You can consider a Hotel wedding

One way to eliminate stress is to have you wedding at a hotel.

The most remarkable thing about hotel weddings is the feel of the place because hotels usually go the extra mile to create an atmosphere to match that of relaxation, festivity and traditionalism.

So “Why a hotel wedding?’

Well several reasons in fact:

1.       Cost – it’s a cost effective initiative. At a hotel, they have the reservation, the space, the ambiance, the decoration, the catering, the table, chairs, spoons, music. They provide a full service. So instead of going through the undue stress to looking for each of these individual services elsewhere, the hotel provides it and it is included in the overall cost of a simple wedding event booking.
2.     Convenience – brides and grooms who want to really go all out for their weddings usually choose a hotel wedding because all the services are there already, the dressing rooms, to honeymoon reservation, and room for guests from overseas. The idea that everything is happening on spot is all the excitement and convenience you need to start off the day right.
3.    Creative vision – the wedding industry is usually rife with instances that will need constant coordination between all parties involved and be dependent on each other. A hotel wedding streamlines all these issues. Where, hotels are already attractive venues, they put the added touches of magic to your wedding and it is evidenced by the way they decorate and prepare their food. Additionally, these hotels are already equiped with the amenities of restaurants, event planners, onsite assistance and around-the-clock reminder services. This means better coordinated service that relieves the pressure from the bride and groom.
4.      Recreation – hotels are designed for recreational purposes. If you want a rest from your busy stressful work week or booking a vacation for your family, you choose a hotel. The same could be said for having your wedding at a hotel. It would feel as if you are on a vacation from your life. The hotel wedding would seem surreal and extraordinary and totally apart from the usualness of life and you can enjoy a vacation with your newly wedded spouse.

Questions to ask your Caterer

In the previous post, some tips on the selection of a caterer was given. They were along the lines of:

1.    Choosing someone you trust

2.    Book the well in advance for you wedding day and

3.    Settle on payment and service issues

     These are some great helpful tips, but along the way there are questions that you will need to ask your caterer before you hire them. They are:

•          Does the final charge include bartender, serving and alcohol?
•          How would you and your staff be attired for the event?
•          Do you have a license to sell and serve food and drinks?
•          Due to my guest list size can you suggest a menu based on my budget?
•          Will the caterer be providing services on the same day of your wedding for another event?
•          Do you provide a full service? E.g. serving, preparation, cleanup, bar services
•          Does full service require an additional charge?
•          Would the caterer also provide seating arrangements? Tables, seats, tablecloths etc.
•          What happens to the left overs? Will they be packaged for guests
•          Do you make specialty alcoholic drinks?
•          Do you have any other extra charges such as, security deposits, service fees, tax services?
•          Do you make wedding cakes?

These questions are important to be asked as it will inevitably affect your bottom line. It is essential to ensure that you and the caterer are comfortable with the answers to these question as these answers will be dependent on any future negotiations you may make or their eventual hiring.

What is also important to consider is viewing the website or a Facebook pages of these caterers.  Here you would gain some insight into previous similar jobs and customer reviews of their past jobs. By conducting your own research you may turn out with a better catering service option than you had hoped for or realize that the ones you were banking on initially to serve at your wedding may not be suitable for you.

The Meal brings everything together

The wedding meal is just as important as planning the wedding décor or setting the wedding time. This is the 1^st meal as a wedded couple and as such, it should be tasty and delicious and something to remember. In Trinidad, we have an array of cuisines that adds to making the occasion special and be a reflection of the theme of the wedding.

One of the most common styles of food at weddings is Creole.

 Menus usually consist of:

•  Fried Rice,
• Barbequed Chicken/Fish
• Stewed Pigeon Peas
• Fresh vegetable salad/ Potato salad or Macaroni Salad.

Additions to this meal are usually, callaloo, macaroni pie, potato pie etc.

Another common Style of Food is The Indian Cuisine, or as we like to call it “Curry”

These menus include:

•          Roti Skin : Dhalpuri, Paratha
•          Curried Channa
•          Curry/Stew Chicken
•          Alloo
•          Anchar Mango
•          Pumpkin Talkari

Additions to this meal may include curry Chataigne, Mother-in-law (pepper sauce), curry goat, or stew duck.  

Drinks usually include Trinidad’s Prize winning 

• AppleJ, 
• Shandy Carib, 
• Ginseng Up or
•  Fruta. 

It is essential remember that not all guests consume carbonated beverages so bottled water and fruit punch should also be included as a part of your drinks menu.

These simple menus are usually enough to have a fairly tasty meal that guests enjoy, not to mention, these are meals that appeals to the majority of Trinidad and Tobago as they are culturally acceptable within the nation.

As much as the meals may seem simple, it requires co-ordination in preparation for your wedding ceremony and reception, therefore, if you are hiring caterers, you should:

•            Choose one that you trust as they would not only have to prepare a tasty meal to serve everyone in attendance, it would also have to be ready in time for the reception.
•         Hire them three months in advance to your wedding day. This is to compensate for any changes you may have in your meal choices or additional numbers to add to guests.
•        Settle on a charge for the meals as well as making serving arrangements.

If you are having your family prepare the meals, you should enlist their corporation as early as possible. This means having certain members agree on the dishes they would prefer to prepare, the amount of money they would need to prepare it and the quantity that they should prepare for these dishes.

Essentially, food is important, not only is it a welcome reprieve to guests awaiting the return of the bride and groom from their photo session after the formal ceremony it is a time where they sit, celebrate and relax themselves as they enjoy being a part of such an auspicious occasion and partake in congratulating the newly wedded couple as they make their first step into being a family.