All About Meghan McCain’s Incredible Wedding Menu: Wild Game, an Antler-Covered Cake and a Pie Bar for Dad

The food at Meghan McCain’s wedding was pretty wild, literally.

For her Nov. 21 nuptials to conservative pundit Ben Domenech at the McCain family ranch in Cornville, Arizona, the co-host of The View chose a spread made up of wild game to cater to her father Sen. John McCain‘s tastes.

“The menu was something primarily that Meghan wanted to reflect not only where we are at up here, but really geared it a great deal to her dad so he would enjoy the menu,” Meghan’s mom Cindy McCain tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.

The dishes served at the Thanksgiving-week festivities included bison prime rib, venison chili, spit roasted partridge, salmon and root vegetables like parsnips, turnips and Brussels sprouts. “[It was all] things you would have to actually hunt to eat,” says Meghan.

The 33-year-old—who moved up her wedding date amid her father’s battle with brain cancer—was also inspired to include an elaborate pie bar because of the six-term Arizona senator’s affinity for apple pie.

“He loves pie more than anything,” she says. “I was just like any kind of pie you can imagine, make sure we have.”

• For more on Meghan and Ben’s wedding, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday.

Wedding planner Jim Bullock of Sedona’s Events by Showstoppers tells PEOPLE that they offered apple pie, berry, chocolate and Meghan’s favorite: pecan pie made from Arizona pecans infused with bourbon. Each dessert was mounded high to create an “abstract, real bubbly” look, says Bullock.

Continuing with the the rustic theme of the night—which also included decor like antler candelabras on every table, deer and elk chandeliers and birch bark accents—the couple’s wedding cake was a six-tier creation straight “out of the woods,” says Bullock.

The chocolate cake sat on a tree trunk and was decorated with bark fondant, sugar antlers, pinecones and fall-colored leaves. “It’s like you took an antler chandelier and put it upside down,” the wedding planner added.

Though the pair originally had plans to elope, the bride was glad she put on the “western country wedding” of her dreams.

“I think we sort of overdo it with weddings in general … but I understand why people do this,” she said on her first day back on The View. “It’s a beautiful celebration of love.”