Elegance & Simplicity - Engaged & Green Blog » Catering

Kati & Jason’s Wedding at The Decatur House – Part III!

Katie L Martin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:23:19 +0000

We posted a few of the photos from Kati & Jason’s wedding from May this year…however Rodney sent over this great video montage of the images from their wedding at the Decatur House!

Take a look by clicking on the image above!

Cheers to Kati & Jason!

Kendall & Mo – Part III – Wedding Decor

Chris Easter — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:30:02 +0000

This is a continuation (part 3 of 4) of Kendall & Mo’s wedding – all about the decor we did for them! Grab a cool drink as this will be a long one!

This is our signature trellis that we have been using for about 2 years now. We have now taken it out of commission and have reused the wood to create a smaller version. No worries – we can still make another one like it – we just felt a smaller version would make some of our upcoming weddings more intimate! We purchased the aqua glass hanging votives to add to our ever-growing collection of amazing hanging glassware! Of course we also have every color of the rainbow in paper lanterns. It was just especially whimsical to have them inside this beautiful atrium at the Engineer’s Club in Baltimore.

After choosing her save the dates -Kendall brought one to me and we designed the day around the adorable colors from her paper items (which were showcased in yesterday’s post)! We created simple but beautiful bouquets comprised of green hydrangea with white ranunculus for the bridesmaids to go with their beautiful turquoise/aqua shade dresses from Jenny Yoo. Each bridesmaid had an individual beautiful brooch that Kendall bought for them as gifts! She even gave one to me that I adore!

Here is her lovely bouquet! She chose white peonies (available in May and June) with white ranunculus, green cymbidium orchids with blue delphinium accents. (Look at that cute chair decor her mom made!)

We love our oval vases! We used them for the atrium as decor on the railings with submerged green cymbidium orchids and fun aqua stones.

We custom designed this piece for Kendall! It was gorgeous and huge! We took manzanita branches and fastened them to a box Miguel made out of some old wood from our workshop and filled it with wheat grass. Then we added green dendrobium orchids with her cute paper flowers (and escort cards) from her Etsy Paper designer Magnolia! Check out the post from yesterday to get a closer view of the flowers – by clicking here! (You can also click on the image to make it larger to see more detail).

Here is a nice snapshot of the tablescapes! We used our tall cylindrical glass vases with manzanita branches with hanging green and aqua glass hanging votives (hung with vintage green and blue ribbons). Then we had 3 lower vases with submerged white dendrobium orchids with floating white candles. Then you can see her adorable napkin rings here too – which were featured yesterday on the blog!

(There was also a candy bar – which I don’t have photos of at the moment!)

Mo is Lebanese and we were able to get Debke dancers in for their reception as well from MSE Productions!

MyDeejay was there that night for all of the other music and it was seamless! Anthony is always a pleasure to work with!

I love this photo of the Engineer’s Club as it shows their signature lighting ceiling system that I am in love with! However – this is not to be confused with the fantastic job that Ampa Events did with the uplighting around the facility! Truly an amazing event!

I wanted to make one final note on this blog post. This wedding was planned with eco-friendliness in mind. Kendall and Mo are busy doctors and highly aware of what is going on in our environment. She chose Etsy Designers to give back to the creative artist community, chose us for our eco-friendly designs, chose the Engineer’s Club for its beauty and historical significance, chose MyDeejay as they are a carbon-neutral company, her friends and family took most of the paper decor to be reused again…the list is really endless. We adored Kendall from the moment she stepped into our offices!

Going green can be fab folks – as you can see here!

Stay tuned for the 4th and final installment tomorrow for Kendall & Mo’s wedding! All about cake – not to be missed!

All images were provided by the amazing Jennifer Hughes!

Alison & Rob’s Eco-Wedding

Chris Easter — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:30:12 +0000

We were so happy when Alison walked through our doors with a green agenda and a big smile on her face. She had found a majority of her vendors on the DC Green Wedding Consortium. We are finding more and more couples who are searching for a greater good for their weddings and Alison had some of the best eco-friendly wedding professionals at her eco-friendly venue. The Carnegie Institute of Science has wonderful educational programs and it’s space is fluid and beautiful!

Greg Gibson took the photography and he is known for his documentary style and Pulitzer-Prize winning style. He is wonderful to work with and always produces incredible images!

Check out the necklace! Alison got it from a wonderful designer on Etsy! We also loved working with Evan from MyDeejay.com & Main Event Caterers – who both practice sustainability and are all about the utmost in customer service! Easy to work with and green at the same time!

Seeing these photos made me realize again how exciting it is to be a part of a couple’s wedding day. I loved working with Alison during the planning process while going over her floral designs. There is nothing like being part of a wedding day as a wedding professional. I am truly blessed to be doing what I am doing. I love teaching others how to green their businesses and showing brides and grooms how to go green on their wedding day.

Happy Planning!

Katie Martin

Mother-of-the-Bride Wednesdays

Katie Martin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:18:35 +0000

If your step-father is going to pay for the wedding, he gets to choose the soup!

In the movie ”True Love,” a caterer persuades the beleaguered young couple to serve sky-blue mashed potatoes to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. ”You should feel that anything’s possible,” he says.

But, if you (and your husband – the step-father) love to go out to good restaurants, have attended many events and know something about the caterers in your area, or perhaps the bride or groom worked in a professional kitchen, or attended gourmet cooking classes or have seen Julia and Julia 5 times and own all her cookbooks, then the emphasis changes from gussied up food to fabulous tasting food. So no matter how the scenario plays, you choose a caterer and then have THE TASTING.

Wedding Dinner meal tastings can be fraught with peril…so before you start, here is the etiquette that goes along with tastings.

Get quotes from your various caterers, compare and then choose not more than 3. Ask if they are conducting any tastings for groups/ do they have linens/table set ups to look at?
Is your budget limited or is the “sky’s the limit”? A good caterer can give you great suggestions for either type or one smack dab in the middle.
After you’ve made the decision of which caterer, then set up a date to have the tasting.
Ask how many people you are allowed to bring, (do not bring more!).
Tell them any dislikes prior to the tasting…if you really hate couscous ask them to leave it off…also let them know of any food allergies for people attending the tasting. Will you be having vegetarians attending? Let your account rep know prior to the tasting so there can be something included for those people at the wedding itself.
At the tasting- be clear and specific on what you like and don’t like…you won’t hurt their feelings (just do it tactfully). The sauce has anise? And you detest it? They can change sauces, leave off items you or the bride/groom dislike etc. That’s what tastings with a good caterer are for…it gives you an opportunity to modify the menu.
Ask to see photos of their work, ask about staff attire, staff ratios etc

Obviously, a great wedding planner will help guide you and your daughter through all of this! (www.eleganceandsimplicity.com – of course!)

OK- here’s an overview: You and your husband are paying for the wedding location (venue), the cocktail reception and the dinner. You have decided on French service (French service refers to having a waiter serve the food onto each guests plate for each course as opposed to bringing out plates with the food already placed on it.) The caterer will let you bring 7 people to the tasting. So it’s you, your husband – (fella with the buckys), the bride and groom, his parents, and a friend whose judgment both you and your daughter respect.

You will be given a list of the dishes to be served and a pen/pencil to rate which you like the best down to the least favorite. The appetizers are served by a staff waiter; 2 seafood, 2 beef, etc., everyone raves (or not) over each piece, then you all are seated and in comes the soup (3 different tiny cups) – much discussion ensues over the soup. Then the salad…one’s a crisp green, one is a blanched pear that is ‘too die for’ – all the women LOVE it – the men – not so much.

And then two beef, two seafood, chicken and pork entrees with wonderful sides…everyone is in heaven! Stuffed! (They even serve a lovely lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate between courses.) No cake will be served since your cake will come from another source. But being the classy caterer they are, they do bring in some divine chocolates for ‘the final’ taste. They offer reg. coffee and espresso…

Then the discussion and ratings begin of each of the items each person tasted. Whew…got the appetizers decided, MUCH discussion again about the soup. The women INSIST on the pear salad…and your husband is burning under the collar about the soup! He wants what he wants especially if he’s giving in on the darn pear salad! You whisper to your friend (the respected one) and then, you pipe up “If your step-father is going to pay for this wedding, he gets to choose the soup!” WHOA…everyone looks at you like you are an ogre….BUT no one disagrees. The rest of the choices come easily. And thus – you’ve made it through the tasting. And he feels like he won a battle…probably the only one he will win. ;>) Ahhh, but such wonderful food…you can’t wait for the wedding, knowing the choice is perfect for your friends and their friends (bride and groom and his parents). YAY!

~Claudia Van Veen

Sweet & Sassy Inspiration!

Katie Martin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:01:16 +0000

We love food – especially dessert! Is it so strange to plan a wedding around ice cream cones? We couldn’t resist the idea of a sweet and sassy wedding to bring you back to the days of the Good Humor truck!

Invitation via Papeterie
Ice cream cones via Elegance & Simplicity (by Design Cuisine)
Candy bar via Big Wedding Tiny Budge t
Shoes via Rodney Bailey
Bridesmaids via Our Labor of Love
Gown: “Dandelion” Collen Quen Couture
Cake Weddings Fresh
Bouquet: District Weddings

Sweet Paul

Katie Martin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:01:03 +0000

Met with one of my clients on Skype today as we were planning her wedding long-distance. The details of her wedding are extremely important! We have 300 guests guests coming to town for her wedding and we want to wow them!

So – we were on the subject of desserts and we searched the web for a few things together and fell in love with Sweet Paul’s blog! A lot of these dessert concepts can be made with local farm fresh ingredients – giving them an eco-friendly edge!

One thing that is always important to me as a wedding planner is the style and creativity of my vendors. We have a caterer that could master these dessert concepts – so I am excited. Yum!

We pretty much heart Sweet Paul and his food styling!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

Summer Orchard Inspiration

Katie Martin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:27:09 +0000

We have done a few inspiration boards in the past – but now it will be a weekly feature on our blog! Yay! Stay tuned every Thursday!

This week is our Summer Orchard Inspiration Board

Invitation: White Thread
Fruit Escort Card: Joy de Vivre
Dress: Atelier Aimee
Cake: Project Wedding
Bouquet: Grant Riley Weddings
Tablescape: Style Me Pretty

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

Catering Tips by local DC Guest Blogger Danielle Shevitz of Occasions

Katie Martin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:54:59 +0000

You can have delicious and stylish food at your wedding that is locally sourced and supports good earth practices. Right now, pumpkins, apples, and tomatoes are perfect for Fall menus – not only are they local, but they make for beautiful and colorful presentations We encourage clients to pick seasonal items because they have a better chance of being sourced locally. Check out our website to see more images!

~Danielle Shevitz, Occasions Caterers