The Royal Wedding is the 2017 CATIE International Catering Association's "Best Catered Wedding" winner! Featuring our very-own chef as the bride!
The Bride (a chef) and Groom (a waiter) met, appropriately, in a restaurant. So, it was important that food was the focal point of their wedding reception. Every design and culinary element was intertwined with an elegant sophistication. They wanted their guests to experience their world and share in their passion for food.
The Bride & Groom are both very non-traditional so they wanted the spaces utilized throughout the grounds to be decorated in a non-traditional way. The wedding took place on a beautiful 13-acre estate with three spaces to be used; “The Woods”, a perfect ceremony space tucked away in the back area of the estate; “The Gardens” which was utilized for cocktails; and “The Grand Ballroom”, which was for dinner and dancing. All 3 spaces would combine rustic elements with elegant elements.
As guests arrived for the ceremony, they passed through The Gardens. This space was to be used fully later in the event as the cocktail area filled with food and beverage stations. We didn’t want the guests to be passing by empty stations, or stations with food that they couldn’t enjoy. So, we used hedge walls to hide the stations. We knew the bride would not settle for the ordinary. Green walls by themselves were no big deal, so we decorated them with a mixture of heart-shaped and vintage mirrors as well as pictures of the happy couple displayed on each one. The pictures were complete surprise to the bride and groom, so as each of them walked passed the walls to the ceremony, their reaction made the effort well worth the trouble.
The bride had pinned a lot of romantic and emotional sayings, so we found numerous signs which we staked in the ground. As the guests walked over the bridge to the ceremony, they first saw the signs along the path with well-wishing quotes to set the romantic mood. Also along the path, we re-purposed candle holders which were staked in the ground. Candles were not going to have much of an effect in the daytime, so instead of the candles we filled them with florals and cascading crystals.
Over a beautiful footbridge, the cocktail reception began in “The Gardens” with a vintage garden theme. They entered the cocktail space by strolling under a 24’ tall iron gazebo. The path was lined with vintage bar carts holding peach infused champagne served in coupe glasses with edible flowers at the bottom of the glass and an origami butterfly on each rim.
Doubled as favors, and they were meaningful. We had found heart shaped measuring spoons and attached the escort card to them. We then covered the top of a farm table with sea salt and placed the spoons on top.
Guests were asked to enter the Mansion from the front door. As they walked they were treated with alcohol-infused popsicles in vintage ice carts to keep them cool on the hot day. As an added treat, the walkway was lined with catering trucks decorated with pictures of food items Chef had created. A true “walk of fame” to showcase her work for her family and friends.
We once again mixed the elegant and rustic by seating the guests at farm tables. The tables were decorated with a mixture of herbs, florals and heirloom vegetables. Even the table numbers were carved out of eggplant.
To each guest is always a challenge. Again, nothing ordinary, the entrée cards indicating the guests’ choice were in the form of a poem. Once word got around the tables and people started reading the poem, every card was placed in the provided miniature birdcage holders making it easy for the servers to deliver the guests order.
Now for the best part of any wedding... the FOOD!
The Beef Wellington was another International Catering Association Award Winner for "Best Entree Plate Presentation"
Hors D'oeuvres and Stations Included:
