Salmon or Sea Bass

How important is the dinner selection for your wedding?  Much time is spent on planning the details of the day, but especially for your guests, the most important part of the day is dinner.  Planning the right selection of hors d’oeuvres and number of courses in the meal will have guests offering accolades.

I have met two couples in the past week that have complained about the food at their wedding. You don’t want that to be you. And after all of your hard work you don’t want your guests walking away hungry, or talking about the dry chicken! 

Here are some noteworthy thoughts to ponder upon while making food selections:

Know your guests:

You may be a foodie, but are your guests?  If you want to showcase the talents of your Rock Star chef make sure to balance the meal.  Offer some trendy palette teaser for appetizers, but you may consider keeping the entrée basic.

Menu Matters:

Spend time with your catering manager to discuss your tasting.  Select items that are in your wedding package, but do not be afraid to ask the chef to be creative.  Never arrive hungry to a tasting.  You will not be able to judge the food for its taste and quality if you are starving. Once the food arrives at your table, give it few minutes before you take a bite.  This will allow you to better understand how the food will taste if it is served during a large dinner service.

Not Happy:

If you are not happy with the quality or presentation, try again, and try until you are happy.  It is your big day, and you want to make sure that your celebration dinner is truly something to celebrate.  You want your guests to enjoy the food, as much as you did at the tasting.  Your catering manager wants to make sure that you are happy, and will be accommodating within reason. 

Teen or Children Meals:

Don’t forget the younger guests at your reception.  They may not care for the lavish artistic meal presentation, but would be satisfied with a less “foofooie” dish.  Do a plan a course for them that is similar to the selection you are offering your adult guests.

Offering a meal choice:

Letting your guests choose between the salmon and steak? This will certainly create more work for you in the tracking of the RSVPs to correctly count the meal selections being made by your guests.  Keep in mind that your guests have selected their meals 6 weeks in advance, and may not even remember their choice on the day of the event.  Some venues may offer “at time service,” which will allow guests to choose their selection once they are seated in the ballroom.  This is the easiest choice for pleasing your guests, but it will most likely cost more.

As you make the final selection of your royal feast, be sure to take pictures of the plates you have chosen.  Do share with your catering manager special notes or comments made during the tasting.  Have all your special requests, temperature preferences and presentation choices written in detail so that the catering manager and the culinary staff are aware of your requests.  Once you have enjoyed your culinary experience be prepared to work it all off on the dance floor.

Happy Feast!!!

BBFN (Bridal Bliss for Now),

Olivia

Going Green by Going Local

            In the year 2012, brides everywhere have been going green in multiple different aspects of their wedding.  Eco-friendly weddings are the most trending theme this year and brides, planners and designers are coming up with creative ways to stay true to the environment on this special day.  One of the most important details that your guests will most appreciate, is what is being served for the reception meal.  When researching about these “green” themed weddings, we noticed that these bride’s were turning to sustainable and local sourcing to cater their meals.  Not only are they two ways that are great for the environment, but chef’s everywhere have been coming up with tasty and creative recipes that you and your guests are sure to be pleased with. 

Local and Sustainable Sourcing: What is it?

            By using local sourcing, you are going to caterers and businesses in your community and buying their supplies and services in order to serve your guests at your wedding.  Not only are you helping the environment, but you are also benefiting your community’s economy.  If the environment is very important to you, buying locally supports it because it protects the air and water, it minimizes energy consumption and it enriches the soil.  There are many benefits to using local sourcing when creating the meal that will be passed out to all of your guests.  Now on to the other type of sourcing: Sustainable Sourcing.  Sustainable food is mostly similar to local sourcing, but with a few differences and a few more benefits to your guests and the environment.  Sustainable sourcing means you are receiving food that is healthy and does not harm the environment at all because it is completely pesticide and chemical free and guarantees that hormones were not used during the growing process.  Local foods can be grown this way, but it is very rare to find a place close to home where chemicals were not used.         

The Positives to Using These Sources

            Obviously, helping the environment is the most important reason to use local and sustainable sourcing when catering your meal.  It helps all aspects of the environment including the air, water, soil and how the animals are being raised.  The economy has also been a struggle for most these last few years, so by reaching out to local businesses, you are helping not only their financial situation but the economy of your very own community.  Another positive to local sourcing is that you are staying local.  You will not need to travel far for a tasting or pay shipping and storage costs because it will be available to you very easily.  Not only does this save you time, but it also saves you gas and the environment from gas pollution in the air.  One important selfish but smart reason for using either of these sources is that it can save you a lot of money.  It is less expensive than most foods and you will not have to worry about shipping or storage fees because everything is grown near you and will be nice and fresh by the date of your wedding day.  With so many positives to choose from, how can you not choose a way that not only can benefit you and your guests but the important environment and community around you?

With Many Positives Comes a Few Negatives to Consider

            Even though the positives outweigh the negatives, there are a few things for you to consider and research before making a final decision.  Depending on where you live and where your wedding will take place, it could take some effort to find the right food source that can give you exactly what you are wishing for.  Research is key when it comes to finding your perfect source that also shares the same knowledge and respect for the environment as you do.  One last negative could be creating menu options that make sure that you and your guests will be satisfied.  If you are working with a caterer, this might make things a little easier, especially if this caterer specializes in eco-friendly meals.

Local and Sustainable Menu Options That Could Surprise You      

            With today’s creative chefs, there are many different choices you can have when it comes to menu options and using local and/or sustainable sourcing.  Your cake for instance can actually be created with these sourcing options.  If you are thinking about a country theme for example, pies might be the perfect choice for you.  By using a local market or farm, you can either purchase or make these pies yourself for the perfect dessert for this theme.  Other environmentally friendly options could be a fruit cake, carrot cake or even cupcakes.  Wine is another surprise delicacy that can also help reduce a negative impact on the environment.  Now for the main course, we recommend choosing chicken, fish and even vegetarian dishes to serve to your guests.             

           

By choosing these healthy and eco-friendly options, you are not only serving your guests something they will appreciate but it will be a fresh and creative option they most likely have never seen before. Americans are starting to change the way they eat and live, so why not correlate this to what you serve your guests on your wedding day.  

BBFN, 

Olivia

The Great Rehearsal Expectation

Today I am welcoming back Adel Domingo, Event Architect at Oliveaire. She is going to share with you what to expect at a Wedding Rehearsal. Take it away Adel...

The bridal showers and bachelor(ette) parties are over, and that fake bouquet created with all the bows from your shower gifts is ready to be used.. It is now the day of the wedding rehearsal, which officially starts the festivities leading up to the big day, The wedding party will be very excited, all are happy to see each other, and the bride and groom are feeling the anxiety of reaching the finish line.

Why the anxiety? There are many, many reasons. They might be leaving the home, or family, they have been a comfortable part of all their lives. More likely, the planning of the wedding activities, with their hundreds of details which had to be finished by the rehearsal day, may have finally caught up with them. Finally, making that unofficial walk the down the aisle, to practice their vows with all eyes on them, would make anybody feel butterflies.

The rehearsal ceremony is usually a one-hour window where the Officiant and wedding coordinator, or church coordinator, guide you thru what to expect on your wedding day. That person, who leads you through it, expects the wedding party to be there on time, and to finish on time. It is usually held at the location of the actual ceremony whether it is a church, temple, hotel, or on a beach.

Often this is the first time that members of the wedding party will first meet each other. In this instance not only the bride and groom are feeling anxious. Imagine the Maid of Honor or Best Man is all of a sudden being escorted down the aisle by somebody they just met, and will be expected to partner up in a formal setting in the next few days. Not only that, you have to be civil and pleasant, whether he or she is nice, or has a challenging personality.

Why go thru a rehearsal? It is to relieve the exact feeling you have felt all this time you were planning your wedding. By the end of the rehearsal the couple usually starts to let go of anxiety as they feel a great sense of support, seeing all their family and friends together. When the bride walks down the aisle once or twice, the groom fumbles thru the vows, when they figure out the ring bearer may not be too crazy about walking down the aisle, or the couple hears the laughter of their loved ones, or even of each other; they feel a huge relief off their shoulders. It is also when the tears start flowing for the parents or guardians, or most often, the bride.

The rehearsal is also the time to turn over the marriage license and church fees to the Officiant, so don’t forget them! Be sure to leave the unity candle and whatever is needed to the church or ceremony location, prior to the actual day. Musicians might check the timing of their music, especially if they are family or friends of the couple. The readers will check the volume and speed of their voice when reading. Sometimes, it is when the ladies of the wedding party wear the actual shoes they will be wearing for the official day to break them in. Do not be upset if everybody cannot make it. Your groomsman from California may have a delayed flight, or the flower girl may still be recovering from a cold. Your wedding coordinator or a bridesmaid can show them what to do on the actual day.

Now that the couple has finished seeing a preview of their big day, they can finally, along with their wedding party and close family and friends, start the celebration at the well-deserved rehearsal dinner.

Photo Credit: theknot.com

The rehearsal, or pre-nuptial, dinner is usually hosted by the groom’s parents, but anybody can host it, even the bride and groom. Its mood and setting is usually the opposite of the formal reception. It can be at the couple’s favorite pizza place, the church hall, or someone’s backyard. The dress code is relaxed and the food and drinks are lively. It is a perfect time for all to hang out with the couple and there is no real schedule. Your out-of-town guests are sometimes invited to show appreciation for their efforts and expense to be there for our big day. The couple at this time usually acknowledges all who were involved, and shows their gratitude by presenting gifts. This is also a nice time for the couple to publicly thanking the important people in their lives, and again will begin to relieve more of their anxiety. The rehearsal dinner is essential to a wedding if you want your big day to be less stressful and chaotic.

What type of gifts should a couple give those who were so instrumental in planning their big day? That is another blog topic, stay tuned!

Thanks Adel, hope everyone got some tips and is feeling excited for their upcoming rehearals!


BBFN (Bridal Bliss for Now),
Olivia