Posted By Suzanne Carvlin on March 29, 2011

Last week, Martha Stewart Weddings hosted a live online luxury wedding expo that I had a lot of fun attending.

I am excited to report on my favorite live Q & A sessions with the featured Main Stage guests.

You can read more about the online expo here:

Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo – Live and Online!

And you can read more about my other favorite Main Stage guests here:

Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo – Cheree Berry Paper – Part 1 of 2

Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo – Cheree Berry Paper – Part 2 of 2

Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo – Sylvia Weinstock Cakes

Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo – Matthew Robbins Design

Jeffery Selden, Executive Director of Catering for The New York Palace Hotel, spoke about wedding logistics and shared “insights on choosing a venue, fine-tuning your seating chart, and cooking up a mouthwatering menu.”

Elizabeth Graves, Martha Stewart Weddings’ Editor-in-Chief moderated Q&A.

Jeffery’s main tip: Trust the people you work with because you want to be confident and comfortable on the day of your wedding. If you hire the right vendors, you will feel like a real guest at your wedding and not asked a thousand questions on your wedding day.

According to Jeffery, brides are looking for one-stop-shop venues. The Palace provides the venue and Jeffrey acts as the wedding coordinator, recommending all of the vendors for the wedding.

Q. What should brides look for in a venue?

A. Think about what makes best sense for you and that suits your family’s needs. Budget is a big concern. If you do have a smaller budget, do your homework and speak to some restaurants. Often, they are more favorably priced.

My tip: If budget is a big concern, edit your guest list. The wedding you could host for 200 people with $15,000 is a very different wedding from the one you could host for 50 people with the same budget.

Jeffery Selden speaks with Darcy Miller at the Martha Stewart Weddings Expo before the live Q & A.

Q. What are the pros and cons for a hotel like the Palace?

A. Pros would be that everything is on-site: The venue, guest rooms for out-of-town guests, and an on-site coordinator who works closely with vendors. For off-premise locations, you really either become your own planner or you need to hire a planner if you don’t have time to research everything.

Q. What are the hot new trendy food ideas?

A. Incorporate cultural traditions or favorite foods. People love sushi bars and raw bars. If you are on a budget and you really love something, pretty much anything can be scaled down into a passed appetizer. A passed piece of sushi is less expensive than a full sushi bar.

Post party late-night food trends seem to be comfort foods. Things that are cold work really well because people have been dancing and they are hot. Burger sliders and fries in a cone are fun and so are ice cream sandwiches and fruit smoothies.

You can also do buffet stations with pre-plated or pre-boxed foods, such as salad in a take out box. Create miniature dinner bites throughout the space. It is less formal, but it creates a fun atmosphere.

If you have people from different areas, having food stations helps people mingle and meet each other because it is an interactive environment. Also, guests can talk to people throughout the night and not sit with the same people for 5 hours.

(Jeffery’s own wedding reception was an elaborate cocktail party with stations.)

For hotels, it can be a great idea to get a room block in the same hotel so people can be together, but having one or two other places at different price points can be more accommodating for guests.

Make certain you ask if there are other events going on at the venue and surrounding areas so you can plan for traffic, room availability, directional cues or signs within the venue so your guests know where to go.

You want to book rooms and the venue 6 months to a year out, but really, book as early as you are ready so you can be sure you have rooms.

Ex. The Sisters Quilt Show often creates booked rooms a year in advance. Check and see which events are happening in Central Oregon before you book your venue. See if you can get room blocks in advance if there is a large event scheduled.

Jeffery points out that you should ask if the room blocks are “courtesy blocks.” A courtesy block would mean that the wedding hosts don’t have to guarantee very much. See what hotels are willing to do to reserve rooms for your wedding and then add the details to your wedding website. Usually 10 rooms will equal one room block.

If you have questions about gratuities, Jeffery notes that if the gratuities are included in the per-person price, ask where the gratuities go so you can see if you want to layer on gratuities to people who work closely with you or give them a special gift. Ex. Your wedding planner, maitre d’, venue planner, or head chef.

Another “pro” of having everything in one place would be the flow of the event. There would be no lulls, no travel time in between ceremony and reception.

If you are having a wedding and not inviting children, you can provide a babysitter. Many babysitting services bring toys and have structured activities as well.

Finally, Jeffery suggests that in communicating with your wedding planner, personal visits are most helpful. So are inspiration photos and tear sheets. Impart as much vision and communication with your planner as possible so everyone is on the same page!

Suzanne

Photo credits: All photos were taken during the live Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Expo unless otherwise noted.

Note that The New York Palace Hotel is stunning.  You should Google it!

Category: General, How To, Wedding Expos, Wedding Planning, Wedding Tips & Organization
Tags: Catering, Venues for Weddings & Parties