Food, Glorious Food!

Deciding on a caterer is one of the most important aspects of planning your wedding.  I personally LOVE food, and so choosing a good caterer is of extreme importance to me.

With so many restaurants and caterers in Winnipeg, there are seemingly endless catering options available.  The tricky part about planning our wedding, at the Victoria Beach Clubhouse, is that there is no kitchen!  That's right - no kitchen.  So, how does one choose a caterer in a kitchenless venue?

Let's first take a couple of steps back and think about what you need to determine when choosing your caterer.  Much of this decision will be based on what sort of a theme you want for your wedding.  Are you going for a real white linen, high class affair?  Maybe some hors d'oeuvres of smoked salmon canapes and raw oysters in the half shell, followed by an entree filet mignon cooked to perfection served with crumbled roquefort cheese and braised asparagus.

Or are you more of a from-the-earth kind of eater?  Perhaps an appetizer table offering up portabello mushroom bruschetta, a main course of eggplant casserole with layers of couscous, spinach, and farm fresh vegetables.  And topping it all of, a vegan chocolate torte!

We are neither of the above, although I would be thrilled to attend either of those weddings and chow down!  But for my own affair, I am interested in a quality menu that tastes delicious. I love fish, so some sort of salmon or pickerel is a must.  I don't really want a buffet, because I just plain don't like buffets.  And although I love filet mignon, the price tag starts to get a bit heavy.  What we need is something that meets in the middle.

Now, back to that tricky part: the kitchenless venue.

Since we are avid VBers and have many VB friends, it just so happens that Jason and I have been to a couple of weddings at the lake.    So, I decided to take a poll of VB brides.  I emailed four women I know who all got married at the clubhouse, and asked them about their caterers.  Who did they hire?  How much did they charge?  How was the food?  How was the service?  And overall, did you like them?  Unbelievably, three of the four couples had all chosen the same caterer and were very happy with their choice!  The fourth was also singing the praises of her caterer, however I preferred the budget of the majority choice, so I contacted them, Prairie Cuisine Caterers.  The best part is that they travel with a kitchen hitched up in a trailer!  The kitchen conundrum is solved!

Brides and grooms, I highly recommend you get out there and ask people what they did for their weddings!  How are we in the wedding planning stages supposed to know anything about anything without asking.  Unless you've been married before and done the whole wedding planning thing, then you are not expected to have a clue.  So ask.  I did, and it saved a lot of time and headaches.

One of the brides I surveyed was married last June at VB, and Jason and I were in attendance.  The delicious food was all served "family style", meaning that they bring large platters and dishes to each table and let everyone serve their own portions.  Kind of a happy medium between a buffet and individual servings.  The first course was a variety of salads: pasta salad, tossed salad, spinach salad, etc.  Then came the main: lemon & dill salmon, steak, chicken, and potatoes.  I don't remember all the details, but I remember it was all delicious... except for the steak, which was overdone.  That's okay though, we won't make steak part of the menu at our wedding.  Finally they had a dessert table set up and guests could help themselves when they were ready, and the desserts were out all night, which means you could go back for seconds - or thirds!

I am looking forward to planning the menu and going for samplings of Prairie Cuisine's fabulous food...  Stay tuned for further blogposts regarding catering and menu planning as we get deeper and deeper into the wedding plans in the new year.  Bon apetit!

Is is raining out?

Nope, not raining!  It's a shower, of the bridal variety.

Being a bride-to-be means that, in all likelihood, there will be a shower or two held in my honor.  However, yesterday was my turn to co-host a shower for my maid of honor, Tara.  Another one of Tara's close friends, Megan, and I hosted the ladies event at my home yesterday afternoon, and a lovely time was had by all.

When Megan text messaged me about a month ago to see if I would like to lend a hand in planning the event, I jumped right in!  We decided to make it a surprise shower, and really throw our bride for a loop.  The surprise was a success, as we had decided to tell her we were planning for something in the new year to throw her off the scent.  The result?  A very surprised bride at my doorstep around 2:15 yesterday afternoon.

                               Tara's arrival at her surprise shower!

Co-hosting the event meant that Megan and I could divide up the planning details, which made the party planning a very reasonable task.  Megan was in charge of invites, corsages, punch, and paper plates/napkins -- as well as a to DIE FOR lemon meringue dessert.  I was in charge of picking up the gift from the registry, appetizers, and the venue (my home).  By hosting the event as a pair, Megan and I got to share in all the fun of party planning and not get overwhelmed by all the tasks.

                       Megan pinning the corsage on the bride-to-be

                              Bride and Mother of the Bride

       Co-hosts, Megan and me on either side of Tara in her traditional ribbon hat.

Tara and Tyler registered at the Bay, which gave guests an opportunity to pick out a gift that they were sure the couple wanted.  Registries are perfect for couples who are starting off and in need of all the household items that they currently do without.  However, as couples are getting married later & later these days, after living together for a few years, they often have already acquired many of the house and home items they need.  In this case, couples can get creative.  I know that Jason and I are planning on registering at the Bay for some household items, as well as Canadian Tire or Cabella's for camping gear.  To all you couples who are not in need of place settings and towels, keep in mind that there are other registries out there that may suit your needs/interests more than the traditional houseware registries.

Now to discuss shower food.  Let me start by saying that I love a good old fancy sandwich at a shower, but I sure don't love making them!  Instead of the fancy sandwich tray from my mother's generation, I opted for an easier route. I hit up Costco and bought a variety of cheese & crackers, a vegetable tray with dip, and some pre-made spanikopitas that just needed to be heated in the oven.  I love home made appetizers and snacks, but I am a full time student with a very busy schedule, so letting Costco do the work for me was perfect.  All I had to do was present the store bought food beautifully, and voila!  As good as homemade.

Desserts were up to Megan and the mother of the bride.  They brought a variety of treats, some home baked, some bakery bought, and all were delicious!

                                                Food Table

                        Jeannie's red velvet cake - YUM!

We had a lovely afternoon, keeping the longstanding tradition of female fellowship and fantastic food alive, as we helped send off another woman into her new role as wife.