Arizona Biltmore wedding cake inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright building blocks.
When Erika Cossitt was growing up, she spent just about every holiday at the Arizona Biltmore, the legendary hotel where her grandfather had been the house doctor for two decades. And so it wasn’t much of a surprise when she and Eric Volpiano chose the Phoenix landmark as the site of their wedding.
Erica and Eric created an elegant, retro-themed wedding that started with an outdoor ceremony on the Frank Lloyd Wright lawn, named for the architect whose distinctive style infuses much of the hotel’s design, and then segued into drinks in the Mystery Room, originally a Prohibition-era hideaway. The dress code was strictly black tie, with Erica accessorizing her gown with a cape and period jewelry and Eric sporting a waistcoat. The 33 guests sipped libations including the classic D’Artagnan Champagne Cocktail.
The balcony dinner featured the same menu served when the hotel opened, in 1929: Waldorf salad, lobster thermidor, beef Wellington, and bananas Foster. The colors and design theme were classic retro glam, built around a multitude of crystals and a color scheme of silver, burgundy, black, and white.
But the star of the show—next to the wedding couple, of course—was the cake. The stunning white-on-white tower was constructed entirely of edible Biltmore Blocks, the signature Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architectural feature used to construct the Arizona Biltmore. So while a steady stream of Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and big band music filled the night with a classic soundtrack, Erika and Eric treated their guests to what was literally a slice of Arizona history. – Sally Kilbridge
