Gluten Free Wedding Dessert Options - Phoenix Weddings - Angela Saban Design - Gluten Free Desserts

There's no doubt that it must be a tricky and frustrating time to navigate the gluten-free waters.  With a rising 'wheat-free' population, it's a kind {and now stylish gesture} to include some gluten-free desserts into your wedding spread.  Anyone who's ever had a flour-free chocolate cake knows that it can be an amazingly scrumptious option.  Angela Saban Design lives with Celiac disease - unable to have gluten - she took the gluten free movement as inspiration for an entire wedding style.  The images below will most definitely have your interest piqued.  For incredible information, personal experience, and ideas behind the shoot, be sure and read the passionate article, written by Angela Saban, below all the photos!  Looking for more info on Gluten Free-ness?  Visit Celiac.com!  Also, be sure and check out this oh-so darling Gluten-Free blog Gluten-Free Goddess.

Wedding vendors involved include: Photography: Diana Elizabeth Photography  Event Design:  Angela Saban Design  Stationery:  Swanky Press  Gluten Free Desserts:  Angel Cakes Bakery on Etsy  Venue:  Nourish   Flowers:  Elba Brown

Gluten Free Events

I decided to become a Wedding Planner a couple of years ago, like so many who just love weddings. But discovered that what I was really seeking was an outlet for designing and styling. I had been assisting Interior Designers for 20 years with very high-end custom homes in very prestigious neighborhoods. When the economy brought that to a halt, I was lost. That's how Angela Saban Design was born. Over the following months I hired a consultant, built my website, and began marketing and talking to vendors and brides. I coordinated a few weddings, mostly "day of" but found no real satisfaction, as I had no hand in the design or style of the day.

As I reviewed venues, caterers and bakers to partner with, one missing element was really nagging me. There was not a lot of talk about any special dietary needs for brides, grooms, or their guests. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 20 years ago and have lived a "gluten free" lifestyle ever since. This dietary restriction is not a choice...it is prescribed, the only thing between me, extreme illness and most likely death. You may remember Chelsea Clinton's recent wedding, and the hoopla over the gluten free wedding cake. When this story came out, I knew it was time to make a decision. I had been looking for a niche market, somewhere that I felt extreme passion for what I was doing. This was it. I got online and googled "gluten free wedding". Of course, Chelsea's story was first on the list, and then some bakeries that mentioned the gluten free option for your wedding, but no planners out there were really specializing in helping a bride plan her day. I know from experience what a daunting task it can be just to enter an unfamiliar restaurant and speak to the staff about providing a gluten free meal. So I could only imagine what a bride might feel as she speaks to venues, caterers & bakers about her needs, or maybe the needs of her groom, her mother- in-law, or several guests or family members. This is a genetic auto-immune disease and there can be several family
members involved. Other times, it's a lifestyle change for health reasons.I started thinking...what if a bride could plan a Gluten Free Wedding, or even allergen specific, and never have to tell anyone that it was gluten free, unless of course to reassure some of the guests that they could eat whatever they wanted, as it was all safe? This was a BIG concept, and I got very excited about the idea. But, could I promise this....and keep the promise? It wasn't long before I had made up my mind...I made it my ultimate goal to design, style, plan and coordinate events that were gluten free or allergen specific and FABULOUS, but the ultimate would be...no one would know. In fact, my events would be better than the alternative. if not, then what's the point. ? Gluten Free should not be a compromise, it should be just as good, if not better. This may be a new concept, but according to Chelsea Clinton, and me, it's the new chic.

I chose Nourish Restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ because of it's unique location within Optima's Camelview Village Community. This project of 10 buildings is a "Green Build" and was been awarded the 2010 Green Good Design Award. I also chose Kirstin's restaurant because it is the ONLY Gluten Free restaurant in the state. Her commitment is amazing and her food is even more amazing. The location was enough to create a theme for the shoot. Beyond that, a Bridal Shower is really about making the Bride feel loved and honoring her and her commitment to marriage. A celebration will always include lots of great food and of course gorgeous decor.

I chose a green, white and chocolate color pallete to keep it simple, elegant but still very organic. I wanted to compliment the location and wanted the decor to almost seem as though it was growing there naturally. I gave Elizabeth Holliday at Swanky Press a swatch of the Waverly fabric I had picked for the dining tables, and she magically designed the most gorgeous invitation for the day complete with a chocolate envelope.

I began baking many years ago with my Grandmother, who baked wedding cakes in her hometown in Kentucky. A Southern girl at heart, I love to throw parties and Southern hospitality dictates a delicious dessert. After my diagnosis, I had to learn to bake in a new way, and cake was my first priority. I dare to say that my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake is better than ANY chocolate cake you have ever tasted. So I made this the overall flavor for the Dessert Table for this shoot. The cake was inspired by a wedding dress design. I wanted the bottom to look like a skirt, but made out of petals to keep the organic theme. Add the pearls, bow, and antique broach, and I fell in love with the elegance. The rest of the desserts on the table included Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with my Grandma's secret "Angel Frosting", (I added sparkly Luster Dust to the tops of them), little Pear and Pistachio Tarts, Chocolate Ganache covered Cherub Mini Cakes with white sugar roses, and finally, Lime and Coconut Pattie Pops stuck into little vases filled with dried green peas.

Elba Brown provided the florals for the shoot, and when she placed the budding Dogwood branches on the table I wanted to cry. They were so beautiful, and perfected the design. Actually, she read my mind, and provided all of the arrangements for the shoot without any direction from me. We spoke once about the shoot, and I only explained that I wanted white, and it would be oraganic and very elegant. Amazing, is the only word I can find to describe her talent. The baby succulents on the tables are mine. I started growing succulents last year when they began to show up in real weddings everywhere. I fell in love with their colors and textures right away. They make fantastic little favors, I mean really, who can resist their cuteness?

Another favor for this shoot were the roses hanging in the backdrop for the dessert table. I found the tutorial and thought they would be a great alternative to real flowers and they fit the"green" theme for the day. Made from paper and a simple flour-water paste, they are filled with flower seeds. Guests can take them home, unroll and place in soil, water, and create their own flower garden to remember the day. Diana Elizabeth Jung was the photographer for this shoot, and she is just such a blast to work with. She appreciates all of the little details and finds so much joy in her work. Actually, it's like watching a kid playing, she has so much fun with it. Her shots really captured the organic feeling that I had in mind when I started this project. I also created all of the table linens in the shoot. I often can not source the linens and fabric details that I invision, so I go searching for the perfect fabrics and trims, and just make them myself. Often this is more efficient than searching around for vendors and compromising in the end. I do this for almost all of my Dessert Tables, as I usaully have a very specific look and feel in mind. The detail on the back of the chairs are simply hair clips with a lace trim attached.These could also be given to the girls as favors.

I am very detail oriented, and I often spend months on a design concept before the creation of all of the elements. I simply love the design process and ultimatey making a bride feel that her day is custom designed just for her. And in the case of a bride who is Gluten Free, she may not have even tasted cake in many years, so to provide her, and her guests, with a deliciously decadent dessert, well that's just the "icing on the cake" for me.

~ Angela Saban Design