© 2010 Melissa Nicastro Photography
Last Saturday we celebrated our first wedding of the season and with it, I find myself thinking about this whole business of getting married.
As one of the most intimate events, a wedding gives us a rare opportunity to become involved with a couple in planning what is often the most important celebration of their lifetime. A couple’s wedding is a celebration of their love and their union with friends and family by their side. Weddings are major events in most people’s lifetimes and they have to be memorable. Over two million people in the United States get married each year, and while weddings comprise a unique part of our business, they are hardly unique occasions.
As a part of the industry dedicated to weddings, we are associated by default with all the magazines, websites, and conventions devoted to overwhelming the couple with every detail of planning their nuptials. We often meet couples who are frightened, confused and generally fatigued with the process, before they’ve even met us.
We have the advantage of planning weddings, as well as many other kinds of events, and this perspective (we like to think) makes Left Coast a sort of antidote to wedding planning madness. It makes us more flexible and more enthusiastic about each event on its own. Ultimately, it’s just a party. And with an experienced, creative caterer, it can be a painless process with incredible results. In the end, we want you AND your guests to be happy.
What makes a great wedding? It really comes down to three things: great food, close friends and a fun party. It doesn’t have to be pretentious or overthought, it doesn’t have to be fancy. A great wedding can happen in the middle of the woods, at a private home, on the beach or the top of a mountain. There can be table settings, or not. Fancy linen or not. A great wedding can be as easily a cocktail party as a banquet. Whatever the plan, the bride and groom should be able to relax and enjoy their day.
The wedding last weekend took place in a rental house in San Francisco. The bride & groom threw an informal barbecue the night before the wedding for friends and family. Left Coast provided a chef to help with grilling and sent over some dolled up mac and cheese to add to their spread.
The next day we came in and transformed the space for the ceremony and dinner. The couple held a simple, beautiful ceremony outdoors and the guests came inside for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. To start, we made grilled pork and pineapple skewers with a Vietnamese caramel sauce, seared scallops with meyer lemon relish, edamame puree on taro chips and Vietnamese spring rolls with chili sauce. At dinner, the guests sat down to a salad of mixed greens, shaved spring vegetables and warm goat cheese followed by seared Artic char with lemon aioli, pea shoots and lobster broth with leeks, fennel and english peas; porcini ravioli with white wine cream sauce, english peas and fried leeks; or grilled flat iron steak, red wine mushroom sauce, green garlic-spinach bread pudding and sautéed spring vegetables.
The evening followed with more drinking, dancing and tower of cupcakes. When we left, the party was still in full swing and we were invited to stay and join them. The following day I received a note from the bride, I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for your wonderful food and flawless execution. Your staff was super friendly and the timing of everything was perfect. As a result, we received numerous compliments about our fun party (with lots of kudos on the food!) and didn’t say goodbye to our last guest until 4am!
Their friends and family will remember that party for years to come. My advice to those starting this process–before you start, spend some time thinking about the best party you ever attended. Then, think about recreating that experience to make it your own. If you’re simple, make it simple. If you’re into the outdoors, have your wedding outside and bring natural elements to the table. If you’re creative, be creative. We helped plan a wedding for a very fun artsy couple and had our waiters dress like they were in the French Rivera. This summer, we’re planning something in the middle of the woods that so far includes a bluegrass band and bottles of whiskey on each table. The day’s space, look and feel should reflect you both, what you like and who you are as a couple. Make it genuine and fun. And we’ll fret over the details for you.
