I absolutely loved working on this wedding. The bride and groom are very special to me. With all of my heart, I wanted to be sure they enjoyed everything detail to their heart’s desire. This reception is also very memorable since the desserts served more than 500 in attendance, and was the largest event I had catered up to that date. With all of the love and details, and because I baked alone, this would be a job that would require more prayer than usual. Everything worked out for the best and when my work was done, I felt amazing – like I had just climbed a mountain!
It is wonderful look back on this Mili’s Sweets work that I and catered at the Saint Margaret Parish in Oceanside. This was also a gift that I gave to my friends, Susan and Chris Granzella.
The bride surprised her groom and guests with my “Lumberjack” groom’s cake. It’s something I started making for my husband many years ago. He’s not a huge fan of dessert, but he loves bacon and breakfast. It’s a vanilla-custard cake with freshly crisped bacon folded in, topped with maple butter cream and more crisp bacon. There was a long line to get a taste of this cake, and it was the first dessert of the evening to vanish. I was a guest at the wedding too. I thought it was funny when I heard someone remark “she must have found that idea on Pinerest.” I chuckled a bit and remembered that I started making this particular recipe for my husband before Pinterest even existed! (I must be getting old.)
The bride chose the colors and the floral. Her friend put all of the arrangements together, with the use of some of my jars and vases. They were gorgeous and really set the tone for very welcoming and beautiful tables. I was so thankful since the flowers really tied the tables together and made them beautiful.
Then there was the wedding cake! I incorporated their floral choices and the piping detail they requested for the center of each tier. Those were the days, when I did multi-tier cakes, and covered them in fondant! I remember working quite hard to perfect the way I would create that buttercream details in white, onto the ivory. I was so pleased when it finally worked!
I’ve made pie buffets for my own family gatherings, but this was the first one I catered for a wedding reception.
It was important that the dessert buffet be untouched, until the cake cutting ceremony. With this many guests and with the number of children present, we thought it was a good idea to have a polite and friendly reminder.
To make the labeling, I printed out the menu and used punch-cutters from Martha Stewart, along with some of the pre-cut pieces her line offers.
The family worked very hard, to have handmade touches throughout the reception. The groom was in charge of building the beautiful backdrop for the dessert tables. There were four, 8′ tables needed to set all of the cookies, cupcakes, groom’s cake, main wedding cake and pie buffet.
This was such a joy and a wedding I will always remember.
