1 Wedding, 200 Cupcakes, and Thousands of Memories

Hello everyone!

Today's post is rather special. I'm not going to be sharing a recipe or a painting that I've done. Instead, I'm going to share with you one of the most precious memories of my lifetime - my sister's wedding.

My sister's beautiful henna on her wedding day!

You may or may not have known that my older sister got married this summer. This is the same sister who frequently posts on my blog, like here and here. My sister is my closest friend. As we are only 14 months apart in age, it's kind of inevitable that we are each others best friend. I'd like to think we still are, but now she's got her husband to fill that position. ;) Anyways, when the time for my sister's wedding came along, I knew I had to give it my all and do something extremely special for this extremely special girl.

My talented sister chose to tattoo her left hand and I copied it exactly onto her right.

A close up picture of my sister's and my hands.

And I'm pretty sure I delivered. As my sister's maid of honor, I helped her do everything from decide how her stage would be set to choosing a wedding theme and menu. The one thing I would not let my sister take part in was the dessert table I planned to have at her wedding. I had always dreamed of having a dessert table like the ones seen on amazing blogs like Glorious Treats. However, a dessert table that was pleasing to the eye but limited in quantity, like they usually are, was very impractical when the guest list exceeded 350 people. So, I decided to come up with my own dessert table, one that was large yet still beautiful.

From left to right, on the dessert table is - cupcake tower with cake topper, gulab jamun and chumchum (Pakistani/Indian sweets), coconut halwa (or sweet), chocolate bride and groom cake pops, mini cheesecake bites in three flavors, kalakun (another Indian sweet), paan leaves and sweet masala, and not visible in the picture is a traditional mouth freshener mix called sawf. The dessert table was a fabulous success.

The dessert table from another angle

There were so many people who helped me make this dream come true. My parents, younger sister (who meticulously shaped 200+ cake balls into perfect circles!!), family, friends, and hotel staff were so helpful that everything came together beautifully. With the help of my friends, I made 200 hundred cupcakes and 200 cake pops.

The cupcake tower consisted of alternating layers of chocolate and french vanilla cupcakes filled with a decadent french vanilla whipped cream. They were frosted in a rose shape with butter cream icing and finished off with a touch of pearls and a beautiful sugar flower. The finished cupcakes looked like they came straight out of a fairytale - maybe Tangled. And yes, I also made the actual cupcake tower myself with some tulle, construction paper, ribbon, and a friend's deft hand in tying bows.

Some in process shots

Photo credit: Rubina - bridesmaid

The other dessert I made was the cake pops - chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting cake balls covered with white chocolate coating. The "grooms" sported stylish dark chocolate tuxedos and bow ties while the "brides" were accessorized with pearl necklaces and wedding dresses of mini pearls or white chocolate. They added the perfect touch of elegance to the dessert table.

From start to finish, creating this dessert table for my sister was a bucketful of unforgettable memories. I still remember the assembly line of girls coring cupcakes, filling them, and waiting to add finishing touches as I iced them. I still remember seeing my sister's face as she walked towards her stage and her surprise, laughter, and appreciation during the entire occasion. Congratulations to my lovely sister and wonderful brother-in-law once more.

I hope you enjoyed this little behind the scenes look at the dessert table of my sister's wedding. :)

Photo credit: Wendy Ramos Photography