It’s Wedding Season?

Ah yes, the sun is shining.  The birds are hiding.  There is frost on the car windows.  Yes, it’s wedding season…I mean wedding planning season.  Sure, you get those brides who insist that a winter wonderland is the perfect backdrop or the grooms who forget that an autumn anniversary could fall on rivalry weekend, but the majority of weddings take place between May and August.  This is a fact I made up, then decided to research…and, oh yeah, it’s a fact. As sure as Ares took out Adonis in a jealous rage, it’s true. That being said, I had an opportunity to hold my first tasting with a couple tying the knot this summer.

They wanted to try a couple of different flavors, so a couple of different flavors are what they got.  Six to be exact: raspberry, raspberry with custard, raspberry ganache, mocha, mocha with ganache and raspberry with ganache.  At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to present this.  I was thinking mini cakes, each having a different filling, but let’s be honest, I don’t do “mini.”  I ended up making a 6″ round 4 layers high and a 9″ round four layers high.  I decided to tier it just like a wedding cake…and that’s when my creative juices started flowing.

Since I have not made a wedding cake before, I decided to decorate this one a little.  I took some ribbon and wrapped it around the bottom of each tier.  Then I took colored sugar pearls and made a triangular  pattern all around each of the tiers.  To add just a little bling, I took a strand of oblong pearls and draped it around the tops of each ribbon. I headed out to find some flowers to finish it off with, but I ran into a snag…I LIVE IN GAFFNEY!  If Bi-Lo and Wal-Mart are your best sources, just forget the flowers!  I did find a “florist” but she didn’t have any flowers (and that’s the reason for the quotes around florist).  So I came home, popped the tops off some fake flowers and presto, I had my cake toppers.

So then it was time to meet with the couple, and for some reason I got nervous. At the time I wasn’t sure why, but I think I narrowed it down to three reasons.  Number one.  This is my first time putting my culinary skills on display for a bride-to-be.  I mean brides can be daunting. What if this is the centerpiece of her wedding?  I mean this one meeting could ruin the whole day.  Ok, it wouldn’t, but the thought crossed my mind.  Second, outside of church and my wife, I don’t have many conversations with adults.  My deepest conversation this week was my daughter saying “Dada” and I replied “Yes?”…we did this for five minutes straight, and we are now closer as a result.

Finally I had to transport the cake. Every time I put a dessert into the car, whether it is a pie, a cheesecake or anything else,  I have flashes of some idiot pulling out in front of me and my dessert flying out the window and hitting the other driver in the face, Stooges style.

Well, I found the apartment just fine and the meeting went well.  I have some things to work with as far as what to ask and what to expect, but overall it was a pleasant experience.  A big thank you goes out to the bride and groom-to be…and oh yeah, here is the cake.