The wedding cookie table is a long-standing tradition that apparently traces back to early immigrants and mostly Italians, Eastern Europeans and Greeks. {My best friend married into an Italian family and oh-my-gosh- do I LOVE to eat with them! Food. Family. Fun.}

Just imagine.  The wedding cookie table… a culmination of time-tested recipes that are lovingly prepared by those that care about the bride and groom.  A beautiful contribution of cascading colors, textures and flavors to gather around, delight guests and start conversations over.

I love this idea! It’s so sweet.

So let them eat cake… but at Lisa and Johnathon’s wedding this Saturday, we’ll be eating cookies! Lisa and Johnathon’s guests will have their pick from an assortment of wedding cookies at the cookie table, lovingly prepared by family and friends… their “Beloved Bakers.” Cookie recipes will be put into a pretty booklet and made available for all of their wedding guests to take home!

{And I am honored to be a Beloved Baker}.

Lemon Tea Cookies

1  2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup softened butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

Filling

1 egg

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. butter or marg

coconut or powdered sugar

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup. In medium bowl, combine first four ingredients. Blend well. Chill dough. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into one inch balls. Place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With thumb or forefinger, make imprint in center of each cookie. Bake 350 degrees F 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool.

In medium saucepan, combine filling ingredients {except coconut or powdered sugar}. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Cool. Top each cookie with about 1/4 tsp filling. Sprinkle with coconut or powdered sugar. Store in single layer, loosely covered.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Article and cookie table image source

Talk about photogenic… ahem, right here! These photos are so gorgeous! And, this engagement session locale is quite special to this adorable couple too.  In fact, it is the park where Johnathon proposed to Lisa!

Sweet. Sentimental. Fun.

In Lisa’s words…

“I never knew getting your photo taken could be so much fun!  Huge credit goes to our photographers, the amazing husband and wife team Brian and Erin Bell. The day of the shoot I was nervous: “did I choose the right outfit? What if it rains?” …We met with the Bells, and I started to settle down. Then…they told us to kiss. Now I’ve seen plenty of engagement photos, with plenty of kissing, but somehow the thought of us kissing never occurred to me… and I’m a little, okay, a lot, shy regarding Public Displays of Affection. So I giggled, looked at my fiance (who has no problem with PDA and therefore would love a kiss), giggled some more…and went for it.

You know what? It was kind of fun being mushy in front of others and having it be totally acceptable, or encouraged, even!  The engagement shoot definitely helped us get used to the camera, and yes, to kissing in front of it, so I am VERY glad we went through with it.  Plus we now have these amazing photos to keep! Thank you so much, Brian and Erin, you do great work, and we had a great time!

Must see more! Check out Brian’s site Backlit Creative and Erin’s site Erin Bell Photography here.”

Thanks for sharing your awesome sauce with us Lisa and Jonathon!