Archive for January, 2010

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Service Contracts: What you need to know

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Once you’ve decided to work with a particular wedding service provider, get a written contract or letter of confirmation. It should include your name and address, their name and address, a definition of the specific service you’ve contracted, times of arrival and departure, goods that will be delivered and time of delivery, contracted costs, overtime costs, deposit paid and balance due.

Your contract should also include several important dates:

  • Your wedding date;
  • Date contract was written#;
  • Date your deposit was paid; and
  • Date the balance is due.

Include all the details you’ve agreed upon. The more details you write in the contract, the more likely you are to receive everything you’ve discussed when the wedding arrives, (which may be 18 months from the time your contract is made.) List the specific type and number of flowers in each bouquet; the specified dinner menu; the flavors of the cake; the poses you definitely want for your photo album, or any other information.

It is also a good idea to reconfirm the details several weeks before your wedding, especially for services that were discussed many months before the actual date.

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Rehearsal Dinner

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

A dinner following the wedding rehearsal is traditional. It is a lovely way to begin your wedding festivities and allows your attendants and families to relax and get acquainted.

The meal is traditionally hosted by the groom’s parents, and includes the immediate family of both the bride and the groom, the wedding officiate and members of the wedding party and their spouses. In some circumstances, you may want to include special out-of-town guests who have already arrived and the parents of younger wedding party members.

The rehearsal dinner is the traditional time for the groom’s father to make a formal toast to the couple. It is also an appropriate time for the attendant’s gifts to be passed out. Seating plans and place cards are especially important to this dinner, probably a first meeting for more than one of the group. The bridal couple generally sits together at the head of the group, their parents flanking them. The members of the wedding party are seated throughout the rest of the family members and special guests. Presumably, they will feel more at ease and be able to assist in making the other guests more comfortable.

Because it is an icebreaker of sorts, relax and enjoy the rehearsal dinner. Don’t linger too long however. Brides look terrible with bleary eyes.

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Posted in Celebration, Ettiquette, Event Ideas, Wedding Traditions | No Comments »

Questions for your Caterer

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
  • Can you test taste proposed menu items?
  • Does the price include tax? Tip? If not what is the additional percentage?
  • What dishes/utensils will be used for the reception, plastic or china?
  • Additional cost for either? Does bid include cake plates?
  • Are linens provided and included in the price?
  • How many staff/servers are needed for the wedding? How will they be
    attired?
  • How often will the buffet be refurbished?
  • Will the caterer’s staff cut and serve the cake? Is there an additional fee?
  • What are the deposit and payment arrangements?
  • What are the cancellation/postponement policies?
  • What beverage arrangements have been made? Will liquor be served?
  • Does caterer have proper licensing? Will caterer serve? Cash or open bar?
  • Is the caterer familiar with the facility?
  • Will caterer need access to a kitchen and how early?
  • Who is responsible for table decorations including the buffet table if one is used?
  • Can box meals or a separate meal be provided for the other wedding professionals?  (Photographer, DJ, security, etc.)
  • What is the additional cost?
  • Can the caterer prepare a going-away package with samples from the menu?
  • When is final head count is due?

Get all answers to questions in writing or in contract.

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Posted in Advice, Celebration, food, Reception | No Comments »

Picking the Perfect Wine

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Amazing amounts of energy have been devoted to planning your perfect wedding. The dress, the cake, and the food and the atmosphere are all points that have been scrutinized to their tiniest detail. Then why is it that many people pay little to no attention to the wine they serve? This shouldn’t be the case. Here are four points that will make wine-buying less challenging and easier to navigate.

1. Find a wine shop you can trust. Good wine shops work well with caterers and are probably already working with yours. A good wine shop incorporates 4 elements: selection, service, knowledge and price. You should not accept anything less than excellence in these areas.

2. Pair the wine with the food. Look for wines that have good acidity. This will help carry the food flavors. Meats generally call for red wine, chicken and fish with white wine. Chicken dishes are fantastic with Chardonnay, Viognier or Cotes du Rhone Blanc. Fish is easily paired with Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Tocai Friulliano while Merlot and tuna is a great match. Take a chance and taste these varieties from different countries as they capture different flavors.

3. Pair the wine with the season. People tend to drink lighter wines in summer and heavier wines in winter. Experiment with dry Roses, Rieslings and Chianti’s for the summer months. These wines go great with food. Try Pinot Noir’s and Syrah’s for the autumn months. Winter months beg for Cabernet Sauvignon and Barolo. These wines will help warm your soul when it’s cool outside.

4. Buy the wine you enjoy. When it is all said and done, it is still your wedding.

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Posted in Beverages, Celebration | No Comments »

Ice Sculptures

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

There are many things that make a wedding especially memorable, but few of them lend a more elegant touch than a fantastic ice sculpture created just for this occasion. On a buffet table, lighted and surrounded by beautiful and colorful food, it leaves a lasting impression on every wedding guest.

Considering the elegant effect ice carvings create, they are surprisingly inexpensive. They can be incorporated into a champagne fountain, or specially designed to cradle hors d’oeuvres that need to be kept cool during serving.

In fact, that’s the way ice carvings began. (Before there was air conditioning or even refrigeration, there was ice!) Ice was cut from the lakes in winter; stored in ice houses and covered with sawdust to keep it from melting in the summer. During the summer, ice men delivered it to homes and restaurants to put into iceboxes to keep food from spoiling.

Imagine what an effort it was for major hotels in large cities to keep enough food cool to serve banquets during the hot summer months! Ice was placed in several locations on a long banquet table to cool the entire area around the food. Creative chefs carved the ice into interesting shapes – swans, fish, animals, hearts and even caricatures of honored guests. These beautiful ice carvings served a multiple purpose! They kept the food fresh for several hours, and added a wonderfully festive touch to the party. The creation of elaborate ice carvings became an important part of every elegant feast.

Today ice sculptures are still hand carved, they still last for several hours, they still serve multiple purposes, and they still create an elegant and memorable touch at your wedding feast.

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Posted in Celebration, Event Ideas | No Comments »
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