Weddingbee Blog

(I do love cilantro, source)

When I last left you, we had just tremendously enjoyed ourselves at cocktail hour (did I mention there was an open bar? There was.), and now it was time to move on to tasting the main part of the meal!

We went into the largest ballroom and found each table set up with different linens and flower arrangements, to give everyone a chance to check out the options and get inspired. My favorite centerpiece in the room was this one:

(even though it’s pink )

Of course, I just had to go and comment on the pink, because of course, this was our table:

(Pink, pink, everywhere!)

This really helped us see how many people would reasonably fit at these tables (8), and how many people you can put at a table (10), as well as options for how napkins are folded (… a detail I never thought to care about until I decided I hated the napkins at our table), and linen/overlay options! We decided right away to go with the regular ivory linens because I really want our blue and yellow flowers to be a burst of color, instead of competing with the tablecloth! Plus using ivory instead of upgrading to a color or pattern means the linens are ’free’.

The room was split into two halves and our side got the plated dinner entrees first (the other side hit up the buffet first). We got what I can only assume are regular portions of each main item, because this was a LOT of food after a full cocktail hour!

(from top, clockwise: Stuffed Chicken Portobello, Grilled Lime and garlic Marinated Mahi Mahi with Lump Crab & Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, and Filet Mignon with Port Wine Jus… we don’t know what the rice cake/blob thing was!)

The chicken was pretty good, but… it was just chicken. Not like, wow! Chicken! But it was still tasty. The filet mignon was amazing, however mine was pretty much rare so we made a note to mention our beef preferences if we go with a beef option! And the best for last: the Mahi Mahi. It was so delicious that even Mr. Guinea Pig (who hates seafood) tried it and loved it. It. was. awesome.

Of course, after eating all this we then had to go fill our plates up at the buffet! Sadly I must have been in a food induced coma and forgot to take a photo of this, but I promise the buffet food was just as pretty, and just as tasty (especially the Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, which was deeeelicious).

Really though, I had been saving room this whole time for the final (and most delicious) part of the meal: dessert. More specifically, the chocolate fountain!

(Om nom nom nom)

Why yes, those are mini deep-fried brownies! And pineapple, and cream puffs, and Oreos, and pretzels, and strawberries, and… it was so yummy, and my first experience with a chocolate fountain! Although I have to say, recycling the chocolate over and over through the fountain kind of grosses me out. Still, I was pretty psyched and probably ate one too many deep fried brownies.

Unfortunately for my ’diet’, there were also many other desserts to try out, including an ice cream sundae bar, chocolate covered strawberries (the hard kind of chocolate, not the fountain kind), raspberry trifle cakes, chocolate mousse, and several other items I couldn’t identify or manage to fit in my stomach.

(you better believe I ate as many of those chocolate covered strawberries as I could fit on a plate…)

(super cute mousse display)

After all this amazing food, we left with a few clear winning items, and a list to sort through of a million more options we hadn’t gotten to try at the tasting. This week Mr. GP’s and my task is to sit down and hash out a menu, create a timeline for the day, and patch up our sad, sad budget.

Did you know exactly what you wanted to have for your dinner? Are you going with plated or buffet? Will you have other desserts in addition to a traditional cake/cupcakes?