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If you are looking for endless inspiration, Pinterest probably has what you are looking for! Among many other things, one of the best uses of this social network is planning weddings and events. We are excited to jump into this space and share events, wedding ideas, food, and decor images to inspire and help you in your planning process. Join the Pinterest community and follow Charlene and the Accomac Events team here.

Accomac Events had the pleasure of catering and designing this beautiful winter wedding! The wedding was held at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The top of the steps in the gorgeous rotunda served as a dramatic ceremony area and the reception followed in the museum’s ballroom.

Here are some fantastic photos by The Susquehanna Photographic:

Accomac Events’ in-house designer, Charlene, designed the crystal curtain that hung below the bride & groom during the ceremony, which set the tone for the winter wonderland decor. Sculptural “trees” with hanging crystal garland were placed around the ballroom. Baby’s breath and dangling silver pinecones topped tall, illuminated vases as centerpieces (provided by Wildflowers by Design). Royal blue napkins decorated tables covered in light blue linens with sparkly silver overlays. Cylinders of pinecones and silver ribbon were used as buffet decor to tie-in the winter theme. Ceremony and reception lighting provided by Eslinger Lighting, transformed the rooms to feel like a winter sunset.

The menu featured action stations named after places that played a role in the bride and grooms’ lives, including their hometowns. Both the bride and groom are gluten free, so we built an entirely celiac-friendly menu that featured seasonal fare like butternut squash soup sippers and roasted root vegetables. The menu was “comfort-food” heavy with mini-meatloaf muffin hors d’oeuvres, a risotto bar, and pasta bar.

The night concluded with a hot chocolate and coffee bar complete with various delicious toppings, as well as a late night snack of Smitty’s soft pretzel bites and fruit kebabs.

Congrats Valerie and Mak and thank you for letting us share in your special day!

It was also a pleasure working with these excellent vendors:
Cake & Cupcakes: The Couture Cakery
Florals: Wildflowers by Design
Lighting: Eslinger Lighting
DJ: Mixed Up Productions
Photos: The Susquehanna Photographic
Video: Christopher Lee Films
Venue: National Civil War Museum

Finding ways to cut expenses for your wedding is completely understandable. DIY-ing parts of your special day is a natural solution especially when all of your bridesmaids agree to help, your Aunt wants to help too, and so do the Moms of the bride and groom! There are a lot of talented people who can do stunning things, but before you DIY there are a few things to carefully consider.

DIY Wedding Decor potential pitfalls:

1) A plethora of options: Information overload happens quickly when there are endless options of what you should do. A professional will help guide you in the right direction by using your idea to create something within your budget and will provide the staff to carry the mission through to the end.

2) Who is in charge of set up? Decor items typically must be placed after the caterer has arrived and has had time to unload their truck and place the linens on the table. You may be in a situation where you have to pay extra for someone to arrive early and get those linens on. Then, it is up to you or your family to get everything out when you could be relaxing and getting ready for the wedding!

3) What goes up, must come down. There you are at the end of an exhausting day – you’ve been up since the crack of dawn filled with anxiety in anticipation of your big day. Now the party is over and you have to figure out who is going to load up and take your alcohol home (if you provided it). Next, you must take care of the gifts that all of your wonderful guests were kind enough to bring you. Last but not least, don’t forget about your DIY pieces, centerpieces, and decor. Caterers and planners do charge for this tear-down service, but you have to determine what your time is worth as well as the memories of your wedding reception. After the excitement is over you may want to leave your reception stress-free. These are just some things to think about before you DIY!

Any other suggestions? I’d love to hear them.

Interactive food stations are becoming more common especially when caterers like Accomac Events consider the need to satisfy the entertainment component associated with today’s events.

We’ve talked about Bourbon tasting stations paired with your favorite BBQ sandwiches and sauces as well as stations offering wine pairings alongside small plates of ethnic and traditional foods. This fun tasting experience gives your guests a chance to sample dishes and beverages that they might not normally try. For those on a tight budget, we’ve suggested the “devil in disguise” station where guests can create their own deviled egg with various toppings and fresh herb seasonings.

Now to take things to the next level…Who doesn’t feel motivated to create their own masterpiece when given the tools to do so? I for one was always drawing with crayons intended for my daughter while waiting for dinner to be served at casual restaurants when she was young. Here’s your chance to let your guests run wild with their imagination with our new “spin art action station.”

How it works: Each guest will take their plate for a spin through our artful display of squeeze bottles filled with colorful, fragrant sauces displayed on a giant acrylic artist palette. These sauces will act as the base for your guests’ creations that will be capped off with fresh pasta made table side by our chefs. Their masterpiece will be finished with their choice of colorful toppings. The same concept can be used with a taco bar. Guests paint their soft taco shells with various chili & mole sauces. The action chef will then fill each taco with freshly sauteed pork or chicken and their work of art is finished with their choice of various toppings like fresh cilantro, diced jalapeño peppers, house-made salsas, and cheese. The same concept could work for Chinese and Indian food stations!

If you’d rather hold off on this idea until later in the evening, try it as a dessert bar concept. Start with something as simple as a dessert pizza with squeeze bottle toppings of dark chocolate, raspberry coulis, butterscotch and white chocolate. Get creative with your party!

This may seem like common sense, but here’s a word of advice to brides and grooms-to-be regarding alcohol consumption on your special day. From our standpoint, we want you to enjoy your day with those you love. By all means, have a few drinks and be merry, but be conscious about how much you have to drink. Just think about the months of planning, and the time, energy, and money devoted to this one special day that revolves around you. Don’t let all of that go to waste.  Here are even more reasons why NOT to get smashed on your wedding day.

1. You may not even be able to remember your own event!
2. Pictures and videos speak a thousand words. Don’t embarrass yourself.
3. Your perception of your vendors, food, service, and overall event success could become skewed. Enjoy the cuisine, party, and service you paid for with a clear mind.
4. Being sick or hung-over the night of or the day after your wedding will effect any brunch or travel plans you may have.
5. You’ll want to look back from that day two weeks, 6 months, 10 years from then and have fond memories of that special time.

In short, put a cork in it- literally. Have a few drinks, but also remember to drink plenty of water and have something to eat while you can.

Charlene and Accomac Events has been featured in the February issue of Long Island Bride And Groom! You can beginning reading the article on page 84, which discusses unique options and ideas for the non-conformist bride!

It’s hard to think about spring and summer when the snow is falling as I type this post, but if you’re planning a warm weather wedding the time will roll around before you know it. Making your own unique coolers  is a nice beverage alternative to sodas. Think about adding macerated strawberries to old fashioned Frescas and garnish with fresh mint. Try adding Rainier cherries to freshly squeezed lemonade.

Rainier cherries image courtesy of La Tartine Gourmande. Click here for original post.

I recently read an article about how punch is making a comeback. Gone are the days of tacky punch bowl jokes and hello to fun and festive parties tapping into this “communal cocktail.” Offer your guests a plethora of choices with a punch bar! Not only will your guests have their choice of delicious refreshment, it will look pretty too.

Punch Bar image courtesy of weddingbee.com.Adding wine pairings to your food stations is another fun element to consider. Try a mini chicken pot pie or shrimp scampi station paired with Chardonnay, and a beef tenderloin station paired with Cabernet. Be sure small flights are poured at each station, giving your guests the chance to sample several different wines that they might not normally try.

Please feel free to share your summer/spring wedding beverage ideas! Happy Wedding Wednesday!

It’s hard to believe we will be ringing in the New Year in just a few short days! Last year around this time I talked about some fun Spring and Summer catering trends to look for in 2011. Some of these included savory cupcakes and gourmet popsicles.

As we enter 2012, here are my ideas for new stations to incorporate in your wedding and event planning.

Shaved Ice Bar:
Give your guests the choice of healthy “toppings” such as,  mango juice, pineapple juice, and POM. Top off  the “snowcones”with fresh fruit.

Root Beer Floats:
This would be another great idea for a summertime wedding. Offer these desserts spiked with cinnamon schnapps, rum, or root beer liqours.

Deviled Egg Bar:
Allow your guests to make their own deviled eggs with toppings of capers, bacon, sausage, curry powder, cayenne pepper, chives, and jalapeños.

Individual Fondue Bar:
Offer warmed votive cups filled with hot fudge or warm white chocolate sauces. Serve with bowls of cubed yellow cake, angel food cake, brownies, marshmallows, pretzel sticks, and fresh fruit for your guests to dip into their own votive cups!

Cooking Action:
An open kitchen scenario gives your guests a chance to get into the action instead of being served dinner out of a silver chafing dish. Keep in mind that many venues do not allow cooking inside the reception area, so check first if this is something that
you’re interested in. One of the easiest ways to do this is with fresh pasta. Guests can choose their own fresh pasta and watch it being cooked and finished with their favorite sauce/toppings. Tuna is another good option since this can be done with a small cooking rechaud and doesn’t cause a fire hazard like a larger open flame source.

Move over cupcake, pie is on the move. There something so incredibly comforting about
a homemade pie and these desserts have made a huge comeback on the wedding and event
scene. Accomac Events' pastry Chef Lauren McAllister and Executive Chef Ed Dodds have
been baking up some amazing one bite pies for our dessert selections. Bite-sized apple
pies are getting savory flavor additions like bacon and cheddar and our lemon curd pie
bites are divine with the addition of lemon cello.
 
Lemon Pie Bites(image courtesy of Sweet Revelations.)

Now we"re taking the next step by offering our guests "pie" at
their bar with Monin's new syrup flavors of apple pie, blueberry pie,
pecan pie and pumpkin pie. These new syrups offer a nice combination
of sweetness from the fruit aspect alongside the savory flavors of pie
crust. For example, the apple pie syrup's tasting notes include: Granny
Smith apple and baked pie crust flavors with subtle notes of cinnamon and
caramelized sugar. The syrups are also vegan and gluten free! 

The uses are endless - lattes,soda bars, pie-tinis and shakes would all
benefit from these delicious syrups.

We had the privilege of catering two wonderful weddings this past Saturday! It was such a pleasure working with both couples! Here is what we served…

One wedding held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry was filled with Asian flair. The base linens were ivory with black napkins and the bride supplied silk overlays from her home land. The Specialty Cocktail was a Green Tea Spritzer. Butlered hors d’oeuvers included creamy tomato soup shooters with an old bay rimmer paired with a Maryland crab cake slider and pork pot stickers served with a chipotle honey sauce. A dual entree of beef tenderloin with ginger demi glace and chicken tio pepe with mango salsa was served and local sweet corn relish and roasted fingerling potatoes finished off the plates. Cup cakes from the infamous “Crumbs” Bakery were shipped in to top off the night in place of a wedding cake!

The second wedding, held at the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey, included refreshing cosmopolitans and mojito’s. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres took place on the main level of the museum allowing guests to mingle around the wonderful exhibits of the most beautiful cars in the world. One of the butlered hors d’oeuvres included our famous strawberry and goat cheese pizza served on a bed of baby arugula, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and cracked black pepper. The couple decided on a small ceremonial cake for cutting and an assortment of cupcakes for their guests to enjoy. It looks like the cup cakes won this weekend!