Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

The proposal was on Mother's Day and her original plan was a July wedding! We managed to convince her to wait until October, but plans needed to begin right away. Both the bride and groom are one of five siblings and weddings need to be a family affair. One girl friend was also added to even the odds with the brothers.

I had pinned similar cookies to a Pinterest board long ago and the Bride was on board with the project the minute she saw the inspiration photo. We found the perfect individual boxes for each cookie and got to work. 

I  just happened to have cookie cutters in the shape of prom dresses and high heeled shoes. I am just that kind of person. We decided to stay with the dresses. We used our favorite sugar cookie dough recipe, but the first set were too "puffy".  The finished cookies resembled a) an old style light bulb or b) a Christmas bell. We played with the dough, added more flour and less baking soda, chilled it while we ran for coffee and tried again. Since the cookie cutter itself was a perfect fit in the boxes, we trimmed the cutouts with a knife to allow for skirt growth. We also shaped the bodice with our fingers to give it more shape and more of a waist.  Luckily we only needed eight perfect cookies (one for each bridesmaid and two for the flower girls who were on solid food).

After baking, cooling and running out for salads (a girl has to keep her strength up!), we got ready to decorate. I had stocked up on beads and pearls and had purchased that glitter sugar (I am not sure what it is really called) which really added glamour to the cookies. The sugar needs to be applied immediately in order to adhere to the cookie. 

I think you can see the glitter sugar at this angle. It added that touch of sparkle we needed. 

It took a few tries to get the hang of the tips for detail on the tiny skirts, but once we got started we couldn't be stopped. It was a contest to try and out do each other's creations! The wedding colors were gray and navy, but we really did not think they would make an appetizing cookie. We played with pure white bridal dresses, but decided a bit of Tiffany Blue would just make them that much better.

We had many leftover cookies. I took one plate to the priest and the seminarian where I was volunteering once a week. I wondered if they would find ball gowns a little odd in a cookie, but they gobbled them straight down!

We tried navy ribbon, but it lacked a certain something. After searching my sewing supplies we found some navy lace hem binding that was just perfect. We lined the boxes with navy shredded paper, placed the cookie, tied the ribbon and attached the labels!

All the ladies were very happy to be asked to serve. As a bridesmaid veteran herself, my daughter told the girls that they could wear their choice of a sleeveless navy knee length dress.  The groom's sister had one in her closet from a wedding the week before, his step-sister was able to hem a floor length navy gown from a previous wedding, her sister-in-law had one in her closet, one sister-in-law purchased a dress which her seamstress was able to add velcro to the shoulder and side seams to allow nursing of the six week old ring bearer and her sister and friend were able to purchase a dress they could wear again for work or a nicer occasion.

The groomsmen were slighted in the cookie arrangement, but were thrilled to hear that a tuxedo rental would not be required. The gentlemen wore dark gray dress slacks (many had a pair in their closet) with a navy dress shirt and navy and coral striped tie that were the groomsmen gifts from the bride and groom. They appreciated the apparel more than another monogramed flask for their collection.

As you can see below, this low cost alternative to expensive wedding wear resulted in a very classy and cohesive wedding party and did not strain the pocketbooks of those asked to serve.

Still not an "official" wedding portrait. The wedding was in October 2014 and we are still waiting on pictures . . ..