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By Rebecca Barnes, Publisher, Brides & Weddings
For Michelle O’Leary and Jenn McHugh, a table overflowing with cookies is more than a dessert display. It is a connection to family, tradition, and some of their favorite childhood memories.
Now, Cookie Love Company is bringing that tradition to the 2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off, where wedding professionals will get to experience the company’s modern interpretation of the Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table.
A Tradition That Inspired a Business
Cookie Love Company grew from O’Leary and McHugh’s love of the Pittsburgh tradition of wedding cookie tables, where family members and friends contribute an assortment of homemade cookies to a couple’s celebration.
The tradition became particularly meaningful during difficult economic times, including the Great Depression and World War II era, when families found ways to celebrate even when elaborate wedding desserts could be beyond their means. Friends and relatives contributed cookies and family recipes, creating a dessert table through a collective act of love.
For O’Leary and McHugh, the tradition is also personal. They remember cookie tables from childhood weddings and family celebrations, and Cookie Love Company now brings that sense of abundance, community, and nostalgia to today’s weddings.
Their full-service approach goes beyond delivering cookies. Cookie Love creates customized cookie-table experiences, including the assortment, presentation, and details that help make the display part of the overall wedding celebration.
A Wedding Cookie Table for a New Generation
Cookie Love’s entry in the 2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off is appropriately named the Wedding Cookie Table.
The concept honors the authenticity of the tradition while showing wedding professionals what it can look like at a modern celebration.
“Today, you will see a modern twist on the ‘cookie table’ with cookie varieties that appeal to a wide demographic of generations with an elevated style and design, while still embracing the authenticity and cherished tradition,” O’Leary and McHugh said.
Their Cake-Off Wedding Cookie Table will feature 10 varieties:
- Sweet Peach Cookie
- Kaufman Thumbprint Cookie
- Apricot Nut Torte
- Salted Caramel Shortbread
- Fig Swirl Roll
- Almond Biscotti and Chocolate Biscotti
- Sugar Cookie
- Snickerdoodle Cookie
- Rocky Road Cookie
- Whoopie Pie
But the assortment was not selected simply to provide a lot of choices.
Creating a Dessert Experience Across Generations
Cookie Love intentionally curated its Cake-Off assortment to appeal to guests of different ages, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation.
“The goal was to create a unifying experience that encouraged all attendees to connect through a shared appreciation of familiar and nostalgic tastes,” O’Leary and McHugh said.
That idea is particularly relevant to weddings, where several generations of family and friends often gather in one room.
A cookie table gives couples an opportunity to offer something recognizable and nostalgic alongside flavors and presentation that feel fresh. It can also provide a way to incorporate family recipes, cultural traditions, favorite flavors, or memories into the reception.
Rather than treating dessert simply as something served after dinner, Cookie Love sees the table itself as part of the guest experience.
More Than Cookies on a Table
Cookie Love Company specializes in full-service wedding cookie tables with more than 50 cookie varieties available. Couples can customize both the assortment and presentation to complement their wedding.
Cookie Love can also accommodate dietary considerations with gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free options.
For couples who want guests to take part of the experience home, customized takeaway tins and bags can turn the cookie table into both dessert and a wedding favor.
It is a contemporary interpretation of a tradition that has always centered on generosity: create a table filled with enough choices that everyone can find something they love.
Connecting With the Wedding Community at the Cake-Off
Participating in this year’s Cake-Off gives O’Leary and McHugh an opportunity to introduce more wedding professionals to the Wedding Cookie Table concept while also connecting with others in the industry.
Unlike a traditional cake competition in which every competitor presents the same type of dessert, the Brides & Weddings Cake-Off gives wedding professionals an opportunity to experience different approaches to wedding sweets. Cookie Love’s entry demonstrates that couples can build a memorable dessert experience around something other than a traditional wedding cake, or incorporate a cookie table alongside one.
Guests at the event will be able to sample Cookie Love’s Wedding Cookie Table and vote in the Cake-Off’s attendee-selected categories, including Attendees Choice.
Experience Cookie Love Company at the Cake-Off
Cookie Love Company will compete at the 2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off on Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Sweeney Barn, 9310 Discovery Blvd. in Manassas.
Presented by Brides & Weddings through Women’s Wedding Network, the event brings wedding professionals together for networking, lunch, tastings, competition, and voting while showcasing the creativity of wedding bakers and dessert professionals.
Learn more and attend through the 2026 Brides & Weddings Cake-Off page.
