Wedding Wednesday: Tasting!

Yesterday we had our tasting for the wedding and it was amazing. D'amico Catering is the premiere caterer for International Market Square and other amazing venues around Minneapolis, so the way they do their tastings is a little different that what I've seen/heard of. They hold a tasting once a month and put it on as an event for several couples. Our tasting was held at the Metropolitan Ballroom. We invited my mom and J's step-mom to come with us and the four of us were seated at our own table complete with the dishes that will be used at our wedding so we could see what it looked like. I loved that they included menus listing everything we would be trying with pens and room for notes so that we could keep track of what we did and did not like. It was also super helpful in the writing of this blog post.

The tasting started with a glass of champagne and a wonderful assortment of hors d'oeuvres which included:

Petite Lobster "Club" Sandwich

with prosiutto, roasted tomato and aiolo on crostini

*these were SO good, J and my mom were not a fan though

Bucheron and Sundried Tomato Phyllo Triangle

*these were fine, nothing to write home about

Beef Tenderloin Skewers

with tarragon aioli

*this was my favorite, so tender and amazingly delicious!

Chorizo Stuffed Date with Cilantro-Lime Aioli

*these were disgusting! Yuck!

Chicken Satay

with peanut sauce

*Really good, a little dry but the sauce was yummy!

Miniature Butter Burgers

with red wine shallot butter

*These were J's favorite, so delicious!

The First Course of the tasting included two salads and fresh baked bread with sweet butter.

Garden Salad

with cucumber, tomato, sweet red onion, sprouts and Parmesan peppercorn dressing

*I wasn't the biggest fan of this one

Balsamic Marinated Berry Salad

served over organic baby greens with warm goat cheese crouton

*I loved this salad! It had fresh berries and the goat cheese crouton was amazing! J hated it though, so we're going with a completely different option for the wedding.

The main course was incredible and included a glass of both the house chardonnay and the house cabernet, both of which we will be serving at the wedding. We also sampled a couple glasses of other options....it was free, who cares that it was noon?!

Miso Sea Bass

with potato puree and fire roasted vegetables

*I'm not a huge seafood fan but I tried it and it was DELICIOUS. I was obsessed with the potato puree and the fire roasted veggies....sooooo good!

Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Strudel

with port wine sauce and fried sweet potato nest

*This was also amazing and would make a wonderful vegetarian option, but, we were concerned that it just wouldn't be enough food. The sweet potato nest was definitely not a big enough side.

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sundried Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Red Pepper Sauce

served with polenta and asparagus

*The polenta and asparagus were delicious, but the chicken was not.

Pan Seared Breast of Chicken with Gremolata Sauce

served with roasted baby red potatoes and vegetable saute

*This was incredible. I could have drank that gremolata sauce!

Tenderloin of Beef with Peppered Vodka Sauce

and Yukon Gold potato puree and baby carrots

*This was cooked medium and I cannot handle red in my meat, so I didn't try it but apparently it was amazing. The potatoes and carrots were fabulous!

Finally, we had the dessert course served with coffee. Only problem---we're coffee snobs, I mean we own a damn coffee shop, and the coffee was terrible! Luckily, I talked to our event manager and she is allowing us to bring in our own coffee to serve. Thank goodness! 

Triple Chocolate Torte Cake

Devil's food cake filled with layers of fudge chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse with vanilla butter cream exterior

*I'm not the biggest chocolate fan but everyone else agreed this was the best cake. So **spoiler alert** this is going to be our wedding cake! I made a deal with J that he could choose the flavor of the cake and in exchange I get to play two Backstreet Boys songs at the reception.

Banana Cake

with chocolate ganache, caramel mousse and white chocolate butter cream exterior

*This was delicious but just didn't seem right for a wedding cake

White Cake with Raspberry Studded Filling and Vanilla Butter cream exterior

*This was my favorite is was soooooo stinkin' good. But a deal is a deal.

Mini-Dessert Selections:

White Chocolate Dipped Pineapple

*AMAZING!

Handmade Truffles

*Didn't try them...too chocolatey for me

Chocolate Toffee Trifle

*Same here

Cheesecake Lollipops

*The best thing I had yesterday! I am going to need to make some room in the budget so these bad boys can make an appearance!

Cupcakes

*Didn't try them, I was too stuffed from cheesecake lollipops at this point.

Overall the food was amazing, the service was great and the event was super helpful. I am really excited about the quality of food we are going to be serving our guests. A lot of said guests read this blog so I don't want to give away what we decided on, but some of the things we tried yesterday will definitely be making an appearance on our menu!

Wedding Wednesday!

So weird that I actually get to particpate in this now! How exciting! I will say that I highly doubt my wedding related posts will be limited to just Wednesdays but it's a rainy afternoon in Minneapolis and I have nothing else to write about.

I want to thank all of you for your words of wisdom regarding picking a date and engagement length. J and I are still tossing around a couple of ideas and will hopefully have something nailed down soon. Then, of course, we'll have to make sure our ceremony and reception venues are available those days, but I can feel us getting closer to actually having a wedding date! Woohoo! 

One thing I have always known about my wedding is that my colors will be black and white. Those who know me personally will not be the least bit shocked by this detail. When I say black and white I mean ALL black and white....no color. I want this wedding to be beautiful and timeless and classic but have a modern and metropolitan feel. I've been perusing the internet for inspiration and ideas and I thought for my first Wedding Wednesday I'd give you all a peek at what I've been looking at.

Thoughts?!

Yesterday...

…was awesome! I started my day with a delicious sugar free raspberry soy latte from Coffee Buzz made by the cutest boy I know. Then I met my mom at her house and we were off to go venue shopping!

We went to four different places! We had appointments for six but one we knew was just too far out of the budget and the other we were left waiting for 20 minutes in a hideous hotel entry way….we both agreed it just wasn’t right so we bailed. We also took a lunch break halfway through at my favorite U of M restaurant, Burrito Loco. I hadn’t been there in years and it was just as delicious as I remembered (great call on that pit stop, mom!) Two of the places I absolutely loved and am planning to bring J back to.  Here are some pictures and info from their websites….let me know what you think!

St. Anthony Main Event Center

Throughout its 115 years, St. Anthony Main has played a significant role in the life and history of Minneapolis. Like proud grandparents, St. Anthony Main has embraced generation upon generation. And, although it has at times undergone extensive remodeling, St. Anthony Main still recounts memories of its distinguished past.  Today, the area is a prime and versatile location for artistic fairs, international shopping, and fine dining with exquisite views of the Minneapolis skyline.

The Event Centre itself occupies three levels of St. Anthony Main’s southern-most section, which was originally the Salisbury-Satterlee Mattress Factory. It offers a total capacity of 550 guests for a seated event or 1,000 guests for a non-seated social event. Weather permitting, the outside deck provides additional space off the main level and overlooks Historic Main Street and the Mississippi River.  St. Anthony Main Event Centre is rich with historical features, including its unique location on the Mississippi Riverfront.  Its rustic brick and exposed wood are extremely open for almost any vision you may have.

Five Event Center
Built in the late 1800s, the historic Minneapolis Fifth Precinct is now the home of FIVE Event Center. FIVE blends New York inspired contemporary design with rich colors and bold textures to create an unforgettable event.

 

Both of these venues are fantastic, but they are completely different and would host two completely different receptions. If we did St. Anthony Main it would be a little more formal with a plated sit down dinner. Five we would do heavy hor dourves or meal stations with a more casual cocktail party style set up. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

After a long day of perusing venues I met up with one of my best college girlfriends, Courtney, for dinner. We went to this new restaurant Sauce, which was awesome. It’s kind of a pimped out Noodles & Co. You place your order at the register and then they serve it to you, but they have pizzas, pastas, paninis and most importantly a good beer and wine menu. It was so great to catch up with Court over some delicious food and wine too!

My day ended just how every great day should end. With the premiers of GLEE and THE BIGGEST LOSER!

What an absolutely great day!!! Thanks for all your comments about looking at venues, they were super helpful! I’ll keep you posted on what we do!

Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaid Dresses!

Next up on my to-do list is to figure out Bridesmaid dresses. From working in the bridal business part time I have learned that late summer/early fall are the busiest wedding months, which means 6-8 months prior to that are the busiest wedding ordering months. This means the majority of the brides getting married in 2011 are looking for their wedding and bridesmaid dresses RIGHT now, which means the designers get backed up and things can take longer to come in. So, I am working with my lovely ladies to get a date nailed down in late February or early March to go dress shopping.

A lot of people will say, "whatever you do don't take your bridesmaids shopping with you." We've all heard the horror stories of bridesmaids fighting with each other and the bride over dresses. I'm sure everyone who has been in this scenario has said, "this won't happen to me." But I truly believe it won't. First of all, I have already sent my girls ideas of what I want, so they know what to expect and second I want my girls to look good and feel good. If I were to pick some dress without seeing it on them and they didn't look good, they wouldn't feel good and then they won't look confident and excited on my wedding day.....and I want them to! As much as I want my girls to wear their dresses again (like all brides do) I realize no matter how much they love the dress they might not ever wear it again, and I'm ok with that. All I care about is that they have a dress that fits, that is in style, that they are confident in and of course is black. And I trust that my friends are mature enough to go shopping together and find a dress without drama.

Initially, I thought I wanted short dresses because they're typically waaaaay cuter than long dresses. I have since changed my mind. I'm getting married in November in Minnesota, it's most likely going to be cold and I don't want my girls to freeze. Similarly, I want the dresses to be season apporpriate. While short dresses can be worn all year round that's not always true for certain styles. I feel like a nice long black dress will be great for the season. I also want to add a level of formality. This is going to be a formal wedding and I think with the look I'm going for and the style of my dress, long dresses will be more fitting and more formal.

With all that said, a lot of long dresses suck. They can look like prom dresses and be super unflattering. So although I've decided on a long dress, it has to be the right long dress.

To start, I was browsing the internet for any sources of inspiration. Here's what I found:





More recently I have been perusing designer websites to find possibilities for the girls. We are obviously getting the dresses from Mary Kay's Bridal because I work there, I love them and they have a great selection! They carry Alfred Angelo, Belsoie and B2 by Jasmine Bridal and Impression Bridesmaid dresses. Here are a few of the contenders....at least for now. Obviously, they'll be black.

I really love chiffon dresses because they will be flattering on all body types. I love the neckline on this dress.

I LOVE this dress. I think the cut would be very flattering on everyone, and it's formal but still in style. I love the cross cross ruching on the bodice.

This is a brand new dress from Alfred Angelo and I really like it, though it's probably my least favorite of the ones I'm showing you. I love the chunky necklace though!

When we went shopping for my dress my Maid of Honor, Libby actually tried this dress on and I loved it. I think the pockets add some fun and some style, yet, it's still a classic and elegant dress.

I hate the color of this dress but think it could be really pretty in black. It has the ruched bust and then rhinestone beading under it. It's way prettier in person, which worries me because my pictures last forever.

As of right now this is my favorite possible dress. I think it will be super flattering on everyone. It's classy, elegant and fun. I love the chiffon with the satin waist and straps. It's simple but we could dress it up with some great jewelery.

Once we find a dress for the bridesmaids I will have to decide whether or not to put our two Junior Bridesmaids in the same dresses or different. I know I don't want them in strapless because I want it to be age appropriate. If the older girls decide on a strapless dress we could always add straps for the juniors or just chose an entirely different dress. But, we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

I change my mind constantly on the dresses I like, so I can wait to get the girls in there and actually see them in the dresses!

What do you guys think? Any words of wisdom from past and present brides and/or bridesmaids?!

GUESS WHAT.....?!?!?!

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!

Remember last Thursday when I wrote THIS POST about how much I love Gopher football and how excited I was to go and sit on the field and watch our first game on the jumbo-tron?  I said that it was like Christmas....little did I know that that day was soon to become the best day of my life.

Here's how it happened.....

As I mentioned on Thursday, the Gopher's played their first game of the season and it was an away game. TCF Bank Stadium (where the Gopher's play) opened up to host a public viewing party. Anybody could go and sit in the stands or on the field with a bunch of other Gopher fans and watch the game. I was excited to do this for weeks. It was raining on and off the entire day and I was really bummed that we may not be able to go. J suggested that we go rain or shine to check it out and at the very least get a picture....the boy knows me, so I agreed we'd head down there at least long enough for a photo op.

J and I were dressed in our Gopher gear and headed to campus...the skies were black but we kept on. We parked about six blocks from the stadium and after about a block of walking it started to pour and I mean absolutely pour. Luckily, we found a little overhang to chill under. We saw that there were blue skies all around us, so if we could just wait out the rain we'd be in good shape.

 Waiting for the rain to stop

After about 5 minutes the rain let up and we were on our way to the stadium. I was blown away when I saw the most perfect rainbow descending in to the stadium. I started yelling, "Yes! Good Luck! The Gophers are going to win!" I was sooooo excited! 

 Kind of hard to see, but there is definitely a rainbow going right in to the stadium

We made it to the stadium and my darling boyfriend bought me a pretzel. After shoving our faces, we went down to the field. We found a GREAT spot right on the 50 yard line, literally the middle of the logo on center field. It was awesome.

 Great spot and the Gophers were winning! 

It was about half way through the second quarter and I was starting to get really cold. We decided to leave at half time and go to my dad's house where my family was watching the game. J looks at me and says, "I'm going to ask this lady next to us to take our picture." I was so proud! Normally I'm the one hounding strangers to take our picture and I was beyond thrilled that J was taking the initiative to get a great picture of us before we left. So, J goes and talks to the lady then shouts for me to get up. I was under the impression that she was taking a picture of us sitting on the field, slightly annoyed I get up and go stand next to J. Then he walks over to tell the lady which button to push, this lady has been taking pictures of her little boy the whole time...she knows how to take a picture. Finally, after I yell at J, he comes over to pose next to me and all of a sudden he is down on one knee with a ring in his hand and said, "Kris, will you marry me?"

I freaked out. I didn't even say yes. I just kept yelling, "are you serious?" "is this for real?"  

Everyone around us started to cheer! It was the most perfect moment. Although it's completely blurry and I felt a little like I was going to pass out, I could not have dreamt up a more perfect way to get engaged. I was completely shocked and surprised and emotional and excited and I still have yet to come down from the clouds. 

 Thursday, September 2nd.

Wedding Wednesday: PHOTOGRAPHER!!!

First of all, I had some downtime (OK, I was straight up bored) and I counted that I only have 42 more Wedding Wednesdays until I get married! CRAZY!

Back in my pre-engagement wedding dreaming days I always knew that choosing a photographer would be the hardest part of wedding planning. I am a picture spaz. I always have my camera and I am always taking a million pictures of absolutely everything. I was a photography major for a couple of years in college, so having amazing wedding photos is the number one priority on my wedding importance list.

Shortly after Coffee Buzz opened a super sweet and super adorable local photographer came and spent the afternoon at Coffee Buzz editing pictures. We got to talking and I instantly looked up her website. I was blown away.

Not long after, Sara Jayne was taking custom photos of downtown Minneapolis to display on the walls of Coffee Buzz.

J and I have gotten to know Sara Jayne and her fiance John over the last year and have built a wonderful friendship with them (I can't wait for their wedding in June).

Me and Sara at the Gophers vs Ohio State game

When I finally got my ring I knew without question that Sara had to be the photographer for our big day. She is so unbelievably talented and I have no doubt that she will do an absolutely amazing job capturing our day for us. The fact that we have become friends helps a ton because I know J and I will be completely comfortable around her and therefore won't have any fake or forced photos. A decision that I always thought would be the absolute hardest was actually the easiest. I didn't even have to think about it. I was creeping Sara Jayne Photography's facebook page and have stolen these amazing photos to show you all how brilliant Sara Jayne really is. Sara---I know you read this so I hope you don't mind that I stole your stuff.

Sara has kindly been holding our date since we got engaged, but just yesterday we finally sat down and had our "official" photography meeting, we gave her a deposit and set our plans in stone. I am so excited for the ideas we have for our engagement session and the wedding day! I am so relieved and feel so lucky to have had Sara Jayne just pop into our lives. I swear it's fate.

Please check out her website to see more of her amazingness:

www.sara-jayne.com

And if you live in the Twin Cities, HIRE HER! And then thank me for the recommendation later.