The Wedding Cookbook Project

Twenty-five years ago, when Tim and I were planning our wedding, I thought it’d be fun to give our guests homemade cookbooks as favors. I’m not sure why I thought this was a good idea. We were already dealing with the challenge of distance since I was living in Virginia and the wedding was going to be back in Minnesota. Plus, I was working at Special Olympics International and we were up to our eyeballs with preparations for the World Games in New Haven, Connecticut, that summer.

But I optimistically included blank recipe cards with the wedding invitations and asked everyone to send us their favorite recipes.

And they did. We received well over a hundred recipes from friends and family, who shared an amazing mix of drinks and desserts, entrees, side dishes, appetizers, breads, and muffins. Some even offered marriage advice.

Needless to say, I did not manage to produce the cookbooks. But over the years, whenever I’d use one of the recipes (which was often), I’d think, I really should make that cookbook someday.

With our 25th anniversary coming up in October, this seems like the time to do it. It’ll give us a chance to reflect on the people we love who’ve been part of our lives all these years. I know it’ll be bittersweet at times because we’ve had to say goodbye to some. And we’ve lost touch with a few—although only a few, for which I’m grateful.

My Grandpa Edward’s cousin, Fran Winkler, a Franciscan monk who taught at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, provided the perfect epigraph for this project. Such good advice.

I think this’ll be a lot of fun, and I’m glad to have the chance to share some really fantastic recipes.