Oregon Weddings

Wedding at the River Bend Resort

2009-11-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

Like many weddings this summer, bees were the theme here - "Meant to Bee" specifically. Table centerpieces included honey comb candles, personalized honey jars and yellow tulips and white, black and yellow color scheme visuals everywhere.

The brides family was a treat and the mother-of-the-bride a personal friend. The bride being the youngest in the family (and the last to marry), this was quite the affair to remember. The menu included one of our famous "Cascading Fruit Display" complete with chocolate fondue in addition to a traditional buffet complete with a served Caesar salad and bread baskets with a bistro dipping oil. It is always a wonderful touch to serve a portion of the meal (if not all of it). It spaces the meal out and prevents a back log at the buffet line. People don't eat at the same rate, so serving the salad automatically spreads out the flow at the buffet.

River Bend Resort is one of the up-and-coming wedding venues in our area. Located in Harrisburg along the river, they specialize in RV stay overs. They have a small hotel, but the RV slots far out number the rooms there. Located near the large RV manufactures of Junction City, their goal was to be the main stop over for those needing repairs. They have included in their riverfront resort a full service restaurant (but no catering services) and two large but connectible reception halls. They have a beautiful facility and, while we were the first caterer to use it, they were well equipped to handle us.

Check out their website at visitriverbendresort.com

MENU PLANNING

Something to think about when planning the catering for your wedding or event, is "what facilities does the venue have?" Often times, as in the case of the River Bend Resort, the facility has no kitchen facilities - no ovens, no sinks, no running water and no stove tops. This may limit your choice of caterers if they are not equipped to cook on site or not sufficiently close to the venue to transport already cooked food without it being overcooked. There are certain entrees to be leery of and ask a lot of questions if you are considering these.

For instance, never transport a pasta dish. Pasta is something that should be cooked on site or not at all. Noodles don't hold up well and quickly turn to mush in any kind of liquid or heat. Beef entrees are another item to be careful of. Be sure to request that the beef entree be served in the medium / medium rare range. Either a caterer will be equipped to grill beef on site or they will account for under cooking the meat for the proper temperature. Well-done or overcooked entrees are the earmark of a stale fundraiser and should never be a part of a bride's special day.

One more thing to note - There is a reason chicken is the dish of choice for large events (fundraisers not with standing). Not only is it one of the more cost effective dishes for budgeting reasons, it holds up well under even the most extreme conditions. As long as steps are taken to assure the chicken stays moist, it can hold longer than any entree I have ever seen.

If you have a specific caterer in mind and are not set on a menu, ask your caterer's advise on menus that transport well or could be prepare on site. He or she will know from experience what works well and more often than not, they'll have an entree they specialize in.

Wedding at the Blue Rooster B and B

2009-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

This summer we had the opportunity to cater a wedding at a new venue site for us - The Blue Rooster B and B in Lorane. The B and B is maintained and run by Nancy and sees quite a bit of traffic from King Estate which is just down the road. As one of the few B and Bs in the area, Nancy has quite the monopoly on wine tourists along Territorial HWY.

The grounds were gorgeous! Manicured lawns and flower beds. A large pond and backed by acres of trees with a view down the valley. A huge old barn with re-finish floors for events and several live birds nesting in the rafter. With her unique setting and low prices, Nancy always books out with weddings between Labor Day and Memorial Day and is, in fact, already booking into next year. With this venue site, the bride and groom are responsible for renting and bringing in EVERYTHING needed for their event. A nice thing Nancy does for the wedding party is rent the facility by the weekend not by the day. This cuts out the need for the wedding party to break everything down the night of the wedding or to be rushing around like crazy the day of setting up. Much less stressful.

Like all couples, this bride and groom were working within a very specific budget. Our initial consultation revolved around the different pieces of the reception and what I should / could do as the caterer and what they might look into doing themselves to save money. First up was the bar.

BAR SERVICE
Alcohol is a huge expense for any event. This bride and groom decided they would be better served to hire an individual with an alcohol permit (as the site requires) and purchase the kinds and amounts of beverages they wanted themselves rather than doing it through the caterer (me!). There are pros and cons to doing this. The biggest plus is the potential money they saved by buying the alcohol themselves as they may know someone and get a good deal. With open bars, caterers charge by consumption and this charge is added to the final total on top of which gratuity is figured so they also saved a little there as well. In the end, I don't know how much money they actually saved paying a bartender separately and buying the alcohol themselves.

RENTALS
They chose to handle the rentals of china, tables, chairs, and linen themselves as well rather than go through me. Again, the only cost they saved here was the additional gratuity that would have been generated from a higher final total due to rental fees. If they picked up and returned all of the rental equipment themselves, they could have saved quite a bit of money as rental companies charge an arm and a leg for deliveries. It was a lot of work for members of the family and the wedding party to do on the wedding weekend though. By taking care of the rentals themselves, they also took responsibility of clean up and set up of all rental equipment. Not so, if the caterer handles the rentals.

MENU
We were able to put together a very attractive menu that stayed away from BBQ at the bride's request. To save money, we split the entree down the middle doing Smoked Tri Tip for 100 and Roasted Garlic Chicken for 100 rather than enough of each for all 200. In this case, it worked
quite well, but then again, we always bring extra! We also prepared several appetizer trays at the Mother of Bride's request which were served just after the ceremony while pictures were being taken. It was a beautiful display, but not quite enough for everyone. The bride and groom took care of the non alcoholic beverages themselves as well, so the meal was quite literally all we handled for this event.

~

We did our best to clear tables and pick up glasses before we left but, with the family handling the rentals, we didn't stay long after dinner. This was the first wedding I had done where the bride, groom, and assorted family took so much of the work onto themselves. I am a money saver too, so initially, this made sense to me. Now, I am not so sure. Here's a few things to consider when you or someone you love is thinking to save money by 'doing it themselves.'

TIME COST
This is the big one and the one couples and families often deem an acceptable sacrifice in order to save money. Weigh it carefully! Should the Mother and Father of the Bride be shopping for foods, beverages, utensils as well as decorations right up until the day of the wedding or even cooking for the event in their own kitchens. And what about set up and clean up? The wedding party and family should be able enjoy their time at the reception, not jump right into tearing everything down and hauling everything away once the final guest takes off.

ACTUAL COST
I think buying food / alcohol yourself gives the impression you're saving money when really not. The costs are just not going to show up all nice and neat on a catering estimate. Same goes for rentals. All couples save themselves is a little bit of extra gratuity from the rental fees by not going through a caterer for rentals. But they are costing themselves a lot of time and effort in set up, clean up and tear down of said rentals. All I do as the event planner when handling rentals is pass on the exact fees the rental company will charge me.

QUALITY
This isn't one most people think of. Quality is in the details. In general, professionals do a better job than amateurs. Having a professional catering company in charge of the reception from set up and food and beverage service to clean up and tear down will ensure a top notch experience for all of your guests. Thing also won't fall through the cracks like they do when volunteer friends of the family are in charge. For instance, the coffee will get made, the punch bowl refilled, the bar glasses collected in glass racks, trashes emptied, cake passed, and the cake plates and forks in place for the cake cutting. Details really, but these are all details the Mother of the Bride or event the BRIDE doesn't / shouldn't have to be thinking about on the day of the wedding. If you can't delegate a non family member to do these, I think you need to hire someone (like your caterer) to do it for you. Just a few thoughts!

Valentine Wedding

2009-03-21T09:53:00.001-07:00

Valentine's Day. The lover's holiday. A day for couples. And a very busy night!

Valentine's Day is one of the biggest nights of the year for a restaurant. I know that it is often our biggest grossing night of the year with small tables of two going all out with appetizers and desserts. This year, this very busy night was proceeded by our first ever wedding! We've hosted several wedding receptions in the past year, including my own. And while there may have been people married at the ODB in the past, this was the first wedding WE have ever hosted. Once I receive the pictures from the bride and groom, I will post those as well.

It was a small wedding of about 40 that fit perfectly in our banquet room for the ceremony. We put the buffet in the hallway (where the gift shop was up until the night before) and had the banquet room set with rows of chairs for the ceremony. The family did a beautiful job decorating with simply bouquets and candles. A lovely touch I notice was a white carpet (like red carpet) for the bride to walk down the isle on. After the ceremony, the bride and groom went outside for pictures followed by the rest of the guests so we could set up tables where the ceremony had just finished. We had lots of help from the family. It was definitely not the smoothest transition, but the timing worked out well with picture taking. And it was what the bride wanted. There was even a little space left for a dance floor near the DJ. It was a lovely, intimate wedding. The only thing we were unprepared for was a cash bar, but we worked it out without the wedding guests being the wiser. More later!

Why a Wedding Co-ordinator

2009-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

Why a Coordinator

This is a question every bride and groom must ask themselves. When it comes down to the practicality of budgeting for a wedding, a professional wedding planner may seem like it is not an option for many of us. Here are a few considerations to take into account.

Vendor Referrals

I have worked with many professionals in the area of events. I know who has the best prices, who has the best quality and who can get exactly what you're looking for. Take the guessing game out of the picture with a vendor I recommend. I guarantee I have worked with them and have been impressed by their product.

Budget Development and Management

I have worked with every conceivable budget under the sun. Whether your budget is large or small, I can offer advice on vendors and make sure you get the most out of your money. Don't let money can be an additional stress on relationships. Together we can decide what aspects of the big day are the most important and go from there.

Contact Person

I will be the contact person for all vendors. I will solicit estimates and set up tastings or site inspections. Vendors will come to me with questions and problems that arise on the day of and prior to your event. I will coordinate the timing of all vendors from rental deliveries and catering staff to signaling the DJ and minister. This is the one most important service that ensures you can enjoy your day. Let me be the problem solver not you.

Details, Time, and Energy

"How hard can it be," you may say to yourself - a thought you'll look back and laugh once you're in the thick of flower colors and invitations and catering bids. The biggest mistake I see brides make is to try to do everything themselves. Unless you are one of those people who love details, planning an event the magnitude of your wedding (even a very small wedding) will drag the life out of you. Even those of us who excel at organization and taking care of details, will lose sight of the bigger picture - GETTING MARRIED! Time is precious and getting lost in the details of your event should not take away from your special day. Weigh the costs of time and energy - both yours and your family's - against the cost of a wedding planner. Too many times have I heard a mother-of-the-bride say in exasperation, "I wish we'd hired a wedding planner!" I know the ins and outs of weddings. Let me take of the details and you just relax and enjoy the day!

Food, Wine, and Kids: West Lane News Article

2009-01-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Food, Wine, and Kids: West Lane News Article

Economic Options

2009-01-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

Weddings can definitely be expensive events. While money should not be what its all about, it can feel like money (or the lack there of) is the determining factor in many of your decisions. Below are the result of an email conversation I had with a good college friend who had recently gotten engaged. She was frustrated with even finding a PLACE to get married. If you're thinking venue and catering or not right now, this post is for you!

Weddings cost a bundle no matter how you look at it. Either you pay someone to do it (cook, clean, decorate, etc. . .) or you pay for it with time and energy and do it yourself with the help (hopefully) of friends and family. Having been a caterer for years, I would not recommend using one if cost is an issue. Often food/catering costs will be in addition to facility rental and equipment rental fees. Very spendy and you pay gratuity on top of food costs. That being said, food preparation and service isn't necessarily the thing you want vital family or bridal party members tied up doing the day of your wedding. It's incredibly time consuming and takes longer the less experience your helpers have. The way I see it, there are two cost effective options for food /venue:

1) Have friends and family doing food UP UNTIL the day of the event and then spend a little extra on a few staff people to actually put the food out, stock the buffet, and clean up. Still a huge drain of time with shopping and prep plus requires someone to direct the staff the day of.

2) Or my favorite - utilize a facility that has everything on site already such as a restaurant. Too often, wedding venues cost a fortune and include little beyond the use of the site. With our restaurant, what I do most often for brides, is offer them a wedding venue where they can have the ceremony and the reception (cut out a site rental fee right there) that also includes most of the basic equipment rentals. Restaurants obviously already have tables, chairs and china. Rentals would be limited to arches and possibly ceremony chairs if desired. Restaurants may have a fee for renting out part of their space, but more often than not, they are just looking to
make money off of the food and alcohol. What I do at my place is what's called a 'Food and Beverage Minimum.' Meaning if the cost of food and beverage for the event meets the minimum set for the day and time scheduled (obviously a weekend has a higher minimum than a weekday) then there is NO FACILITY RENTAL FEE! I am sure there are places in Portland who do this.

Other cost cutting options to think about
- Time your wedding so it doesn't center around a meal time. Mid afternoon weddings are too early for dinner and too late for lunch. You could get away with lighter food. Late weddings (after 7) could get away with just doing desserts for their guests. You just notate it in the invitation: "A dessert buffet will be served following the ceremony at _____."
- Don't include alcohol service. Instead, have a cash bar where people can pay for their own alcoholic beverages. Bar costs add up faster than any other if not controlled. It is perfectly acceptable to ask people to pay for their own liquor these days. Again, just notate it on the invitation so your guests are prepared with money. If you want to provide something, do
drink tickets that way consumption isn't

Hope this helps a little!

Spetember Wedding at the ODB

2008-09-26T17:54:00.001-07:00

As some of you may have noticed, that on September 13th, we closed the restaurant for a private event. A young couple from our area got married at a local church and booked the ODB for their reception! Aside from the 3 Perkins weddings last year (3 of us daughters got married within 6 months of each other), this was our first large, in-house wedding reception.

It was a beautifully sunny Saturday afternoon with a light breezy. Not too hot and not too chilly. Perfect for the outdoor seating necessary for a group the size of about 150. We could have easily sat 50 more for an even 200 guest event utilizing our backyard and front patio. I look forward to doing more of these next summer.

Foodwise, this is a much easier event for us than would be a catering at another location of the same size. All work aside, the catering aspect of the ODB is where we'd like to grow. However, it became apparent to us that we really need to promote weddings here at the restaurant. When an event is in-house, you have all your tools right there at hand and everyone knows where they are. Unlike a catering, where you have to pack, load, unload, find, repack and put away ALL of your equipment every time. (That's why you have professionals.) We also had a level of familiarity with the location (our restaurant) that is not even possible with off-site events. We were able to utilize our regular staff rather than calling on part time caterers because we did not have to staff the restaurant AND an off-site catering. All in all, it was an incredibly successful event at every level.

The happy couple chose to go with a light brunch buffet for their meal option. The menu included Quiche, Crepes, our Cinnamon French Toast, Roasted Red Potatoes, fresh Fruit Display, an assortment of fresh Pastries and delicious salads. We also provided a mimosa bar which was the hit of the day. We learned the hard way where not to put the receiving line - next to the buffet! The key to handling a large volume of people is handling the traffic flow of said people.

The restaurant was beautiful for the big day. The bride's colors were white, pale green and gold. White linen was everywhere. Each table was decorated with an elaborate centerpiece consisting of a tall candle surrounded by green fruits and vegetables on a gold plate and topped with gold ribbon. It literally took 3-5 of their people 3 hours to get them all done! The cake was a unique creation made by the mother-of-the-bride. It consisted of 3 simple round cakes tiered atop vases and covered with spun sugar. Beautiful!

Dean Weddings

2008-09-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

In this blog, I plan to offer you a sneak peak behind the scenes of the many weddings we do over here. At the Dean wedding, I was just lending a helping hand. I had no part in planning or set up. I was just the knowledgeable hands and feet for the day along with my husband. It's been a while since I was on my feet 14 hours straight. It brings back memories of the old caterer days!

The wedding was set on a beautiful piece of private property in the Mohawk valley. A wonderfully landscape lawn blended into a wide-open field trimmed just for the day. Huge white tents stretched over the white and green clothed tables. The site was such a blessing for the couple! Aside from how beautiful it was, they had no site rentals for either the ceremony or the reception. The in-laws even had all of the large white tents to use as sun coverage. All in all, a savings of possibility thousands of dollars. The wedding was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The band was great and there was food for everyone. It was a beautiful August wedding in Oregon. Now for the inside scoop!

The family chose to go with the do-it-yourself option on food and spent the money on the band and a great bar. Doing the food yourself is an option that will not work for everyone. The huge expense of TIME can often out way any money you save by not paying a catering staff. We're not just talking YOUR time and energy. The time of various family members will be used as well. In this case, all of the bride's immediate family was elbow deep in food for days before the weddings. (For anyone who's contemplating this, Potato salad for 300 takes a long time, just so you know!) I understand the concept of saving money this way, but brides and their families are often not prepared for the emotional and physical cost of doing the food yourself. When my sisters and I got married, we had the advantage of many years of combined knowledge in the business and a restaurant at our disposal. For those of you without the experience or tools yet would still like to do it on your own, here are a few tips that will save you time, money and energy.

MENU

Pick a simple menu to prepare. Grilled chicken breasts are a lot easier than chicken skewers - a lot less preparation involved. Green salad is easier than potato salad - again, a lot less preparation. If you're going to do it yourself, save yourself time and energy wherever you can and the easiest place to do that is in the preparation of the food. Make sure you choose foods that will hold up well over time and are simple to arrange on the buffet. Also give thought to whether the menu you choose can ALL be prepared ahead of time so no one is stuck at the grill during the ceremony cooking something at last minute so it will be fresh and edible.

FOOD STORAGE

Have you ever thought you'd have to have a place to store food for 300? Most people don't have refrigeration for that much food just hanging around in the garage. Check into renting a refrigerated trailer. Beer distributors have them for kegs and you may be able to get one cheap if you're serving their beer. Believe me, it’s a lot easier than sending gallons of potato salad home with members of the bridal party to refrigerator until the big day.

STAFF

Although food preparation is a time drag before the wedding, it is a consideration during the wedding celebrations as well. Obviously you and all your immediate family will playing their various roles in your ceremony. None of you will be available to get all the food out on the buffet - nor should you try to. Make sure to assign a responsible adult not essential to the ceremony to take care of any last minute cooking. This person also needs to get all the food out and arranged on the buffet right before the ceremony starts. And not forget about refilling the buffet. Depending on the size of your wedding, the buffet may need to be refilled half way through and YOU better not be doing that either. Here's a place you might spend some extra money on staff. Hire someone experienced to head this up and stick around for the clean up. Helps a lot.

BUFFET

A buffet is the only real option for a wedding do-it-yourselfer. Have you ever set up or stocked a buffet before? Stocking a buffet, especially for a large wedding, requires two people. They'll play tag team, a runner to check food levels and report back and the other to prepare the next platter of food to put out and hand it off to the runner. Weddings larger than 200 need two buffets and they should always be double-sided so people can go down both sides of the buffet. This will speed service time up and keep everyone in good spirits.

LEFTOVERS AND CLEANUP

Don't forget about clean up! Who's going to break down the buffets, wrap up all the leftovers, take down the decorations, and clear the tables? You'll get lots of volunteers to help with set up including bridesmaids and girlfriends of groomsmen. Don't expect these same people to stick around afterwards to break everything down on their own. This requires a special request on your part. Otherwise, it’s going to be the mother of the bride or some such responsible individual who gets stuck with it all at the end of the night. Many hands make light work and a word to your bridal party ahead of time is not out of place. Their role as part of your bridal party comes with responsibilities, not just the fun and games.

Like all aspects of your weddings, the food service is all about details. You will have to think of everything necessary for food service and make sure it gets to your reception whether by your own hand or delivered. If you still want to do it yourself after all this, go for it! The best thing you can do is to be informed. Don't be afraid to ask someone who knows what they're doing to advise you or even help you out on the big day.

Something Borrowed

2008-08-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

The wedding dress.Whether you're looking for a fairy princess dress or a more casual affair, finding the right dress for your special day can be an exhausting process. You do your research - checking out gowns online and scheduling consultations to try on a selection. You bargain hunt - checking Craiglist and ebay for deals. Where is that perfect dress?

Often brides are hampered by price range. The 'perfect dress' may cost more then the wedding itself if you are not careful. Rather than limiting yourself to the few dresses that are within your price range (and marginally close to what you are looking for) consider renting a weddings gown! This is apparently all the rage in places like Australia and Europe and is just starting to make headway in the U.S. Imagine a gown originally valued up to $2500 available for rent for less than $200. You can truly say 'price is no object.' You can have the wedding dress of your dreams for what it would have cost to preserve your bought dress for the next fifty years.

This is the route I personally chose for my wedding. Well, actually it was more out of necessity than choice. Time, life, and budget all worked together to keep my perfect dress just out of my reach. I was within two weeks of my wedding and just about to resort to altering a prom gown when I stumbled across an ad on Craigslist - Something Borrowed Bridal Boutique. Started by two friends, Carol Holm and Anita Sanders, these ladies had retired from their real jobs to open this business together. One was from Australia were renting wedding dresses is apparently a pretty common practice. Housed in the beautiful front room of one gal, the entire setup reminded me of a high end clothing store where models were going to walk out any second for me to look at dresses on. My mother, mother-in-law, and sister sat on comfortable couches and chairs just outside the screened area as I took my pick of the dresses on the rack. Each dress was unique and beautiful. Since they were all altered, size was relative and there were a lot of options. Shoes and jewelry were available with each dress so you could get the full impact of the dress as you show off in front of the full mirrors. It was truly a more pleasant experience than the more sterile one I experienced at David's Bridal. The ladies also took care of all the cleaning and pressing so I did not have to worry about anything on my special day.

There may a few sentimental reasons for buying a dress. You may want to keep it. Why? Are you thinking of saving it for your daughter? Come on! Did you for a second consider wearing your mother's dress? The likelihood that changes in fashions and your daughter's size would even allow for this is small. In reality, your dress will be carefully packed away (and expensively preserved) in the attic for years until you take it out for memories' sake to have a look. It's a bit of a waste of a beautiful dress really. Aside from the traditional sentimentality surrounding a wedding dress, renting the perfect gown makes more sense.

Doing it all yourself

2008-08-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

When it comes down to the practicality of budgeting for a wedding, a professional wedding planner is not an option for many of us. "How hard can it be," you may say to yourself - a thought you'll look back and laugh once you're in the thick of flower colors and invitations and catering bids. The biggest mistake I see brides make is to try to do everything themselves. Unless you are one of those people who love details, planning an event the magnitude of your wedding (even a very small wedding) will drag the life out of you. Even those of us who excel at organization and taking care of details, you will lose sight of the bigger picture - YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED! Here are a few tips to make planning your special a bit easier.

1) DELEGATE!
There are a lot of people who want to help you - sisters-in-law, bridesmaids, mom (of course), and mother in laws too. Use them!

2) Take Vendor Recommendations
You know people who've gotten married before. Pick their brains for the right photographer, caterer, florist, and reception location. You don't have to do all the research yourself.

3) Group Effort
Get everyone - bridal party and relatives - together for things like invitations and decorations. The time goes so much faster with more hands.

4) Know What You Want
Everyone will have a suggestion or an idea for your big day. Politely listen (especially if they're relatives) but remember this is your wedding. It’s your dress and your reception band and your dinner menu.

5) Appoint a Director
Someone has to be directing the action during the rehearsal and the actual ceremony and its not going to be you. Appoint a director and tell them exactly what you want to happen. They'll be on the outside looking in making sure it all comes together and you'll be better able to enjoy your day.

6) Time is Precious
Decide if it is worth the time and effort to do the entire running around yourself. Florists, bakers, and equipment rental agencies will deliver. Caterers may be able to handle decorations, set-ups, cleans ups and rentals. Your hairdresser will come to you. Make this as easy on yourself as possible.