Nothing makes a mama’s heart warmer than seeing her only daughter happily celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary. Fit for the little wilderness princess that she is, her wedding was the crown jewel of my many years of hosting southern shindigs and soirees. Best of all, I saved about $15,000 by securing creative venues and making most of the pretentious spread myself.

This sure Ain’t Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue

We knew that if we were going to do this on our own, we had to do it without compromising panache. This wasn’t going to be a beastly BBQ or spaghetti buffet. All that quotidian food works perfectly for everyday southern hoodangs – just not weddings or funerals. Of course, southern funerals have their own very special menus, and we’ll go down the ambrosia and hash brown potato casserole path another day.

Growing up, I remember when southern weddings were at the church, followed by an afternoon reception at ye olde fellowship hall. Menus were primarily tea sandwiches, wedding cakes, mints, and sherbert -ginger ale punch.  My aunties were always happy if they were chosen to serve the cake or the punch. Why in the hell do you want to be the unpaid help? Then sometime around the early 80s, alcohol started to a be acceptable, even among the Baptists. And this changed everything – for better or worse.

A highfalutin  Mansion, a hungry photographer, and a historic park

At the heart of pulling this off was a rental home called 109 West. Yes, we found a grand mansion  in historic Savannah that had at least 15 bedrooms, a basement apartment, a carriage house and three full kitchens. Select guests and wedding party members stayed together on these four floors and paid no more than they would have at the Hilton down the street.  This was not only the site for all of our pre-wedding fun and food prep (three kitchens!), but also where the reception for 100 was held.

We also just happened to know a very green but clearly-talented photographer.  We hired him for his first professional gig ever for $350 and a room in our Mansion for two nights.  We even retained the rights to the photos. He has since made it “big” and charges up to $20,000 for a day’s work.

As y’all may know, Savannah has twenty-plus historic wedding venues in its fabulous park squares. Three-hour rentals range from $325 to $625, depending on residency and season. We choose the most famed and fancy – Forsyth. With a three-hour window and 100 guests, we decided not to fret over a serious rain plan. Summer rains just don’t last long in the south.

Wild Georgia Shrimp, Crab Dip, Tomatocumber dollars, and Sweet TEA

Under the grand chandelier in the dining room of 109 West, we laid out a nearly exact replica of the food at Jim Williams’ over-the-top Christmas parties. As you recall, Jim was a spirited real-life character from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Prior to his most unfortunate incident, his party was the most coveted invitation in all of Savannah. Of course, we weren’t able to replicate his antiques (including Martha Washington’s crystal candle holders). However, I think we nailed the spread and even managed to attract a few colorful guests from within our own families. Here are the highlights – all homemade by me and other family members, except we purchased the shrimp freshly-steamed:

• Wild Georgia Shrimp (served chilled)
• Hot Crab Dip
• Glazed Ham and Biscuits
• Sausage Balls
• Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Cheese Straws
• Tomatocumber Dollars
• Pimiento Cheese Finger Sandwiches
• Methodist Deviled Eggs
• House of Habersham Salad
• Pumpkin Bread, Jalapeno Corn Bread
• Fruit and Local Cheese Board

But hold onto your sweet tea. We added a few others, just because they were favorites of the betrothed, and because you can’t have too much food.  We glamped up these more mundane items with our treasure chest of sterling silver and monogrammed  serving pieces.

• Pigs in a Blanket with a Trio of Sauces
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Mango Salad in Mini Corn Cups
• Broccoli Slaw
• Macaroni & Cheese (children!)

it was worth every penny saved

All in all, I spent a little under $1000 on the groceries (three or four family members also contributed a dish). My favorite son-in-law spent about $250 on beer, wine and champagne. And that sweet tea – it cost me about $1 per gallon to make, compared to the $25 that a venue would charge.  I did about 75 percent of the prep-work in the days before the wedding. And a dear friend hired two college students to tend to the food during and after the reception. On food and beverage alone, we saved an estimated $10-$12,000.

Was I tired? More than ever. Would I do it all again? Without a second thought.

and now for the star – tomatocumber dollars

Of all of the fabulous food at 109 West, it was the Tomatocumber Dollars that had to be replenished the most. This is a recipe that I found at another wedding in Savannah back in the mid 1990s. And now they show up on every special occasion – birthdays, christenings, weddings, afternoon teas, holidays, or anytime someone shows up in the summertime. Yes, and even camping because that’s a celebration, too.

This is one place where I strayed a bit from Mrs. Wright, who was Jim Williams’s caterer and the most popular party cook in Savannah during that time. Now her tomato sandwiches are renowned, but it looks like over time, some Savannah folks refined these just a bit more.

Tomatocumber dollars have only five magical ingredients. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh dill weed, Blue Plate mayo, and white bread.  One careful step that Mrs. Wright took (and we do, too) was to dry the tomato slices a bit with a paper towel, to avoid soggy dollars.