Upcoming Wedding Food Trends

I love party planning and hosting events at my house. I enjoy inviting friends over and making finger foods and making brunch. When I found out this year's wedding food trends I was so excited because they were right down my alley. Although I don't plan to walk down the aisle any time soon, these would be so fun for any wedding!

I featured this on our Alabama Wedding Events Professionals blog but wanted to share this with all you guys as well. I just love it. 

So the wedding planning has begun, the dress fitted, invitations sent out and the venue has been selected. But one of the most important aspects of a wedding reception is the food. In 2012 cake pops and one plate dinners were hot trends. In 2013 food trucks were popular. This 2014 will bring back comfort food and themed food bars into the spotlight.

Caterers have chosen to take traditional comfort food and turn them into appetizing hors d'oeuvres. This trend is catching on like wild fire. For instance, taking a grilled cheese and cutting them into bite sized pieces and serving them with individuals shot glasses of hot tomato soup. Genius! Simple and easy to eat! These are great for children too.

Finger foods are popular at wedding this year. Mini cheeseburgers, personal french fry packages and even silver dollar pancakes for a brunch style reception.

Speaking of brunch, this is another popular wedding food trend. Brides are steering towards brunch foods for reception catering. This is gaining popularity in the aspect of staying in budget. One way cost-conscious brides are achieving this is by having a morning wedding and serving brunch at the reception rather than lunch or dinner. Having a brunch reception allows the guests to customize their own meals and even maybe include a Blood Mary and Mimosa Bar. This is a great way to create interaction among the guests.

The brunch theme is probably my absolute favorite theme this year. There is just something so fun about brunch. Mimosa and my girlfriends all gathered together on a Sunday afternoon. Perfection!

This past year was a huge year for fancy statement cakes and the maybe a lingering cupcake trend from 2012. This year we will see more dessert bars. This can range from crepe bars to making your own s'mores bar. This is a great way to break away from the traditional wedding cake.

  

Whether you choose to follow this year's trends or go the traditional route, your wedding is your special day and will be perfect! Let us know what trends you like the best!

GREAT Pinterest Board for Bite Sized Foods

Another Pinterest Board for Mimosa and Bloody Mary Bars

Why Hire a Travel Agent?

Yesterday I blogged about why to hire wedding entertainment as opposed to using an iPod or using a low budget wedding DJ. Today we are chatting about why to use a travel agent, or what I like to call "travel therapists". Because lets be honest, they are the closest thing to a therapist. They do all the hard work for you and you get to sit back stress free.

 

 

So you have been eyeing that gorgeous resort in St. Lucia but not sure where to start planning or what needs to be done before you go. Do you need a passport? Do you need to rent a car? Are there extra fees to do that dolphin swim you saw online? These can all be answered by a travel agent.

* Agents can save you time. This service is especially relevant if you're extremely busy or place a very high value on your time.

 

* Agents provide skills you might not find online such as specialized areas, assembling custom tours or using airline ticketing tricks for multi-stop international trips.

 

* Agents can help solve problems. If your flight is canceled or you face some other problem, an agent can probably find a better solution, more quickly, than you could on your own.

 

* Agents provide special services to business travelers. Many businesses find the best way to manage their travel activities and budgets do that is to use a travel agency.

 

 

Many people, especially those in my generation, tend to turn to technology to do everything. Booking trips is no exception. This is where most people go wrong. That resort you saw on Expedia might not be as wonderful as they say it is. Travel agents have experience and know and maybe have even traveled to most of the resorts you are looking to travel to, so they know what is top notch and what is not.

 

 

Hypothetically, if I am traveling to Paris and my connecting flight is canceled but my bags are on their way to Paris without me, I could call up my travel agent and worry no more. This is because I know they will do their best to fix the situation and get me on my way to Paris and also reconnect me with my luggage. If I had gone the online route and booked my own trip, I would be on my own and honestly, very frustrated.

 

 When budget is a key factor of your vacation, travel agents know all the tricks to save you money. Most people think it costs to use an agent, but in fact the service is absolutely complementary. Yes, that is correct, you pay NOTHING to use a travel agent. So why wouldn't you use one? Traveling is complex. There are many details that go into traveling and sometimes it can become very confusing. Travel agents are trained and very knowledgeable. The thing that sets travel agents aside from online sources is that fact that they are there to serve YOU and YOUR priorities.

 

 

 

Hot 2014 Wedding Trends

So it is February and most of us have gotten used to writing 2014 instead of 2013 on our checks now. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, there will be thousands of engagements and even more wedding planning. Each year brings new trends, fun ideas and bright colors. 

This year is the year of pink. Pink is back people! Not the bright annoying pepto color, but soft nude pink ranging to peachy and blush pinks. This is definitely a trend we will see catch on like wildfire and I for one am very excited!

Say goodbye to vintage themed, barns and burlap this year. This 2014 is going to be filled with Great Gatsby and 1920s themed weddings! Bring on the fancy china, old Hollywood, crystal, gold and black!  This year will be the year of roaring twenties glamour. We will see art deco details galore or even bohemian-flapper! Brides this year will turn to pearls and fur for their fashion while the groom and groomsmen will adorn suspenders, pocket watches, and vests! We love this idea! 

The next trend is not so new, but will definitely become bolder this year. Patterns! We will be seeing plethora of stripes, florals, chevron and polka dots. Also we will see a lot of mixed textures such as wool, fur, copper, marble and leather! Excited to see this year's wedding pictures!

As far as floral arrangements, we will be seeing many peonies, succulents and poppies. These flowers are considered "romantic" and will be in great use this year. I adore succulents, so this trend is one of my favorites! 

Another very popular trend this year is letter press invitations. This has been around for sometime, but this year we will see more dainty and personalized wedding invitations. Check out this wonderful video on a local printing press in Birmingham, Alabama! 

A theme this year that I am absolutely loving is the family style serving. Seated dinners, finger foods and fancy getups are out this year. The family style catering is very in. It is more personal and your guests can interact more. When guests help themselves it is more interactive! Love this!

2014 is the year of GLITTER! Glitter cakes that is! Gold, silver and colored glitter will adorn many cakes this year. 

I am super excited to see these trends unfold this year and the possibility of more new trends throughout 2014! Bring it on!