After walking down main street (there’s really not anything worth showing), we stopped inside Parisienne Bakery just before we left. And then the most amazing thing happened! There was a Beard Papa’s counter inside! What? For real? Are you kidding me? Yes, it happened. It was a real Beard Papa’s! Here’s the crazy thing. Outside this bakery, there isn’t even a sign that it is a bakery and that it is Parisienne Bakery. There’s some writing on the windows, but it’s barely legible. And there’s no obvious indication that there is a glorious Beard Papa’s inside. Gah, I was so shocked!
Who could resist anything from this adorable little bearded man? “Buy my cream puffs!” he said. And I obliged. 6 times over.
Since we had just gorged ourselves after being starved and stuck in a car, I didn’t actually have room to eat these right away. And there’s a sign that says that these cream puffs should be enjoyed as soon as possible. So when we got home a few hours later, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to eat all these quickly. As much as I wanted to eat 6 giant cream puffs, I knew it wasn’t a good idea. So I did what any full-blooded cream puff loving american would do – I played cream puff fairy. I called up a few friends and just dropped some cream puffs off. I wanted others to enjoy them while they were still good!
But here’s the sad part. When I eventually tried one, I realized that the cream filling was too eggy. Yes, it wasn’t that good. It wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t the beard papa’s I’m used to. I was so disappointed. And after hyping it up, my friends probably think I’m crazy. I’ve eaten beard papa’s enough to know that this filling batch wasn’t up to par. Normally, it’ just creamy, dreamy, and vanilla-y. But this one just tasted way too much of egg. So excited about this discovery, yet so disappointed at the same time. Maybe next time!

After showing up late for the ceremony (damn you google maps, you failed me again!) we headed out to the reception in style. There was a shuttle bus from the hotel to the reception, and when I say bus, I mean bus! As in big ass greyhound type bus. It was pimpin, and stylin indeed.
So the reception was in a barn. Say what? Yes, a barn. I kid you not. But it was free of hay and animals and the stench that goes along with it. Instead, it was cozy, adorable, and lovely. A reception like no other, and that’s a very good thing.
There was a little band from new orleans which was just perfect for this type of setting. Four instrumentalists and a singer. I absolutely loved it.
The little takeaway gifts were jams! Yes! Jams! As you can already see, this is my type of wedding reception!
Even some of the centerpieces were food based. Seriously, my kind of reception, y’know?
There was a little outdoor tent setup in front of the barn, and the open bar was there (thanks uncle p!), and a few appetizer stations. The first was a nacho bar. I’ve never imagined a wedding reception with a nacho bar. But now that I’ve seen it, I think everyone should have one. These were homemade flour tortilla chips. There was chili, and melted cheese, and guacamole, and pico de gallo… it was perfect.
There was also a little setup of pot stickers and california rolls. The california rolls were excellent. The pot stickers had been pan fried who knows how long ago, so they were a bit cold and soggy. I’m sure if they were freshly fried, they would have been little pockets of heaven.
There were also some servers going around with hors d’oeuvres. These were little potato cakes with ketchup relish. Eh, I wasn’t impressed. The sauce was sweet and odd, and so were the cakes. I also saw some fruit skewers and soms type of artichoke things going around.
Bacon wrapped scallops. Put two of my favorite things together and it’s a perfect little snack.
On to the dinner! Once they were ready for dinner, we started with a lovely summer salad. Spinach with roasted pear, berries, dried currants, preserved grapes with a carmelized onion type dressing. It was a perfect salad. And it came with the cutest little whole wheat biscuit.
The entrees were served buffet style. I love buffets because I can try whatever I want, and it’s just less stuffy. Ribs! Wahoo! Beef ribs with bbq sauce, and they had a silky peach bbq sauce to go along with this. Also, short ribs. Which actually ended up being better than the ribs because there were no bones and you could just revel in all the meatiness. And mac and cheese. Again, another dish I would not imagine at any wedding reception, but something that everyone should consider!
Crab quesadillas with pico de gallo. These little suckers were good, and filled with real crabmeat. I didn’t try the chicken, but I bet it was good!
Last but not least was a grilled veggie salad. I love veggies like this. Just grilled with some olive oil and herbs, these are my favorite ways to eat veggies. Squash, zucchini, bell peppers, fingerling potatoes in red and purple, all cooked just enough to retain their bite.
The bride and groom got a little mini cake for their traditional cake feeding thing. It was a chocolate cake. They seemed to like it enough. But the rest of us did not get to partake in the cake. I did not mind this at all.
Instead, we got apple pie! You’re looking at a girl who loves herself some pie, so getting apple pie instead of boring wedding cake was a pleasant surprise.
Apple pie a la mode with caramel sauce. This beats cake any day of the week. What a truly unique and different reception. I loved everything about it. With the two weddings I’ve been to this year, they both had incredibly different receptions from the norm. And I’m thankful that they were unique and memorable.

I had the honor of attending a really fun and lovely wedding in Media over the weekend. I was really happy to join everyone in witnessing G & M become husband and wife. And then we got our dancing on at the reception down the street. The reception was at a country club, and the decorations were really nice and fancy… but the reception was the complete opposite of stuffy.
How stuffy can you be when you serve pizza and wings at your wedding reception? No fancy sit down meals of chicken or steak or pasta being served by bored catering staff here. Instead, you picked your pizza, you picked your wings, and you got your grub on. And you had to eat up, so that you could have the energy to dance the night away. And they had coors light, yuengling, charles shaw wine ( yes, of two buck chuck fame), and coke or sprite. And I loved every minute of it.
The wedding cakes were adorable. Strawberry shortcakes from chinatown. It was one of the most fun weddings I’ve ever been to. Congrats G & M!