Eating your money - Making the most of your event catering bill

Believe me, as an event planner I have seen that it is EASY to blow through $20,000+ by feeding (and giving alcohol to) 185+ people. For privileged couples this type of budget allowance is available. But, for those unable or unwilling to shell out that much money, may I suggest the following tips:

• Understand the correlation between the cost of catering and the number of mouths that you feed. Although the ‘quality’ of food that you serve your guests will increase or decrease the cost of catering for your event, you must first understand that the number one factor for enormous food bills is number of mouths that you are feeding.  If you are planning on inviting 100 guests to your reception then you need to plan to feed those 100 people.

If after doing the numbers with your caterer you do not have the funds to feed everyone on your invitees list, then it is time to re-evaluate your guest list. When it comes down to it, if you don’t have the money you don’t have the money. There is nothing to be ashamed about. However, you will need to modify your list to include only the most important persons.

"But we HAVE to invite everyone on our list to the reception!" Not true. Consider throwing a party where hors d’oeuvres and drinks can be served. When it comes down to it, a big reason that hurt feelings happen may be because people want to have an opportunity to share in your moment and in your joy. Creating a moment for those that you cannot afford to have at the reception is perfectly acceptable.

• Go heavy on the hors d’oeuvres . Although you may be serving a meal at the reception, consider adding a one-hour long cocktail party to allow guests to quench their post-ceremony hunger. Guests that eat before dinner will eat smaller portions and are less likely to go back for second portions. Go "fancy" and have butlered hors d’oeuvres passed to the guests, alongside "do it yourself" hors d’oeuvres stations.
• Filler, filler, Filler. Filler foods are foods that fill stomachs fast and for little money.  Have you ever eaten at a restaurant that first serves bread? Bread is an excellent filler. As for class, try using an exotic pasta, bruschetta + toppings, and other such foods that will take-up room in a guest’s stomach. Another helpful tip is to have the filler foods waiting at guest tables for the guests, so that they can get started with their eating before the food line opens or wait staff begins their service.
• Control your guests’ portions. Even (and especially) if you are offering a buffet, ask your caterer (or volunteers) to stand behind the foods to dole-out portions. Portion control is an easy way for you to save big dollars on large amounts of food that would otherwise not be consumed because most guests would not eat so much unless it were free.
• Post-dinner pickins. Especially when serving guests alcohol you may wish to consider erecting a few small hors d’oeuvres stations posted throughout the ceremony space. Guests that are dancing and drinking are likely to search the venue for a few crackers and cheeses, fruits, or sweets to munch on. As a bonus, giving guests reason to munch will allow for [slightly] less alcohol consumption. Keep in mind that for convenience sake you may not want to serve foods that require refrigeration or constant heating. (Food poisoning guests = icky.)
• Plan for the staff gratuity. In many situations the gratuity for the wait staff, bartenders, and food captains will be directly added to the food bill that you endorse from the caterer or venue. However, some companies will allow you to add-in your own gratuity based upon your experience. In either case make a decision that you are going to plan for the staff gratuity instead of being shocked or put-off by it. After all, the staff gratuity helps the people behind the wait staff uniforms to feed their own families.

Happy eating!

Best,
Alisha Forrester Scott, Owner
La Ruche. event design studio.

You can e-mail AFS at: studio@enterlaruche.com

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Guest Book Alternatives

I am often surprised at the creativity of my clients! Today, while walking the grounds of a museum where she’ll marry in March, my client introduced me to yet another idea which will act as her alternative to a guest book .  Many of my clients and acquaintances feel similar - guest books are now becoming antiquated . Creative "guest projects" are now preferred.

In the spirit of alternatives and trends, below you will find a list of the most interesting guest book alternatives that I have "found", heard of, and recommended.

Just a hint: If you have invited two groups to your wedding…one group for the ceremony + reception, and one group for ceremony-only, you may wish to consider using a traditional guest book to register attendance for your ceremony, then use the alternatives below for the reception (where guests will have more creative time to spend).

1.  [This idea is from today's client meeting... ] The Guest Tree
(Note: After researching this idea is also sometimes called a "Wishing Tree")

This idea combines the idea of a guest book and a "best wishes" guest area. (A best wishes guest area may be defined as an area set aside for guests to write personal thoughts for the couple. Today, many brides still use photo mats for guests thoughts and signatures.)

• A Guest Tree is a potted, "indoor" tree that will feature paper "ornaments" which contain guest’s best wishes to the couple. As it was explained to me, there is a table with strips of paper (not to be folded) and pens and ornament hooks. Once the guest has completed their thought to the couple it is hung by an ornament hook onto the tree. (Keep in mind that you will want to punch holes into the ends of the strips of paper so that your guests will not have to fumble and rip their paper.)  The tree that my client is using is a manzanita tree, pre-decorated with blue Christmas lights.  However, there are many other tree varieties that would be appropriate.

  Hint: You may wish to place a card containing directions for the less-creative-minded guests. (Being told how to complete the project is often times helpful.)

2.  The Wedding Canvas - A work of wedding art

• Recently, at my sister’s wedding, we used a large blank canvas for guests to "make their mark". Permanent markers, paints, scissors, and interesting pictures were placed on a table next to the canvas which was held on an easel (my sister’s request).  An 8" x 10" rectangle section in the center of the canvas was marked and designated as a spot for a future photo to be placed, and the guests were helpful about not writing or marking in that area.  A variation of this idea would may be to use watercolors (paints and paintbrushes), or just colorful permanent pens. (It all depends on what you want the guests to "do".)

3.  The Wedding Vase

If you are the type to place flowers in your home, consider purchasing a vase for your guests to sign. (Again, you may wish to leave a card printed with helpful directions to the guests.) If you are going to choose a dark vase, use a light paint pen , and vice versa.

4.  The Wedding Quilt (Important: This requires sewing)

Have you ever seen patchwork quilts? Well, the premise of a patchwork quilt is to take squares of fabric and sew the edges together to make a quilt.  Imagine then squares of fabric cut for guests to write well wishes or thoughts for the couple on with a permanent fabric pen !  You would want to have a table set-up with fabric squares, directions to the guests, permanent guest pens, and a "finished" box or bin where guests could put their finished squares. You could go shopping for your favorite fashionable quilting squares, or you could just purchase a generic set online.

A bit of Caution

Giving gifts to the couple that are used in daily life, such as aprons or plates, makes for a sad day when the markings wear-off when being laundered or washed.  Although aprons and plates are cute ideas you may be happier with an item that isn’t used as often or as regularly.

Happy guest project-ing!

Best,
Alisha Forrester Scott, Owner
La Ruche. event design studio.

You can reach AFS by e-mailing: studio@enterlaruche.com.

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The Green Bride Guide

“Going Green” is not just for a select group of people who care about the earth anymore. It’s “catching on”, so to speak, with everyone (well, perhaps not everyone, but a lot of people). And one particular event people are paying particular “green” attention to is, you guessed it, weddings.

With this interest in green lifestyles and green weddings, a wealth of information and resources have popped up - and thank goodness for that! Today I am so excited to share with you a fabulous new book on green weddings, by environmentalist and recent bride, Kate L. Harrison - “The Green Bride Guide”.

The book was officially released on December 9th, so if you haven’t already picked up a copy, get to it! I’m a big fan of books (and websites) with valuable information and ideas in them. Information that I can actually use, ideas that I can execute using the resources I have, resources that will actually lead to other valuable information and ideas, and generally useful. This is exactly how I would describe “The Green Bride Guide” - valuable.

Kate does a great job of helping earth-friendly couples put being green at the top of the wedding planning to-do list. Her book includes a monthly time line, tons of great, doable ideas, and one of my favorites, “Sustainability Worksheets”. She also includes a recommended reading list as well as a few resource page - all with valuable information on them. Some other features of the book include:

**Price indicators ($, $$, $$$) to help you get an idea on how much things cost
**Markers by information that is expanded upon on The Green Bride Guide website
**Side notes with FYI and idea-sparking tidbits and traditional wedding alternatives
**A whole chapter on “Planning an Eco-Fabulous Honeymoon”

So, if you’re a green person through and through and in the process of planning a wedding, I’d definitely recommend this book. But, I’d also say it’s a helpful resource for the “green” environmentally friendly couple, new to the idea of leading a green lifestyle together or planning an eco-chic wedding. You can go wrong with showing a little love for the earth!

Before you go, check out The Green Bride Guide website to find even more ideas and advice. You can also find eco-products, peruse real green weddings, learn from the lessons of current and recent brides, and grab a list of great reads.

To get a copy, check out Amazon or Barns & Noble!

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Two Great Sites

I have just recently come across two very, very fabulous sites.

SaveOnCrafts.com

and
BravoBride.com

I’m sure I’ll mention these in following posts, but I just had to share them with you now! Save On Crafts has SUPER great deals for all of you DIY brides (or wedding professionals) and Bravo Bride has some fab finds for wedding items that have been used and are no longer needed. Check out both before you purchase another single thing for your next event!

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Don’t Label Me

LABELS! I love them. They should be on EVERYTHING!

Okay, maybe not everything.

But, they definitely work on wine bottles! Wine bottles are cool enough on their own, but slap a personalized label on them and they suddenly become very “you”. Let me share with you PersonalWine.com, a great site that where you can customize your own labels, get them put on bottles of beverages of your choice, then order a case (or two, or three, or four … or more). Look at the little pretty we created:

You can chose from reds, whites, blushes, champagne and sparkling, in a number of prices from a number of places (Napa Valley, Italy and France to name a few). You can even order mini bottles! And to make it better, the site is really easy to navigate and use. Just hop on, select the label design you like, edit, pick a bottle, order and pay! Voila. You can use your custom labeled wines as favors, welcome gifts (for out of town guests), or just to serve during the big day.

And if you’re just into wine because, well, you love wine, check out their sister site, Wines.com. You can purchase wine or accessories, join a wine club and read and post on forum!

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Knitts

I have seen SO many cute knitted wedding tidbits out there, I just had to post about them!

Here is a delicate knitted shawl that would be perfect for a winter wedding! So much texture and so visually appealing - I love it (and want it)! By Toby Hanna.

Look at these beautiful pieces by Nanda Handcrafted: Fields of Gold Cowl, which can be worn in a number of fashionable ways as a scarf or shawl, and the Ice and Roses Neckwear piece. Fields of Gold would be marvelous for a late fall wedding and Ice and Roses would look fabulous for a winter wedding (and a lot of winter holiday events).

Here is a clutch I wanted to buy for myself when I was visiting family in St. Louis a while back. I found it at The Posh Fox, and it’s made my Suzanne Marie (please contact me if you would like to reach her)!

Want more knitted wedding stuff? Check out CastOff.info for The Knitted Wedding - a group of individuals attempting to knit an entire wedding. Can they do it? I believe so!

Here are some good ideas for DIY knit and crochet wedding projects.

Want some more knitting resources? Here are a few sites and blogs:
Chic Knits
Vintage Knitting
Knitter Natter
Good To Be Girl
CraftZine.com’s Knitting Archives

Want more ways to incorporate knitted bits into your wedding day? Try knitted:
-stuffed animals for your youngest guest
-sweet cardigan(s) for your flower girl(s)
-pillow for your ring bearer
-cuffs for your and your bridesmaids’ bouquets
-hats for some fabulous pictures for a winter wedding
-scarfs for guests, placed by the exit of your ceremony site (with a note asking them to bundle up before the leave for the reception!)

Unless you’re going all out, just use one or two knitted (or crocheted…we don’t discriminate!) elements for a warm, fuzzy feel!

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boho magazine

While I’ll definitely be mentioning boho during Green Week (Curious? Come back in the following weeks!), I could NOT wait to share it with you.

This FABULOUS new magazine is ALL about being green. And while it isn’t a wedding magazine (it’s good to mix it up now and then) there is a ton of delicious stuff that can definitely help you as you’re wedding planning and in the days after the wedding.

I love how Gina La Morte, the editor in chief and publisher, describes why they chose the name “boho” for the magazine:

A real boho (or bohemian) is all about freedom: the freedom to express your own personal style and not simply be a copy of the latest celebrity trend. boho is about taking risks and living your dreams, about changing the world and being eco-friendly, about having a love of fashion and being a beauty brat. Being a boho is all about enjoying the eclectic mix of things you love in life while still wanting to make a difference in the world around you.

After that, how could you possibly not read the magazine cover to cover? What’s even better? They stress having personal style that’s all yours. Doesn’t matter what category it fits in, if any, as long as it’s your own. Sounds like some of the best fashion advice I’ve heard - whether it’s your everyday style or your wedding day style!

Here are a few of my favorite articles from the first issue:

Just Like Heaven
Former fashion model Taylor Foster-Allen followed her dreams to opening an organic specialty treat shop. Yummy!

Top Ten Tips : Eco To Go
Simple and quick ways to play your part in saving our earth.

My favorite features:

Planting the Seed
A page full of quotes to uplift and inspire - what more does one need to start the day off right? (I must say, the won me over right away because smack dab in the center of this page is my favorite quote of all time: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Ghandi. Fabulous!)

Stylish Girl
Featuring a stylish lady from which we can all draw inspiration is always great! This month the featured “stylish girl” is Audrey Hepburn. As the short article states, we love her for her style, but “her heart shows that we were attracted to her for much more”. They also quote her response when she was asked to share some her beauty tips. A little taste: “For attractive lips, speak words of kindness…”

* * * * * *

Want more boho? Check out their website, bohomag.com. You can also subscribe to the magazine on the site, which I definitely recommend!

Happy Reading!

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A bit from Beau-Coup

Happy Tuesday! One of our readers sent me an email yesterday about this fabulous post on Beau-Coup’s blog: “Top 20 Unique Bridal Shower Games“. My personal favorite is “Wedding Ring Dec-a-cake”.

That post then lead me to yet another good one: “Bridesmaid Dos and Don’ts“. You know the article is good when you read this: “Do help the bride lift up her gown as she goes to the bathroom. Don’t go back and tell everyone what you did.” So true!

And just a side note. I love their personalized mint tins. If you want to go that rout for favors or if you are just looking for little goodies to give to your ‘maids, they make the perfect gifts that can be refilled or used for something else, post-mints!

My favorite designs:

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Fall Favors

It’s almost that time of year again…Fall! Okay, so, it may be the middle of summer, but I’m always look forward to fall. It’s the best time of the year (at least in my humble opinion)! So, if you’re planning on having a wedding in the best season of the year, check out some of these fabulous fall wedding favors from Little Things Wedding Favors!

I love these fall votives, which gifted in groups of three would make a nice little arrangement in someone’s home.

I’m also a sucker for boxes in all shapes and sizes, so naturally I love these lazer-cut leaf favor boxes.

A few more wedding favors I find charming on the site, but are more appropriate for spring and summer galas:

These sweet little lemonade packets, which can be easily personalized. (And I have to point out that it comes with a tiny whisk. What could be cuter?)

And lastly, the wedding favor I find as cute as the bees’ knees, the “Meant to Bee” ceramic honey pot! Which, of course, comes with a tiny dipper, heart-shaped handle and all.

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Feeling Charitable?

Giving back is always a good thing. Your wedding is a perfect opportunity to give to your favorite charitable organizations by either giving a donation on behalf of your guests or registering for donations as opposed to the traditional items like blenders and toasters.

Below we have listed some resources to help you find the charities that are right for you - organizations that work and fight for something that you also believe in and are passionate about.

Brides Against Brest Cancer

Want to make that wedding gown really mean something? Yes, of course, you wore it on the day you tied the knot, but do you ever plan on wearing it again? Probably not. So donate it and give those loosing their fight against breast cancer a chance to make some of their biggest dreams come true. Side note: the donation, including shipping, is tax deductible.

I Do Foundation

Put together by a group of nonprofit leaders, this resource helps you find a way to give back, whether it’s through your gift registry, as wedding favors, or even giving back when ordering your invitations!

Just Give

Their mission: Dedicated to creating comprehensive tools and services to make charitable giving a part of everyday life, JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase charitable giving by connecting people with the charities and causes they care most about.

Charity Navigator

Their mission: Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. We help charitable givers make intelligent giving decisions by providing information on over five thousand charities and by evaluating the financial health of each of these charities. We ensure our evaluations are widely used by making them easy to understand and available to the public free of charge. By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation’s most persistent challenges.

Happy Giving!

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