Cake! (Photo by Zachary Stephens Photography)

Vegan wedding cakes are really expensive. (Heck, all wedding cakes are expensive.) They’re also a giant, frosting-covered pile of wedding stress waiting to happen. So, to avoid the logistical nightmare of getting a vegan cake to my in-laws’ Vermont farm (or hiring someone local who wouldn’t cross-contaminate the vegan batter with eggs and dairy), Jeremy and I decided that homemade cupcakes were the way to go. To make sure we had enough, I gave the recipes to my wonderful mother-in-law, who mobilized a small army of friends and family to help with the baking. (Thanks, guys!)

The Ladies of Frosting (Photo by Melissa Heller)

On the day before our wedding, the cupcakes began to arrive. Luckily, so did my friends. After the requisite frosting fights and powdered sugar hand-on-butt prints, we got down to business, decorating about 200 cupcakes in one fell swoop. (We kicked Jeremy out of the kitchen, and sent him to the bar with his pals.)

“I’m going to make this face in EVERY picture!” (Photo by Melissa Heller)

I don’t know how I managed to sleep at all that night, considering the amount of frosting I ate. (You know, for quality control!)

Cupcakes (Photo by Zachary Stephens Photography)

Behold the finished product. While they certainly weren’t as perfect as a professionally made cake, it didn’t matter one little bit. I had so much fun decorating with my friends, that I wouldn’t have traded them for all of the fancy wedding cakes in the word!