Using Food in Your Wedding Décor

One great pleasure of working in the Utah wedding industry is collaborating with amazing florists, bakers, photographers, and other wedding professionals who work along the Wasatch Front. Recently, several of those experts gathered at the Tasting Room for a special photoshoot around the theme, “Using Food in Your Wedding Décor.” The results were stunning!

Peonies, feather acacia, vanda orchids, privet berry, roses, scabiosa and hellebore arrangement by McKenzie Paulos at Native Flower.

Mixed berry pie by Culinary Crafts.

We love the trend we’re seeing of brides and grooms incorporating food into their overall wedding design. And why not?  Wedding food should be visually pleasing as well as delicious, so it makes sense to weave your wedding food into the theme. With some coordination between your caterer, florist, and planner, every visual element of your event—including cake, flowers, and food—can complement each other beautifully.

Antike roses, gloriosa lilies, dahlias, sword ferns, and stuartina eucalyptus arrangement by Pamela Olson at Native Flower.

Raspberry rose tarts with pistachio and edible rose petals garnish by Culinary Crafts.

We’re also seeing brides and grooms move towards including a wider range of dessert offerings. So we wanted to showcase a few gorgeous alternatives to the traditional multi-tiered wedding cake. 

Honey lemon tart topped with sliced peaches, plums, and grapes by Culinary Crafts.

Lisianthus, parasol spray roses, caramel antike roses, mokara orchids, dahlias, beehive ginger and lavender arrangement by Pamela Olson at Native Flower.

 For those couples who do want a traditional wedding cake, we love the trend towards bringing cakes out of the corner and placing them center stage as part of the reception décor design. A well-chosen cake can multiply the visual effect of the other décor, adding up to a grand vision of the event!  

Mini-cakes with buttercream flowers and sugar ruffle by Flour & Flourish.

Icelandic poppies, butterfly ranunculus, caramel antike roses, limelight hydrangeas, white dahlias, scabiosa, blushing bride protea, astilbe, hellebore, eucalyptus, and wild clematis arrangement by Sydnee Lund at Gather Floral.

We know some readers aren’t going to believe it, but the flowers on this next cake are made of sugar! The boutonnieres next to it are real flowers, but everything on this cake is edible.  Don’t believe us? Check out other examples of this amazing cake artist’s work here.

Tier cake with sugar flowers by Flour & Flourish.  

Butterfly ranunculus, hellebore, blushing bride protea, autumn eucalyptus, hydrangea, and tweedia boutonnieres by Gather Floral.

Top 5 Tips: How to Choose a Wedding Caterer

A good caterer can be the difference between the perfect wedding day and a disaster. If you have the right catering team at your back, you can enjoy the magic of your day while knowing that your guests will be well fed and taken care of. But how can you choose a caterer who will take all the worries off your plate?

Here’s how:

Hire a True Caterer

 There’s a huge range in what people call “catering” these days. Sure, you could pay a restaurant to drop off 200 orders of Pad Thai and call that catering, but that’s a long way from what a full-service caterer does.

 As any bride knows, the wedding day can be both exhilarating and exhausting. After a long, stressful day, the last thing you want to do is worry about whether the food will arrive on time, how long guests will have to wait in line, or whether there will be enough to feed everyone. A full-service caterer will be there from first look to last bite. You may barely notice us behind the scenes, but we’ll keep the timeline and traffic flowing, and we’ll take care of concerns before they become problems. And when the day is done, we’ll handle clean up so that you’ll be free to go home to more important things.

Find Someone You Trust

 Before you place your wedding in the hands of a caterer, you need to know that you can trust them with one of the biggest days of your life. Ask around. Find out about the caterer’s reputation for integrity, reliability, and level of service. It’s often a good idea to ask your event planner and your venue about caterers they’ve worked with before.

 New couples may not realize how much is involved in orchestrating a wedding day, particularly for large numbers of guests. As you consider hiring a caterer, make sure they’ve handled events like yours before. Ask what complications they foresee and how they’ve handled similar problems in the past.

Once You’ve Found a Caterer You Trust, Trust Them

 It doesn’t make sense to hire a caterer for their experience and expertise, and then ignore their advice. If your caterer tells you that 200 people can’t fit in your venue, they can’t fit. If your caterer warns you that the cake is going to melt in direct sunlight, move the cake. And if they say it will take at least 30 minutes to flip the dining room into a dance floor, plan on it taking at least that long.

 Trusting your caterer also means being candid with them. Be up front about your vision and priorities, as well as your budget. Some couples approach their caterers like they’re haggling with a used-car salesman, pretending that their budget is lower than it really is so that they don’t get overcharged. Couples need to understand that our prices are set—we don’t charge one client more than another for the same services. Our goal is to help make your vision happen with the best food and service possible within your budget. You’ll have the best experience if you are straight with your caterer from the beginning. And if we’re not the right fit for what you want, we’ll gladly help you find what you’re looking for.   

Go Local and Fresh

One of the best ways to guarantee that you serve the most delicious meal for the lowest price is by using fresh, local ingredients. It makes sense to pick a caterer who specializes in fresh, local foods. If they have connections with local growers, they can hook you up with great deals on foods that are in season, and they can help you create menus around those ingredients. When it comes to planning your wedding menu, using  local, fresh ingredients straight from the source will be one of the biggest factors to your meal’s success.

 Remember Who the Catering Is For

 In one sense, of course, your caterer is there for you, to make your day go smoothly. But we’re also there to take care of your guests, and it’s important to think of them in your planning. Do any of your guests have food allergies or sensitivities, dietary restrictions, or other food-related concerns? Will any of them need wheelchair access or other accommodations? How will you handle Covid concerns? Work with your caterer to anticipate your guests’ needs and make sure they will feel comfortable and cared for.

 Your caterer can also help you find the balance between making your wedding reflect your own personality and style and, at the same time, accommodating your guests. We once had a bride who’d been allergic to onions all her life, so she didn’t want onions in any of the dishes she planned to serve. It took some convincing to help her realize that what tasted “normal” to her would seem bland to everyone else. While we want to help you personalize your day in every way, we’ll also remind you who the catering is for.

Getting Married in the Middle of a Pandemic? Hints for How to Create a Safe and Sensational Wedding Celebration

Planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic presents unique challenges but also incredible opportunities. If you hear wedding bells in the near future, here are some hints for how to create a safe and sensational celebration.

Think big by thinking small

You may have to get innovative. Hot tip: Micro-weddings are the new posh. By trimming the guest list you can reduce crowding while relaxing your budget at the same time. Brides are starting to realize what mind-blowing experiences they can create for 20 guests instead of 200. In the last year we’ve seen small weddings in the middle of the Salt Flats, light tunnels created in the middle of a forest, dinner under a waterfall, 10-course meals…the list goes on. With a smaller number of intimate friends and family, you’re free to open your imagination and entertain your most elusive dreams.

Weigh and minimize risks in advance

You owe it to your guests to identify risk factors and take reasonable precautions to minimize them.  If asking Grandma to fly in from out of state poses too much risk, consider setting up a Zoom or Google hangout for family and friends who can’t attend in person. For those who do come, think about ways to allow social distancing and reduce traffic congestion. A lot of couples are finding incredible outdoor venues.  If you need to be inside, implement an effective crowd-control design that prevents “clumping,” or consider providing private dining areas for your guests such as bubble tents, igloos, or simple separate table-spaces. Traditional self-service buffets can be replaced by safer, innovative options like boxed meals or a dessert drive-thru. Recently, a charcuterie served in pre-portioned bamboo cones was a huge hit. 

Communicate expectations

Whatever safety plan you choose for your celebration, as the host it’s up to you to communicate your expectations to your guests. A classy insert with your invitation can let people know in advance whether they’ll need to do a temperature check on arrival, show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, wear a mask, maintain six feet of distance, or whatever precautions you decide are appropriate. Don’t worry about pleasing everyone: you can’t. Everyone’s situation is different. If you communicate clearly and let people know what to expect, they’ll be able to make their own choices about how to celebrate your day with you.

Customize

Invitations, favors, and place cards are all pretty standard for a wedding, but the pandemic blew open a door for creating new items to customize. Masks, sanitizer, soap, towels, water, or even social distancing/selfie sticks can be practical and personal. Our favorite customized gifts are fun “in sickness and health packages” which sometimes include a hangover kit.

Get help

The best way to enjoy your big day while staying safe is to hire a social coordinator. Your event planner or day-of coordinator may be perfect for the job. Along with a trained catering team, your social coordinator will direct traffic, answer questions, resolve problems, and make sure that everyone has a safe and spectacular experience.

5 ways to trim your wedding budget

Weddings can get expensive quickly, here are a few ideas on how to help your budget to keep your wedding affordable.

1. Keep your guest count small: this is the easiest way to have an affordable wedding. Keep it intimate.

2. Pick a single venue: Find a space that can accommodate your guest count in multiple locations. For example an outdoor patio or terrace for your ceremony but indoor reception space.

3. Pick the offseason for a wedding: Summers are busy and most hospitality members have peak pricing. Falls and late winter early spring are optimal times to get deals on hotels, venues, planners, florists and more.

4. Change up your style of food service: Catering accounts for 50% of your budget. Choose a food service style that is less expensive, such as a buffet instead of a plated or family-style meal. This will save you on service costs and food costs.

5. As for advice, your vendors will know the best way to trim costs without affecting your guests’ experience or your memories.

Make a rain plan

Happy Fall! Fall in Utah can be temperamental. Our weather can go from lovely to a hail storm in less than 5 minutes. So make sure you have a plan if weather occurs. Here are some rules of thumb and tips when making your plan.

1. If you are planning on getting married in the high-risk months (Fall and Spring) seek out venues and spaces that come with an indoor option where you can move if needed.

2. If you are using a tent as a rain plan, check the winds. You may need walls and heaters if they are too high.

3. Don’t wait last minute to try to change plans. When you start planning your wedding make your contingency in case of weather.

4. 40% rule: Understand when we make a plan if the weather says 40% chance of rain you should enact your plan.

5. Surround yourself with a wonderful team of vendors. They can help you with the day of coordination. It takes a lot of manpower to move all those tables, chairs, florals etc inside.

   Enjoy this beautiful fall!

Unique baby shower.

Baby showers are so full of love. Check out the details from this amazing shower.

Event Planner: Fuse Weddings and Events

Photographer: Kelli Freshmen

Cake: Flour and Flourish

Florals: Artisan Bloom

Catering: Culinary Crafts

Balloon Arch: Pop Park City

Treats: Summer Time Sweets

Vendors

You don’t create an event alone. Your event vendors will be the largest piece of making your day something beautiful and stress-free. Here are vendors you may (or may not) need,

1. Venue

2. Catering

3. Photographer and Videographer

4. Florist

5. Wedding Cake

6. Hair and Makeup

7. DJ and Band

8. invitations