Have a Wonderful Winter Wedding!

Wedding Gal — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:18:15 +0000

Winter weddings can be exceptionally beautiful; especially around the holiday season. During that time, many places of worship and commercial venues have already been outfitted in festive colors, and oftentimes come with ready-made celebratory atmospheres. In many cases, very little will be needed in the way of additional decorations. In many parts of the world, snow is prevalent, which can definitely add to the festivities.

However, winter weddings can be subject to their own seasonal challenges. Many a happy couple have had to navigate stormy weather to get to the church on time. Brides often have to find practical (yet elegant ways) to keep warm, while not detracting from the overall look and feel of the occasion. A winter bride may want to consider including either a cloak, cape, shrug, shawl, wrap, bolero, or faux fur stole to her wardrobe.

Certainly each and every delay and/or potential snag cannot be foreseen. However, having a little peace-of-mind ahead of time can prove to be priceless if the occasion should call for it. Before scheduling a winter wedding, having a Plan “B”, just in case things are not pulled off as smoothly as planned can surely be a good thing. So as not to have a stranded bridal party (especially the bride and groom) , an alternate means of transportation may need to be kept at the ready; and contracts made with any venue scheduled to host the reception will need to be examined for clauses that detail what would happen in the event of unavoidable tardiness or a cancellation. Maintaining a list of things that need to be taken into consideration is a great way to keep track. In the meantime, enjoy planning your winter wedding while not forgetting to set a place for Mother Nature….keeping in mind that she reserves the right to be the ultimate Wedding Crasher.

Photo by Anne Ruthmann

Wine Theme Bridal Shower

Wedding Gal — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:16:11 +0000

A wine and cheese party can be a great way to get together with friends or for a special bridal or wedding shower, birthday party or other celebration. It be easy to put together with a minimum of work even if you don’t know much about wine or cheese! You can throw together a simple but elegant party without a lot of fuss and have an interesting theme to boot. A wine and cheese party may be the quintessential choice for an elegant bridal shower party. Women love to nibble and graze and putting out a beautiful spread of cheeses, crackers, fruit and wine (along with some bite size desserts) is just perfect. It is the selection and variety of these items that will set your party apart and above the typical wine and cheese bridal theme party.

The Wine:

Like everything else – serve a variety. Two whites and two reds are perfect. For the white – offer one on the sweeter side (perhaps a Riesling) and one more on the dry and crisp side (a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc). As for the red choices – try one on the ‘lighter’ side (Pinot Noir or Beaujolais Nouveau are good choices) and a full bodied one (a French Bordeaux or Californian Cab would be perfect). Of course make sure there are non-alcoholic beverages too – whether water, club soda or the like.

The Cheese:

You’ll want to offer at least four types of cheeses. It is important to vary the taste and texture of these, as well as the aesthetics. My recommendation would be a good Cheddar (white or yellow), a blue (Maytag blue is a nice choice if you don’t want anything too strong), a soft cheese such as Camembert (make sure you bring it to room temperature so that it is at its creamiest when served) and a Gouda. Put a tented place card in front of each cheese with its name on it – your guests will want to know what they are sampling.

I recommend putting a jar of fig preserves (if you can’t find fig, you can use raspberry) next to the Camembert cheese. Crackers topped with preserves and a bit of Camembert is absolutely scrumptious.

I also love to serve a ‘melted’ cheese, either in fondue form or better yet – a brie en croute. The later is a round of brie cheese wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden. I like to first cut the brie in half (top and bottom – NOT side by side). On the bottom half I spread a thin layer of peach jam, chopped pecans, a teaspoon of brown sugar and just a teeny dash of cayenne. Put the top half over it and then wrap it in the pastry. This can be made a day in advance (not baked though) – just cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.

The Crackers:

Make sure you vary the crackers you put out – just like the cheeses. A butter cracker (such as Keebler Townhouse®), a seeded flat bread cracker and hearty a whole wheat cracker makes for a nice assortment. If you can find other interesting crackers, by all means, include them.

Fruit:

Of course grapes are a perfect compliment and a ‘must’ for a wine and cheese party. Make sure you serve at least two colors of grapes (green and red). Set out in bunches is how they look the loveliest. But don’t stop there – pears are also a natural. Cut the pears into slices right before the guest comes and rub a lemon over their surface to help prevent them turning brown. Cantaloupe and honeydew melons are also a natural compliment. Either cut into thin slices or into cubes. I also love to put out bowls of pomegranate seeds. Not only are they beautiful to look at – they are a delicacy for most.

Sweets:

Keeping with the theme of the party – bite size nibbles such as miniature cheesecake bites, chocolates (truffles and caramels) and/or small biscotti all would work well. These can be set out from the start – no need to ‘serve’ this after the wine and cheese. Coffee and tea should also be served.

Debra Rosenberg is a party planner and constant home entertainer. She also recommends the terrific bridal favors available at DivaEntertains.com including their personalized beauty favors and custom custom wine favors.

You may also wish to consider ordering custom wine labels.

Photo by Vincent Ma

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