Catering Trends: Late-Night Stations

This week we are excited to have a guest blog from Connor at Epting Events. Epting Events caters many weddings and events throughout the Southeast. We have had the opportunity to work with the company a couple of times, and have had great experiences. I am really impressed with Connor, and the entire Atlanta team, and I know you will be too! Read on for more info.

End Your Event With a Bang!

Ever heard the saying that nothing good happens after midnight? Anyone who has eaten a juicy hamburger after a late night would beg to differ.  It’s easy to have so much fun dancing, mingling and laughing at a great wedding that you forget to eat until the buffet is already packed up.  Instead of punishing your fun-loving friends, reward them for their festive behavior by serving a delicious late night snack at your wedding!

Like every detail in the wedding, this little treat should represent the bride and groom.  Sources of inspiration could include beloved childhood treats, favorite past times, or local cuisine.  Have a groom from Philadelphia and a bride who loved baking with her grandmother as a little girl?  Pass mini Philly cheesesteaks, warm chocolate chip cookies and a shot of ice cold milk.  Most late night items are miniature, which makes them even more fun to eat.

The options are endless at Epting Events, but one of our favorite late night options is “The 21 Club”.  This station includes an attendant serving 21 Club Hamburger Sliders (complete with our special 21 sauce!), mini grilled cheese, and an order of fries with lots of toppings. If you don’t want a whole station, we can always pass items throughout the dance floor.  We’ve never seen anyone turn down a meatloaf slider while dancing up a storm to Lady Gaga!

Another Epting Event favorite is the Praline Station.  A true Southern sweet, pralines are a great way to introduce your Yankee guests to the South! We bring the old-fashioned copper cauldron and mix up the pralines over an open fire as your guests look on.  The smell is divine and gives your guests a sample of what’s in store!  No one can eat just one, so we recommend packaging pralines in custom bags or boxes for your guests to take home.  Another sweet item option (and one of my favorites): The Funnel Cake Station. These favorite fair goodies come complete with powdered sugar, warm maple pecan sauce and fresh strawberries. YUM!



Like always, the possibilities are endless.  Epting Events loves a challenge can’t wait to help tailor the perfect menu to fit the bride and groom and their wedding theme!

For more information you can go to the Epting Event website or email Connor!

http://www.eptingevents.com/

connor@eptingevents.com

We hope you love Epting Events and this great late-night snack idea as much as we do!

Music Monday: First Dance

One of the most common questions we get as planners is, surprisingly, about music. "What is a good Father/Daughter Dance song if we're not super close?" "What's a good processional song that people haven't heard a million times?" These questions have sparked a new weekly blog:

Music Mondays

If you've got ideas or suggestions for great songs to use in weddings and events, email it to us (BlogSuggestions@ABigToDoEvent.com) or tweet it to us (www.twitter.com/ChecklistQueen). Can't wait to hear how you're making your celebrations unique.

We wanted to start the Music Mondays off with a great, and very fitting, first dance song. This song is a picture of what the first dance should symbolize to a newly married couple, and a great reminder to other married couples, what it means to really be partners in life.

The song talks about how once the honeymoon is over it is often hard to forget the love you have as a couple and the reasons you had for getting married. It is a great reminder that love is the greatest gift of all, and the best reason for getting married.

Hopefully this song will spark a little inspiration as you plan your wedding and remind you of the reason you are getting married. We hope you love this First Dance song as much as we do!

If you have any ideas or songs you would like to share, feel free to Email me or find me on Twitter to share your ideas!

Elizabeth

Current Wedding Cake Trends

Recently we have been seeing some new trends in the wedding cake industry. Trends are always changing and we, of course, have to stay on top of them all! These are a few of the cake trends we love!

Black and White

Black and White is a classic way to go. This isn't a new trend, but it is certainly a classic one! If you want a more timeless, clean look for your wedding cake, black and white is definitely the way to go!

Nontraditional Shapes

Switching up the shape of your wedding cake is certainly something new and unique. If you are concerned about your cake being repeated at another wedding, using shapes to make your cake unique is a fantastic idea! We love the variety of shapes you can choose from to make your cake your own!

Cupcakes

If you are looking for a great alternative to a traditional wedding cake, go with the all new trend, cupcakes! This is a cake idea that is becoming more and more popular. It is easy to add a wow factor with the cupcakes without extra cost, not to mention the guests will love them!

Mismatched Heights

These days cake bakers are becoming more creative with the designs and looks of wedding cakes. They are wanting to add a more artistic look to them without overdoing it. By mixing up the heights of the cake tiers it is easy to change the look of a cake. This look can take a simple cake, and turn it into something amazing!

After looking at all of these trends myself, I decided it only made sense if I shared what my favorite cake trend is for 2011. This cake is simple yet classic with the black and white, but the mismatched height trend makes it all the more fun. I am in love with this cake!!



Feel free to email me or find me on twitter if you have any questions or want some ideas on other fun wedding cake ideas!!

Groomsmen Fun Fashion

Hi all, my name is Elizabeth and I am going to be taking over the A Big To Do Event blog this summer. Get ready for some fun ideas and information on weddings and events of all kinds! Follow me on Twitter (@ElizWeathers) or send me an email if you have any questions!!

So let's get started, shall we?

It seems that there are many options for your bridesmaids when it comes to their dresses.  They can all be in the same exact dress, similar dress but the same color, mixable tops and bottoms, etc. We've seen that for years. But what about our groomsmen? If you are looking for an idea of how to switch things up for the guys, this is an idea we love!

Instead of having all your guys wearing exactly the same thing, add some diversity with color coordinating ties. This gives each of them the chance to stand out a bit, while still being within your chosen color scheme.

What do you think? Share what you've seen and love by sending me an email: Elizabeth@ABigToDoEvent.com! Can't wait to interact with you!

-EW

Guess who is planning a wedding?

Remember me? Last semester I led you through gifts, parties, questions and fashion for your wedding. You guessed right! Former A Big To Do intern Sarah is here because, I'M ENGAGED!

Even though I helped Erica for six-months, there is still SO much I am learning through this process (with the help of an amazing planner of course).

So here we are. Me planning a wedding, and you planning a wedding. So the only natural solution here is for us to help each other! For the next 5 months, I will be blogging about my struggles and successes of planning a wedding. Also, for the next 5 months you can comment, tweet or email me your questions or anything I need to know during all of this!

Lets go ahead and kick this blog off with my very first obstacle when I got engaged. Since I was 5, I have said I want to get married at Lovely Lane Chapel, a historic chapel on St. Simons Island where my family and I have vacationed all my life. When it finally came time to pick a venue I was very confused. Did I really want a destination wedding, or was my family so invested in the story, that I didn't want to let them down?

After 4 days, and taking tours of 13 different locations for a reception on the island... I was more confused than ever. Sure I loved the chapel, and we had good options for reception venues, but is a destination wedding what I wanted?

My wonderful fiance gave me the best advice of all. On the phone one night while we were there I was venting about the decision, and how I just truly didn't know. He said to me, "Sarah, you've been talking about this place since you were five. You love it, your family loves it. Don't pick something else because its easier. We are all going to help to make sure it is your perfect day, even if it's more complicated out of town."

Our final choices ended up being Lovely Lane Chapel and Historic City Hall.

The wedding will have a romantic feel, with all dark wood in both locations, stained glass in the chapel and high ceilings with chandeliers in Historic City Hall.

So get ready as we have to work through caterers, rentals, bands, florists and everything in-between.

Check back soon; our next post will be on fashion and save-the-dates!