Today is Veteran’s Day, so hug (or at least just say thank you) to someone you know who has served in the Armed Forces or supports a man or woman in the Armed Forces. Growing up, Veterans Day always seemed a holiday for the greatest generation, but now, after 10 years of being at war, Veteran’s Day is just as much a day for the young… and for those getting married!

There’s nothing quite as stunning as a military wedding… it’s the uniform, I’m sure. But behind the striking tradition and celebration is often a lot of stress and anxiety of dealing with wedding plans combined with the strains of serving, or returning from service. Please enjoy our board of Military Weddings through the years…. Your service and courage is greatly appreciated.

(credits from left to right: Aaron Watson Photography, Jennifer Weems via The Knot’s Military Weddings Channel, Brooke Courtney Photography, Vintage postcard, Vintage unnamed WW2 couple, Lisa Schaffer Photography, Dana Goodson Photography, and 1919 Military Couple.)

One of the greatest challenges being a bride is that it’s so hard sometimes to visualize things… and one of the greatest challenges being a designer/ florist/ visual vendor who is working with brides is to help the bride visualize! So, when I saw this App on Stylist Home, I immediately had to download it to PLAY, play, play!
How it works? Download it to your phone, take a photo of your dinner plate or charger plate that you might be looking at for the wedding reception, and then pick from their 101 shades of linen. If you are contemplating purchase for home, it’s even more amazing because they will direct you straight to the retailer (Sferra Bros) website. It’s really, honestly fantastic with the one exception of the fact that you can’t email PHOTOS of your plate/ linen combo, you can only share on facebook. I guess it isn’t worth doing if you can’t share it with your 850 other “friends” :-)
Here’s the link to the App!

One of my favorite teeny, tiny little details of Josh and Marni’s wedding this past spring was during our Taco Truck lunch.  They both love hot sauce and took the time to order these itty bitty bottles of Tabasco with their wedding logo on it.  If you look really closely, you can see a couple of teeny little bottles hanging out on the taco truck.

I just adored them and they were such a reasonable little add on to the budget!   For $77 you can get a case of 144 personalized little mini bottles of Tabasco (they are 3/4″ tall!).  If you aren’t sure what to do with them, consider having them at your brunch the next day on a Bloody Mary Bar or ordering the next size and tagging them for escort cards for a casual wedding. OR, one of my favorite favors that I’ve ever received was all of the ingredients for Louisiana baked beans in miniature packaged together in a little satchel.  It was in homage to the bride’s hometown, it came with a mini tabasco AND I thought of them as I cooked up my beans in a few weeks later!

Yesterday we had a delightful break from The Mondays where we gathered with some of our favorite ladies (and men) in the business for an intimate luncheon with Pinch Food Design, the newest, hottest thing in town when it comes to catering. And, in a town like NY that means it better be good.

Pinch was created by a team of people who have put in career time at some of New York’s most innovative, delicious caterers like Creative Edge and Great Performances. So the motivation was to really bring something new to the scene by integrating the menu items with design and presentation and.. to some extent preparation as well.

The entire concept behind Pinch is that it is NOT for the people who want food to look, or even be served in a traditional way.  Think hors d’oeuvres that are miniature versions of everything from lobster rolls to spaghetti and meatballs.  They specialize in food interactions. Don’t think carving stations, think the kind of party where one person gets handed mini chips and their neighbor gets a mini guacamole and voila! you are speaking and mingling and dipping your chips in someone’s dish. Or, as we experienced, having chefs come and assemble and prepare your small dishes right before your eyes. We had a diver scallop cruda.

My favorite part of the fun luncheon were the desserts: I had a nutella galette from a “jungle gym” of hanging pastries.  Too much fun.

The goal was to bring the innovative dining experiences that foodie couples are getting used to having at our many amazing restaurants to your private party.   Everything was yummy, and ideal for those looking to really celebrate food in an interactive way.  Let’s see where the food trends take us….

Last week Mayra and I were guests of a friend at a private wine pairing dinner at Black Mountain Winehouse in Brooklyn.  There were about 30 of us there, gathered at two long tables, and while we were in a group of four, after a Prosecco to start, an amuse paired with another prosecco, and an intriguing Sherry/ Soup combination, we were all lubricated enough to be quite loquacious with our neighbors.  By the time the Chocolate Three Ways came out with an amazing rose, we were fast friends with everyone else at our table and making plans to get together again in the neighborhood.

This got me thinking about just WHY it was so successful and how, the next time I have a client with families who don’t know one another well, a Wine Pairing dinner would be perfect.  First, because it’s an experience, it presents everyone with a chance to try new things.  Secondly, because it’s subjective without judgement (vs. say talking politics), each course and pairing presents a new topic of conversation amongst guests who may not know each other.  Finally, because it involves drinking, but controlled pours, they tend to get everyone feeling warm and fuzzy without being totally hammered.

If you have a larger crowd, you can consider simply hosting a wine tasting with some hors d’oeuvres, so that guests can mix and mingle and try different wines while interacting. Again, it’s so awesome because you can say “What did you think of that Merlot?” instead of the usual awkward Rehearsal Dinner chit chat of “So, how do you know Kelly? OH, College roommates, that must have been fun!”

Some of my favorite spots for these kinds of events?  The Brooklyn Winery is great for dinners and pairings or just tastings. And it has outdoor space available too! The Astor Wine Center is another awesome private space for tastings.  But, if you love the idea and have a great restaurant that you love that has a sommelier, it might be worth speaking with them about doing a private dinner with pairings.