OP: Weddings
Clarkson N. Potter, 1987. Hardcover. Very Good. Signed first printing.
There are weddings and then there are Martha Stewart (1941– ) weddings.
Though there were several other books published between Stewart’s iconic debut, Entertaining (1982), and Weddings (1987), these two are kindred spirits when it comes to over-the-top grandeur. Far more than an ordinary cookbook, Weddings is about a lifestyle, aspirational only to most.
From dresses and bouquets to music and cakes, Stewart takes us behind the scenes of the lavish weddings she has attended both as a guest and, more often, as a caterer. Her personal insights into these fanciful events adds to the allure and the drama. Some of the themes include a farmhouse wedding, a yacht club wedding, a Crystal Palace wedding, and an at home wedding. Every section is heavily illustrated with color photography.
But, naturally, there is also the food. A “garden party in pink” might include hors d’oeuvres of smoked salmon mousse on heart-shaped cucumbers; poached lobster with red pepper sauce; endive, beet, and orange salad; and fraise des bois sorbet. At your reception in a country barn, serve date nut bread (from scratch) with cream cheese and tomato chutney, eggplant clafouti, and grilled leg of lamb. For cocktail receptions, consider blinis with sour cream and caviar, smoked turkey on currant scones, and herbed brie tartlets. And then there are the cakes: hazelnut genoise with swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate ganache, sour lemon cake, or a classic croquembouche, maybe.
Handsomely bound in an oversize (11.25” x 11.25”) square format with a vellum leaf, an opaque white lace pattern printed on it, preceding the half title page (because of course).
Our first printing copy is in Very Good condition, clean and unmarked, though slightly shelfworn, including the jacket. It is signed and inscribed to a previous owner on the front free endpaper. A brochure from the book’s launch party at The Palace Hotel in Philadelphia on March 27, 1987 is laid in. Kriter Blanc de Blanc Champagne and a 1985 Beringer white Zinfandel were served.
