Strawberry Shortcake

As I'm in the midst of picking a caterer and all the madness that comes along with designing a menu within our budget, I wanted to share my idea for dessert. Mr Trail Mix and I decided almost immediately that a big, fancy wedding cake was just not in the cards for us. I love wedding cakes; many of them could be pieces of art, in my mind. BUT....it just didn't feel like a big ol' cake fit with our country wedding theme.

And I had another idea turning over in my head. June in upstate New York is strawberry season! Not only that but strawberry is one of Mr Trail Mix's all-time favorite flavor. Score!

So we started thinking about cake with strawberries on it or even strawberry shortcake. Something along the lines of this:

(Source)

But we realized after talking to our first caterer that having a cake big enough to feed 175 people that looked like that wasn't feasible. So we started thinking about individual-sized strawberry shortcakes, like this:

(Source)

I was pretty set on this option until another caterer gave us some negative news. She warned that whipped cream at an outdoor wedding in June could be very dicey. And apparently, we're about a week to early to be using local strawberries. Bummer. But I still love the idea of incorporating strawberries into the dessert, so now we're thinking a strawberry tart, maybe like this, only smaller:

(courtesy of the wonderful Miss Martha)

I haven't completely given up on the idea of strawberry shortcake though, we'll see what happens after we actually pick our caterer.

Alright, now that I've wiped the drool off of my mouth and computer, what do you think? Aren't strawberry desserts pretty? I feel it is keeping with our light-hearted, outdoor, simple country wedding theme while still tasting like heaven on a plate...I used to go with my family to a pick-your-own strawberry farm nearby and I remember eating as many as I could while picking because fresh, sun-warmed strawberries might be one of the best things on earth...Having a strawberry-themed dessert is not only for Mr Trail Mix and his palate but as part of an homage to my hometown and childhood. Nostalgia and tastiness in harmony? Check. And done.

Anyone else choose an alternative to wedding cake for their dessert? What is it?