assistant transferred the flowers from the arch and the aisles to the dinner tables and cocktail area. You can pay the florist to stay until after the ceremony to rearrange the flowers, or ask your coordinator to do it.

Tip #3: Rent your flower arrangement vases and vessels. You will probably save money, and you’ll also eliminate waste. Who needs 25 vases after the wedding? If you choose not to rent your vases, consider choosing ones you can give to guests as party favors when they leave. Choose eco-friendly containers that can be reused. I love the idea of using simple canning jars for this!

GOODIE BAGS

One thing I didn’t do a good job with was distributing our goodie bags. I was just so consumed with everything else that I forgot to arrange a spot where guests could grab them as they left the venue. Still, I managed to find some great goodies to share. Maybe I’ll save them for another event in the future.

Goodie bags are just so nice to give to your guests as they leave the wedding, or at a pre-wedding event. I gave out most of our goodie bags after the group hike we did the day before the wedding.

What was inside?

Moisturizing lip balm by Shea Yeleen, a skincare company that makes fair trade and cruelty-free shea butter products in women-owned cooperatives in Ghana

Bath salts by Peau Veoutee

Suja kombucha and green juice

Alter Eco coconut clusters

On our wedding day, it felt so good to see all of our planning come together, and I’m very happy to be able to say it was a 100% vegan event. Watch the video for more about our planning efforts, and if you’re planning a wedding yourself (or have in the past), let me know in the comments!

Source: http://sweetpotatosoul.com/2018/07/how-to-plan-vegan-wedding.html

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