We've all heard them-- the funny horror stories about year old anniversary cake tiers that have been frozen awaiting the milestone first year celebration!

A friend, Brenda, and her husband Paul lived in a small apartment with an even smaller freezer...yet they lovingly cherished their anniversary tier giving it over half of the coveted space within. After a year of sacrificing room for frozen groceries, they removed their wedding memory from the freezer to begin the thawing process. Several hours later with family and friends assembled to assist in their celebration, it was time to "cut the cake." Brenda and Paul each took a portion of their cake knife handle and began to reenact the cutting ceremony from their reception a year prior. Much to their dismay, however, the knife would not pierce the cake. Try as they might, the knife blade could not slice through the cake. Smearing away some of the frosting to explore what lay beneath, they were shocked to find that the cake consisted of a styrofoam dummy cake! Friends and family shared rolling laughter until the 2nd anniversary over that one!

At my own first anniversary party, our wedding cake top layer was prominently displayed in the restaurant where my parents hosted a dinner for us. As we shared dinner with our guests, we continually kept hearing this indescribable plopping noise. After it persisted for some time, my friend Mary Jo, discovered the source. Pointing at our anniversary tier, it was evident that while we enjoyed our dinner, the icing had been plopping from the sides of our cake as it thawed, and was now laying in a mud puddle around the base of our cake.