A Beautiful Mess: Moving In, Construction, and Gluten-Free, Peanut Free Wedding
- Lena Z
- May 31
- 2 min read
Now that we’re finally under one roof, we’re slowly getting settled and figuring out how to merge two houses into one. And of course, we decided to do it with construction happening at the same time because why not make room for a family of six while we’re at it? Add in work travel, out-of-town guests visiting, and planning a wedding that’s both gluten-free and peanut-free (and only a few months away), and I’ve now come to one conclusion this family truly thrives on chaos.
Some nights I’ll lay in bed and just laugh (instead of cry), because I honestly don’t know how we make these schedules work, but somehow, we do. Between our jobs and four kids in four different schools (in two different counties), plus after-school activities for everyone, it’s a lot. If you’re living this kind of “beautiful mess” too, I feel you.
One thing I do know is that we couldn’t have pulled off our wedding without Noelle at The Fenwick Inn and Booker Pavilion in Leonardtown, Maryland. Truly she did so much of the heavy lifting and made the whole planning process feel possible. With the allergies in our family, we had to be extra detailed (and yes, a little picky) about food requests and safety, and she managed it all like a wedding fairy godmother.
For food, we brought in personal chef Christopher Lawrence from Cream of the Crop Cooking, and we ordered cakes from Sweet as Hunny. Cream of the Crop put together a gorgeous charcuterie table with meats, cheeses, crab dip, fruit, crackers, and nuts (no peanuts). During the ceremony, Chef Christopher cooked the filet, crab cakes, and sides veggies and potatoes right at the venue, and the whole place smelled mouthwatering. He met every dietary need we had and completely wowed us with the presentation, taste, and overall experience. We’ve been married for a year now and guests still talk about the food.
And the cakes, Sweet as Hunny was the perfect fit. We made our wedding cake gluten-free, and we also had smaller guest cakes that were, what my husband like to call, “gluten bombs”. Ours was a simple vanilla cake with vanilla and strawberries between the layers. At the tasting, I tried both the gluten-free and the regular versions and I hate to admit it, but the gluten-free cake was the one I kept going back for. It was genuinely delicious.
Looking back, I’m so grateful we were able to pull off a day that felt completely us even with all the moving parts, the construction dust, and the allergy-friendly juggling behind the scenes. One of the sweetest parts was being able to use all local vendors, which made it feel even more personal and rooted in our community. If you’re planning a wedding (or any big life event) with dietary restrictions, my biggest takeaway is this: the right team makes all the difference. Ask the extra questions, advocate for your people, and don’t be afraid to do things your way. And if you have any questions about how we handled the gluten-free/peanut-free pieces, drop them in the comments, I’m happy to share what worked for us.
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