A year ago today I had the great honor of standing by my sister's side up at the altar to witness her commit to a man that I can now proudly say is my brother-in-law. I held back the tears (we'll I attempted to) and smiled whole-heartedly in the deepest sense of gratitude because life is just so so good.
It's crazy how fast a year can go by. To think of the chaos you feel leading up to such a big day (and for goodness sake, I wasn't even the Bride). But truly, being so involved in my sister's wedding and guiding her on what the best choices were for her and her fiance. Whew, it can get intense. BUT in saying that I truly wouldn't have it any other way. <3 I love the wedding industry so it was an honor she even asked me to help plan the day out.
One of the perks of being the Bride's sister was I got a free wedding gig. Now, in all honesty, she got the family discount (aka Free services) but it was exciting for me to be given the complete freedom to design a dessert station that didn't have too many restrictions tied to it. The main thing the Bride and Groom communicated to me was that they didn't want a wedding cake, instead, they liked the idea of serving cupcakes. I love this idea! I still have a spot in my heart for the traditional wedding cake but at the same time, I don't know many people who'd turn down a cupcake. In addition to the cupcake plan, I knew the Groom had a gluten allergy so I wanted to incorporate an alternative that he could enjoy.
As I've mentioned in some past posts I'm a huge fan of Flavor Cupcakery so I knew right off the bat they'd be the perfect fit for supplying the bite-sized desserts. Not only do they offer gluten-free and vegan cupcake options they have some of the best French Macarons in town. They offer tons of flavor options and I knew the quality was top notch.
I recommended mini cupcakes because truthfully who doesn't like something in miniature size?! They weren't serving a slice of cake anyway so going the extra mile and offering mini cupcakes seemed like the right idea. It allows guests to feel like they've haven't over indulged and the couple can have more fun offering lots of fun flavors that fit their personalities. Its a win-win for all.
For my sister's wedding, we choose pretty traditional Fall flavors. Her wedding was in peak #pumpkinspice season after all. Flavors like pumpkin, salted caramel, and the snickerdoodle were all obvious choices. But we threw in some surprise flavors that I knew would be a huge hit. French Toast with bacon, PB Tandy Cake....yes, yes, and yes!!!
The mini cupcakes and French Macarons served as the main dessert for the wedding but a nice touch was adding in some candy for guests to take with them for the ride home. The wedding was held at the Linganore Winery so incorporating two large wine barrels tied the look together. There was just enough room on top of each wine barrel to place some jars of the B&G's favorite candies.
Some of the candy selections made were caramels, malt balls, prosecco gummy bears, york peppermint patties and the most delicate and elegant sparkle lollipops you ever did see. I will be doing a blog post soon on my friend Andrea who owns Sweet Caroline Confections. She's based out of CO and handmakes the most stunning sparkle (and edible) lollipops EVER. She made these custom Fall colored gold and orange lollipops for my sister's wedding and they were beautiful!
Check out some of the images below by the FABULOUS photographer Lindsay Anne of LA Birdie Photography.
Vendor Love
Photography: L.A. Birdie Photography
Candy & Dessert Bar: Truly Scrumptious Candy & Dessert Bars
Lollipops: Sweet Caroline Confections
Cupcakes & French Macarons: Flavor Cupcakery
Florals: Eventi Florals
Ladder Stand: White Glove Rentals
Venue: Linganore Winery
