In August, hosts receive 60% off forged cutlery or the new grinders with the peppercorn medley and coarse sea and Himalayan salt.  Cookware is 60 % off in September.  Contact me at pikepc@yahoo.com.

Recipe of the Month

One pot Pasta (a great back to school recipe ready in 20 minutes and it only uses one pot!)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled 

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained or a can of diced tomatoes drained

3 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth

1 lb uncooked penne pasta

1 head broccoli

2 medium carrots

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese grated and fresh snipped basil optional

1. Press garlic using the garlic press. Place garlic 1 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in bottom of large pan.  Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add broth.  Return to burner, turn on high, cover and bring to boil. Add pasta.  Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked.  Stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets, place into a large bowl.  Cut carrots in half lengthwise and then slice crosswise on a bias.  Drain tomatoes, pat dry, and slice into thin strips.  Add carrots and tomatoes to your bowl. 

3. Cut cream cheese into cubes, add veggies, cream cheese, salt and pepper to stockpot.  Stir until cheese is melted and fully incorporated.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until veggies are tender.

4. Serve immediately.  Top with grated Parmesan and fresh basil if desired.

The Big Wedding Blog was briefly infiltrated by some very crude and offensive pornography.

Evidently our comment filters were somehow overridden.

To prevent this in the future we have put a total administrative review/block on all comments. ALL comments, as well as postings will be reviewed directly by Blog Admin from this point on. We will not depend on spam filters at all.

We apologize to all who received any inappropirate and offensive material. We feel confident that there were no viruses spread during this infiltration of pornography.

With these new admin proceedures now in place, our industry (merchants and brides) can again confidently and securely depend on The Big Wedding Blog. The BIG Wedding Blog remains committed to being the most widely read and distributed source of information for today’s bride.

Please accept our apologies, e-mail any comments directly to blogAdmin@brideandgroomplanner.com

The Big Wedding Blog

Editor

Whenever you listen to the news or read the paper, all you hear is the economy this and the economy that.  Many people have been hit pretty hard by the recent economic downturn here in the states, but that doesn’t mean your wedding has to suffer too.  If you want to have your dream wedding, have it.  The economy will get better, but how many weddings are you planning to have?  When planning your upcoming wedding reception, try to remember the true meaning of “econimize”.  Bigger can still be better, but saving money can get a little tight depending on your guest count and how extravagent you really want your party to be.  If you are creative in your planning process, you can create a memorable experience without breaking your bank account.

Everybody wants that dreamy saturday night to party their hearts out, but few take into consideration the other six days of the week.  Although saturday’s are ideal in many a bride’s mind, don’t ignore holiday weekends and off-nights to invite a smaller group to celebrate with you.  Many far-flung friends and relatives would probably appreciate a holiday wedding nowadays because they won’t have to make special travel arrangements to attend.  They’ll get a double party when visiting you!  (And they will definitely never forget your anniversary.)  If you are looking for a smaller wedding, don’t discredit a thursday night or a sunday.  Many people have flexible schedules these days and might enjoy a weeknight party to cut the stress of their work week.  They won’t be expecting, or desiring, such an extravagent production as maybe they would have to attend on a saturday night, so you can save a few bucks and have your closest friends and relatives celebrate with you for a personal and elegant evening.  You can always have a bigger celebration later to include a larger group for a lot less money than a traditional wedding affair.  Take the destination wedding idea, but keep it here at home.

There are many ways to save money with your reception if you book your hall on an off-night.  Take a non-traditional approach to your reception and you will be surprised to find out that your event will stand out in the minds of your friends and relatives much longer than the traditional saturday night affair.  You’ll beat the economy and still have the dream wedding you’ve always wanted.

Want proof? Give me a call at Raffel’s Catering, Inc. (513) 563-9996 or send me an e-mail to maggie@raffelscatering.com and I’ll give you a few more tips and hints on how to save a few dollars on your wedding reception.

Note from the Big Wedding Blog Editor:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button at the bottom of the left column or on the top left of this page. Then sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules.

The BIG Wedding Blog is an exclusive feature brought to you by www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com

As a catering professional, I can’t tell you how important it is to do a tasting before you book your reception with a caterer.  This is your best chance before booking their service to make sure that they can create a menu that you want all of your friends and family to enjoy on your wedding night.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions and if you don’t like the food, see what they can change or add to the sampling before crossing them off entirely.  Most tastings are done for a generalized taste palatte, so if you like your food a little spicy or extra salty, just let your caterer know.  Most will be happy to tweak their menu items to your personal taste, or create something entirely new for you. 

Another suggestion would be to order food for a small event from your caterer before booking your wedding.  If you have a shower coming up or any kind of party, order something from the caterer you have in mind for your wedding so that you can see what they do for a larger scaled event.  Most people can make one chicken breast taste good, but not everyone can make 300 of them do the same.  Make sure your caterer can cook for large numbers and still have it be the quality you want.  Don’t pick one that can only create one good meal at a time.

 If you want more information or have questions, e-mail me at maggie@raffelscatering.com.  I’d be happy to give you more insider tips for your upcoming wedding.

Note from the Big Wedding Blog Editor:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button at the bottom of the left column or on the top left of this page. Then sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules.

The BIG Wedding Blog is an exclusive feature brought to you by http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/

I think that having an ice sculpture or ice carving at your wedding receptions is an inexpensive way to add a very elegant display to your catering presentation.

Some would think it to be extravagant, but, it really does add some ‘class’ for what is a relatively small amount of money.

Find lots of fine caterers and Ice Sculptors at http://brideandgroomplanner.com/localMerchants/?action=lm

Editor, BIG Wedding Blog.

Note from the Big Wedding Blog Editor:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button at the bottom of the left column or on the top left of this page. Then sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules.

The BIG Wedding Blog is an exclusive feature brought to you by http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/

Catering,

Read reviews that may have been written about caterers at places like www.brideandgroomplanner.com. If want to use this caterer and you read a negative comment ask the caterer about the it and what happened, there are always two sides to any story. Should you read multiple negative comments this should throw up red flags

Set your budget before you meet. Let the caterer know what it is when you first meet, do this in person not over the phone or email. Tell them you want a menu designed to fit your budget and taste, you will be surprised how many caterers will work with you to make you wedding day just the way you envisioned it. Above all you should feel confident and comfortable with the caterer.

Chef Michael

Note from the Big Wedding Blog Editor:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button at the bottom of the left column or on the top left of this page. Then sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules.

The BIG Wedding Blog is an exclusive feature brought to you by http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/

I have always wondered why it seem to be most important to a bride that the wedding cake tastes good. For years I’ve always thought that the way the cake was decorated was most important. I thought the visual aspect was what it was all about, but I think I’m wrong.

My original belief was supported by the many episodes on the Food Channel that feature wedding cake design contests. I’ve never seen a Food Network contest where the winner is selected based upon taste. It’s not even mentioned.

Wedding Cake vendors at bridal shows are always touting the ‘taste’ and ‘freshness’ of their cakes. They don’t seem to make it a presentation of artistic display. This is completely opposite of what they feature on the Food Network.

So, which is it? Brides and Vendors please help me out. Is it Taste or Design? And please tell my WHY??  

Then, if it is ‘taste’ that is Sooooo important, then why doesn’t the Food Channel have wedding cake ‘tasting” throw downs?

If you want to see lots of pictures of cakes, go to http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/cakes.php. You can get lots of ideas for beautiful cake designs. Sorry, you won’t be able to “taste” them. We’re working on internet tasting interactivity, but it’s not perfected yet.  

Editor, The Big Wedding Blog.

Note:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button at the bottom of the left column or on the top left of this page. Then sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules.

The BIG Wedding Blog is an exclusive feature brought to you by http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/

    Brides I am so impressed in the quality of Vendors we bring into the industry, keep doing those surveys. http://brideandgroomplanner.com/myWeddingSurvey.php

My favorite part of our planner and Website is the Your Future section, we take pride and staying with you after your special day, don’t overlook this section, we are growing and have recently signed on a couple of Realtors and a Financial Planner. I spent an hour with our financial planner last week and he educated me more in that hour than I have ever been in my 39 years. What better gift could your parents or you give to yourselves than a free financial consultation to start your marriage off right and avoid one of the biggest potholes you could get into.

On the lighter side have you checked out our wedding disaster videos? http://www.brideandgroomplanner.com/stopWeddingDisasters.php  Share them with you friends and family?

Don’t miss our idea galleries it’s my favorite part of our new site. Look for the mouse ring box for all your computer savvy fiancés or boyfriends what a trip!!!! It’s in the wedding ring section.http://cincinnati.brideandgroomplanner.com/pictureGalleries.php

And don’t forget your engagement stories and add a picture after such romantic stories we want to see you.

http://cincinnati.brideandgroomplanner.com/engagementStories.php?action1=es&id=105

I am proud to be the newest addition of the Cincinnati Dayton Bride & Groom Family. This is my first year with the company; I am the office Administrator as well as part of our Sales team. My favorite part of this company and what sets us a part is our commitment to our Vendors, if you don’t succeed we don’t. This goes far beyond signing you up for our program we include networking and monthly follow-ups a must as we go into June ‘08, so look out hear we come!!!! I look forward to meeting you all soon weather in person or phone calls.

Kim Lanthorn

Bride & Groom Planner

513-272-3300

klanthorn@brideandgroomplanner.com

Note from the Big Wedding Blog Editor:

All Wedding Professionals are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise with brides who read the blog.
To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button on the left column, sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. To maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules

 This Blog is devoted specifically to Wedding Catering and Culinary topics in the wedding industry. If it’s about anything edible for the wedding then it belongs here. The blog is for the entire wedding industry both vendors and brides.

All wedding professionals in the field of Catering, Chefs, Pastries and Culinary are invited to become a Contributing Blogger and share your expertise and ideas on this topic.

Being a contributing blogger is an excellent way to promote your business for FREE. You can share your expertise with the Brides of America. Give them advice and invite them to your website. That’s right, as a blogger, you can put hyperlinks back to your website right in your blog post.  It’s an excellent way to increase your web presence and your search engine rankings and you don’t need to be a customer of BrideAndGroomPlanner.com.

To apply to be a contributing blogger, click on the register button toward the bottom of the left column (or at the top left of this page), sign up and submit your first post. Your submitted post will be reviewed by ADMIN and you will be approved as a blogger on the BIG Wedding Blog. You can blog as often as you like, however, to maintain your Contributing Blogger rights, you must agree to the Contributing Blogger Rules and post a blog entry at least once per month.

Hope to see you’re blog post soon.

Editor, The Big Wedding Blog

Blog will come soon!