Pittsburgh is a stronghold of a particular wedding tradition that I believe (and please correct me if I’m wrong) is exclusive to the southwestern Pennsylvania/eastern Ohio region: the cookie table.
I had never heard of this custom until I started planning my own Pittsburgh wedding, at which point I realized what a big deal it is; cookie tables are standard wedding operating procedure in good ol’ PGH.
It’s basically exactly what it sounds like. At wedding receptions, in addition to wedding cake, a table is loaded up with dozens and dozens and dozens of cookies, of all different varieties, for guests to enjoy.
Now, I have made no secret of the fact that I am crazy for desserts, so I would welcome the prospect of having an enormous table full of additional sugar at my wedding, but there’s an issue with the execution.
Traditionally, cookie tables are a family affair, usually a group effort by the female relatives of the bride and groom. My friends who are Pittsburgh natives report that in their own families, as soon as an engagement is announced, all the various aunts and grandmothers start baking and freezing batches of their specialty cookies in preparation. Adorable, right? The problem, for us, is that we are not Pittsburgh natives, and none of our family members have ever heard of such a thing.
I am lucky enough to be the niece of a batch of glorious aunts who would do anything for me, so I know that if I ASKED them to whip up hundreds of cookies for me pre-wedding, they would. I feel weird about it, though. Like I said, none of my female relatives have ever seen nor heard of a cookie table, and I’d feel kind of like a big jerk requesting that they do a ton of work (including hauling all the cookies down to the wedding from our home region of upstate New York!) in order to participate in a tradition that has nothing to do with them. I think foisting this off on them is pretty much not an option.
Pittsburgh bakeries have seized upon this niche market, of course, so I always have the option of buying a gigantic stash of cookies to stock the table. I don’t love this choice either, because our budget is exploding at the seams already. Also, again, I feel weird running out and buying a huge pile of pre-made cookies when they’re typically a homemade gift from family members. It seems sort of… corporate, you know?
The most obvious and logical solution is to scrap the cookie table. I don’t want to ask anyone to make the cookies, I don’t want to buy the cookies, and 95% of our guests are not Pittsburghers, so no one will know the difference anyway. So why am I hesitating? Oh, because of Crazy Bride Brain, of course. Normal Logical Brain makes the very persuasive points I’ve listed and caps it off with, “duh, seriously, stop thinking about this.” Crazy Bride Brain says, “But this wedding is supposed to CELEBRATE PITTSBURGH and our LOVE of Pittsburgh and this is the PITTSBURGHIEST THING EVER! Also, the New York Times published this article about cookie tables in December, and like, six guests have mentioned it since then, SO OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING IT NOW!!!!”
So, hive, I turn to you: who should I listen to, Normal Logical Brain or Crazy Bride Brain? (Although I think Crazy Bride Brain is fighting a losing battle already.)
While I don’t come from a place where this is common, I would let the logical bride win. If only six people really know about it, maybe you could put cookies into the OOT bags instead. That would incorporate cookies in a smaller version.
make and freeze! I have a lot of recepies that are amazing for this! PM me for them if you are interested! One is classic chocolate chip but they are crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. one is for peppermint pink cookies, and i have a super easy and fancy recepie for palmiers (although they don’t freeze as well)
We’re having a cookie table at our wedding down in Denver, and I’m originally from Washington… I think it is becoming more and more common all over the US…
I love the idea of a cookie table, but to make it simpler you could have your favors be a nice cookie packaged up from a cute bakery, to still have the cookie idea in your wedding, but in a different way which is less of a hassle.
I’m in the same situation! Although my family has lived in southwestern PA for many years, we’re definitely not “natives” when it comes to these local traditions like cookie tables! Yet my fiance’s family HAS lived in this area for generations, and I’m sure some of them will be expecting it. But I’ve seen so many weddings around here where most of the cookies didn’t get taken — it seems like such a waste of all that time and effort! OR, everyone eats the cookies and no one has room left for the awesome (and super pricey) cake! So I decided early on that we’re making our own traditions here, and I’m not going to feel bad about our lack of a cookie table. Instead, we’re getting a bunch of cute little jars and putting several homemade cookies inside as favors. So hopefully our Pittsburgh guests will approve. 
Ask people to make cookies. People love a reason to bake!!
I agree with Ms. Library that it would be a lot less stressful to do a scaled down version. You could have one cookie at each seat at the guest tables or add them to our of town bags. If I were you, I’d probably just scrap the idea. I am a believer that guests don’t really “expect” anything from your wedding but seeing you get married and supporting you with love. If it’s too much stress and too much money, it’s probably not worth it.
I think your crazy bride brain knows what’s best for itself! Logical bride brain wins – hands down! Although I too have a horrible sweet too and would love this idea, feasibly, doesn’t sound like it’s in your cards.. 
a cookie table sounds lovely, but let logical bride take over on this one to save yourself some money and stress! the few people who read the article will not be like “where the heck is the cookie table i am walking out of this wedding right now!”
Lovely tradition. You don’t have to do it by any means; but if you do, have different family members and friends bake a different cookie to contribute!
Save yourself the stress and skip it! I think you’re missing what the important part of this tradition entails – that it’s a family tradition where the women in the family know to step in. I’d feel a little awkward asking family members (especially those who have to travel) to pitch in, when they’re not familiar with the tradition to begin with.
N.E. Ohioan here. We are having a cookie bar too. We are giving cookies as favors and having others next to the cake. I also didn’t realize this was a tradition till I talked to my mom about not having it! Ha.
We are making our cookie favors, as well as some for the cookie buffet. My aunts are making cookies & biscotti & my grandmother is making pizzelles. These people will leave the reception suffiently boozed and sugared!
It’s not a tradition for you or anyone in your family, so why pretend? I remember that NYT article and the cookie table sounded like A LOT of work – work that only got done because the entire family was really into it.
I say don’t do it. Concentrate on things that actually are traditional in your family. Your wedding will be more personal that way anyway
I think that you definately don’t need it, so if you’re leaning towards scrapping it, then go for it. That being said, there’s more to family than blood, so if you don’t want to impose on your aunts, do you have any close friends in the area who are bakers and love the tradition? Asking a dozen girlfriends to each bake a batch of cookies could be a neat solution! If they’re locals, they would probably love the idea of contributing to your cookie table, and likely already have a stash of freezer friendly cookie recipies from their own families. It’s also much easier for them to bring cookies than your aunts in NY. Just a thought for an alternate way to do things, that might let you be crazy bride and logical bride
I’m a Florida bride, and I’m doing a cookie buffet. I just think it’s a cute idea and it gives guests something to snack on while we take our pictures.
I think it’s a really cute idea, but I would let my “logical bride” side win this one — too much stress otherwise!
Have a table! It’s awesome fun and as burgh as the basement toilet or parking chairs!
If you haven’t sent the invites out yet, put it in the invite! The pgh tradition is to have family make the cookies but as some of us don’t have the time to make them, we’ve altered that tradition a bit. For instance, I’m doing as a friend did 2 yrs ago and inviting guests to bring a dozen or more of their favorite cookies (store bought or homemade). This way you still get the cookie table but it cuts out the extra effort/expense and allows guests to contribute to the big day in their own way. I already know my grandma will probably make 14 dozen pizzelles if I don’t beat her to it. 
Want me to bake you some cookies?
The cookie table really does set a Western PA wedding apart from all others. Maybe, if you find it to be something you really do want to include, you could have a small scale cookie table so guests could get a little taste of the tradition without causing too much hassle for you.
I would have originally been of the “Go for it!” vote because I love cookies, but now that I know how crazy things can get as you approach the wedding, I’m of the more logical “Scrap it” camp.
This sounds like a huge undertaking for you, your friends and family. I think Logical Bride should win as, while the tradition is cute, it is not expected by the majority of your guests. Keep calm and carry on!
Yummm cooookies… maybe you can still do this but scale it down? Like have a smaller table?
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PA Age and Occupation: 25, Grad Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV News Engagement Date: May 6th, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2010 Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
Latest Gallery Pics