Archive for Events
Venue issue
Television Celebrity Wedding (Marimar)
The venue is the factor that will affect the success of your event most. This is where the guests and your clients will stay for 3-5 hours or more, and in this place they will be experiencing the best party of their lives, with your help of course. A trusted venue will be the best for any party, but it will outgrow its usefulness for returning clients, as they’d want another place where they can have a different kind of party. Mishaps and boredom can be avoided when these 2 following words are taken into consideration:
“Plan ahead”
The best locations can be very busy at peak seasons, i.e. resorts during the summer, 500-people halls during debutante season and wedding reception gardens during June. For your peace of mind you need to book early. However, if you have procrastinated and left it late, there are several measures that can be done to make up for the time lost.
The perfect venue is perfect only because you sold its potential well to the client. Suggest a new party theme for an old and trusted venue.If the returning client loved that venue before, point out the benefits of staying there.
The main things to look for in a venue:
- ventilation and lighting
- water supply for washing and cooking
- well-maintained and enough number of restrooms
- ambiance
You notice that ambiance is the last priority, which can be justified with the point I raised earlier. Ambiance can be manipulated through insightful decorations and technical implements such as music . The rest of the things on the list are of utmost necessity.
Gate Crash: Tactful Reminders and Contingency Measures
Sometimes the biggest obstacles to efficient planning are the guests themselves. Namely, the guests of the guests. It is a planner’s nightmare to see that the estimated number of visitors double or triple in size on the actual party date.
On paper, planning for enough food and giveaways to provide for a set number of people is easy. However, some invitees volunteer to bring at least one or two other friends with them without informing the party planner or party giver. Without prior planning for a solution to this issue, you end up with a crowd and not having enough food for everyone.
Some Tactful Ways to Address the Problem of ‘Gate Crashing’
Gate crashers are people who attend parties without getting an invite. These are usually unexpected guests who know the celebrant somewhat but were not invited. It is tactless for these people to come in a party uninvited, but equally tactless for the party planner to point this out to this people, as they could be friends or relatives of the celebrant that he or he ‘forgot’ to send an invite to.
1. Write the invitation script in such a way that the RSVP line is highlighted. Make sure to emphasize on how many people to bring (i.e. can bring one guest or ‘you and a guest’). Include ‘tickets’ if the celebrant will approve this, such that the one being invited has a gate pass and an extra one for his guest.
2. Prepare for feeding more people than the actual number. For example, you rented out 200 chairs and 200 food plates initially, inform the chair dealer and the caterer to prepare 50 more, just in case.
3. Make all guests (and their guests) sign the guest book, and compare this list to the original guest list so that the celebrant can see the exact number of people he has to pay extra for.
Hors D’Oeuvres
Pronounced as ‘Or-derv’, these delicious morsels are the most commonly served appetizers in parties. In fact, the French term itself means “a dish served as an appetizer before the main meal”.
There’s no set recipe for the best hors d’oeuvres, but the best tips for making interesting and party-worthy ones include a unique presentation. A nice tray, cheese in wedges, well trimmed bread and crunchy toast… all these will make your appetizer dish hard to resist.
Soft cheeses are usually served in a separate plate while the chips, toasted bread or crackers stay on the tray. However, for ease of eating by guests, I suggest spreading the cheese or the liver pate on these before serving. After all, party people are mostly just standing in groups talking and probably won’t spend time hanging out on the buffet tables.
The appetizers that don’t require much effort to make are sure hits in parties. Ask the caterer to make the viands or main dishes, while you yourself can create the canapes and finger food. A real cost saver.
My example is Sauteed Mushroom on Toast. This can serve as appetizer in house parties where anyone can just go to the table and grab a bite.
Here’s what you need for a party of 4:
Toasted Bread - 8 pieces
One can of sliced Button Mushrooms - drained
Garlic - 4 cloves, crushed
Onion - one bulb, sliced
Red Bell Pepper - sliced (julienne) for garnish
Soy Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce - 2 table spoons
Hot Sauce - for spicy variation
Salt and pepper
Sautee the garlic until browned, followed by the onions. Add the button mushrooms and keep sauteeing at high heat, gradually adding the soy sauce/Worcestershire sauce, the hot sauce and the salt and pepper. Add the bell pepper strips before turning off the fire. Pour the mushrooms over the toasted bread.
For genuine Restaurant Recipes and recipe secrets, Click Here.
