Elvis, a wedding and 99 macarons....

Allllllll my friends are getting married...

Friends The Department and Wingdingo got hitched recently, but rather than go the route of a church service or a garden wedding, they headed straight to Las Vegas to exhange vows with Elvis at the Graceland Chapel. A few weeks after they returned, friends and family were invited to a casual low-key party to celebrate.


Balloon cupcakes

The wedding cake was a triple-tiered offering of caramel mudcake, white chocolate orange, and dark chocolate with Cherry Ripe. The balloon colours on the cupcakes represent an individual member of the family - a colour scheme that is persistently used to distinguish ownership in the house, like toothbrushes!


Las Vegas-inspired party bags for guests

Catering was provided by Adam Stratton and the boys from Tender Value Meats. Whilst I was saddened by the absence of Adam's award-winning sausages, we feasted on a buffet of roast beef, lamb and chicken with a broad selection of salads.


Salads


Adam carving the roast beef


Roast beef


Everyone digs in

Dessert was a combined effort of chocolate-dipped strawberries...



and macarons!



The super-talented Billy offered to make 99 macarons for the happy couple, an auspicious number for Chinese weddings because"99" sounds like "forever".

Macarons are notoriously fickle beasts, but after five failed attempts, Billy finally had the process down pat. So inspired was he, that after making three different flavour varieties, he woke up on the morning of the party and decided to make another batch of macarons, just because he could.


Macaron fillings

Billy's flavours for the evening included pina colada with coconut buttercream and pineapple gelee; salted chocolate with dark chocolate ganache and Himalayan pink salt; Ispahan , a Pierre Hermé inspired creation with rosewater buttercream and lychee gelee; and the Elvis, a combination of peanut buttercream, strawberry jam and bacon chips reminiscent of Elvis' favourite sandwich.

My favourite, by far, was the Ispahan, the perfumed rosewater pairing so well with the lychee. The flavours were cool and refreshing, like a summer's breeze across the palate.


Guests trying to decide which macaron flavour to eat


Fortune cookies

Guests were also treated to a huge bowl of fortune cookies.

The fortune inside?



...one of four lines from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.

We'd been RickRolled!

Congratulations to the happy couple. May your days ahead always be filled with laughter, joy and good food!