in tandem

In order to recap last weekend’s wedding, I feel that I really need to summarize the bride and groom. Here are a few adjectives that describe who they are: Marketer. Hombrewer. Jewish. Natural. Crafty. Ohioan. Theatrical. Bicycler. Laid back. Original.

Keep those in mind.

Ok, now onto the wedding.

Sunday was one of those perfect September days that make you thrilled for fall but also nostalgic for summer.  Not a cloud or hint of humidity in the sky. The grounds of the John J. Audubon Center  made for an excellent natural setting. The couple crafted an original ceremony from beginning to end. It included Jewish traditions such as the huppah and the breaking of the glass as a shout out to the bride’s background. They wrote their own vows and friends read select text from the couples’ favorite poems & books. They had a custom made Ketubah, a Jewish marriage contract shown below, which mimicked a bicycle. The laid back ceremony was accented by a circle of guests seated in chairs and coordinating blankets to observe.

After the breaking of the glass by the groom, guests made their way to the unique barn for cocktail hour. We enjoyed homebrewed beer that was made with love by the groom. The place cards were hand crafted name cards that were pinned to a clothesline complete with photos of the couple on another clothesline above.

And I almost forgot the West Philly Orchestra that played throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour and part of the reception including the horah, another Jewish tradition. The sound of horns brought a little bit of soul, a little bit of funk and a lot of original entertainment to the wedding.

The reception was held in a pavilion just up a trail from the barn and adjacent to the ceremony site. It was donned in purple and wheat accents as that was the color scheme of the event.

The newlyweds made a theatrical entrance on their own tandem bike complete with a ‘just married’ flag! What a fun surprise.

The crafty details that went into this entire wedding were more than I’ve ever seen before. DIY at it’s finest! Let’s see… I mentioned the homebrew beer that was drank well into the night. Each beer had a clever name and description.  they were named for the bride and groom's families.  Even the toast was with a craft champagne beer by the brewmaster groom.

Then there was the cake display. It was actually a cake buffet of about a dozen types all made by friends. Each cake donned a little flag that stated the flavor and baker. The center cake was topped with a tandem bike which was cut by the bride and groom. I'm sorry to say that I didn't sample ANY of these because I was having too much fun on the dance floor.  How did I do this to myself again?

Then there was the homemade favors…they were a little bit of heaven in the form of chocolate and peanut butter called “buckeyes”, a shout out to the groom’s Ohioan roots. They were packaged complete with a poem by the bride about the buckeye and how it relates to the couple.

A DJ took over after a gourmet barbecue dinner and dancing ensued. For those interested in other forms of entertainment, there was a photobooth to cheese it up in, games of cornhole to play and trails of the Audubon to explore.
All and all, it was a laid back yet detail oriented event that truly captured both the bride AND groom’s personalities. These people seriously know how to throw a party!  Thank goodness I am friends with them.

Stay tuned for the next post related to the marketing that surrounded this wedding. What do I mean by that? You will see! Here’s a hint…branding.

-The perennial bridesmaid

yum

I went to a tasty wedding this weekend. It was at Rivercrest Golf Club in Phoenixville, PA. I had heard a ton of mixed reviews about the food at this place so I was anxious to experience it. Let me tell you, all the food was phenomenal. Turns out they got a new chef and he did them good!

Boy, was I full when I left there.

It started out with the cocktail hour. Well it actually started with the nuptials poolside which was really very lovely.  The bride looked beautiful with her birdcage veil and Maggie Sottero dress. Now onto food... Cocktail hour had the norm ample cheese table. Beyond that there were enough stations to make a meal out of. There was the oh-so-trendy mashed potato bar. Have you seen this yet? They served 3 kinds of mashed into a martini glass. Your choice. Then you go to town with toppings. I’m not sure who started this trend. It is popping up at many cocktail hours. It’s cool but heavy for so early in the evening. I totally filled up on it anyway.

Moving over to the scallop station, yes scallops & shrimp! They were being cooked right in front of us. If given the choice when planning a wedding between scallop station & mashed potato bar, I would go scallops all the way. But that’s just me!

What else? 2 bars at either end. A string quartet. More hot food stations with the old standards like m favorite pigs in a blanket. A Chinese food station with wontons, dumplings, egg rolls. Mmm. Needless to say, I tried it all! By the time we sat down for dinner, I could barely eat the filet and crab cakes that were cooked to perfection.

Enough about the food, the wedding itself was a classic affair. The color scheme was black and white with hints of damask patterns and hot pink. Even the cake had a damask pattern iced on it. The cake was great and made onsite. Oops, I brought it back to food!

-The perennial bridesmaid/ foodie

sneaky

I know this is a wedding blog and all but once in awhile I like to deviate to what comes post wedding…life, birthdays, family but I’m still talking parties! Where am I going with this?

Cake.

A couple of years ago we threw a sneaky surprise birthday party for my pops. We pulled out all of the stops at his retro bowling themed party. If you could make it, I hope you liked it! This was a fun one to plan.

Back to the cake.

It was a magnificent, enormous Chuck Taylor sneaker! My father has worn these shoes day in and day out for as long as I’ve known him and well beyond that. It was only right to include this in his grand birthday. By the way, he only wears the ivory converses.

With no further ado, the cake…

Bringing it back to weddings…this is an excellent option for a groom’s cake at your wedding. Especially if your groom is anything like my dad. And if he is, good luck!

-The perennial bridesmaid

icing on the cake

In an era when reality televison and cooking shows have combined to produce offspring such as Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, it is no wonder that wedding cakes are huge again. Pun intended. Cakes don’t seem to be an area where couples cut corners, layers or tiers for that matter.

By now you have probably heard about Chelsea Clinton’s lavish wedding last weekend. Her wedding cake alone was allegedly nine tiers, 500 pounds and 4 feet tall. It took 9 people to put it together! Did I mention that it was gluten free?

My friend is having a wedding cake buffet at her September reception. This entails about a dozen friends all putting their best cake forward to offer a tasty variety for dessert. Each cake will be displayed on its own cake stand and will be neatly labeled with the type of cake and any necessary dietary info. Yum! I will be sure to sample and follow up on that cake buffet.

Another cake I’d like to feature was one that we had thought up for a bridal shower a couple of years ago. The bride was wearing a cherished pair of blue Manolo Blahnik shoes on her wedding day. (Carrie was actually wearing these in white when she married Big for you Sex & the City fans.) To make a long story short, the shoes were hard to find in the right shade of blue and size that the bride wanted. The bridal party all knew what the shoes meant to her so we decided to preview them at her shower…in cake form. She loved it! A very skilled baker put this together.

Now I’m hungry.

-The perennial bridesmaid

blues

Bridal blues. You heard of ‘em? After months of wedding plans, tastings, fittings & trials comes the main event and then? The honeymoon? Some brides experience a sort-of depression known as the bridal blues once their wedding is all said and done.

I think I am experiencing bridesmaid blues, if there is such a thing. I’m feeling quite melancholy. Maybe it’s because I’m left here in the rain with no exotic vacation.

I think it is simply because last weekend’s wedding was just so spectacular that I can’t believe it’s actually over! I keep remembering the delicious food and wishing I went back for just one more seafood cake or actually sampled the pasta station. Perhaps I should have had another lemony, signature cocktail affectionately named the Spanktini, a shout out to the groom. I regretfully never made it to the dessert buffet either because I just couldn’t pull myself off of the dance floor. I didn’t even taste the chocolate on chocolate 3-tier, square, monogrammed wedding cake that the bride & groom comically toasted and fed themselves instead of the messy cake smash on one another.

Bummer. It must have been a good party because I don’t miss out on chocolate for much.

The weather turned out to be just right for late March. It was the kind of early spring day that brings the deer out of the woods, the daffodils up and the geese flying…and they did. All of nature and 150 guests circled around the veranda at the Manor House to watch as my brother and sister-in-law exchanged their written vows. The ceremony was so very them. Sweet and nice injected with bits of humor. It was like watching a segment of their comical, everyday banter except they were in formal attire…and there was a photographer capturing every move.

The music was on point as well. Jason Mraz and John Mayer really can create a modern feel at an otherwise traditional outdoor ceremony. And who knew Slick Rick, Beyonce, Rolling Stones, Lil Jon, Dion, U2 & Guns ‘N Roses could be such a good time at the same time at the reception! Did I mention Guns ‘N Roses? Playing the air guitar to Sweet Child of Mine with the groom as we did as kids is definitely a fond memory. I’m just nervous to see the video. Swinging my hair around like Slash might have been cute when I was 7 but perhaps not so much as an adult in a gown. Time will tell.

Everyone looked fabulous.  Especially the bride in a stunning, rouched waste, v-neckline gown with an ornate flower in her hair.  Even my dad, with 2 left feet, had a way with his classic tuxedo. His dressy Chuck Taylor’s really put a spin on the threads that only he can.

Now that the vows have been exchanged; the toasts have been made; the feast has been had; and the newlyweds are on the beach somewhere; it’s time for this bridesmaid to shake the blues! One down, how many more to go this year?

-The perennial bridesmaid