Early on in her wedding planning, The Bride decided that she did not want to give little gimcrack favors at her wedding. Nor did she favor any traditional touches, like Italian candied almonds in netting, known as "confetti".
Sweetness, though, was in her heart and on her mind. She began to think a parting favor should not be a monogrammed matchbook, but something that guests would really appreciate at the end of a long day. Something quite simple and refreshing. The type of thing that one looks for when rummaging in the kitchen in your party clothes before going upstairs to take off your mascara.
She first thought of donuts with little cartons of milk. What is nicer when you are worn out and just want to go home and take off your party clothes than a nice warm donut with a cold, refreshing glass of milk?
We were stymied, though, by how we would arrange for warm donuts at that hour of the evening. We could get them in New York at any hour, but there were no all-night donut shops on that part of the Cape.
Some thought was even given to one perfect hamburger slider with a tiny cone of french fries. I believe the hotel could have accomodated us, but we had several vegetarians on the guest list.
The Bride came to the conclusion that we were making it more complex than it needed to be. What a person wants at the end of a long day in pinchy shoes, after having eaten a long meal with many courses and varieties of foodstuffs, was something simple yet indulgent.
In a word, sweets.
What she envisioned, however, was not almonds encased in dusty tulle, but a table laden with bonbons.
Pink and white bonbons to be precise, to complement the cake.
Pink and white bonbons in large glass containers with starry little signs and silvery mercury glass candlesticks with flickering flames.
Candy. Childhood candy in particular that made everyone, young or old, male or female, let out a squeal and immediately unwrap and place around their necks while they danced.
Footed vases standing at attention filled with pink pastels of M&M's and silver ladles to help you fill your pockets - and your cheeks.
Cranberry and vanilla taffy in neat wax-papered twists.
Watermelon jellybeans in apothecary jars for just what the doctor ordered.
A glass jar filled with wiggly gummy lobsters ready for their escape, for we were, after all, on Cape Cod.
In the center, beautifully arranged but small enough so as not to detract from the towering cake, a simple white rectangle of macaroons, perfect mouthfuls of raspberry, white chocolate, or lychee.
Trés doux.
So much candy! So many bonbons! What was a girl or boy to do?
If you could not stuff one more candy necklace into your little satin clutch, or if your suit pocket could hold not one more handful of taffy, or if you just plain wanted to dip a silver ladle into each and every jar,
monogrammed bags sitting in her great grandmother's bowl were provided for your convenience.
It was, indeed, a very sweet indulgence before The Bride and The Groom were driven away into the starry night.
A very sweet last taste to linger on our lips as we were left on the steps of the hotel waving good bye.
A very comforting, crinkly bag to hold in a lap on the car ride home, with just enough weight to help offset the absence that was already forming in my heart.
Trés doux.
