11. WEDDING PARTIES

A wedding in the family, especially if it is the first, is such an important event that parents are inclined to forget the limits of their finances and to give the bride the kind of wedding she has always dreamed about. If she (or her mother) has decided upon a large formal wedding with a reception afterward for many guests, a caterer should be employed. Tables and chairs, dishes, linen and silver, as well as food and service and sometimes even table decorations will be supplied for a previously set fee. Champagne or the wedding punch may also be part of the caterer's responsi­bilities, or they may be the contribution of the father of the bride.

In general, the trend toward informality has extended to wedding parties. We no longer expect elaborate "collations" to follow an afternoon or evening wedding. The items served will be very little different from those offered at a cocktail party, except that cham­pagne or a punch will usually replace the cocktails. It should be offered as soon as guests arrive. In addition, there will, of course, be a wedding cake which the bride with the aid of the groom will make a ceremony of cutting. A large cake of this type decorated appropriately will usually be purchased even when the sand­wiches and canapes are prepared in the home kitchen. A groom's cake of the dark fruit cake type is seldom served nowadays. Instead, small boxes of fruit cake may be furnished for guests to take with them "to dream on." It should be cut, boxed and tied a few days before the ceremony. If the group is not too large and if there is extra help in the kitchen, a simple buffet supper may be served. In this case, there may be a large table for the bridal party and arrangements for serving them, while the other guests will help themselves from the buffet.

When the wedding is at noon or late afternoon, either a buffet or a "sit down" meal may be offered. For the latter, there must be space for the arrangement of tables, with place settings of napkins and silver. For either type of service, unless the caterer is employed, the hostess must make certain that she has on hand enough silver and china. Neighbors will be delighted when called upon to supplement the home supply, if this is necessary.

The formula for a successful wedding party includes careful planning ahead of time, with consideration of the facilities the particular home offers and with regard to the expenditure that can be made. Extra assistance for service is more important than for any other type of entertaining, as the hostess should not be harried with supervision of this sort in addition to the many other demands that are bound to occur when a daughter marries.

Pre-wedding festivities may include a luncheon for the brides­maids given by the bride's mother or by a friend. If a wedding re­ception or breakfast is planned to take place at a club or hotel, a dinner or buffet supper for the bridal party may be planned at home to take place after the church rehearsal. The menus sug­gested in the chapters for "Buffet Suppers and Luncheons" and "Small Dinner Parties and Luncheons" will be appropriate for these. If the groom plans an ushers' dinner or supper, the sug­gestions for the arrangements of "Stag Parties" may be followed.

Other pre-wedding festivities will be planned for earlier dates. The announcement of the engagement may take place at a luncheon given by the bride's mother or by a close friend. For this, the menus suggested for "Small Dinner Parties and Lun­cheons" will, of course, be suitable.

For the numerous shower parties, either the afternoon or evening may be chosen. Guests may be asked to drop in for tea or cocktails, or for coffee and dessert, after which the shower gifts will be opened. Instead, packages may be unwrapped soon after the guests arrive and afternoon or evening snacks served later. Sometimes, guests will be asked for the evening and late refresh­ments will take the form of ice cream and cake. The latter may be a decorated miniature wedding cake carrying favors that will indicate the future of the recipient: a ring for the next bride-to-be, a piece of money for the financially successful, and a button for the spinster or bachelor. During the evening, a wine punch or wine and seltzer in which to drink the health of the bride-to-be may be offered.

WEDDING MENUS

Breakfasts or Suppers

Champagne

Champagne

Chicken and clam bouillon

Honeydew melon with mint

Breast of chicken on Virginia ham

Broiled chicken

Potato croquettes

Potato puff

Asparagus vinaigrette

Peas with mushrooms

Molded ice cream

Small cakes

Tossed green salad

Wedding cake Coffee

Ice cream bombe

Small cakes

Wedding cake Coffee

Afternoon and Evening Refreshments

Champagne Champagne and brandy punch

Mixed sandwiches(caviar, smoked salmon, foie de gras)

Savory canapés (watercress butter, chicken paste, egg and olive, anchovies)

Hot appetizers

Diced rock lobster

Wedding cake

Coffee

Remoulade sauce

Wedding cake

Coffee

Buffets

Champagne cocktails

Wine punch

Cold turkey

Chicken a la king

Chicken salad

Lobster salad

Jellied tomato salad

Thin bread and butter

Hot rolls Relishes

Watercress sandwiches

Wedding cake

Coffee

Wedding cake

Coffee

SHOWER MENUS

Luncheon and Supper

Avocado stuffed with crabmeat

Club sandwiches

Potato chips

Hot biscuits

Mixed green salad

Relishes

Mixed fruit compote

Raspberry sherbet

Shower cake

Small cakes

Coffee

Coffee

Chicken mousse with watercress

Tuna fish casserole

Potato chips

French bread

Grapefruit salad

Hot rolls

Asparagus with lemon butter

Ice cream molds

Cookies

Baked Alaska

Coffee

Coffee

BREAST OF CHICKEN ON VIRGINIA HAM

Allow 1 breast of young chicken for each serving. Place in kettle and barely cover with water. Add salt, a few slices of onion, bay leaf, a few peppercorns and a few slices of lemon. Cover and cook gently until just tender. Drain and reserve stock. When ready to serve, reheat with melted butter or margarine in a covered pan, but do not allow breasts to brown. Serve on slices of hot grilled ham or boiled ham and cover with creamy sauce (see below).

CREAMY SAUCE

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup cream

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

salt

paprika

2 tablespoons sherry

Melt butter or margarine. Stir in flour and add chicken stock and cream gradually, while stirring over low heat. Stir a little of the hot sauce into beaten egg yolks and stir this mixture into re­maining sauce. Season to taste with salt and paprika and add sherry. Yield: 6-8 servings.

CHICKEN A LA KING

Use recipe for Creamy Sauce. Add 1½ cups diced cooked chicken, ½ cup sauteed mushrooms and 2 pimientos cut into fine strips. Serve in patty shells, or in a ring of boiled rice.

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

For each quart of champagne, allow ½ cup sugar syrup and 2 teaspoons bitters. Add thoroughly chilled champagne and stir gently. Serve in champagne glasses with a twist of lemon peel.

CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

Allow 1 quart lemon, orange or raspberry sherbet to each large bottle champagne that has been well chilled. Place sherbet in punch bowl, and pour champagne over it. Serve small amount of sherbet with the champagne in each punch cup.

CHAMPAGNE AND BRANDY PUNCH

2 2-quart bottles champagne

1 bottle brandy(fifth)

1 1-quart bottle sparkling water

Pour ingredients over block of ice in punch bowl. Yield: About 50 servings.

WINE AND SELTZER

Place 1 jigger of red or white wine in each tall glass. Add ice cubes and fill with sparkling water almost to the top. Garnish with mint sprigs or sliced lemon.

WINE PUNCH

1 cup sugar syrup

½ cum lemon juice

1 No. 10 can pineapple juice

2 sliced oranges

2 bottles sauterne

1 quart chilled sparkling water

Mix syrup, fruit juices, orange slices and wine. Pour over block of ice in punch bowl. Add sparkling water and serve in punch glasses. Yield: 30-40 servings.

GROOM’S CAKE

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon mace

1 teaspoon allspice

1 pound seeded raisins, cut

1 pound cut figs

½ pound citron, sliced

¼ pound candied orange peel, sliced

½ pound chopped nut meats

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

6 eggs

3 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup sherry or red wine

1 egg white

candied cherries

Mix and sift flour, salt and spices and sprinkle over fruit and nuts. Cream shortening with sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add fruit alternately with the lemon juice and wine. Line greased loaf pans with greased paper and bake in slow oven (275° F.) 3 to 4 hours until firm. Remove from oven. Brush with egg white and decorate with the candied cherries. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool and store until ready to cut in slices to fit small wedding cake boxes. Yield: 6 pounds.

AVOCADO STUFFED WITH CRABMEAT

Halve ripe avocados and remove pits just before serving. Sprinkle with lemon juice and fill with fresh crabmeat combined with Russian dressing or dunking sauce. Garnish with parsley or with rings of green pepper.

REMOULADE SAUCE

½ teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

½ teaspoon Tabasco

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

3 tablespoons very finely chopped stuffed olives

3 tablespoons very finely chopped gherkins

1 teaspoon very finely chopped onion

3 hard cooked eggs, very finely chopped

Blend mustard, garlic salt, anchovy paste and Tabasco with mayonnaise. Stir in vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve over lettuce wedges or sea food salad, or as a cocktail “dunking” sauce for shrimp, cauliflower buds, or potato chips.

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