A Not so Perfect End to a Perfect Day

My son's wedding down south was perfect in every way, the weather was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous, he was handsome, he was surrounded by a close group of family and friends.

Once we returned to Canada, I jumped into a whirlwind of preparations for the reception to celebrate the marriage with the rest of a large extended family.



Browsing through books and the internet, I found and discarded idea after idea for special touches to enhance their Perfect Day in Miramichi. Invitations were designed and printed, the cake was designed and made, the meal was planned and prepared, decorations were chosen and created, the photographer was booked, all was ready!

One picture on the internet caught my eye and my fancy. It was a simple buttery sugar cookie, shaped like a wedding cake, and iced with a delicate cornelli lace design which was a perfect match for the wedding cake that was sitting proudly in my living room waiting for the special day.  After days of considering and discarding the idea, I could no longer control myself...... I had to have those cookies!!!

Out came the mixer, and the ingredients and we were off to the races. Needing over 150 of the cookies, I ended up making 4 batches of the recipe provided, a full evening's work. Once the cookies were cooked and cooling, the magnitude of the job of icing them as shown began to become obvious to me.  Not to be deterred, I spent a few hours browsing the internet for ideas on how to speed up the process. I finally stumbled across a small, obscure entry on a cooking forum describing how to glaze cookies using, of all things, store bought canned icing.  It was sooooo simple, just microwave the icing for a few seconds, and when it was fluid enough, pour over the cookies and voila!! After a few messy attempts, I worked out a system using cake racks over a big bowl to catch the overflow and got all the cookies glazed, returning the icing in the overflow bowl to the microwave to be softened as often as necessary. Then a few (or more than a few) hours with a piping bag and slightly tinted icing and all the cookies had their cornelli lace overlay. And into the freezer they went.

The day of the wedding reception came, and I proudly added the cookies to the dessert table, accepting many compliments over the taste and the beauty of my creations. (Credit for the recipe and the process went to the proper sources, of course)

(photo by Kim Harris, Eyemagine Photography)

When all was over, and the gifts were loaded into the last two vehicles to take home, all the leftover food packed into the commercial fridges at the reception hall, to be picked up in the morning, I prepared to take my aching feet home... As I walked out of the kitchen I spied the tin with the few remaining cookies in it, and for some reason, was loathe to leave them behind. So carrying the tin, and a beautiful inlaid wedding plaque my younger son had created for his brother and new sister in law, I locked the front door of the hall behind me, and followed my husband and his cousin down the steps. As they walked to our truck, and as the newleyweds pulled out of the parking lot in their rental car, I announced that I was going to check the side door to make sure it was locked.

Imagine my surprise a few seconds later when I heard " she must have gone with them" and the sound of the truck door slamming and watched them drive away! Here I was, a mile from home, out in the country, at 2:30 in the morning, wearing a silk dress and high heels, and carrying a wedding plaque and a tin of cookies!!!

Assuming they would all notice on arriving at the house that I was not present, I sat on the steps to await the returning vehicles with their apology.... 5 minutes went by, 10 minutes went by, no one was coming back..... So I started walking carrying a wedding plaque and a tin of cookies!!!

Half way home, while crossing a bridge over a little brook, I heard a revving truck engine over the still country air. My rescuers were on the way! A few seconds later, I was in the truck warm and comfy holding my wedding plaque and a tin of cookies! When I questioned why it took almost 20 minutes to notice I was missing, I was met with a sheepish shrug.

So after a Perfect Day, and an invigorating walk, I was finally home, with my wedding plaque and my TIN of COOKIES!!!


PS: I'll post the recipe and how to's for the cookies in another post soon!! 




Ginette is the owner of The Perfect Day Miramichi, an event rental business which caters to the Miramichi and surrounding areas of New Brunswick, Canada.

See the website at: www.theperfectdaymiramichi.com