Just as soon as we got done serving breakfast this morning, I changed into a suit, and Bill, Anne and I ran out to the garden for a wedding. Fortunately, the rain had cleared away about an hour beforehand and so we were still able to have the ceremony in the garden. It was very sweet and some of our guests came out to watch and take photos. We at The Morning Star wish Robert and Cynthia a world of happiness!
It was a lovely day for a wedding. The bride and groom and their families were all smiles. I hope that they have a very happy future together!
After the wedding, I was able to get a few pictures of the cake and of the flower girls. They were so cute! I love the amazement that children experience when looking at a wonderful cake.
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Yum! The perfect reward for two hard working little flower girls. Good job, girls!
We have several special events coming up at The Morning Star. One about which I am very excited is our first Ladies’ Weekend which will be held Friday, May 31st to Sunday, June 2nd. The weekend will kick off with a wine tasting on Friday evening. After breakfast on Saturday, we’ll have fun arranging flowers then guests get to spend a leisurely day. Late afternoon, we’ll have a tea. The weekend will conclude with Sunday Brunch. I think that it will be a lovely time!
We just got done hosting the tea party for Tama Matsuoka Wong and her book Foraged Flavor. I caught a few quick photos just when guests were starting to arrive; but then needed to trade my camera for hostess duties. Unfortunately, once I got to talking and pouring tea, I forgot to get a picture of Tama. It was a lovely afternoon party, though, and it was a pleasure to hear Tama chat about her book.
Below: Roasted Red Pepper Humus & Cucumber Tea Sandwiches garnished with golden oregano from the garden.
The menu:
Milk Oolong Tea
Iced Earl Grey Tea
Coffee
Curried Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches
Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Scottish Shortbread with Dried Cherries
Scottish Shortbread with Candied Ginger
Lemon Poppy Seed Wafers garnished with Violets
Espresso Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Lake House Cookies
Gingerbread Teapot Cookies
Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles
Cheddar Cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese, Almond Crackers
Strawberries & Green Grapes
I don’t often get a chance to take many photos at weddings that we host because I have so many other things to do on the wedding day. I did manage to get a few yesterday, though, of the happy bride and groom and one of their little guests. It was fun to photograph people, something I don’t usually do.
Here is wishing the bride and groom continued happiness!
Thankfully, today was a beautiful Spring day for a garden wedding – a surprising fact given the unseasonably cold weather we have been experiencing as of late. Here are a few photos that I quickly took while we were getting ready for the joyous event.
We hosted a charming wedding at Bed & Breakfast yesterday. There was quite a bit to do to get ready and so, unfortunately, I didn’t have time to photograph the cake or the bride’s bouquet. I did take a few photos of some of the other flowers today, though. The bride loves orange, especially orange daisies. So I made her bouquet with four styles of orange gerbera daisies along with coppery-pink florists roses and peach-colored spray roses. The textures and colors were so cheerful that I used the same assortment of flowers to decorate the cake. We at The Morning Star wish the bride and groom a very happy future together!
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When my husband came home from work this evening, he remarked that he thought I should have used this photo instead of the one in my last post. What do you think? Do you prefer one or the other photo?
Despite the frigid temperatures today, we had another beautiful outdoor wedding here at The Morning Star. The bride wore a stunning strapless gown and the groom was in dress military uniform. There were only six people at the service, so I made a miniature, but highly detailed, wedding cake. The three layer white butter cake was frosted with real vanilla buttercream and decorated with hundreds and hundreds of sugar pearls in varying sizes. It took two of us about 45 minutes to place them all. The cake was then finished with fresh roses and the bride’s cake topper. I didn’t want to get in the photographer’s way, but I did manage to get a few pictures of the cake. This is one that I liked because the late afternoon sun’s rays seemed to imbue the scene with real emotion. May the bridge and groom have a truly happy future together!
Americans rarely have teas these days. When one hears the expression “tea party”, the topic of conversation is far more likely to be politics than a social affair. As far as I can tell, the tradition of having tea parties largely disappeared during the social unrest of the 1960’s and 70’s. Probably the main change to have emerged from that period that would have contributed to the demise of the these gatherings was the emergence of working women amongst the middle and upper classes. My grandmothers, as with most women of their socioeconomic class, were stay-at-home mothers; I don’t think that either of them ever had a paying job. Starting with my mother’s generation, women entered the work force en masse; and all of the women in my social circle who are my age or younger work. So, of course, who has time for polishing silver, making finger sandwiches and dainty cookies, and getting all dressed up for a party in the afternoon?
Literally speaking, the 60’s and 70’s are now history, and it is easy to feel nostalgia for some of the social niceties that got thrown away with so many of the inequalities and injustices from that era (and earlier). I never, even for a moment, wish that I lived in an earlier time; and yet, occasionally it is fun to recapture a bit of refinement from the past. So, yesterday I hosted an afternoon tea party – using my grandmothers’ china, crystal and silver – for no special reason except for that it seemed high time for a tea.
The Menu
Darjeeling Tea
Milk Oolong Tea
Cap Cette Picpoul de Pinet
Autumn Fruits Punch
Egg Salad Finger Sandwiches with Whole Grain Mustard
White Bean Sundried Tomato “Humus” & Spinach Finger Sandwiches
Smoked Salmon & Lemon Canapes
Cucumber Canapes
Pecan Crackers & Gouda Cheese
Pumpkin Butter & Whipped Cream Tartlets
Pumpkin Cream Puffs
Lemon Curd & Blueberry Tartlets
Gingerbread Teapot Cookies
Blackberry Jammies
Florentines
Chocolate Rum Balls
Fresh Fruits, Nuts, Dark Chocolate-covered Raisins
(I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t get a chance to take photos. So I staged the one above this afternoon. I wish that I had had a chance to have gotten a shot of the whole spread.)
A Taste of Morning 