For the environmentally-aware bride and groom, finding a caterer who fits their expectations can be a challenge. Our friends at Crave Catering are concerned with sustainability and have provided a list of questions to ask a caterer when determining whether or not they will be the right fit for one's wedding. You can find this list here!
If you are planning a wedding in Portland and need a caterer or any other vendor, EJP Events can help! Click here to email us for a consultation.
Even though Cinco de Mayo is a minor regional holiday in Mexico proper, its significance in the US is
What does any of this have to do with Portland weddings? I just want to acknowledge the all-important Mexican-American contribution to the summer wedding menu: the Margarita. No matter what food is on the menu, a freshly-squeezed, hand-shaken Margarita lends an easy festivity to any wedding.
In honor of the holiday today, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Margarita recipes from Texas, as well as one of my favorite variants, the Mexican Martini. For both recipes, all your juices should be fresh-squeezed, and the tequila should be light or Silver. (I recommend Herradura, Patrón, Yéyo, or 123 Tequilas.)
Continue reading "Let's toast to Cinco de Mayo! (with a Margarita and Mexican Martini recipe)" »
Book cover photo courtesy Les Petits Macarons website.
Macaron Day 2013 just passed, and it just reminded me how much I love these little cookies and how fun they are to offer at weddings. Whether they are used in a wedding cake, as wedding favors, or in guest welcome bags, macarons are a delightful little addition to a Portland wedding weekend. BONUS: Many versions of macarons are almond-based, and are often flourless or gluten-free. Check with your baker.
Wedding favor photo courtesy EllyB Events on Instagram
Macaron tower wedding cake photo courtesy Macarons by Mimi
Ladurée Storefront on Madison Avenue, NYC, photo courtesy Allan Zepeda
Macaron stationery / Wedding thank you notes photo courtesy Paper Source
A few Portland, Oregon locations where you can find French macarons for your wedding:
Are you using macarons in any way for your upcoming wedding? Please comment or share a photo with us! [email protected]
So why not booze? I've noticed many wedding bars stocked with Grey Goose, Absolut, Maker's Mark, and the like... all very well and good, but with all the amazing distilleries we have right here in the Portland area, why miss this opportunity?
Here's a list of local distilleries just to get you started, I'm sure there are more. If you think of one that I haven't mentioned, please add it to the comments!
Eastside Distilling (co-owned by our friend Lenny Gotter at Studio 98, who has contributed many a photo to The Portland Wedding Coordinator)
House Spirits, makers of Aviator Gin and Medoyeff Vodka
McMenamins Edgefield (and other McMenamins locations)Image from VegFamily.
Gluten-free is a hot topic around Portland weddings and events these days, as many people are eliminating this protein from their diet either for better health, or because they have been diagnosed with an intolerance. Whatever the reason, it's great to have options so you can accommodate those important friends and guests who are going this route.
So it's so great that tonight at Portland's lovely Belmont Station, one of my favorite places to get beer, there's a tasting where you can try every single gluten-free beer available in Oregon.From their newsletter:
THURSDAY JUNE 7 5 - 7PM GLUTEN FREE BEER TASTING. Taste every Gluten Free Beer available in Oregon, from Portland's own Harvester & Omission, plus all 3 New Planet Beers, Lakefront New Grist, Redbridge, Bard's Tale, and imports from Green's, St. Peter's and Estrella. (FYI: In the case of Estrella and Omission there is some debate about whether they can be called Gluten Free but they are very low parts per million gluten, thus meeting stringent guidelines) A brewer from Harvester and some of the distributor/brand reps will be present.
If you've been wondering what gluten-free beer options are like, you'll definitely want to be there!
Are you eliminating gluten from your diet and wondering what to do with menu items at the wedding, such as cake, alcohol, and so forth? What creative ideas have you come up with? Any caterers or cake bakers you just love? Feel free to leave a comment.
This is being written on Saturday night, and I am at the office doing my 2011 taxes. I just want everyone to share in my misery. Happily, there was one cheerful beam through the gloom of paperwork, and that was the super-nice Jax of Hungry Heart Cupcakes taking the time to stop by with a box of samples. It was really great to finally meet her and to hear about the fun and different service she is offering to wedding clients.
For one thing, Jax has a truck. A cupcake truck named Chomps. Just saying these words gets me pretty giddy. She will drive this truck to your location and be a cupcake fairy goddess of love, handing out cupcake treats to your wedding guests. She can also add on a freezer and ice cream novelties, so your guests can enjoy Bomb Pops, Dreamsicles, and Choco Tacos along with the cupcakey goodness.
Photo via Hungry Heart Cupcakes website.
(DISCLAIMERS: 1) I just ate two of the samples in quick succession, a Saigon Cinnamon cake with Horchata frosting, and the other one was a Dark Chocolate Cacao Nib cake with Dulce de Leche Sea Salt frosting. So maybe blame the giddy on the sugar. 2) She did provide these samples free of charge to me, but otherwise, I have not been compensated in any way for this blog mention. Happy, FTC? All right, let's continue...)
The other neat and different thing about Hungry Heart Cupcakes is their use of offbeat flavorings like cardamom and horchata in the cakes and frostings, as well as their daring flavor combos. A quick glance at the upcoming menu revealed flavors like bourbon apple, apricot brie, and even prosciutto melon. Jax says in a few weeks there will also be gluten-free versions. Can't wait!
Keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks because I've been so busy assisting clients find their perfect wedding teams, and sometimes that means tasting a lot of cake, pie and cookies. I'll be sure to report my findings.
I was so excited to be contacted by another out-of-towner this week who will be planning her Oregon summer wedding, working long-distance from Manhattan. Her big priorities are food and photography. She sent along a few photos of her intended style and I thought I would go through our past event file to put together a few photos to convey my initial thought process for site selection and other possible details. Here goes:
All photos are from real weddings coordinated and planned by EJP Events.
Full size photos and photographer credits after the cut.
Continue reading "An Oregon Garden Wedding Inspiration for a Stylish Manhattan Bride" »
Image by Jihan Abdalla Photography via WeddingChicks.com
Food carts, onsite pizza ovens, Texas barbecue, "the guy who brings a giant paella pan to your house" -- the trend in wedding catering is to use interesting, untraditional caterers for your wedding or rehearsal dinner. It's wonderful to have so many choices, but what about you and your guests' expectations about what a caterer does? Here's a list of a few questions you must ask your caterer, especially if they don't bill themselves as a full-service caterer or one that specializes in weddings.
- Do you set up and take down ceremony chairs? What about the tables and chairs that guests will sit at to eat?
- Will you lay down the linens/tablecloths and/or set the table with silverware, napkins, and the glassware that we rent?
- Do your waiters bus the tables? (You'd be surprised how many caterers do not include picking up dirty dishes, taking them to a busing station, scraping and putting away -- as one of their duties. Especially if they did not rent or bring the dishes.)
- Do you remove the trash and recycling from the site? Do you recycle bottles and cans? What about liquid waste such as ice and unfinished drinks? (Venues don't appreciate these items being tossed in the bushes or on the lawn.)
- If you provide a bartender, is that person licensed and legal to serve at our wedding venue? Will that person be prepared to serve all of the drinks that we bring? (Now is a good time to let your bartender know if you were planning on having an appletini, mojito, or other specialized drink. I have had so-called bartenders show up who did not even know how to open champagne!)
The divide between what your caterer does and what you expect to have happen is called the service gap, and the time to figure out what resources you need to fill that gap is well before your wedding. Find out about wedding coordinators; waiter, bartender, and janitorial services EARLY, and what they can do to make sure that everything happens the way you envision.
Many of our clients are in turnkey venues where they can provide their own caterer and bar. But figuring out how much liquor, beer, and wine to order is always a challenge. Order too much and it's a bit of a waste. Order too little and you risk running out during the event, and having to send a wedding party member to the nearest 7-11.
EJP Events is pleased to unveil our own iPhone app to tackle this continuing problem. Based on an algorithm developed over our 13 years in the event planning, catering, hotel, and wedding planning businesses, BarStocker will save you time and prevent a waste of money or alcohol by helping you figure the perfect amount to order.
Customize your order based on length of party in hours, time of year, types of alcohol being served, and how much your guests like to party :-) It's available right now on the iTunes store. Please let me know what you think!
Today's Slip up #5. “The bartender wouldn’t serve me!”
Do you and your guests want to be able to toast with champagne and not apple juice? Remind your bridal party to bring their ID to the reception. In Oregon, because of OLCC regulations, licensed servers are required to check for ID if a customer appears to be under a certain age. They can refuse you service for non-proof of legal age, even if you are the one in the wedding gown or tuxedo.
Brides, if you don’t already have a gift for your bridesmaids, we suggest a mini-purse, clutch or wristlet. Don't forget one for yourself in a coordinating fabric. This will help you carry those few tiny essentials and help you stay organized as you are constantly on the move during wedding day fun.
Photo courtesy Evrim Icoz.
That's it for our special series this week! We hope that by reading our advice on how to avoid the previous 5 mistakes at your wedding, that you can feel more confident in your planning.
What wedding tips have you found successful? Please share with us in the comments.
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Portland, Oregon 97232
Hours: By appt.
(503) 284-6756
Toll Free: 1(888) 682-0040
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