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What Should You Ask a Caterer?

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:21:11 -0700

Are you tying the knot anytime soon? If so then you may want to check out these 17 Questions to Ask Your Caterer. The folks at theknot.com have put together a pretty intensive list, but here are some of the highlights.

Do they specialize in a certain type of food, and can they arrange for a tasting?
What is their price range, and is there an all-inclusive rate available?
Will they be able to provide tables, chairs, linens, silverware, etc.?
Can they include a recipe you provide, such as a sentimental family dish?
Can they ask for variations for specified guests such as vegetarian, vegan, or kosher meals?
Where is the food prepared, and how long will it travel?
Do they do alcohol, if so is there an all-inclusive rate? How about a corkage fee?
How about cakes? Do they do cakes?
Do they have photos of their work? Just because it tastes excellent, doesn't mean it's going to look great. See photos and get references.

These are just some of the tips the knot offered up. Do you have any others? What would you recommend?

Want more wedding coverage? Check out more articles over at IDoSugar.

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Yummy Links: From Food Photography to Budget Weddings

partysugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:45:36 -0700

Tips for taking the most beautiful food photos. - Vegan Yum Yum
Learn how to participate in a hunger challenge. - Cooking With Amy
Simple and delicious: Asian pear and gouda grilled cheese sandwich. - Chow
More on Hershey's chocolate's new formula. - Candy Blog
Chopping chocolate is easy if you use a serrated knife.- The Kitchn
Hold a bake sale for kids' cancer.- The Epi-Log
Why do Italian noodles cost a lot more than their Chinese counterparts? - Serious Eats
Breakfast ideas to keep you full until lunch.- FitSugar
Tricks for keeping your wedding menu costs to a minimum. - InStyle Weddings

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Desperate Housewives Rundown, "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:30:02 -0700

Secrets came to the surface on this week's Desperate Housewives, like Katherine's obsession with sneaking into Mike and Susan's house (cuckoo!), Julie's scandalous affair - and best of all, we learn more about the mysterious Bolen family, which has me totally intrigued.

Ready to break it all down? If you don't mind spoilers, then read more.

Gaby - Gaby catches a break this week. It all starts when her daughters discover Ana's stash of condoms. Gaby confronts Ana, and she admits to her aunt that she's in love with John. (Yeah, like we didn't see that one coming.) Gaby goes to John's restaurant to confront him about the matter, and he comes on to her - right when Ana walks in. I was pretty excited about the battle that was going to go down - will she blackmail Gaby? tell Carlos? - but after Gaby reveals her history with John to Ana, she surprisingly backs off and quits her job. I don't know if I believe that this storyline is 100% over, but looks like John doesn't have a reason to stick around Wisteria Lane. Gaby really seems like she's moved on for good.

Susan - She may have tried to attack Danny last week, but this time around, Julie gets the brunt of Susan's anger. Julie finally wakes up in the hospital (yay!), but on the downside, she comes back right as Susan learns that her daughter had an affair with a married man. In typical Susan behavior, she tries to pry for details - and even searches through Julie's journal to find out that the guy is called "D." - but Julie won't admit anything. We learn who the unknown "D." is soon enough. For that, keep reading.

Angie - Angie means well. She sees that her son Danny is having a hard time at school with making friends, so she bribes Porter to throw him a shindig, so Danny can feel included. At the party, Danny sees his dad flirting with some of his classmates (perv alert), and he confronts him by saying, "I know." His dad's response? "You know what?" But I thought the horrific look on his father's face totally gave it away, didn't you? "D." is Danny's dad, Dominic, as we later discover when he visits Julie at the hospital. Uh-oh. I'm curious to hear what exactly took place in the Bolens's past - especially after seeing those scars on Angie's back.

Bree - This week was a showdown between Bree and Katherine. Katherine starts off the episode by telling Bree that she's in love with Mike still. Seems that Katherine has been sneaking into Mike and Susan's home to find out their sleeping habits, and she's convinced that they're not having sex. Bree tells Katherine to seek help for her obsession, but when Katherine tries to destroy the bride's cake at one of their catered weddings (because it was the same one she designed for her nuptials to Mike), Bree actually fires her. I'm expecting a major Katherine freak out next week. Did you see the menacing look she has at the end of the episode? Bree better lock her windows.

Lynette - Once again, Lynette had one of the funniest subplots this week. Even though no one at work knows about her pregnancy, the signs are starting to show with Lynette's breasts. While Tom likes the results (he calls them "The Supremes!"), Lynette is panicked about how to hide them. Fortunately for her, Carlos thinks she got a boob job, so Lynette goes along with the fib. So much so, that when Carlos asks her to wear a low-cut dress for a client dinner, Lynette concedes. But my favorite part was her talk with Tom when he says "I need you to not be perfect, 'cause I'm not perfect." Sigh, I love those two.

What'd you think about the episode? Where do you think the Dominic and Julie storyline is headed? Do you think Jesse Metcalfe is getting the boot soon, or will his character John stick around?

If you want to talk more Desperate Housewives, take a peek at the Entertainment group in the Buzz Community!

Party Fabulous: Hosting a Party For (Almost) No Reason

partysugar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:50:45 -0700

Who says you need a birthday or anniversary to throw a fabulous party? Recently a friend hosted a welcome back party - for luggage! She attended a wedding on the East Coast and on the return flight her luggage was lost. After waiting nervously for three weeks, it was finally returned. It happened to be a Friday and she decided a celebration was necessary. She sent out a last-minute email inviting friends over for a party.

Trader Joe's catered and she stopped by the party supply store for a welcome back sign and balloons. The suitcase served as a centerpiece and when guests arrived they were asked to wear a luggage tag as a bracelet. I supplied the cocktail and voila, instant fiesta! It ended up being a fantastic night and reminder that one can throw a party for just about any reason.

Have you been to a party that celebrated something out of the ordinary?

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Must Read: Colin Cowie Wedding Chic

partysugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:00:58 -0700

Colin Cowie is one of the world's most extravagant party planners. He's known for his outrageous chicness and attention to detail. While he's planned stylish soirees for Oprah and other famous celebrities, he's also helped many brides create the perfect wedding. His latest book, Colin Cowie Wedding Chic ($26.40), is an extensive guide that provides ideas for celebrating every moment of the big day. It's a great resource if you're getting married. To find out more about it, read more.

Pros:

Cowie leaves no detail undiscussed. The book is broken up into ten informative sections including bouquets and other ceremony flowers, centerpieces, reception decor, ritual and ceremony, etc.
The tone is conversational, yet informative. It's a very easy read.
It's filled with inspirational ideas (many with corresponding color photographs) taken from real weddings that Cowie planned.

Cons:

The book's focus is on the wedding day. There is no mention of other wedding related events such as the engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, etc.
Many of the weddings illustrated are lush and over the top making it obvious that they were planned with an unlimited budget.

It's a hard covered heavy book: you won't be able to toss it in a purse and bring it to a meeting with caterers.

Imagery: The spectacular photographs make this book. Each page has at least one picture, and the entire tome is filled with hundreds of beautiful color photos.

Overall: If the sky is the limit for your big day or if you're in need of wedding inspiration, get yourself a copy of this book. However, if you're looking for a knowledgeable manual that discusses every aspect of planning a wedding - choosing an event planner, bridal party etiquette, planning the rehearsal dinner, etc. - you might want to consider another book.

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Casa Interview: Destination Wedding Planner Alison Hotchkiss (Part 2)

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:00:47 -0700

Alison Hotchkiss, the creative director of Alison Events and the author of Destination Wedding Planner, has plenty of smart advice on planning destination weddings. If you, or a couple you know, are planning a destination wedding, I highly recommend Alison's new book to lend a guiding hand in your planning process. You can read the first half of the interview here. Alison has more great advice in the second half of this interview.

CasaSugar: When you plan a destination wedding, do you try to use local artisans, caterers, and other services?

Alison Hotchkiss: I definitely try to use as much local support as possible. It’s cost-effective, puts money back into the community, and is a positive way to support the area. I will sometimes hire a local planner to serve as my eyes and ears locally, and then I have someone to help us when we’re there. Especially in smaller beach communities, a lot of negotiations and contracts are over a handshake, not a formal agreement, so it’s important to respect the way that the local community does business.

To see Alison's advice on everything from wedding favors to organizing activities, read more.

CasaSugar: What’s your take on wedding favors? Have there been any that have stood out? Have there been any alternatives that were creative or impressive?

Alison Hotchkiss: One of my favorite favors was from my Costa Rica wedding. All of the guests were given Holga cameras preloaded with film, so everyone was able to take photos throughout the ceremony. There was a big beautiful glass bin where everyone could drop their film and they could reload throughout the evening. At the end of the evening the bride took all of the film, processed it, and put it on the Pictage website, so everyone could see all of the photos that were taken.

Another trend I’ve been seeing is people paying it forward by offsetting people’s carbon footprint for travel. This is often seen on the bottom of the menu or program. Other couples have donated to schools or children’s community shelters. I’ve seen a lot more of that than people purchasing favors. I think it’s a waste of money to do a favor these days when there are so many other things you can put your money towards.

CasaSugar: How do you deal with gifts at a destination wedding?

Alison Hotchkiss: I rarely see gifts at a destination wedding. Most people know to not bring gifts and to ship them in advance. If somebody were to get gifts they’d have to pack them and bring them back. You’d have to arrange for shipping, and oftentimes if you’re staying at a hotel that’s something they can execute for you.

One other great story is that some of my clients, in lieu of wedding gifts, the client included a notecard in the invitation asking everyone in lieu of gifts to “pay it forward” and do something for someone else, be it a family or an organization in their name, and then to write it on the notecard. Then, when people got to the wedding, the guests had the same card that had their name and their table numbers on it, so they replaced the name cards with the pay it forward card, and we had this really awesome display of what people had done to pay it forward. They ranged from deep, meaningful stories to really silly stories, such as “Oh, I paid for the person’s toll behind you,” and someone else said, “I rescued a bird off the side of the road.” That was a really cute idea and a great way to say, Let’s not focus so much on material gifts, and focus more on giving back to the world.

CasaSugar: Once guests get to the destination, have you found a fun way to organize activities? Do you let guests know a schedule beforehand, or spring it on them as a fun surprise? How would you say is the best way to organize this?

Alison Hotchkiss: I’d say the majority of people these days are creating their own wedding websites, which is the best way to communicate all of the information that can happen. It can have directions, wedding activities, local things to do and see, all of that. Or, rather than asking people to sign up beforehand on the web-site you can have people, during the rehearsal dinner, sign up for the following day’s tours. We have used a chalkboard so it was more fun than writing it on a 8.5x11 piece of paper. Different activities we have done are a snorkeling adventure, massage, or horseback riding. It’s nice to not have to determine things so far in advance.

CasaSugar: Given the economic climate right now, if you were going to recommend one area where guests can squeeze their budget, what can be downsized?

Alison Hotchkiss: I’d say music. We always tell people to go with a DJ vs. band, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars for a band. A band can run from $2,000 to $10,000. That’s one area. Another is limiting favors. You can also choose beer and wine instead of an open bar, or limiting the time of the open bar. Pick your battles and consider what’s most important.

Another area is the flowers. Instead of doing flowers, consider using a combination of herbs, flowers, succulents, and fruits. We did a wedding recently in the tropics and cut bougainvillea petals from the local branches and made a carpeted aisle for the ceremony. It was so vibrant and so colorful, and it was free. Use what you have locally.

CasaSugar: What would you have at your destination wedding?

Alison Hotchkiss: All I know is I want it to be somewhere tropical (with good surf), laid back, and I would be totally happy with fish tacos, a DJ, and local beer, Oh and I think I am going to wear a short dress and lose the shoes!

CasaSugar: That sounds excellent.

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Fit and Fun Engagement Parties

FitSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Weddings call for many celebrations, but all those parties don't need to be formal affairs. There are many fun ways for you to celebrate your engagement and bring guests together without having to stress about seating arrangements. Here are a few of my ideas for healthy and fun engagement parties.

Garden party: In my mind, a garden party is just a little more formal than a BBQ, but games are a featured activity nonetheless. You can play badminton and croquet. The Italian lawn game bocce ball is a fun way to engage (pun intended) guests of all ages. I also like that the Italian word for kiss, bacio, sounds a lot like bocce - it adds a romantic twist to the game.

Healthy cooking class: Many chefs, restaurants, and catering companies offer hands-on cooking classes, where every guest gets to play chef. Guests are placed into small groups to prepare different dishes. At the end of the class, you all sit down to eat the feast you created. Many of these schools allow you to participate in planning the menu, so you can opt for healthier fare.

See my third idea when you read more.

Square dance: How long has it been since you have been to a square dance? Not only does a square dance offer the perfect opportunity to wear your fave cowboy boots, but you will also burn some serious calories while you do-si-do. This is a great way for everyone to mingle.

Need more wedding inspiration? Check out all of the Sugar network’s wedding coverage here.

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Wedding Beauty 101: The Eco-Conscious Bride

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Part three of my series on Wedding Makeup 101, is catered towards the eco-conscious bride. She's someone who wants to make the world a better place. She'll likely be wearing a gown made from animal-free or organic materials, use recycled paper for her invitations, and make sure that her big day coheres with environmentally sound guidelines. This means that she'll also be wearing Earth friendly makeup that's free from talcs and parabens.

I happen to love a lot of the new mineral makeup brands out there, especially The Organic Pharmacy and Bare Escentuals, so it's certainly not like products are far and few between anymore. Take a peek below at some of these great, organic beauty products online!

Laura Mercier Mineral Finishing Powder in ‘No.1’ - £25.00	Nature's Minerals™ Eye Colour - £8.80
Bare escentuals Essential Brow Kit - £25.00	Eco Erase Corrective Concealer by Nvey Eco - £14.00
Alterna Hemp with Organics Styling Mud - £16.75	Suki Skincare to go exfoliating cleanser 30ml - £10.50
Botanics Organic Super Balm - £4.88	Organic Lipstick by Nvey Eco - £15.00
Burt's Bees Lip Gloss, 7g - £3.96	MOP Basil Mint Shampoo - £9.25
Liz Earle Orange Flower Botanical Body Wash - £10.50	Eye Pencil by Korres - £7.00
Natural Beauty Moisturising Lip Butter - £3.00	Bareminerals Warmth All-Over Face Colour 2g - £16.00
Organic Orange Flower Facial Oil by Neal's Yard Remedies - £20.00	Trilogy Clarifying Conditioner - £11.95
Kiehl'S 100% Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser (200ml) - £15.00	Bareminerals 7g Weather everything mascara - £12.50

Win a KitchenAid Kitchen From Williams-Sonoma!

Sponsor — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:45:00 -0700

You've got the right dress, the right caterer, and the right location. Now you've just got to choose the right dishes, the right bakeware, the right towels . . . the list seems endless.

Fret not! Let Williams-Sonoma help and you could be the lucky winner of a KitchenAid Kitchen, including Williams-Sonoma's exclusive Professional 610 Stand Mixer in Nickel Pearl, the nine-speed hand mixer, and the five-speed blender. Just follow the three easy steps below and voilà! Your list could get a little shorter.

Register with Williams-Sonoma's Wedding & Gift Registry using the same email you use for your TeamSugar account.
Leave a comment telling us why you should win our KitchenAid Kitchen.
Create your wedding registry with Williams-Sonoma before the contest deadline on May 15.

Got friends who are also planning a wedding? Why not get a little friendly competition going? Spread the word about Williams-Sonoma's KitchenAid Kitchen contest and let the games begin!

Official Rules

*For purposes of the rules of the contest, following the steps above constitutes the ‘quiz’ required to enter.

Weddings May Be Recession Proof, But Budgets Are Not

SavvySugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:32:23 -0700

In the midst of Wedding Planning Mania here on the Sugar Network, findings of a survey were released regarding the relationship - or lack thereof - between weddings and the economy. Eighty-eight percent of caterers and event planners surveyed by the National Association of Catering Executives haven't seen cancelations due to the struggling economy. A little less than half of those surveyed reported seeing a decline in wedding spending, and more than half said more couples are avoiding the Saturday premiums and opting to get married on Friday or Sunday.

It's not surprising to me that a couple wouldn't cancel their wedding because of a weak economy - there are plenty of inexpensive options that still end in marriage. And couple going forward with pricier plans may just figure that since many vendors prices are pretty much set in stone, they'll either have to pay the price now or later. As long as they're not burying themselves in debt and have enough cash in case of a non-wedding-related emergency, now seems just as good as later.

To see all of our wedding season coverage, check out IDoSugar.

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