Elegant Woodsy Reception

Hello again and welcome back to wedding blog week! My apologies for dropping off for a couple of days after that first post. We’ve had a busy week! Anywho, Monday I began sharing about the wedding ceremony, flowers, and decor. Today’s post is all about the food! As I mentioned before, my daughter’s senior piano recital reception offered the perfect opportunity to try out some ideas before the wedding.

Wedding Reception Menu

Charcuterie Cups

Cheese Straws

Fresh Fruit

Groom’s Chocolates

Bride’s Southern Cream Cake

Hot Tea: Scottish Caramel and Decaf Garden Blend

Sweet Tea and Fruit Water

Charcuterie Cups

Salami/pepperoni/olive skewers

Prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella

Cheddar/Colby jack/blueberry picks

Brie wedges

Dried figs and apricots

Bagel chips

Lavash crackers

My husband admitted to me the other day that he got tired of hearing the words “charcuterie cups” leading up to the wedding, ha-ha! And you know what? So did I! Let’s just say that I now know how to pronounce and spell C-H-A-R-C-U-T-E-R-I-E! Not only was there a LOT of talk about those fancy cups and what would go in them, but we also prepped all the components ourselves–the meat/olive stewers, the cheese/blueberry picks, and the brie wedges.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to assemble them on the day of the wedding, so we had everything ready to go in the cups, and our florist’s husband, who helps her with weddings, put everything in the cups for us that morning. What a relief!

I ordered these 12-ounce fast-food cups from Amazon, and they worked great! My daughter and I went to Costco about a month before the wedding and purchased meats and cheeses and other goodies for the cups that could be frozen or kept in the pantry until the week of the wedding.

Two things I did to bump up the cups to a more professionally catered look were adding monogram labels and topping the cup with sprigs of rosemary. I printed labels at home with a monogrammed “B” (for their last name) and an olive wreath. Easy peasy. I was planning to replant my garden rosemary this year with younger plants so I went ahead and purchased 10 pots so we’d have plenty for the wedding and for our herb garden.

We served the charcuterie cups at different heights along the buffet table for some interest. Originally, I was planning to include the cheese straws in the cup but decided they were too fragile, so we served them separately. I’m very happy with how they looked lined up in this long rectangular tray. There is a special recipe and a story to go along with the cheese straws, so I’ll save that for another post.

The cups were full of goodies and one friend even commented that it was “the cup that kept on giving”, LOL! Guests could eat right out of the cup or spread the contents on a plate. Below is a sample plate.

I brought my two large round charcuterie boards for the fruits and chocolates. They are very large and heavy duty so they hold a lot! I got them at Target about a year ago.

We kept the fruit simple with strawberries and multicolored grapes. In lieu of a traditional chocolate groom’s cake, the couple opted for an assortment of decadent chocolates! Again, we hit Costco in advance and purchased salted chocolate caramels, dark chocolate blueberries, and mascarpone truffles. The mascarpone truffles were a repeat from the piano recital and included raspberry milk chocolate, caramel dark chocolate and lemon white chocolate. The lemons are my favorite!

Special thanks to my friend, Missy, for letting me borrow her gold serving spoons!

Southern Cream Cake

For several years my daughter said she wanted me to make this cake for her wedding which I thought was very sweet so of course I didn’t tell her no! I was pretty nervous about doing it on this scale, but I knew if I thought it through and said a prayer (or several!), it could be done. I made the tiered cake you see below plus 7 more plain round cakes to slice back in the kitchen. (More details on the cake-making coming in my behind-the-scenes post.)

For many years I’ve been calling this cake “Italian Cream Cake” but have recently decided to call it “Southern Cream Cake” for reasons I’ll explain in my cake post, so stay tuned.

This cake slices so nicely. It’s creamy and smooth and just soooo scrumptious! Below is a sample dessert plate of the bride’s cake and groom’s chocolates with a cup of hot Scottish Caramel tea. Delish!

I’m sad that I didn’t get a photo of the hot tea table. It was pretty! Hot tea has been a special interest for my daughters and me for many years. We’ve studied, experimented, tasted, hosted, and even taken scone-baking classes! So, I thought my daughter had the perfect idea when she said she wanted hot tea served at the wedding! Serving fresh hot tea to a wedding-sized crowd took some figuring out, but it worked and those who like hot tea seemed to really enjoy having it as an option.

Before I sign off, I have to acknowledge some special reception helpers! My small group ladies have been “my girls” for so many years. We’ve raised our children together and now the oldest of the bunch are entering adulthood. We have an agreement that we will all help each other with our children’s wedding receptions, and my daughter’s was the first of many to come! These ladies very enthusiastically helped throughout the reception by serving cake, refilling tea pots, and replenishing the buffet. I felt so bad at first about them working so hard, but they kept telling me how much fun they were having! One of the ladies had flowers girls in the wedding and so she insisted on helping the night before with kitchen prep, until midnight with me! I’m grateful for their eagerness to help and that it allowed our extended family members to just enjoy eating and visiting with guests at the reception. More on this special group in another post I’ve been working on!

After the reception, the wedding party and several of our extended family immediately went into action, stacking chairs and breaking down tables. Several popped in the kitchen and offered to help clean up. There was a LOT of stuff to clear out of the church. My sister and her husband even filled their van and made drop-offs between 3 different towns before their 3-hour drive back home. My nephew’s girlfriend did our makeup. Some gave rides for those who didn’t need to drive the distance. The list goes on and on and it’s is all in addition to their time and expense in purchasing fancy wedding clothes, throwing parties, and attending the wedding. And ALL were very encouraging and complimentary of our planning and hard work. You just can’t beat good family and friends!