I think it’s wedding week for @teriwtt. Sending good wishes to her and all of her family!
We had to buy liability coverage when having an event with wine at a public facility and using a professional bartender. Cost was about $125.
We got liability coverage for the rehearsal dinner. Not sure what S and DIL did for insurance on the wedding itself, which they paid for themselves.
My sister said she got hers from DD today; she got married in Oct, but they had thank you’s made after they go the photographer’s photos back in mid Dec. I saw some of them before she mailed them and she had written more than “hope you had fun.” She writes tiny, so I’m not sure recipients will even be able to read the novels she wrote. 
Some of the weddings we attended included photos of us in the thank you note. I found that extremely thoughtful! Some also included photos of the happy couple. The handwritten notes had more than “we hope you had fun.”
I remember writing some of my thank you notes on the plane ride home from our honeymoon. On flight entertainment was fairly basic back at that time and it seemed like a good time to crank at least some out.
My brother & sis-IL wrote their thank you notes on their honeymoon (which the best man attended with them). I wasn’t as diligent but got them all out within about a month. I just wanted to be sure no one would chide me or my folks for being slow. H wrote the notes for the guests he and his parents invited and I wrote all the others.
Need some suggestions here! DD doesn’t want the traditional cake. She wants a small cake for her and the groom. She doesn’t want cupcakes or cheesecake for the guests. Any fun suggestions? Outside wedding in early June.
Does she or her fiancé have a favorite sweet treat?
Strawberry shortcake bar (it’s strawberry season that time of year in many places)
Chocolate covered strawberries (ditto)
Ice cream sundae bar
Cookies - a bunch of different kinds
Pies
Donuts are hot right now
S’mores
Have an ice cream truck show up
Whoopie pies (the new donut which was the new cupcake)
bowls of berries, bowls of whipped cream, slice lb. cake or shortbreads --make your own.
A few bowls of chocolate candies if it is not too warm.
Cake pops.
Other thoughts:
Milkshakes or ice cream floats
Things like baklava and other greek pastries, cannoli, or churros or other desserts that might connect to family heritage - or not.
You could hire different food cart purveyors ala fair food like cotton candy, fried dough, funnel cakes, churros, etc. if you’re looking for something more casual and fun.
Make your own ice cream sandwich bar - selection of different ice creams and cookies
Shooter size desserts like tiramisu, mousse, banana pudding, etc.
Macarons
Okay, I’m hungry now.
My D is having a macaroon cake (macaroons arranged in the shape of a cake) because she loves macaroons. Is there some kind of dessert that either the bride or groom particularly enjoys?
Apparently my S and FDIL would have preferred no wedding cake, but her mother prevailed - for photo purposes, I assume. They will have a GF cake that will not be served and a dessert buffet of their favorites for the guests to enjoy. I have not been involved in these details, but knowing them I assume brownies, fruit, doughnuts, cookies, miniature desserts, etc. I’m also told there will be a candy bar - these two have serious sweet teeth!
As for the thank-you note discussion above, I seriously hope that they will send handwritten and personalized thank-you notes to anyone who takes the time and care to choose a gift. Given past experience with these two, I have no doubt it will be the case.
Right now I think their focus is less on wedding and more on dipping their toes into NYC real estate. We looked at apartments with them this weekend, and I think they’re about to bid on a co-op. They are both in their early/mid-30s and are hoping to start a family soon, so they are really trying to do everything at once. My head is spinning. It’s a fine line to walk when asked for advice. I’m never quite sure if they want advice or confirmation…I even found myself saying to my S, “You’ll understand my predicament when you have kids of your own.” Oy, I’m turning into my mother!
@Onward, I’m not a cake fan myself and would love homemade ice cream with a good cookie! Strawberry short cake, as @doschicos suggested would be spot on too for a June wedding.
@takeitallin - thank you for the venue information. It isn’t right for this couple but it might be perfect for one of my other kids who will probably marry in 2019. I think we have probably looked into many of the same venues. If you still want another Ca option I think the Lions Club in Carpinteria is somewhat reasonable it just can be hot in summer months.We have looked a bit online at places in Ventura county but focused more on SB county up to Santa Cruz. They really want redwoods. I have a friend whose D was from Ca but got married in Arizona where she was living due to the cost savings.
Hadn’t thought of insurance but it is a great idea. I’m going to suggest it. The place they think they will use requires a significant deposit so worth protecting that.
I think it is @teriwtt wedding weekend. They are going to have great weather maybe even a tad hot.I was up in her venue area last weekend and it rained but since Sunday the sun has been shining. I’m hoping the sun brings them some beautiful spring wildflowers. Wishing you and your family a wonderful weekend.
I attended a wedding a bit north of Santa Cruz, in the redwoods, Nestldown. Beautiful spot, if pricey. The staff, food and setting could not have been better. Chilly in November, however we had blankets on our seats to take home as a memento of the wedding.
Time to start reading this thread, as we are about 80 days out from S’s destination wedding in Vietnam.
One wedding I attended had a sundae bar. Nice idea, but I missed the ceremony of the cake cutting.
“S’s destination wedding in Vietnam.”
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear more about it. A friend was in Vietnam recently and posted a lot of photos on Facebook. So beautiful, especially the beaches. And amazing food!
@mom60- thank you for the tip. I think you are right and we are looking at the same venues. Actually, we got so discouraged by pricing around here that we just moved the whole thing to Tucson. FSIL has some family there and when we started checking prices, weddings there are about 40% of the price here in Southern Calif. DD2 and FSIL are in the south-east, DS1 is in Colorado, their friends are scattered all over the country- it really doesn’t make a difference if we have the wedding near our house or in Tucson.
Our DD2 flew there yesterday, toured 4 venues, and booked one that she absolutely loves and that includes everything in the quote. We weren’t planning to book quite so soon for the April 2018 wedding, but every venue she looked at was already booked for some of the Saturdays that month. We have decided that the wedding venues where we live are in collusion and have fixed pricing. Wedding costs here have increased drastically since DD1 got married 8 years ago. I know that is a long time, but they are 3 to 4 times the cost they were back then.
@greatlakesmom- Vietnam will be a beautiful place for a wedding! Be sure to post details!