Sugar and Spice and Everything Was NICE!

Gabriella's Quincenera this past Saturday at the Tampa Garden Center was anything but a "traditional" celebration for her 15th birthday. Instead of time consuming choreographed dance sequences with her court, Gabriella and her mom, Rebecca, decided to celebrate with practicality and the 15-year old's focus on a vibrant multi-colored palette surrounding a candy theme.

Without the extravagant expenditure on fresh floral centerpieces, Rebecca saw the opportunity to fill our in-house clear glass vessels with an assortment of colorful candies guests could enjoy all night long. Alternating napkins, candy bags,  and chair ties in purple, hot pink, yellow, orange, and lime green, brought vibrance and texture to each of the 12 tables set for 10 guests simply set.

Mom also took cues from Gabriella on the type of foods incorporated into the four hour party. Instead of a stuffy sit down dinner, Gabriella opted for a combination of serving styles for her favorite foods. This included butlered mini hamburger sliders, grilled cheese triangles, and franks in pastry. Grabriella had attended another Quince where the featured food was a "make-your-own pasta station." While we, as a catering company, are not into having guests wait long for freshly prepared food, Chef Bob and Production Supervisor, Chris Hazel, easily mastered custom requests because of the casual format of the event.

A trio of pastas and sauces with added chicken, shrimp, sauteed peppers, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes, produced a lot of smiles from guests that ranged from 15-16 year old classmates to older siblings, friends, and family. 

No tiered birthday cake.  Gabriella chose a chocolate dipped lollipop assortment provided by Dip-It here in Tampa. The introductions of the birthday girl and her family were shortened to 10 minutes of a slide show and formal dance so that the FUN COULD BEGIN.

Gabriella chose a Strawberry Lemonade as her signature drink. It was used as her toasting beverage in our provided champagne glasses. She also requested a casual food station with an assortment of seasonal fruits, tortilla chips, and dips available all evening.

Congratulations for a really fun and memorable party put together by Gabriella and her mom Rebecca.

Here's some more pictures of the evening's fun emphasis:  

 

A Perfect April Wedding Day

It's been a while since we have had both a bride and a groom equally involved in the planning of their wedding. Such was the case with Nikki and Chris for their April 17th celebration at the St. Pete Beach Community Center. Although Nikki originally booked with us, Chris was positively involved with many decisions regarding decor, food, and day of details. This made our job very easy when it came to pleasing both of them.

Here's some images of their outdoor ceremony on the plaza and reception indoors in the Boca Ciega Ballroom with perfect spring weather.

A Bit of the Beach

Not every couple wants to walk down a sandy aisle for a beach side wedding. Amanda and Kyle were content to hold their May celebration along the intercoastal waterway at the Clearwater Community Center. The spacious lawn and wide inlet view provided a refreshing alternative to the long trek down to a public beach.

Amanda and Kyle's colorful approach to their wedding provided us with lots of decorating options with a palette of fresh fushia, orange, and turquoise. Many thanks to professional photographer Jason Angelini who shared some selected images with us for this entry.

Catering By Robert provided the simple bamboo arch that was embellished with
fresh tropical flowers and greens from the couple's florist. 

Although the temperatures for this May wedding were upwards
 in the 90's, Amanda and Kyle opted for some high top
cocktail tables on the back deck overlooking the water.

With the couple's beachy theme came a star-fish shaped
 Smokey Cheddar Spread during the social hour.

Amanda provded shell trimmed place card frames for each guest
couple that were artfully displayed by our staff amid starfish
 and colorful in-house floral piece shown below.

Guest tables retained a neutral look highlighted with alternating
fushia and turquoise napkins and chair ties. Silver chargers dotted
the place settings. Our inventory of fish bowls displayed
 our silver starfish with sand and shell fillers
 provided by the bride.

The buffet decor minicked the guest tables with our in-house
 selectionof floor length colored linens we offer at no extra charge.
 Small, yet figurative elements such as starfish and white lanterns
 help pull together the overall look.

The wedding cake designed by Chef Nelson
 presented a neutral light blue tone
that stood out amid the bright color combinations

Recyling ceremony elements is a great way to add personality
 to reception decor.The florist transferred the wedding arbor piece
 to the sweetheart table for a stunning addition that most people
 would think was an additional arrangement.

A happy couple enjoys a few moments alone in the limo.