Instead of just choosing one dessert, why not have an array of favorites? All photographs by Holland Photo Arts

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been showing you a variety of additions or alternatives to the traditional wedding cake or cupcakes. Brianna D’Amico, marketing manager at Windows Catering Company, based in Alexandria, showed us even more options in the form of unique dessert stations.

“Dessert stations are fun because they can incorporate different items and can be customized in all sorts of flavors and colors,” she said. “These stations can express the couple’s personalities, the setting, or the time of year—think a gourmet pie bar in the fall or a s’mores station in the summer.”

Other ideas include a milk and cookie station, French macaron bar, and of course, our beloved cake (or cheescake!) pops. We’re also loving WCC’s s’mores on a stick—how cute!

Visit Windows Catering Company’s Web site for even more great ideas.

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The wedding took place at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Photograph by Greg Gibson

When we see a fabulous cake, like the one pictured above, we’re always curious about what inspired the design. So we tracked down the cake artist, Lara Stuckey of Fluffy Thoughts Cakes, in McLean, to get the inside scoop.

“When the bride came to us, she was unsure of the type of cake design she wanted,” says Stuckey. “At her tasting, I asked her to bring her invitation, color swatches, pictures of her gown, and photos of other cakes she liked. I was immediately drawn to her invitation.”

To create this dramatic cake Stuckey printed the invitation’s design on sugar paper, which was placed on fondant, and added to the bottom of each tier. Pearl white fondant covered the cake, and gumpaste cattelya orchids, edged in Egytptian gold, also adorned the confection.

And in case you’re curious, inside was a white cake featuring three tiers of passion fruit curd and vanilla filling, and one tier each of fresh blackberries, fresh strawberries, and fresh raspberries.

For more information on Stuckey’s cakes, visit Fluffy Thoughts’s Web site.

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Looking to keep your bridesmaids in line? Download this bridesmaid contract from You & Your Wedding magazine.

When we read about this trend in a recent Newsweek article, we were a bit floored. Prenups aren’t a new thing when it comes to marriages, but how about contracts for the bridesmaids? For some brides, the nightmare that their wedding might not attain complete perfection due to a bridesmaid’s newly gained five pounds and her resulting tighter dress is enough to warrant a contract.

While we haven’t crossed paths with any Washington brides who’ve drafted one of these contracts or with any bridesmaids who have signed one, the UK’s You & Your Wedding magazine surveyed more than 1,000 women and found that one in five would like her bridesmaids to sign on the dotted line. On its Web site, the magazine offers a contract for brides to download and print.

The idea behind the contract is to give bridesmaids stipulations they have to stick to—or risk being fired from the bridal party. Gaining weight, changing hair color, and bringing an “inappropriate” date to the wedding are among the no-no’s that could warrant a bridesmaid’s pink slip.

Dye a tub of white frosting to turn this cookie into a bridesmaid dress.

To make Wedding Dress Cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
• 1 bag white chocolate chips
• 1 package Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel licorice
• Supplies for your favorite sugar cookie or snickerdoodle recipe (I like these)

I’m not going to lie—I was a little behind on baking duty last night when I got home at 11 and realized I had never decided what I was making to celebrate a co-worker’s last day in the office before her wedding. I surveyed my candy cupboard—white chocolate chips, Twizzlers, and strawberry fruit leather. I looked at the clock. I set the oven to 375.

To make these strapless (always in fashion) snacks, throw together some cookie batter (anything you can flatten with a rolling pin, like sugar cookies or snickerdoodles), roll it out a quarter-inch thick on a floured surface, and use a butter knife to cut out cookies in the shape pictured. Because the dough will expand while baking, make sure to cut the waist extra narrow—otherwise, your finished product will look like The Blob. Warning: These cookies are thin, so they will take significantly less time to bake than the traditional fat, round snickerdoodle. My recipe called for 12 minutes in the oven, but the edges of each cookie were nicely browned in five.

Create a ring from a marshmallow and a butter cookie.

To make Engagement Ring Cupcakes, you’ll need the following ingredients:
• 1 box Salerno butter cookies or a similarly shaped store brand
• 1 bag regular-size marshmallows
• 1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips
• Supplies for your favorite cupcake or cookie recipe

I used to love Salerno butter cookies (you know the ones—flower-shaped with a hole in the middle) because I could slip them over my fingers and pretend I was wearing a row of sparkly diamond rings. That probably wouldn’t be as cute these days, but the idea of a butter-cookie ring definitely can be.

It's hard to explain how much I love baking. Let's just say getting a KitchenAid stand mixer (buttercup yellow, if you were wondering) may or may not be the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. Next to almost replicating Potbelly’s dreambar recipe, of course. So when my mom, who grew up in England, told me about an old British dessert called a maid of honor, I went straight to the kitchen. I wasn’t headed to a bridal shower, but hey—maybe you guys are?