(via Pink Frosting)
Chances are your wedding plans don’t include stormy weather. But sometimes your plans don’t really matter to the universe. It rains when it will rain, and snows when it will snow.

The best way to look at an unexpected bit of precipitation on your wedding day is as a great opportunity to get some truly spectacular photos that will stand out from other wedding albums.
(more…)

Whether your wedding reception is held in a church hall, hotel, or a backyard, whether you toss the bouquet and cut the cake or not, whether you’re in formalwear or bathing suits, one tradition is bound to be followed: the best man’s speech.

Of course, not every best man is used to public speaking. Or best woman. We’re not fussy about the gender of the bridal party around here. But no matter who’s filling the role, there are a few tips that will make making that speech easier for the speaker and nicer for the listeners, too.
(more…)

So I was looking over the Bon Appetite article on wedding foods they would like to see banned. Some of their choices I can agree with. See above one of my pet peeves: things served randomly in martini glasses. If I want a martini glass, I’ll order a martini. Just put the food in/on an appropriate dish and I’ll be happy. And a fake cake supplemented with sheet cake in the back has always struck me as lacking in imagination. If you can’t afford the fancy cake for everyone, serve a plainer cake or a different dessert. Perhaps even a bevy of tasty homemade treats.

There are some that while I don’t feel as strongly, I can at least see their point. Crab cakes for two hundred is so tricky that the quality almost necessarily suffers when it comes time to serve. And goodness knows that the average steamed vegetable medley served by many a caterer at many a wedding is a sad little blop of uninspired randomness. It needn’t be, but it usually is.

At the other end of the scale, there’s the slider and the crudite platter with dip. Are these the most brilliant of culinary efforts? No, they are not. Are they overdone? Frankly, most of the weddings I’ve been to haven’t featured either. Your mileage may vary, but I have yet to attend a wedding where sliders and fries are passed out shortly before the last dog is hung, and I’d kind of like to be there for one of these midnight treats before the trend quite goes away. And a platter or two of raw veggies and dip may not be the most adventurous dish, but it’s generally been popular at the weddings I’ve been to that had them. Somebody’s eating them. Those people are leaving the party fed and happy. I think that’s more important than whether the dish is precisely what every foodie longs to see.

And for the record? I am so a foodie it isn’t even funny. Dinner at Casa Twistie has been known to feature some pretty darn adventurous stuff. I DVR cooking shows all day long and I regularly watch movies to see the cool scenes of elegant banquets while ignoring the performances of famous actors… or at least considering them less important than the food. My cookbook collection is legendary. I have a recipe for pretty near every dish that’s ever been imagined, and I know which book(s) to find it in. It’s just that making sure there’s something non-threatening for the less-than-adventurous eater strikes me as more important than making certain every dish is the latest and greatest culinary experience.

So.

Martini glasses full of mashed potatoes and dummy cakes get my vote for foods to nix at weddings for all eternity. Bring on the mashed potatoes, absolutely, just don’t put them in a stemmed glass, please. They’re much more at home on a corner of the plate or in a bowl than barware.

What foods would you eliminate from weddings? What famous wedding food trends have entirely managed to pass you by? What’s something you’ve always thought should be served at weddings, but isn’t? Did something unusual you served make a big splash with your guests? Have you come up with something you expect your guests to talk about for a long time to come? Do you think my choices for foods to nix are utter codswallop? Talk to me about menus, folks.

It’s official. KISS bassist Gene Simmons (62) has married his lady love of twenty-eight years, Shannon Tweed (54) in a star-studded celebration in Beverly Hills.

The wedding was held last night and was attended by such family friends as the rest of KISS, Hugh Hefner, and Bill Maher, as well as the happy couple’s two children, Nick and Sophie.

The tune is may be bit of a wedding cliche at this point, but when the couple had their first dance to At Last by Etta James… I gotta say, it might be the most appropriate use of it ever. Twenty-eight years is a long, long time to be meandering toward the alter, but it seems to have worked for them.

I hope you’ll all join with me in wishing Gene and Shannon every possible joy as they begin a new chapter in their relationship. Mazeltov, you crazy kids!