Weekend Recap - A Wedding :)

Wow. That's the only way I can sum up this weekend and the three weeks leading up to it!

Wow.

I've got the first wedding of the year checked off my list and I couldn't be more pleased/excited/exhausted. It makes me never want to do another dessert table/itch to do another one as soon as possible - and I suppose that's the crazy thing about people who love this kind of life. It's a love/hate kind of thing. Lots of work, but most definitely lots of reward too. And there's nothing in the world that makes me happier than making other people happy!

So what did I do?

Well really not much, in the grand scheme of things. I met with AG and her daughter (the bride) a while back and we talked about likes and dislikes - lucky for me they were super flexible and really trusted me to do what I thought best (which, I can't thank them enough for).

So here's what we came up with:

Maple Pecan Bars

Peanut Butter Bars

Lemon Sable Cookies

Financiers

Salted Caramel Apple Pies

Black Bottom Oatmeal Pies

White Cakes (store bought)

Macarons (store bought)

and a Mint Chocolate wedding cake! (YUM!)

Pies were definitely the way to go with this outdoor reception! We did have a few cakes, but I was able to rest easier knowing that not everything on the table was going to be melting in the sun! And these two pies are my absolute favorite to make and to eat!

I had started the pies weeks ago - slicing my apples and freezing them. Making all of the pie crusts, making and freezing the pecan bars and PB&J bars, and making the lemon sable cookie dough.

The day before the wedding, I was able to bake off the cookies, finish the pies, make the financier batter, and do the wedding cake.

And finally, the morning of the wedding I baked the financiers (which have to be done last minute - these things are the very best when they're crispy on the edges) - and baking 400 took a lot longer than I thought it would, so that brought me to the venue with just enough time to put everything together. It was a close one - but these things just have a way of coming together. And part of me thinks I work best under pressure. 

So, this was the final product:

Looking at some other dessert tables I didn't like any that were too jam packed or ones that were too sparse, so similar to the table at Sheppy's wedding, I did some burlap boxes and we used other things to give certain things some height to keep it casual and inviting.

For the focal point (I guess you can call it that) they had found a gorgeous lantern - so I had baby's breath and the blush colored flowers spilling out of it and kind of repeated that theme throughout the table. I did the financiers (those little tea cakes up front) - in blueberry, caramel pretzel, white chocolate raspberry, and pistachio! Solid flavor choices by a bride and MOTB that know what's up!

The left side of the table. I know you can't really sense the tension in this photograph, but I was stressing about that sunlight. I just kept my fingers crossed all afternoon that the buttercream on the cake and in the macarons would hold up!

So I deliberately put the items that could bake all day long in the sun on the right side of the table - where the sun was unapologetically doing its thang. Go ahead, bake my day. Haha. Sorry.

And last, but most certainly not least - the beautiful bride and groom cutting into their mint chocolate cake!

Congratulations and thank you thank you thank you for letting me be a part of your day!