Weddingbee Blog

In an earlier post, I admitted my obsession with the French bakery, Laduree. When I first decided to use their packaging as inspiration for our paper elements, our wedding style had been leaning toward a 1950s/’60s retro kind of vibe, which is totally us. But, I also felt determined to tie our Laduree paper elements to the rest of our wedding, introducing an old world Parisian kind of style. (This totally fits us too, considering that I’m an Art History major and Mr. Turtle studies Classics.)

I could have stuck to the pretty Rococo detailing and Baroque borders on our invitations. But of course I couldn’t stare at Laduree pictures all day long without incorporating some of those delicious looking French macarons! And of course I couldn’t just buy them from a bakery. I love baking! I bake different cakes, cookies, and things of that sort all the time… and I never mess up.

So… I paid a little visit to Whole Foods to pick up everything I needed, spent hours in preparation, only to come up with these:

Wait… aren’t they supposed to look like these?

Photo Source

I followed all the steps. How come mine turned out like this?

It’s okay to laugh! I did! (After sulking around my house for a couple of days…) But if at first you don’t succeed, try again… right? So here’s the result of my second attempt at French macarons:

They’re definitely not on the same caliber as Laduree, but they improved my self esteem a little bit! After coming this close, I decided to give it another try on Saturday night. This time, I’ve got to be honest… I’m pretty thrilled with the results!

Well it’s about time!! I couldn’t stop smiling at these results! (I also couldn’t stop eating them.) I was proud to take my little plate of Easter goodies to Mr. Turtle’s parents’ house on Easter Sunday. I could not have ever succeeded at making French macarons without trial and error combined with Mrs. Perfume’s amazing recipe. Unlike Mrs. Perfume, I don’t think I can handle the stress of making these for my own wedding, but I’m definitely proud of my new skill!

Has wedding planning inspired you to try something new? What skills have you gained that you would have never attempted before?