A Wonderful Wedding Weekend

Like several of my tea blogger friends in recent weeks, my family just wrapped up a wonderful family wedding weekend. My stepdaughter Heather and her Wisconsin boyfriend Brad tied the knot on Saturday, so I don't have to tell you that we have been busy bees at my house! The wedding and reception went off without a hitch, and it was just as beautiful as everyone had hoped. Here's the happy couple arriving at the reception at The Veranda, a B&B in Senoia, Ga.


The ceremony was held at the historic Senoia United Methodist Church, and miraculously, despite the dreary weather reports calling for 80 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms all day Saturday, we had no rain and no storms!

Here are Heather and Brad at the reception.


And isn't this a beautiful spread? Her mom Lynn, who was lovely to work with, has a great eye for decorating and designed a beautiful spread. I particularly loved the lavish floral arrangement decorating the buffet table.

At nightfall, the Japanese lanterns leading the way to the reception added a sparkle to the festivities.


Following a trend of many recent brides, Heather asked me to make chocolate cupcakes to serve as the groom's cake. Fortunately, my dear friend and baking mentor Susan gave me expert guidance and baking tips ("Use an ice cream scoop for the batter so the cupcakes will be uniform in size"). The cupcakes were a real hit and, topped with foil footballs, made a nice presentation on the wooden platform Susan let me borrow. Several people who had no idea I'd made them actually came up to me and asked if I had tried those great cupcakes, and of course I was thrilled! They had also been taste tested by me, my co-workers, and the bride and groom, so I felt pretty good about things, but it was nice to have it confirmed! (If you want a great recipe for chocolate cupcakes, use this one, but instead of vanilla frosting use the frosting recipe on the side of the can of Hershey's cocoa. I made 130 cupcakes and only a handful of them were left at the end of the night.)

Cupcakes I can do, but my skill set does *not* include fondant-iced cakes, so when a Green Bay Packers ballcap cake was requested for the top of the cupcake platform, I wimped out and ordered one from a local bakery. The Wisconsin folks seemed especially happy with it.

As did the bride and her new husband!

Finally, since most of you reading this don't know the bride but you do know me, here's a picture of me and my sweet Alex, the happy father of the bride. Tomorrow I'll show you a sweet tea-themed thank-you gift I received!