Macarons are potentially difficult little so-and-so’s to arrange. Due to their shape and their relatively fragile structure, you don’t want to put them in a big pile or try and delicately balance them on top of one another. As this was for a wedding (and not just any wedding after all!) we wanted something a little bit more elegant. My wife did some web-based research and eventually came up trumps with this:

OK, ‘stand of joy’ it’s real name but it was exactly what we needed – removable tiers and enough stability that it would happily sit for hours with our army of blue and cream macarons loaded on to the separate levels.

Not exactly the cheapest stand ever but the only one that would do the trick. And if you want one for yourself then you can get it here.

We were slightly worried at first as the plastic seemed a bit thin but it was light and easy to assemble. And we didn’t really have any other option at this stage so there was no point arguing.

Originally we were both going to go to the venue on the morning of the wedding and set it up then I was to head back to Mum’s so I could get changed and then come with my sister in the wedding car. However it became clear that this was a massive waste of time and also added an extra element of stress to my day which I could well do without, so my excellent wife offered to take the macarons and set them up, thus enabling me to go straight home and get myself sorted.

And I am very glad I did – it turns out that due to general venue madness, she wasn’t able to finish setting up the macarons (which took well over half an hour to do) until after 1.30pm – the wedding was at 2pm!!!!

Phew!

The wedding itself was wonderful – the weather held and the bride and groom both looked happy and smiling all day long.

But I was desperate to see those sodding macarons.

My wife showed me a picture and they looked amazing but I was incredibly impatient to see them for myself and, finally, after canapes, drinks, photos, and general wedding times, we were invited in to the barn for our dinner.

And I was greeted by this:

 

What a beautiful display!

After all the work we’d done, the ruined batches, the recipe finding, the filling, the stand hunt, I have to say I was bursting with pride when I saw it. Absolutely bursting.

Both bride and groom were thrilled with it and it drew the required number of ‘ooh’s and ‘aaah’s from the guests. And by the end of the night there were only a few left!

So there you go – a year in the researching, a good two days in the baking, and nearly an hour of building. I give you – the macaron wedding cake!!!!

Blimey.