For everyone that has yet to make it to a tasting I have the next 3 dates available for you:

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - 5:30pm

Thursday, September 9, 2010 - 6:00pm

Friday, October 15, 2010 - 4:00pm

Please let me know if you would like to sign up for one of the timeslots. These are not showcases. They are intimate group tastings so we ask that everyone be prompt.

Thank you!

Hey everyone. I want to get these great pics out to you so you can see the cool things we had on Friday night here. Everyone had a tremendous time and I can not thank my staff and the great groups of professional vendors that I am so privileged to work with including Dave from CinemaCake, Kendall from Eclatante, Maya from Beautiful Blooms, Steve Croce - Dj extraordinaire, Meredith from Winterthur Floral Department, Eventions Lighting, Jim Graham - amazing photographer (please see some of his handy work below) and so fun to work with, my colleagues at Longwood Gardens - Michelle and Sara, our amazing bakers - Liberty Lane Bake Shoppe and Liz Marden Gourmet Cakes and Desserts, and we got some more decor help from Special Occasions and my favorite person Claudia and Party Rental supplied the look once eclatante and blooms did the design for these 3 tables.

Beautiful Blooms flowers, Eclatante Design

Special Occasions Linens, Winterthur Florals

Special Occasion Linens, Asian Lanterns Hung, Winterthur Florals

Winterthur Rolls Royce

Gazpacho Soup Shooter

Thai Shrimp Salad Cones

Eclatane Design, Beautiful Bloms Flowers - love this as a modern take on a head table

Beautiful Blooms

Winterthur Floral Department - so whimsical

Pecan Chicken with Tamarind Shrimp

Filet and CrabCake

Portabello crusted Chicken with Seared Scallops

Eventions - Draping in the VC

Previewing the salads

Good evening everyone! Our first May wedding was this past weekend and it was GORGEOUS! The azaleas are in bloom early and making quite the display. It was warm but I will take heat over rain any day as I think most of you know. You have to see the pool pics that I got - wow!

Guests arriving at the pool

Greeting Guests - Great Ushers!

Setting up cocktail hour

Perfect Ceremony Backdrop

Steve actaully worked with me at a previous job and I had multiple chefs in the room as guests on this one. No pressure on Jason the night before Point to Point and wanting to make sure that Jessica and Steve were really well taken care of and everybody was well fed.

Jessica and Steve picked stations - we had Italian, Mexican and they upgraded and added a sushi station on an ice carving. Guests started to eat as they came into the VC from the pool and the DJ - Dave from Signature DJ’s who is great - was getting guests on the floor dancing. this worked out great - no real lines, plenty of dance time, and plenty of time to eat as much as guests wanted. Yukie did a great job on the cottage looking flowers - but she is always great.

I hope to have some more great picks from Joel Plotkin to add to the few I did - sorry - I have to get back into the blog  grrove - I did not do a good job of getting lots of pics!

Good evening everyone! Wow - last night was a lot of fun. I am sitting here reading emails from people who attended last night - both brides and their families and our great vendors, all saying what a great vibe there was in the air.

Guests were checked in by my wonderful bridal attendants, Jessica, Jessica, and Zanthea. Michael Hunter and his fellow musicians gave us some great background music. Guests mingled in the lobby while sipping apple cider cranberry spritzers and trying 10 of our fabulous hors d’oeuvres, including my personal favorite, the lobster and brie burrito. We also set up the bruschetta station - yum! Special Occasions did the great linens and the Winterthur Floral Team did a great job on all of the florals in the front. Dave Williams of DVideography was able to showcase some of his marvelous work as well.

Winterthur Florals, Holiday Inspired

After “cocktail” hour, guests slipped into the main room and were greeted with an amazing room and so much to see. Steve Croce was spinning some tunes, Brian Toner with Eventions had some great lighting, and we had both of our cake vendors - Kimberly Withers and Liz Marden.

Eventions GoBOWarm Lighting

Claudia from Special Occasions worked with me and we set up so many different tables with collections for the spring, summer, and fall to inspire. Theresa Floral did the flowers, each one different and beautiful.

Sweet ideas for the sweetheart table

Flowing orchids on the buffet - Theresa Floral

We also featured some of our standard linens and worked with our friends at Party Rental to show off some great enhancements including glassware, chargers, tea lights, other color cushions, and chivari chairs. Theresa made the white collection simple yet sensational and the Winterthur team took ivory to new heights.

Party Rental Glasses, Theresa FloralParty Rental Chargers, Winterthur Florals

And of course there was more food if I am going to call this a tasting ,right? Salads, salads, and more salads. 5 great entrees and 5 featured items off of our fun stations. I have a vegetarian couple getting married here and the chef whipped up 2 great options for them to try as well. Everyone got to try so much food and we should have gotten everyone up and dancing to burn some calories before Thanksgiving.

And don’t forget - this was our first one. Shoot me an email or respond to this post to let me know your thoughts and feedback. Have a great holiday everyone!

Hello again readers. While I have not been posting I don’t want anyone to think we have been slacking over here. We are hard at work getting ready for our 1st ever tasting on Nov 24th featuring some of our great vendors and so much food!

I wanted to let everyone know that I am currently revising the catering packages as we are going to be offering you a choice of 2 different cake vendors - our fabulous Kimberly Withers and the infamous Liz Marden. Liz has been a pastry chef in this area for over 20 years and loves when she now makes cakes for children of prior wedding couples.

Kimberly’s style allows you to mix and match your perfect combination. Liz puts her combinations together for you with signature items such as her White Chocolate Mousse Cake - Light and airy white chocolate mousse, sandwiched with a combination of chocolate and vanilla cake layers and raspberry jam. Other choices include Milk Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, and Bananas Foster!

Both of the ladies will be here on the 24th with samples and photos. While you won’t have time to dig into every specific question, you will have plenty of time to sample and look and see what options best suit what you are looking for. We are so excited to be able to offer you more options and can’t wait to hear your feedback after the 24th!

October is almost over, just a few more weeks to our inaugural catering tasting showcase on Nov 24th!

Our wedding season is over for 2009 and I thought I would take advantage of the break to write on a few topics that I thought about throughout the year but did not want to post on in lieu of weddings. This one has started to come up a lot this past year - vegans. What is a vegan? Vegans are people who eat no animal products (including no eggs, dairy, and usually even honey) as opposed to vegetarians who simply do not eat animals/meat (including beef, poultry, fish, etc). Why do you care you might be thinking?

A few times this past summer we had a guest tell one of our butlers that he or she was a vegan. They insisted that they had noted that on their response cards. Our team would spring into action but coming up with a vegan entree in the middle of serving a few hundred guests is no easy feet! We aren’t talking pasta and a red sauce gang - we are talking about veggies and fruits and natural products that we want to taste and look good.

We want to take care of your guests needs and the more information we have ahead of time the better we can serve them. We want you to tell us about every allergy you know - even if you think that item is not on the menu. Same with vegan vs vegetarian and even when your great grandfather wants a well-done steak. Taking care of these things for your guests allows them to enjoy your wedding without worrying about being hungry or getting sick.

I can tell you that I was at a wedding a few months back and had noted vegetarian on my response card. After a cocktail (okay, maybe 2) and no vegetarian items at cocktail hour I was ready to eat dinner. 1st course came out - wedding soup - meatballs. They had no vegetarian alternative. Second course, salad with bacon. Again, no vegetarian course. Now I am starving and everyone at my table is uncomfortable knowing they are eating more and more and I have nothing in front of me. And yes, they did have a vegetarian entree for me but they should have known to take care of each course for me - we do!!!

Moral of my long winded story - let us know what your guests need and we can determine for them what they can eat - from the bar snacks to the desserts. Any questions - don’t be afraid to ask us - we work with this all year round!

Hi Everyone - Happy New Year! Nicole is out this week and I am holding down the fort which is great as it gives me a chance to blog and say hello.

Nicole and I have been chatting in the office and we have either been attending, hosting, or listening to our friends and families with their experiences in tastings. We are actually heading to another RA account at Princeton University - The Prospect House - to see how they do their tastings in a couple of weeks. They have stopped doing individual tastings and instead do 2-3 group tastings throughout the year. Benefits to this include evening or weekend hours, the chance to sample more food, mingle with other couples, see more linen firsthand, look at other rental upgrades firsthand, and meet with vendors. Their clientele is giving them great feedback - the couples like meeting other couples, sharing ideas, and the entire experience. Drawbacks - Couples then have to make another appt to come back and meet with their event coordinator to answer questions and go through the timeline of the event. You also do not get a lot of personal attention at the group tasting since there are multiple couples. We like the group tasting scenario better then this next one…

 One of my friends just attended her tasting this past weekend. Some of the items she asked to taste were not made available at the last minute. Her catering representative was taking potential clients through the spaces on tour and was not available to answer any questions. My friend was seated in the restaurant - not at a banquet table with a banquet server or the banquet chef. Basically Nicole and I see this as just another chance for a dinner - not a wedding tasting. You do not get an accurate picture of what your food will taste like when you are using the spaces restaurant in lieu of a catering room. On the upside they were able to taste different wines because it was the same wine they used in the restaurant and so the wine did not go to waste as it would if we were to open bottles during tastings.

Currently we are offering tastings for the bride and groom, privately with us. We feel as though this affords you the opportunity to ask as many questions as you need to feel good about your upcoming wedding and get everything personalized to you. We did use to offer the tasting for up to 4 people but so many times people only wanted to come to eat, not to help plan and work on all of the different aspects that we cover at the tasting. Brides and grooms have said to us that being at a tasting by themselves is a great bonding experience and they are able to make decisions quicker, rather then second guessing with a family member.

Let us know your thoughts. Drop us your comments here and let us know what you have enjoyed or would like to see in a tasting. As always we look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!

Good evening everyone. Cold day here at Winterthur but so far it is not icy or snowing here in Delaware!

Rachel and I are in full tasting mode - we are hosting tastings for a lot of our upcoming wedding couples and we have been talking a lot about signature cocktails the past few weeks so I thought maybe it is time to share some thoughts directly from you and to hear your ideas as well.

What is a signature cocktail? This is one of the first chances you have to showcase your style/theme/ideas for the wedding to your guests. Imagine with me if you will - your ceremony has ended outside in the garden or at the reflecting pool. Guests watch you process down the aisle and then follow suit. They are greeted by our butler staff with silver trays filled with red and white wine and sparkling water. Then they see it - what is that fun colored drink in that cool glass that butler is holding? Talk about getting some attention!

We have had so many fun ideas with the drinks this year - we have had blueberry mojitos,  sangria (using my favorite recipe!), cranberry apple martinis - a great addition in the fall, chocolate martinis, peppermint martinis and so many more. Cocktails can reinforce your color theme, remind guests of a favorite trip you took, or introduce everybody to you and your fiancees favorite drink.

Take a look at some of the amazing drinks we have served and think about the impression they would make on your guests on your fabulous wedding day….Bellini, Blood Orange Cosmo, Blueberry Mojito, Blue Margarita, Peppermint Martini, Cosmic Mojito, Green Apple Martini, Mango Martini, Pink Martini, Raspberry Passionfruit Cosmo, Smoking Pomegranate Martini, Starfruit Slider, Watermelontini, Cran-appletini

Hopefully these will inspire you add a signature cocktail to your party and take it to the next level!! Seen other ideas you like and want to share them with Rachel and I? - submit them here - we would love to hear from you!

Next week - my report on my sister’s wedding - we are almost here. I hope everyone has a safe weekend and we will chat again soon.

OK - I know - I am cheating. I was simply too tired on Saturday evening to update you all and write!

 Looking back at the wedding this weekend it was so very Sarah Savini. After working with the Savini family for over a year I feel that I really got to know Sarah really well and her touches were apparent everywhere.

 Beautiful Blooms did the flowers and they were so creative - as always! Savini Flowers, Savini Flowers 2, Savini Sweetheart Table

 The placecards were very zen - Savini Placecards, Savini Placecards 2

And everything was coordinated just so with the help of “Two Paper Dolls” - Savini Menu Cards, Savini Tablecards

 I know I have mentioned before how much I love the idea of using one of the Winterthur Books from the bookstore as a guests book that you can keep on your coffee table - Savini Sign In Book

 Linens are from Special Occasions and I think the room and the tables look great - Savini Set-up,

 We also worked with Sarah to create a lounge after 9pm in the lobby area, complete with a Bellini Bar - Savini Lounge set-up started, Savini Lounge

The cocktail tables on the patio added character - Savini Bug Jars

And how about this cake? - Savini Cake

 Marie Labbancz was their photographer and I am looking forward to sharing some more photos with you when I get a copy of some of the professional ones from Marie!!

Hi Everyone.

When Dottie and I started talking about what she was envisioning for her son’s rehearsal dinner in the Gallery at Winterthur she had a very clear vision - Fun and Lively (and I had to keep up with her level of lively!). I think she was more then pleased at the result.

 88 friends and family members gathered last night to lavish love and spread the praise on Chad and Caroline and they also had a lot of fun at the party. Cocktail hour started on the East side of the Gallery on the slate terrace. Hi-top tables with perfect flowers and lime pillows on benches made everybody feel so welcome. If they didn’t, the passed mojitos sure did! Ballard Hi-Tops, Ballard Pillows, Ballard Cocktails

 The group moved inside the gallery for dinner and I don’t know what was more impressive - the room set-up or the food. Ballard Dinner, Ballard Dinner 2, Ballard Desk,  Cucumber Soup, Watermelon Salad, Hummus and Red PepperRaw oysters and clams were provided by the grooms family business - Ballard Seafood and Cherrystone Aqua Farms. Oysters, Clams

After the entree guests were treated to a champagne toast and the night was concluded with fun toasts, teary slides, and a feeling of anticipation for today’s festivities and wedding. We wish them all the best!

Hello everyone

 Last night we had the wedding reception for Swathi and Michael ( I had written about their tasting a few months ago) and it was spectacular. The weather finally caught up with us and we had the cocktail hour in the lobby as opposed to the VC Patio as was planned. Take a look at some of the shots I took of the lobby once we had worked our magic and cleared everything out and before the guests had arrived - Lobby as Bar, Lobby Cleared

They worked with Flowers by Yukie - one of our preferred vendors. Yukie hung the Asian lanterns but this time she used the colored ones - Colored Lanterns, Colored Lanterns 2

The cake was rather different last night as well. Swathi brought tin her invitation and asked us to use it as the inspiration for the cake. Kimberly did a great job and I think this was right on in comparison - Swathi Cake 1, Swathi Cake 2, Swathi Cake 3

The Indian Station was a huge success, as was the Taste of Italy. I definitely made time to eat last night! We got rave reviews on the food and Jason is really proud of the job his kitchen team did. It always feels great when you can make ethnic food and the guests feel that it is authentic.

 Finally I thought I would share with you what Swathi did for her favors. Her mom had bought these great little satchels and they showed them to Yukie and turned them into the centerpieces. Super cute idea. See for yourself - Favors - View of Table, Favors - Overhead View, Favors - Sweetheart Table. I think if there had been just a few more lanterns and they hung just a little lower the overall impact of color would have been more powerful.

From the guests standpoint it was a really great wedding to attend!

Not only do we have amazing weddings at Winterthur we also have great showers here! Showers can take the form of an afternoon tea, early brunch or a luncheon. Showers are held in a private section of the Visitor Center during business hours with no room rental required. We have held many baby showers for past brides and a lot of bridal showers for brides to be that have found Winterthur already booked on their wedding date. We just had one on March 15th - check out some of the pictures below. This was an afternoon tea with an extended menu for lunch.

 Bridal Shower, Luncheon, Flowers, Tea Sandwiches, Individual Salads, Cake

Both Rachel and I may answer questions that you might have. For more information please feel free to email us.