Holiday Weddings – Good or Bad?

Are holiday weddings good or bad? Think you had the greatest idea ever by planning your wedding on a holiday/holiday weekend? Consider these pros and cons before signing on the dotted line.

Pros:
– Out-of-state family and friends may already be in town.
– Family and friends can enjoy an extra day of relaxation after the wedding.
– Your venue may already be decorated accordingly, thus saving you money!
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– This is a perfect way to gather friends and family that you don’t get to see too often.

Cons:
– Some people already have plans for the holidays.
– Holiday season, particularly in December, can already be costly. A wedding will only add to that!
– Venues and vendors may charge more to work during a holiday.
– Mother Nature can have different plans for your wedding day. Snow can be a real downfall during the winter, and the heat and humidity can be brutal during the summer months in Connecticut.

If you do decide to have your wedding during a holiday weekend, be considerate of your guests.
– Send out save-the-dates as soon as you book the date to give your guests plenty of time to plan and save money.

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– Find a hotel near your venue and block off a bunch of rooms at a discounted rate. Include this information in your save-the-date or your wedding website so they know this option is available to them.
– It would be nice to include a hotel “welcome” basket for your guests that include things to do in the area, light snacks, and maybe even a few toiletries that they may have forgotten. Include a handwritten note that expresses your gratitude for them being there for your wedding day.

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No matter when you plan your wedding date, enjoy the process! It’s such a special time in your life that goes by so quickly. The most important people will make sure they are present no matter what the date is.

7 Reasons to Choose Spice Catering

With the wedding market full of caterers from all over the state, one is presented, and oftentimes overwhelmed, with the decision of who to hire. So let me give you a few reasons to choose us!

  1. We only cater one wedding a day. Many caterers book multiple weddings per day. With us, your wedding day is our one and ONLY focus that day. I know it sounds cliche, but it really does make a difference. YOU will get our best chef, YOU will get our best staff, and YOU will get all of our attention. We don’t like to sacrifice quality for quantity.“There aren’t enough words to describe how amazing Spice Catering was. Dan was absolutely wonderful. When we first met with him to talk, I knew right away we were going to have a great experience. He was extremely professional, he was easy to talk to, down to earth, and most important of all, he really cared about our needs and wants.”

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    Photo by Heidi Hanson Photography


  2. Quality over quantity. Because we don’t like to sacrifice quality over quantity, our food is prepared with the freshest ingredients. We even use local farm fresh ingredients when we can. One of our favorites are the various mushrooms that we get from Chatfield Hollow Farm in Killingworth.“The food was spectacular and all of our guests raved about it. Dan was even able to incorporate food from the farm where we had our ceremony and reception, which grows its own mushrooms and other vegetables.”
  3. mushroomsIt’s a personal thing. We build relationships with our clients. You are not just another event to us. We take the time to learn about your likes, dislikes, food favorites, allergies and favorite homemade recipes.“They have been such a integral part of my life for the last year. They truly felt like and treated us like family!”
  4. Experience is priceless. Owner Dan Biagioni and Executive Chef, Jonathan Leff, have a combined experience of 40 years in the catering, restaurant and food preparation industry. While many other caterers can claim experience, the passion that Jonathan has for creating interesting and delicious food is evident in every meal.
  5. Presentation. Spice Catering has always been proud of it’s presentation style. With every event we cater, we strive to create not only attractive food presentation, but interesting displays that work with the theme of the event.

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    Photo by Heidi Hansen Photography
  6. We have our own Event Planner. We have our own in-house Wedding and Event Planner that can help with all aspects of your special event, from booking vendors, creating a timeline, setting up decor, and working with your vendors to make the day run smoothly.
    “Carisa the wedding Coordinator is awesome too. She helped me towards the end. She tied up all the loose ends. Set my wedding timeline and was my go to person for all my freak out moments. She also set up my tables, chairs, linens, centerpieces and other things for the day. “

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    Photo by Mike Ross Photography
  7. We have our liquor license. When you hire Spice Catering, you don’t have to hire a separate bartending service. We have our liquor license and can customize your bar just like we can your menu.

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    Photo by Wonderland Photography

 

Angela & Brian’s Wedding

Angela and Brian got married on probably the hottest day of the year this past August. When we arrived to start setting up, we thought for sure we would melt. Hazy, hot and humid doesn’t even begin to describe it. But the moment things started coming together, we forgot all about it (kind of).

Dan met the couple in late 2015, and they began to plan their menu, tent and rentals, linens, etc. Dan mentioned that since the wedding was going to take place in a backyard type of setting, they might want to consider talking to Carisa about day of coordination. Carisa met with them and immediately put Angela at ease about everything that needed to be setup that day (tables, chairs, linens, decor, flowers, ceremony logistics, etc.).

Carisa and her assistant arrived nice and early to begin on setting up. There were lots of fun details that made this wedding so great!

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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Jordan Biagioni

The ceremony was unique and beautiful, and took place on a lake near the groom’s family’s house. The bride was driven down to the site by a friends vintage car, which was awesome!

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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography

Photo by Wonderland Photography

Their cocktail hour consisted of a fun popcorn bar, tomato, hand whipped ricotta and fresh basil bruschetta, and chicken and vegetable skewers. The buffet included Southern style slow cooked pulled pork with house made coleslaw, “Nana’s” potato salad, herb-crusted flank steak, “adult” mac and cheese, honey and sour cream corn bread, slow cooked baked beans, a grilled summer vegetable platter, and a summer field green salad.

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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Jordan Biagioni
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Photo by Jordan Biagioni

 

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Photo by Jordan Biagioni
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography
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Photo by Wonderland Photography

Vendor Team:
Spice Catering Group – catering and day-of wedding coordination
Wonderland Photography – photography
Stylish Blooms – flowers
Sweet Maria’s Bakery – cake
Team Cares DJ/Jeremy Fedorchick – DJ

Tamra & David’s Wedding

Betsey was introduced to Tamra and David by their fabulous event planner, Josh Chalmers – President and CEO of Earth2company. Both Tamra and David are Connecticut Police Canine Officers. They also own Guardians Farm, where they raise goats, chickens and pigs. They produce wonderful goat’s milk soaps and lotions and sell them at area Farmer’s markets and local shops.

They chose the very picturesque venue at Barberry Hill Farm in Madison CT, which could also accommodate their 230 guests! The ceremony was in the sheep’s meadow and the bride was brought in by the Farm’s tractor. Thank goodness the weather held out for them!

Their hors d’oeuvres menu consisted of Ripe Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Apples, and Mini Cheeseburger Beef Sliders. Their family style dinner included Southern Style Pulled Pork, Citrus Marinated Chicken Beast with Herb Oil, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Roasted Vegetable Salad with Fresh Herbs, and a medley of Celery Root, Potatoes, Red Onion, Butternut Squash, Carrots.

Lot’s of friends made this day so special for them. One of the bride’s best friends made the wedding cake and cupcakes. Another friend did the bouquet and flower arrangements. They also had a donut truck for late a late night treat. It was a very special wedding for a wonderful bride and groom. Congratulations to Tamra and David Buck! Photos courtesy of Jeffery Herget at Studio 393.

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Thank you for allowing us to be a party of your special day! All the best to you both!

Our First Ever Pop Up Wedding

We were asked by Heidi of Always & Forever Weddings to participate in a “Pop Up Wedding” in June. We had no idea what this was, but we are always open to try new things, so we jumped on board!

The premise was that 3 couples would have their intimate wedding ceremony at different times of the day at the Lyman Homestead. They would go somewhere else for a little while, then they all gathered back at the Homestead with their families for a dessert and cocktail party, which is where we came in.

The menu consisted of:
Assorted Petite Fors
Mini Fruit Tarts
House Made Chocolate Truffles
Mini French Macarons
A Dessert Station of Glazed, Apple Cider and Chocolate Donut Holes Flambéed with Spiced Rum and Liquors, Served with Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Mascarpone
Freshly Brewed Coffees and Teas

We also had a cash bar and staff to pass champagne. It was a fun time for all! Thank you to Heidi Hansen Photography for the photos from the event!
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Samantha & Jay’s DIY Backyard Wedding

Samantha and Jay planned their June backyard wedding in Farmington, CT all the way from Arizona! Samantha contacted Dan over a year ago, and thus, the planning began. There were a lot of emails back and forth, but in the end, everything turned out wonderfully.

As the wedding day became closer, Samantha realized it might be a good idea to hire our day of coordinator to do the setup, coordinate the ceremony, and help with the timing and logistics of the day. As you can see from the photos below by C&W Productions Wedding Photos + Film, everything looked perfect.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

View More: http://marietonyphotography.pass.us/samjaywedding
Awesome “naked” cake by Silver City Cakes.
View More: http://marietonyphotography.pass.us/samjaywedding
Awesome “naked” cake by Silver City Cakes.

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4 Things to Consider When Hiring an Off Premise Caterer

So you booked that farm (backyard, mansion, vineyard, etc.) venue for your wedding – CONGRATULATIONS! Now all you need to do is hire a caterer to come in with some food. Should be easy enough. You want something really laid back and fun. How much can it really cost? We’ll do a BBQ! That will save us some money!

Or will it….???

If this is your first time planning an event on such a large scale, there may be some costs that you are not considering. My job as a wedding and event planner is to guide and educate you on the things that are needed to create a flawless event, and to make sure that there are no surprises. So, here are 4 things to consider when hiring an off premise caterer:

FoodBy daphneanddean.com
Our first and foremost priority is delicious food! We can create just about any menu you can imagine. We try not to fall into that “package” type of catering because we truly believe that each couple is unique, and their wedding menu should reflect that. But…have you ever bought dinner for 100+ people? Probably not. Just think about what you and your fiancee spend when you go out to a nice restaurant for dinner. Now multiply that by 100.

 

RentalsBy daphneanddean.com
That big open field with the farm style tables, specialty linens, and lighted tent that you are envisioning sounds beautiful – and it WILL be! Just know that each and every table, linen and light, along with plates, glassware, forks, knives, salt & pepper shakers, etc. will now need to be brought to your wedding.

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Congratulations on being non-traditional! If you are showing an interest in Spice Catering, that means you have NOT chosen a traditional banquet facility for your wedding and now need food. That also means that the venue you have chosen most likely does NOT come equipped with staff. Lucky for you, we have many experienced catering professionals on our team! But as much as they love their job, they don’t do it for free. Be sure to factor in staff costs to your wedding budget.

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You might be that DIY bride who can’t wait to make all her own centerpieces and cupcakes. That’s awesome! How fun! Grab your ‘maids and get to craftin’. But there comes a time to sit back and just be the bride. Even if that time is a month before the wedding. Let our experienced wedding coordinator take all that you have planned and flawlessly implement it on the big day. Trust me, you don’t want to be worrying about how you are going to decorate and setup for your reception while you are getting your hair and makeup done. So just sit back, and enjoy the day that you have so meticulously planned, but let someone else make it happen for you.

What is an Action Station?

One of the latest trends in weddings and events is having an action station at dinner. Casual and fun has been the theme, as opposed to stuffy and formal. We have been receiving many more requests for stations than a plated sit down meal. So…what exactly is an action station?

An action station is any meal station that needs some sort of action (cooking, mixing, adding toppings, etc.). A carving station is an extremely popular one. A chef attends the station and cuts pieces of meat to the guests’ liking. It can also be a bit more involved, such as a pasta station. The chef would have different kinds of pastas already made, with different sauces available. To make it even more custom, there could also be different types of meats, vegetables, and cheeses. The guest would tell the chef what kind of pasta, sauce and other ingredients he or she would like included, and each plate would be made to order.

Although it is usually chef or staff attended, an action station can also be self-serve by the guest. For example, an Asian Noodle bar would include the noodles already made, as well as various toppings from which the guest can choose. The guest would first get a scoop of noodles, and then top them with whatever they like. It could be chives, bok choy, snap peas, red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, mini corn on the cobs, even chicken or shrimp. Serve in cute take-out style containers with bamboo chopsticks to bring the experience even further!

There is really no limit to an action station besides your imagination. It could be customized to a certain type of food, like seafood, or a certain kind of cuisine, and even dessert. The possibilities are endless, but here are some ideas to inspire you!

Sushi station
Taco bar
Rice bar
Ice cream sundae bar
Omelette station
Coffee, tea and hot chocolate station
Salad bar
Pizza station

Nothing is off limits when it comes to customizing your wedding day. Take some of these ideas and expand on them, or come up with your own! Either way, we are happy to create it for you!

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

 

 

What Does it Mean to be a Full Service Caterer?

With engagement season upon us, I wanted to share all of our services with you, and exactly what it means to be a full service caterer.

By photoexpressions.com
By photoexpressions.com

Venue:
When you make us your first call in your wedding planning, not only can we create an exquisite menu custom to your needs, but we can also help you find the perfect venue. There are many in CT that we recommend, and in turn, recommend us. From rustic to elegant, beachy to backyard, there is sure to be something perfect for you!

By daphneanddean.com
By daphneanddean.com

Menu:
Whether you are hosting a casual BBQ or an elegant plated dinner, Spice Catering has you covered. We can incorporate different elements into your menu to make it truly yours. We often do not send out “packages” because we really like to customize each couples’ menu and not box you in to a cookie cutter meal.

 

 

 

By jewelphoto.com
By jewelphoto.com

Bar Service:
We have our liquor license! Don’t spend the time and energy trying to figure out how much and which kinds of alcohol to get for your wedding. You also should not worry about the liability that comes with providing alcohol at an event such as this. Let us take yet another thing off your plate.

 

By daphneanddean.com
By daphneanddean.com

Rentals:
Having your wedding at a non-traditional wedding venue has many positive aspects to it – your wedding is more unique, they often host one wedding per day or even one per weekend, your vendors have plenty of time to set up and break down, you get to choose who you would like as your caterer, and the list goes on. One thing that is not so great is the fact that you have to rent china, silverware, glassware, linens and so much more you may not have even thought of yet. Don’t stress! We can handle it! Based on your menu, we will know exactly how many of everything we should provide. Let us work with our rental company to determine all of this. And yes, we can provide a tent as well if needed.

By photoexpressions.com
By photoexpressions.com

Wedding & Event Planning:
Now that you have everything booked for your big day – venue, caterer, photographer, florist, the dress, DJ – we can still help! Our Rehearsal & Day Of services are extremely popular and HIGHLY recommended.

If you DON’T have all of that booked and you are looking for some assistance, we can do that too. Our Full Wedding Planning package will help with everything from booking the venue until your last guest leaves your wedding.

Stuck in the middle somewhere? Let us customize a package just for you. Choose from many a la carte services. If you’re still not sure, you can send Carisa an email at CarisaL@spicecateringgroup.com and set up a consultation.

Happy planning!

– Carisa