Get to Know: Village Pantry Catering

Village Pantry Catering recently worked a wedding reception in The Center, providing excellent food and service for all of the guests. The family owned and operated business takes great pride in providing the best ingredients, service and value for each and every client. You can find their blog post on the October 27th event here: Simple and Elegant Wedding. Read our interview with Jay Ward below for more information on Village Pantry Catering and what they have to offer for your next event!

Background on Village Pantry Catering:

Q: How long have you been in business?
A: Over 34 years

Q: Where are you located?
A: In Loveland at 453 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, OH 45140.

Q: What geographical areas do you serve?
A: We serve the entire 275 Loop and beyond, and have actually gone to Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville for some events.

Q: What types of events do you cater?
A: We cater most all types of events from Baby/Bridal/Wedding Showers, Bar and Bat Mitzvah's, Holiday Parties, Weddings, Corporate Events, Rehearsal Dinners, Team Building Events, Art Show Openings, Grand Openings, Theme Buffets, etc.

Q: How many people are on staff?
A: We have 12 full-time staff members and approximately 75 part-time servers/bartenders.

Q: What are your specialties?
A: We pride ourselves on developing customized menus that fit most everyone's budget.



Work in The Center:

Q: What do you like most about the venue?
A: I love how The Center is somewhat of a blank canvas, so each event is different and can be designed to fit the vision of each and every client. It's a beautiful space, and there are so many possibilities of things you can create there.

Q: If you could cater the event of your dreams at The Center - What would be on the menu?
A:

Carved Beef Tenderloin

Honeybaked Ham

Wonderful Sauces and Breads

Huge Shrimp w/Spicy Horseradish Cocktail Sauce

Lobster Bisque

Lamb Meatballs

Marinated Antipasto Platters

Spicy White Cheddar Fondue

Salted Caramel Gelato

Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar (Plus a Fully Stocked Bar)

 

and a Werther's Candy to cap off the night!

 



Set Up for 10-27-12

This past weekend, The Center was once again transformed for a beautiful wedding reception. The space was filled with Pinterest-worthy decor and plenty of creative and personal touches. With help from Village Pantry Catering, our DIY bride created an impressive setting for the evening.

The decor was both simple and elegant. Burlap table runners, tan cloth on the buffet table and appetizer table, the use of wicker baskets and old windows all brought a vintage feel to the room, while the natural elements in the centerpieces added a lighter, whimsical touch. I also loved the height that the tall centerpieces added to the space!

These windows were used to showcase the food and drink menus. Cute!

 

The Centerpieces turned out beautifully! The floral arrangements were all done by the bride's cousin, the branches spray painted by the groom, and the pieces were put together by the mother of the bride and another cousin! The group effort paid off :)

 

 

 

The "LOVE" plates below were filled with blue and white mints and sat on the cake table in front of the cake!

 

 

The bride and groom each had a signature drink for the cocktail hour - The "Rocky Top" and the "Philly McFly"

 

The gift table featured an old suitcase for the cards, pictures of the bride and groom and the guest book was a Shutterfly album, again featuring pictures of the happy couple!

 

Guests were able to grab chocolate covered marshmallows as their favors on their way out of the event!

Wedding MBA

October has been our busiest month so far, and we are not complaining! October 1, 2012 marked the end of our first year in business and on Tuesday, October 2nd we were put to the test with a call to book the space for a wedding on Saturday, October 6th! The event was a success!

Picture from Simply Events, LLC

Meanwhile, we were gearing up for four more events, answering requests for information, giving tours, and making things happen... Oh, and for the first week of October, we were short staffed because one of us (I'm not going to name names... but it was me. Sorry, Sam and Alana!) attended the Wedding MBA in Las Vegas!


The Wedding MBA featured great speakers and allowed for networking with amazing vendors from across the country!

 



The Wedding MBA was held in the Las Vegas Convention Center



Timothy Chi and Sonny Ganguly of Wedding Wire gave a series of informative lectures on changing technology, the mobilization of websites, ideas for small businesses and more. As you can see in the picture above, there was also an excellent performance of "Gangnam Style" and my favorite part, free T-Shirts! Some of the other speakers included John Goolsby, Chris Evans, Susan Southerland, and Ariel Meadows Stalling. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to learn from so many industry professionals who have been doing what they do so well, for so long. It was also fun to see the individuals who I have followed over the past year on blogs in person!

I also had a chance to see the Strip and many of the impressive and over-the-top buildings in Vegas!



The Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan



The Strip



The Strip




The Bellagio Fountain

The Bellagio Fountain was the one thing I HAD to see in Vegas! I really do like fountains.



Attending the Wedding MBA was a valuable learning experience, as well as a nice break from routine! I returned home and went right back to work, confident that The Center provides the perfect spot for the very popular "Custom Event" and proud of the social media presence we have built over the past year! If you aren't already doing so, follow us on twitter @TheCenterCincy and Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/thecentercincinnati

Meet Alana...

We're heading into the weekend and know that you've been awaiting the opportunity to meet the third and final member of The Center's Event Coordinator team. A little later than promised, the time has come to introduce Alana! Alana is a worker-bee: overseeing the renovations to the space, meeting with clients and vendors, and getting things done. Even at home, she takes on ambitious DIY projects (ask her about the fence she built!) and accomplishes her goals. It's not all work and no play though, she always has a smile on her face and has been spotted out on the dance floor. What can we say? 90's music is hard to resist!

Alana at home with the fence she built in the background

Q: How did you become a part of The Center?

Alana: I joined MCA Center the summer before The Center opened. One of my first projects was overseeing our initial renovation. The Center has grown quickly since its opening in October. It has been very neat to be involved since the beginning and see how my efforts have directly impacted our rentals and awareness throughout the Cincinnati region.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself.

Alana: I am a UK Business Marketing and Management graduate, but a Buckeye fan by birth. I bought my first house 3 years ago in Fort Mitchell, KY and spend my free time outside of The Center fixing up my 100 year old home with my boyfriend, Steve. I have two dogs, Annie and Brutus (I told you I was an Ohio State fan) who keep me entertained most of the time!

Alana with her boyfriend Steve

Alana's dogs: Brutus and Annie

Q: What's your favorite part of the job so far?

Alana: I love meeting all of the new people that walk through our doors. Our clients have been great, but my favorite has to be the vendors. I have great respect for vendors who have been able to remain in this business for several years, some even longer than I've been alive. I enjoy watching vendors excel at their craft and create special events in The Center I could never come up with.

Q: What are your hobbies or non-work related activities?

Alana: My 100 year old house keeps me busy. Since I purchased it, I have built a fence, taken out old concrete steps, replaced plumbing and 60 feet of drain lines. So I guess my biggest hoppy is pretending I'm a member of "This Old House" TV Show. If anyone is looking for a home improvement outlet, I can definitely help you out. Also around this time of year football dictates my schedule. If the Buckeyes are on, I'm more than likely in front of the TV hopefully watching them pull out a W.

Q: Are there any trends that you absolutely love or would love to see brides leave behind?

Alana: I'm not a huge fan of everything being one color. Say for example, all bridesmaid dresses, napkins, lighting, flowers, etc. being the same shade of pink. On the flipside, I love patterns and would love to see a bride work in the Chevron pattern or some other type of funky print into linenes or dresses. My favorite reception so far at The Center had floral print bridesmaid dresses along with pops of various colors throughout the room that were pulled from their dresses. Some tables may have red centerpieces, others, purple or yellow... the room looked amazing!

Q: Tell us 10 random facts about yourself.

Alana:

1. I see Jimmy Buffett every year with 10 of my closest friends. We bring in 1,000 lbs of sand and create our own beach with a tiki bar and pool.

Alana tailgating on "the beach" before the Jimmy Buffett concert

2. I'm obsessed with the 90's. My music collection stopped there and I'm okay with it. If the DJ is ever taking requests, you can count on me to suggest Kris Kross and immediately join the dance floor to rap every word.
3. My parents were pregnant with me in Ohio, I was born in North Carolina, grew up in various parts of Kentucky, went to college in Lexington and now live in Cincinnati - I never know how to answer the question, "Where are you from?"
4. I can still fit into my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Costume from Halloween as a 7 year old and I pull it out of the closet from time to time.

5. I love roller coasters - my ideal wedding at the age of 13 would have taken place on International Street at Kings Island.
6. Children make me anxious, while large animals are extremely calming to me. Odd, I know.
7. I can throw a perfect spiral football.
8. I'll do just about anything to make people laugh.
9. My childhood cat was named A.J. after Alana and John (my brother). He wanted to name the cat Cincinnati Reds and I wanted to name the cat Barbie. So my parents got to name the cat after my brother and me.
10. I start every day off with a Diet Coke. If not I start that day with a headache.

Z is for Zen

After weeks of researching Zoot Suit themed weddings, Zoo weddings and Zebra print wedding accesssories, this post entitled, "The Zen Approach to Wedding Planning" ended my quest for the final topic of the A-B-C's of All Things Wedding blog series. Z is for Zen, because there is never a bad time to be reminded that it is good to take a step back, live in the moment, and put things into perspective.

Wedding planning can be a stressful. There are budget concerns, so many decisions to be made, and the opinions of others to contend with, but it is important not to lose sight of what the day is really about. Take a short break, a deep breath, and a few pointers from these links!

It would be difficult to completely avoid stress. (If you've found a way to do so, please let everyone in on your secret immediately!) One way to reduce the pressures of wedding planning, is to keep things simple. From the guest list, to the meal, to hiring a wedding planner/coordinator to help out where you need it, taking steps to avoid getting in over your head will make things easier in the long run. For more ideas on how to keep your wedding simple, CLICK HERE.

Make sure that you take care of yourself and do what you need to do in order to relax. Schedule the occasional massage, treat yourself to a bubble bath, or any of these other options: CLICK HERE. Try to enjoy the process - selecting the dress of your dreams, spending time with family and friends, giving and receiving gifts, and most importantly... marrying the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with.

Y is for Years

On October 1st, 2012 we celebrated our first year as an event venue.

Your wedding day is just the first of many, many days as husband and wife. Each anniversary, you and your spouse can celebrate another year together, and fortunately, there is already a set list of symbols and gift ideas to mark each milestone! You can find a chart for each anniversary celebration and its corresponding traditional gift, modern gift idea, gemstone, and flower here: http://www.the-wedding-anniversary-site.com/wedding-anniversary-gift-list.html.

Gift Ideas through the Years:

1st Anniversary - Paper is the traditional gift for year number one! You could order your spouse monogrammed stationery, a journal or notebook, a unique map from somewhere you've traveled together or thought about going, a scrapbook, a calendar, tickets to a show, or go on a romantic picnic using paper products. Cute!

For these ideas and more: Click Here or Click Here.

2nd Anniversary - If you saw "cotton" and "straw" and immediately thought about removing nail polish while on a hay ride... well, that makes two of us, but I would not recommend celebrating your second wedding anniversary in that fashion. Instead, think beyond the cotton ball and buy new cotton sheets, towels, or knitting supplies. A hay ride may not be a bad option, but you may also think about wicker storage baskets, handbags or hats.

These ideas were inspired HERE.

3rd Anniversary - If leather jackets and motorcycles are not your cup of tea, you could opt for a leather bound book or a leather bookmark. Maybe a leather carrying case or wallet?

The 4th Anniversary is traditionally celebrated with books, flowers or fruit.

For the 5th Anniversary, a wooden frame, engraved wooden chopsticks for two, a wooden ice bucket or a personalized wooden cutting board, would all be considered acceptable gifts.

CLICK HERE for these and similar ideas.

Skipping ahead to the 10th Anniversary, aluminum and tin are the traditional gift ideas to commemorate the occasion. A sculpted jewelry tree? A new set of cufflinks?

The following anniversaries are just some of the big mile markers and the traditional gifts associated with the celebration: 

15th Anniversary - Crystal.

20th Anniversary - China.

25th Anniversary - Silver.

50th Anniversary - Gold.

75th Anniversary - Diamond.

Crossword Answers

Spoiler Alert!





If you missed yesterday's post, it was an awesome wedding related crossword puzzle. Today's post contains the answers to that puzzle. If you would like to complete the puzzle yourself, stop reading now and check the previous post!







You were warned... If you don't want the answers, don't look!







If you do want the answers, please see below!

How did you do?