Friday Find; ISES March Event

Today, our "Friday Find" comes from this month's ISES meeting, which we attended last Tuesday, March 18. The International Special Events Society is a networking association for event vendors and professionals. To learn more about this organization, catch up on our previous blog post, "Introducing ISES"! ISES holds a meeting on the third Tuesday of every month and this month we attended a not-so-normal event venue; Ferguson Bath, Kitchen, and Lighting Gallery. This is number one on our Friday Find list!

• Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery

 

Ferguson's is a showroom displaying bathroom and kitchen fixtures by some of the leading manufacturers in the business. However, this isn't your typical fixture warehouse; instead, customers are able to see these fixtures displayed in some of the most gorgeous bathroom/kitchen set-ups. Take for example, the picture shown above (and my personal favorite kitchen design). This suggests that Ferguson's isn't only a retail store, but a great place to go for décor and style inspiration. After taking a tour of this facility, we sat down in one of the biggest kitchen set-ups for a cooking demo and tasting by Village Pantry Catering. Which brings us to our next Friday Find.

• Village Pantry Catering's Chocolate Dipped Palmiers

 

 

How have we not heard about this dessert before?! Village Pantry's Pastry Chef, Sarah Bepler, gave us the scoop on how to make this seriously delicious treat and we're here to share the secret!

• Take a sheet of puffed pastry and cut it in half
• Dust each half with granulated sugar
• Fold 2 inches from both ends inwards and then fold both ends again (the sheet will be folded in fourths lengthwise)
• Dust again with granulated sugar
• Cut each half sheet into 6, 1-inch sections of the puff pastry and then lay on a cookie sheet lined with parchment
• Bake at 350 for 5 to 6 minutes (until they start to brown)
• Then flip them over and bake an additional 4 to 5 minutes on the other side (when they're done, they will puff up like little hearts.)

Once you have your pastry baked, you then dip the ends into melted dark chocolate and set them on a sheet of parchment until the chocolate cools. Now, you start working on the vanilla whipped cream.

• Take 1 quart of heavy whipping cream, 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• Whip these ingredients with an electric mixer until it starts to form stiff peaks

Then using a piping bag with a pastry tip, Village Pantry informs us to pipe the whipped cream on the underside of each palmier and sandwich it together with another palmier. This should make a total of six sandwiches. At the end, you can dust with powdered sugar. Thanks for the recipe, Village Pantry!

This dessert isn't the only thing Village Pantry showed us how to make, which brings us to the next item on our list!

• There's more pasta sauces available than marinara and alfredo

 

Chef Larry of Village Pantry Catering performed a cooking demo of, what they call, the three "mother sauces." Starting off by creating a roux with flour, butter, and cream, he created a basic white sauce, which can then be turned into some secondary sauces. These secondary sauces included pesto cream, Cajun cream,  and alfredo, which let me tell you, were delicious!

He then demonstrated a basic brown sauce, by again making a roux of flour and butter. But this time he added shallots and allowed it to cook longer than the white sauce (creating the brown color). To finalize the brown sauce, he added beef stock and voilà! The secondary sauces of Swedish sauce and marsala were created!

We were impressed with how easy these sauces were to create! To learn more about how to make these incredible sauces visit Village Pantry's blog!

Along with Village Pantry, Epitome Bartending also made an appearance at this month's ISES event.

• Epitome Bartending's Martinez

 

 

Now this drink is no stranger to us, as Epitome Bartending provided the recipe for it in our January "Drinks for Thought" post. However, we had never tried this drink before, until now! This classic version of a martini was the perfect blend of sweet and savory. With 2 parts of Sweet Vermouth, 1 part London Dry Gin, 1/4 part Maraschino Liqueur and then a dash or two of orange bitters, this drink was not your normal martini! See for yourself by checking out our previous blog post to learn more on how to make this dangerously good drink.

A special thanks to Pottinger Photography for the great pictures!

Want to take part in these ISES meetings? Take a look at the ISES website to find out how to become a member.

Food for Thought; Elegant Fare

Every Friday, we have decided to post a "Food for Thought' segment, where we introduce a local caterer or baker asking them to share their story and some wedding insights to our readers. This week we are taking readers on an Elegant escape as they read about one of the classiest catering companies in town, Elegant Fare.

We call this catering company “classy” because they have catered to a number of higher-end, upper-class celebrities and heads of states, including Elton John, the Dahli Lama, and US Presidents and Vice Presidents. We feel honored to have even interviewed this catering team! Let us introduce you to Nigel Chalkley, Chief Operating Officer of Elegant Fare.

Nigel explained that Elegant Fare started off as a company offering frozen dinners to businesses over 30 years ago. Today, Elegant Fare has grown into a business which caters one of the largest sporting events in the state of Ohio, the Western & Southern US Open Tennis Tournament. In 2013, this event had 185,000 attendees.

Working large sporting events isn’t the only service Elegant Fare has to offer. This company also caters towards brides’ food and planning needs. “Elegant Fare offers so much more than just the catering & services, we walk the bride through the whole process from initial contact, menu development, a tasting at our commissary with tour of kitchen and culinary departments if requested,” Nigel explained. “We have strong relationships with many of the finest events specialists and vendors in the industry from florists to limo services. We are always available to spend time with our brides to discuss their options all the way through to their event. Our knowledgeable sales associate from conception to execution of the event will be there to make sure every detail goes as planned so we can always exceed the client’s expectations.”

That’s not all! What also makes this company so unique is the fact that all staff members are hired and trained by in-house management to ensure quality. That’s right; they don’t use a temp agency for their staff!

After winning multiple awards over the years, including Best Caterer and Best Service, it’s no surprise that Elegant Fare treats its brides like queens.

 

However, every queen needs some advice every now and then and Nigel is here to offer it! “Go with what makes YOU happy,” he suggested while discussing reception food. “Select the food around your ethnicity, your theme or your personal tastes. Don’t worry too much about every other individual guest, they are there because they love you and will always have a great time and [will] enjoy what you selected for them.”

Want your guests to rave about your reception food for years to come? Contact Elegant Fare at 513-552-1340 or stop by and visit them at 2575 Commerce Blvd. in Cincinnati.

Pictures provided by Elegant Fare's Facebook.

One-stop Wedding Shop

While stepping into our 15,000 square-foot, hardwood-floors, blank-walls venue, one may get a bit overwhelmed; there’s a lot of ground to cover! To utilize this space, most brides envision their reception taking place in our Ballroom, with a cocktail hour in our Dome Room. However, this isn't the only set-up option available. We want brides to remember that The Center can host your ceremony as well! By providing you with a number of different ceremony set-up possibilities, we're hoping to show how you can transform our space into a one-stop ceremony & reception shop! 

*Note* These drawings are not to scale! Although, I am impressed with my Paint skills.*

First up, the Dome Room:

 

 

Just to clarify, the blue dots are chairs and the black square is where the bridge and groom will say "I Do." This set up can be used if you would like to have a smaller, more intimate wedding. The smaller size of the Dome Room makes a ceremony really personal. One past bride (shown above) brought in a riser for her and her groom to stand on so her guests could get a better view of her perfect day. She was then able to enter through The Center's main double doors for her grand entrance.

Utilizing the Dome Room in this way allows the bride to fit more guests comfortably. This is for those who still want an intimate ceremony, yet invited more guests. The bride will then be able to enter from one of our side rooms to walk down the aisle.

Now, the Ballroom:

For the bride who wants to incorporate downtown Cincinnati into her wedding ceremony, walking down the aisle toward our huge window that looks out to Fountain Square would be the perfect place for you! If you're not so much a fan of the city, but want your ceremony to be overflowing with natural light; then use a floral arrangement to block the city view (shown above) and call it a day! 

Or have your bride and groom be The Center of attention by having your ceremony right smack dap in the middle of the Ballroom. By draping off a section of the space, you are able to have a portion of your reception room already set and ready to go! That way, all you have to do after the ceremony is escort your guests to the Dome Room for cocktail hour and have your event planner move everything out from behind the draping to flip the space into a gorgeous reception venue!

Like what you're seeing? Call 513-824-7274 or email us at info@mcacenterllc.com to schedule a tour today!

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top O' The Morning (or afternoon) to Ya! To celebrate this holiday, we are providing you with some St. Paddy's Day wedding facts you might not be too familiar with!

• Unless it falls on a Saturday, St. Patrick's Day is considered the luckiest day of the year to get married. According to Irish proverb, Saturday is the worst day of the week to get married.
• The traditional Irish bride wore a blue wedding dress instead of white. Blue was a symbol of purity in ancient times. As odd as it may seem, it is considered bad luck for the bride to wear green, as it is thought to entice the fairies.
• It was common for Irish brides to wear their hair in braids, with a ribbon or lace woven through the hairdo. Braided hair is an ancient Irish symbol of feminine power and luck.

• The Claddagh Ring is the traditional Irish wedding ring. It is a heart held by two hands with the heart topped by a crown. The hands represent faith, the crown symbolizes honor and the heart signifies love.
• Taking matter into her own hands, St. Bridget proposed to St. Patrick after complaining that girls were tired of waiting for marriage proposals from men, according to legend.

• The phrase "tying the knot" comes from an Ireland Celtic tradition, in which a man and women hold the hands of the other and wind a ribbon over the top of wrist and under the other, creating the infinity symbol.
• Giving a bell as a wedding gift is an Irish traditional that says the chime of the bell keeps evil spirits away and remind the married couple of their wedding vows. Today, many Irish brides will pass out bells to guests for them to ring when the bride and groom are "tying the knot".

Sources: http://www.yourtango.com/2013177601/things-you-didnt-know-about-st-patricks-day
http://greenweddingshoes.com/a-mythical-tune-irish-wedding-traditions/
Pictures provided by: www.Pinterest.com
http://greenweddingshoes.com/a-mythical-tune-irish-wedding-traditions/

Food for Thought; Jeff Thomas Catering

Every Friday, we have decided to post a "Food for Thought' segment, where we introduce a local caterer or baker asking them to share their story and some wedding insights to our readers. Our last "FFT" post we let Daveed's NEXT Restaurant & Catering have the mic as they provided us with a brief description of their company. This week we decided to take the same approach and gave Jeff Thomas Catering a chance to provide  us with a little snippet of why Jeff Thomas is the Man! Take a look to see what Jeff Thomas Catering had to say about their extraordinary catering company!

"Enjoying 29 years of service to the Greater Cincinnati Area, we pride ourselves with the knowledge of world cuisine and the ability to customize menus to fit our client’s needs.  Whether it is 'farm to table' with fresh local ingredients to international flair, we rise to the occasion with innovative presentation and execution.
 We acquire this knowledge by 'forcing' Jeff to travel the world experiencing world cuisine from Indian, to Vietnamese, to Thai, to the Rjjstafel of Amsterdam.  Food is our passion. Creating memorable occasions for our clients is our mission.

Under the guidance of Chef Steve Waddell, Steve is assisted by two Sous Chefs, Scotty’s forte being world cuisine including world street food and Ali, a practicing Vegan, brings vegetarian and Vegan to a whole new level.  Our Pastry Chef, Megan joins us from the The Hamptons in New York and knows world pastries from her east coast experiences.

While a Jeff Thomas Catering experience is not inexpensive, we strive to bring as much creativity to our client’s experience as the budget will allow.  Sometimes this may be achieved by our very competitive floral and rental pricing.  As you know, it’s all about the bottom line in getting the experience you want and deserve. Being able to assist in these areas many times helps our clients upgrade the culinary experience to their desirable taste level. "

Now we're starting to talk wedding! Keep reading to find out what types of services Jeff Thomas Catering provides to brides when planning their perfect day.

 

"When planning the perfect wedding, we look at many aspects and consider your day a theatrical production.  We assist and advise with the floor plan, the timeline, other vendor recommendations and more.  But most importantly, we strive to set your wedding apart from all the others you are experiencing with creative menu items and presentation."

What types of "creative menu items" is the Jeff Thomas team talking about, however?

"If we were to site a few of our favorite’s ideas and signatures, one would be our salad wrapped in grilled zucchini and layered.  This architectural visual maintains the chill of the salad and holds the dressing in the condiments so the lettuce does not wilt.  It is also a much better visual to come to the table with a pre-plated salad than a typical banquet salad.  For fall and winter weddings we often suggest a cornbread crusted soup like roasted corn chowder served with a side salad. We bake the bowls and seal the top with cornbread keeping them piping hot at the table for a good 45 minutes. And once again, your guests come to the table with a surprise.  It’s just something different from all the rest!

Probably our favorite main course is a dinner prepared in parchment paper.  Cooking with parchment seals the juices and locks in the flavor.  Everyone gets a hot meal and fast!  We once served a party of 900 this main course in 19 minutes! The show of this execution is all on the front of house and a thrill to watch.

Very few of our weddings use buffet style any more.  It’s primarily seated or stations. If stations, is your preference, we have recreated the execution of this concept.  Early years of stations saw salads station, pasta or mashed potato bars and carving. Yawn! Yawn!  Now, our staff works from back stations and pre-plate mini meals on cocktail plates or martini glasses.  Often there is also a wine, beer or cocktail pairing at the station.  It’s much more sophisticated and you spend more time at your table than at the station as we can plate the meals on behalf of your guests.

Whether seated, buffet or stations, we suggest a pre-set salad and/or soup.  This allows time for all of the necessary ceremonial components to unfold.  During this course, we suggest everything happen from the bridal intro, to the blessing, father of the bride welcome and depending on the size, the toast.  All of this should happen before the main course or station’s open.

Also, when possible, we like to serve the cake as a course by painting a full size plates with crème Anglaise and raspberry hearts and with seasonal fruit garnish. Again, this is just something different than every other reception you attend.  It feels more like a special dessert instead of 'here’s your cake.'

Another thing to keep in mind is once the cake is cut and the first dance sequence unfolds, we are servicing your guests with cake and coffee service. At this point, many of your guests have started to celebrate…. by dancing of course!  We offer a complementary coffee station with whipped cream, shaved chocolate and caramel sauce.  In the spring and summer we also offer iced Caramel latte.  In the autumn, we switch to an offering of hot cider."

These types of services allows the bride to turn her wedding day into an out-of-the-ordinary, unique, classic wedding experience. Jeff Thomas Catering provides services you didn't even know a catering company could offer! Not only do we, at The Center, appreciate all the hard work they put in with brides, they also are accustomed to flipping our space from a ceremony to a reception area in minutes!

 "The Center is one of our more favorite venues.  We are quite used to 'flipping' the reception room from ceremony to dinner.  The open cocktail reception area makes it easy for both guests and staff as we recreate the room for a whole new experience.  They also spoil us with a very equipped kitchen facility that ensures hot meals for all guests.  Just remember that at The Center, you don’t have to settle for typical wedding food. A memorable experience is part of the package."

Thanks for all the info, Jeff Thomas Catering! We always enjoy working with this wonderful company and staff!

To learn more about Jeff Thomas Catering and the services they offer, contact them at events@jeffthomascatering.com or call them at 859-291-0286.



 

Know your Style

Now that we’ve discussed how to decide on a wedding budget, who to invite to the wedding events and what day your wedding should fall on, it is time to move on to the next step of wedding planning; deciding on the theme/style of your wedding! Or in our case, "The What" of your wedding (as described in our previous post, "He Just Proposed; Now What?!")

 

With a million different linens and rental décor out there, it’s almost necessary for a bride to choose on a general "feel" of her wedding and reception. In our previous post “Friday Find” we showed you  pictures from the past bachelorette’s engagement party and immediately you get the vibe that her party was a rustic, elegant affair.  If you want your guests to walk into The Center and say “Wow! This screams Victorian Vintage!” or “It feels like I’m on a tropical island!” then you must decide on a theme!

However, keep in mind that “themes” aren’t for everyone, and it’s completely OK if you’re the bride that mix and matches a whole bunch of different ideas (these tend to be the most colorful weddings)!

We talked through a couple of different wedding style ideas with Kristen Mueller, Event Consultant of All Occasions Event Rental, to get a grasp of what types of rental items are available to brides.

These Swarovski crystal chandeliers are one of
Kristen's favorite rental items!

All Occasions Event Rental features a broad array of rental items and décor, “including tableware, tables, chairs, tenting and the largest selection of specialty linens in the area,” making it a one-stop shop for the theme-loving bride.  

 “At All Occasions, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the trends – constantly updating our product inventory and design ideas – through frequent buying trips, our extensive connections in the rental community, membership in professional organizations and continuing professional education,” Kristen explained.

 To prove this rental company stays up-to-date on the latest wedding haps, we asked Kristen to recommend pieces that would look great for a rustic and vineyard wedding theme, a modern/contemporary wedding theme, and an elegant/glamorous wedding. Her recommendations were nothing short of amazing!

Rustic & Vineyard Wedding

"We have an amazing variety of items to choose from that are unique to All Occasions such as: our vineyard tables, chairs and stools, custom-made authentic barn wood light fixtures, bars and screens, wooden benches and barrel bars. For the tabletop, we have the perfect accents including our light blue, green or white fleur de lis china, burlap linens and runners, brown metal lanterns and jute and linen flower napkin rings - to name a few."

 

 

Modern/Contemporary Wedding

"Our sleek white or black milano chairs and stools, as well as our clear mirage chairs would be great seating options. We also carry a wide variety of linens such as our Metallic Chevron as well as many more. The Schott Zwiesel crystal glassware and Tivoli flatware would accent the table handsomely."

 

Elegant/Glamorous Wedding

"Our chiavari chairs come in a range of finishes complete with a padded cushion that comes in a variety of colors. Our crystal silver & gold napkin rings and luxurious satin napkins and linens add that special detail to the table. Damask overlays in a variety of colors, including our new blush and champagne option or our shimmering overlays like the Navy Blue Sprinkle Sequins add a layer of decadence to any table. Complete with a set of our Elegance china, cut-crystal glassware and silver-plated Vanessa flatware would make a table set for royalty."

 

 

No matter what theme/style you decide on, All Occasions is sure to have something to fit your taste! Which brings up a very important matter -- don't feel pressured by Pinterest or wedding blogs to have an over-the-top, extravagant wedding theme, instead focus on a style that is representative of your own taste and personality, as Kristen advised.

If you want to have a very simple wedding, then have a simple wedding! If you want to have each table linen be a different color of the rainbow, then go for it! It's not about what the hottest trend is, it's about what you feel comfortable with. "A wedding is an extension of the couple," Kristen added.

And you're sure to feel comfortable working with All Occasions Event Rental. All Occasions is nationally recognized as having the highest number of Certified Event Rental Professionals (CERP) of any rental company in the United States and Canada, "with nearly 100 percent of our event consultant and service staff earning this designation or working towards earning it. Plus, a large majority of our consultant and service team members have 5 years or more in the event rental business. All this translates to top-notch service for you," Kirsten exclaimed! Wow! Now this is a rental company that knows their stuff!

Are one of these wedding styles tickling your fancy? Contact All Occasions to learn what else they have to offer for your perfectly themed day. Call them at 513-563-0600 or stop in their showroom located at 10629 Reading Road Cincinnati, OH.

 

Friday Find

We have been obsessing over past bachelorette Desiree Hartsock's engagement party all week! Her party was overflowing with elegance, with a dash of rustic charm.  As our treat to you, we decided to put together a couple of our favorite pieces from the night! You're welcome, reality TV lovers!

 

 

 

How awesome would these vintage furniture pieces look in The Center?? It would really bring our ballroom to life! We have our fingers crossed that Des will choose The Center for her reception (After much time spent stalking her blog, we discovered her parent's live in Ohio, so it could happen!)

This extravagant event was put on by Capstory. See the rest of the pictures by visiting Desiree Hartsock's blog!

Added Note* Desiree favorited the tweet we posted about this! No, I am currently not screenshotting it and sending it to all my friends. ;)

Pictures credited to Desiree Hartock's blog and Carla Ten Eyck Photography.