This weekend we had a fabulous wedding at Cipriani downtown.  The guests delighted in the Bellini, which is Cipriani’s signature cocktail and the one that guests go mad for.  Coincidentally, earlier last week I had the pleasure of attending Engage10 (a summit for luxury wedding vendors in the Cayman Islands) and we were gifted with the most adorable recipe book from ArtCraft and Fizz Paperie which included recipes for some fabulous cocktails, including the Cipriani Bellini.  If you’ve never had it before, try one this weekend… or tonight when you get home:

2/3 Cup White Peach Puree

1 Teaspoon Rasberry Puree

1 Bottle Chilled Prosecco

Place 1 1/2 tablespoons puree in the bottom of each flute and add 2-3 drops of the rasberry puree. Add Sparkling wine and serve.  Your own puree needs nothing more than fresh fruits and a blender.

If the bellini isn’t your thing and you are more of a chocolate girl, our little recipe book included a fabulous take on Chocolate Wine as created by Michael Chiarello. I haven’t turned on my stove in two months, but I might break out the sauce pan for this sauce-y recipe.  For this you will need:

1 Bottle of Zinfandel

1.5 cups of whole milk

1 oz. quality milk chocolate

Cocoa Powder to Garnish

In a medium saucepan over med-high heat boil the wine until reduced by half.  Meanwhile, bring the milk to a boil. Place chocolate in mixing owl and pour the reduced wine over the top and whisk making sure the chocolate is melted. Pour half of the hot milk into the chocolate mixture and whisk to blend.

With the remaining milk, froth with a hand blender or a milk frother.  Pour the chocolate wine into tiny cups and spoon some milk froth over the top, garnish with cocoa and serve.

When I was going through Samantha & Andrew’s wedding photos, I saw a few photos of the cocktail hour that made me hungry.I decided to write a blog post about one of my favorite caterers, Chef Rossi at The Raging Skillet. Not only is she fun to hang out with, she also works very hard to give our clients great food and service. Below are a few photos from a few different weddings!

Below are some photos of the food served on Sam & Andrew’s wedding day! I am getting hungry all over again! Photos courtesy of Lina Jang.

Niloo & Joe wanted a cocktail party at Smack Mellon. They loved the venue and thought that a party with different stations would be perfect for their crowd. Their parents were not so convinced. Would there be enough food for their guests? How would guests know when to sit? Would everyone think this wedding was strange? Would there be enough food for their guests? I assured that the no one would go home hungry and that people would love it! Along the way we made some compromises, but always made sure to keep the vibe casual and fun…and everyone had a blast. People danced all night, found seats when they needed a break, and LOVED the food! Chef Rossi worked closely with them to make sure both of their cultures were reflected in the cuisine and the guests appreciated tasting new things. Months later they were still getting compliments on the food! Their photographer, Bethany Bandera passed these great photos along to us!

Serah and Min wanted a cocktail party, but had a fairly large group and wanted everyone to sit, so we went for a buffet. After assuring them that it would not look like a cafeteria, we set out to design a buffet menu that was hearty and fresh. Not only was the food fantastic, but the presentation of the food blew the couple away! Robert Wagner captured these great shots!

The Q:  We have a lot of out of town guests and my mother is insisting that I invite them all to the rehearsal dinner because that is proper etiquette.  I am sort of conflicted, I don’t want it to seem like a second wedding.  How should I handle this?

The A: This is a growing issue as more and more weddings involve lots of out of town guests.  Obviously, you want them to feel welcome and provide your guests with an activity since they came all this way for you, but also, you are holding one wedding, not two. 

One thought is to go in the complete opposite direction of your wedding the next day. If it is semi-formal or formal, consider finding a family style Italian restaurant for the rehearsal dinner or even a brick oven pizza or BBQ restaurant.  These are usually both more economical AND will strike a tone that is strikingly different than your wedding reception. 

The other thought, and I’ve been doing this with our clients more and more, is to host a "meet and greet" cocktail.  It’s less formal and rigid (and costly) than a full dinner, gives your guests a chance to mingle and can be held in your headquarters hotel or a bar local to that hotel.  It also still can preserve your more private rehearsal dinner where your family and wedding party can make toasts in a more intimate setting.  Don’t feel compelled to cover the bar all night long- you can pick up the first couple of rounds, or an hour or two of beer and wine, and if your guests want to stay all night, no one will stop them!

Rehe

We were sitting around the office missing one of our Bride’s, Raquel, when it occurred to me that I never posted any of her BEAUTIFUL wedding photos shot by the wonderful Mel Barlow.  I had actually posted about this venue a while back, We utilized the Westside Loft for the ceremony and dinner dance, and Penthouse 15 for cocktails!