When Mr. Pineapple and I visited our first venue, the hostess kept mentioning wonderful places to put our cookie table. Our cookie table? Weddings have cookie tables?
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Apparently so. The wedding cookie tradition is very popular, and thought to have originated in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Cookie tables are also common in West Virginia, Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. The tradition is that the women in the bride’s family (her mother, aunts, sisters, grandmothers etc) bake cookies using recipes that have been within the family for years. We are not just talking a couple cookies here either, usually each lovely lady bakes several dozen.
The origin of the tradition is largely unknown. It is thought to have begun with Italian and Roman Catholic weddings during the height of the steel-mill industry. Presently, the tradition sees no religious or cultural boundaries and hardly a wedding takes place in western Pennsylvania without cookies.
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I love these cookies and milk featured on The Bride’s Cafe. These shot glasses of milk topped with a cookie would be adorable snacks at the end of the reception. Mr. Pineapple also likes this idea and I think it would be a great twist on the Pittsburgher tradition. We have not yet decided if we are going to partake in the tradition, but I have a feeling that once it is mentioned, our western PA relations will say something along the lines of, “What?! You can’t have a wedding without cookies!!”
Mrs. Gardenia also had a cookie buffet at her wedding in lieu of the popular candy buffet.
How are you incorporating quirky regional traditions into your wedding?
I LOVE the cookies with the shot of milk! So clever!! If I were a guest at your wedding, I would be THRILLED to have that at the end of the night. We aren’t having a cookie table, per say, but cookies and chocolate dipped strawberries will be passed around after the cake has been cut and during dancing. Everyone loves a choc chip cookie. 
I’m Italian and my family was actually really bummed that we’re not having a cookie table. Since it’s such a small wedding with a family dinner reception held at a resturant, we thought it was crazy to spend all that time making cookies that will end up just coming home with us. My brother - who’s serving as my maid of honor - said he wouldn’t come if there weren’t cookies. So instead of a cookie table at the wedding, we’re going to do a cookie table the night of the rehersal dinner. That way everyone can have some treats, and my German fiance can experience a piece of a true Italian wedding.
Family and regional traditions were a huge part of our day. We had several Italian and Polish dances/songs. Everyone went nuts for the polka… seriously “Hang On Sloopy” is the official rock song of the state of Ohio and was another crowd favorite.
There were often cookie tables at weddings we went to when I was a kid. It wasn’t mandatory for ours but did have one. My Uncle loves to bake and asked if he could make pastries/cookies for the reception. He made over 600!!! My Aunt also made cookies so we had quite the spread. I was a bit nervous that it would look cheesy but the table was set up beautifully! Their thoughtfulness meant so much!
We’re doing cookies as favours which I am really excited about. Rock on cookie brides!
Hi Miss Pineapple! I am having a Pittsburgh wedding, too, and I also was puzzled by the cookie table tradition. I am opting out of the tradition myself. Not being originally from the area, I don’t have strong ties to this tradition. But I think it can be nice if done tastefully and creatively. I love your suggestion of the milk shot glasses (and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is one my favorite books!). Your venue would just have to be careful about keeping the milk cold.
I think my FI and my in-laws would kill me if I opted out of this tradition!
I have heard about the cookie table from Marth Stewart but the Italian side of my family (New England based) does not do anything like that, however the Swedish & Scottish side does potluck weddings so the main entrees are what is brought by family. Because my FIs family are all traveling to the wedding this is not a very inclusive option for us.
Since my Dad is a dairy farmer we want to have milk and cookies after dinner/during the dancing. I am seriously thinking about having a cookie table. Cookies can be made ahead of time and brought to the wedding even over a longer distance. It is also a way for my great aunts and closer family to contribute.
I’m Italian and from a large Italian family, and I’m so happy that my aunts and cousins have volunteered to make cookies for my wedding, too!!! It’s been done at all the weddings prior and they did it for my shower. The cookies are just dazzling and delicious. My mom had sweet talked our venue into letting us bring in the cookies, so thankfully they’re okay with it. For me, this is just a touch of perfection on top of our beautiful day.
I’m originally from Western PA, and we decided last minute to add the cookie table tradition to our San Francisco wedding. We altered the standard procedure a bit by using recipes from both sides of our new family — my mother-in-law sent me a couple of her favorites, and my mom and I chipped in three of ours. My mom and I did all the baking the week before the wedding, and while it sounds stressful, it was actually a blast (we had quite an assembly line going in my kitchen). At the wedding, we handed out little bags for guests to take home the extras, and there were hardly any cookies left over at the end of the night.
I actually asked FI if we could have a cookie table at our wedding in Seattle! He’d never heard of it but I went to college in Ohio so I was aware of it. We’re definitely having cookies!
Since I’m a western PA native and we’re getting married in the boonies there, we are having a cookie table at our wedding next summer.
My brother and SIL’s wedding was a HUGE 7/7/7 wedding with 350 guests. Their venue provided takeout containers for guests to take cookies home - and in their wedding video, you can see one of their guests returning to the cookie table packing up box after box after box of cookies to take home. Hardly anyone else got to take cookies.
We’re guessing he didn’t make christmas cookies this year.
I’m so excited that someone finally posted something about a cookie table! I’m from Warren, PA…north of Pittsburgh and we’re having a cookie table. I’m Italian and a big cookie table is sort of like a good luck thing. We’re getting married in December and people are already planing what they are going to bake for the cookie table. We aren’t doing favors…instead we are having Chinese takeout boxes with our monogram on them for people to take home cookies. It’s a nice tradition, you should consider it!
Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
We have a venue where you can’t bring outside food, so having family bake doesn’t work. So, I am skipping the/our Italian tradition of bakery sweets. We will feed our guests ice cream and cake… but then get on the dance floor!