Winterthur re-opens on Tuesday, March 9, jst in time as the witchhazels are coming out in bloom and the crocus behind the museum are starting to pain a light carpet of purple.

New catering packages are on their way and we are really excited by the amount of people we are meeting and booking for the remainder of 2010 and 2011 is getting packed already in a few months (can you say May is 90% booked already!).  Hope all is well with all of you out there. Attached are some pictures for you to see what we have been doing!

beind the scenes

replacing the walk-in fridges

Snow covered estate

Snow covered patio at the Visitor Center

First let me say I am sorry I have not posted more recently - with the holidays and events, the time has gotten away from me. I thought I would update you on what is new with Restaurant Associates and Winterthur…

This is the busiest time of year for us with new inquiries and selling new weddings. We just booked 5 new weddings in 2 days! Some for what we have left in 2010, some for 2011. Calls come in and I am busy trying to have people out to see this great estate and take tours with me and answer questions. I have met some great new people and I am really excited to be working with them for their weddings!

I updated and added a few more people to our preferred vendor listing and that was just updated and placed on the web for any of you in need of more suggestions.

Jason and I are combing through the menu packages and offerings. It is that time of year where we adjust for the next year and change pricing and food options and so on. If you are thinking of booking and have not yet - hurry and get signed with the current pricing as I know there will be some type of increase with the new packages.

Looking ahead to Spring - Save the Date - Friday June 4 is the next group tasting if you were not able to make the 1st one or just want to see some more great ideas. I have just started to work on this one so I don’t have too much to share…yet, but I will keep you posted.

The museum will be closing to the public February 1 - March8. I will be working but I will be the only one here. I can set whatever hours work with your schedules so I am lining up all of the upcoming brides (and grooms) that I can to meet and do final details, pick linens, choose cakes, and work everything out for your weddings. If you are getting married in May or June and have not met with me yet or don’t have a meeting scheduled - now is the time to get in touch with me and lets get you in here. July and August couples - feel free to contact me as well!

I am sending out the schedule and placcing Jessica x 2 and Zanthea, our amazing bridal attendants, on weddings in the next few weeks. I am also working with one of my favorite employees, Josh, whom a lot of you  met at the tasting. He is taking on an expanded role assisting me and you will be seeing him more in the months to come.

I am done talking about what I am going to get done and getting back to work. Please contact me if there is anything that I may do for any of you.

Rachel has taken another job with Restaurant Associates at an account in Baltimore. She left on the Sunday after thanksgiving so I am still trying to get my legs underneath me. I am a bit behind responding to emails but I see them and I will get to them, I promise!

I also just got a note from my great buddy at Eclatante - Kendall. She just got the December Color Story on her blog and there are some more (and the last) great shots of Winterthur and the conservatory - a new space. Pics by Marie Labbancz and flowers by
Beautiful Blooms. Take a look at the blog.

Remember - if your wedding date is in May or June you should have a meeting scheduled with me to go through all of your planning and notes. The sooner the better as I am going to contact the rest of the Summer 2010 brides in a week or so. Have a great evening and I will post again soon!

What a great mission and what a great team that puts this event on. The committee is so focused and there is a wonderful group of woman who work so hard on this event all year long. It is my absolute pleasure to work with them on an event that is so meaningful every year.

This year the committee wanted to mix it up - we had previously had a seated dinner in the Visitor Center. This year we turned it completely around and had stations and hors d’oeuvres in the Gallery with an extended tent. Theme - Moroccan Nights. Check out some of these great ideas and pictures…

Look at the cool cushions the Shine committee made

Seating for 80 under the tent

OOOhhh - Seafood Station - Shrimp Towers!

Quite getaway on the Gallery Steps

Custom Menu - Exotic Food Station

Custom Menu - Comfort Food Station

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!

Eclantante Entrance

Nov 12th was my first holiday party of the year. Kendall Brown, Donna O’Brien, and Claudia Seyler of Eclatante Design, Beautiful Blooms, and Claudias Make-Up Studio respectively, held their holiday party open house early so that all of us “in the biz” could make it before the holiday rush.

Kendall and Leila were the consummate hostesses, streaming between the shops and welcoming guests outside while Donna and Mya mixed and mingled and kep the flow going.

I caught up with some old friends and colleagues that now work for Feast Your Eyes catering. I sampled some great red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and an adult milkshake with what else but Bailey’s in it! There were some warm firepits outside with make your own smores stations. Heaters lined the walkway between the shops and there were throws for brave guests to curl up in and snuggle and people watch (or was that just me?).

I got to say to some other great people including Mike Kehr and his team and Dave from DVideography. Mary Reugg from Brides Philadelphia was also there. I snapped a couple quick shots - take a look.

Festive Scene

Sexy Claudia

Comfy Throws

Cool Ice

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!

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!