Real Weddings & Real Coffee
For many years, Hollywood had me convinced that all wedding days are created equal, meaning; a string of impossibly funny disasters would occur until the 11th hour, then after the bride walks down the aisle, the rest of the day would take take place in a perfectly timed 7 minutes of bliss (cue Bridesmaids closing scene). Knowing perfectly well that no event is immune from some form of chaos, I have always been the type to over-prepare and keep all bases covered (even the bases that don't exist yet). I've been in enough bridal parties to know what's really important on the morning of a wedding, and to be honest, it should all begin with calm, and comfort.
Most of my readers know that I come from a big family, so events like these are never small and intimate. We have special, heart warming, fuzzy traditions that have been running since the first of my sisters got married in 1990. Since then, certain things have been the same for the rest of us. On the 22nd of June this year, a bitter sweet morning, my youngest sister Jessica prepared to leave the nest as the last of 7 family weddings took place.
As it usually falls on the matron of honour to prepare a lavish brunch spread of chocolate covered strawberries, macarons and french champagne, I went on an Intagram hunt for some bridal brunch inspiration (using the hashtag #weddedwonderland). I thought back to the many bridal parties that I have been part of, and remembered - what was the first thing we wanted on the morning of the wedding? A really good coffee. The more I thought about how I could incorporate a coffee cart at the wedding, the harder it became to stick with the traditional idea of champagne breakfast. I knew we'd be dealing with a frosty winter morning that called for heavy hoodies, hot cheese toasties and cappuccinos. That's when I found Deluxe Coffee Catering. After an exchange of a few emails and a quick meeting beforehand, I was so pleased to book these guys to cater the morning of Jessica's wedding.
Traditionally at a Lebanese wedding, first cousins and immediate family would visit the home of the bride or groom, respective of who invited you. Like me, Jessica and Jayson got married at the church directly across the street from my parents home. This meant one thing: a guaranteed rush of friends and relatives who all wanted to see (and be photographed with) the blushing bride as she prepares to heave her family home. Not only did Deluxe Coffee Catering look after the entire bridal party as we had our hair and makeup done, but they also serviced all our guests who joined us for traditional morning celebrations - and they came prepared with full cream, skim, soy and almond milk. Jessica's favourite thing was the custom created large mug that read "Because I'm the Bride" - especially made for her by the crew at Deluxe. Hot chocolates flowed for the little ones and strong caps for us big kids - we were so thrilled to have found these guys, and I cannot recommend their services highly enough. Perfect for bridal showers too, we're really looking forward to experiencing the next branch of deluxe (that may or may not involve cocktails!)
After the wedding, I caught up with Christine, the lovely owner of this golden institution to debrief on whole experience. When she told me that 97 coffees were produced on the morning of Jessica's wedding, I can't say I was shocked. (I had 4 of them.)
