Quick little feature: Added Guestbook security

Quick little update we wanted to let everyone know about.  We added a little feature that allows guestbook moderation, meaning that you must approve each post before it’s published live to your site. 

If turned on, you’ll have to approve each comment, including existing ones.  This gives users control over what shows up on their site :)

Tips for a great outdoor wedding

Outdoor weddings are simply put - awesome!  An effervescing moment made all the better by a beautiful 70 degree day.  Whether you’re thinking a camping style wedding or in a vinyard or in a beautiful resort in Hawaii (yes, that wedding in Modern Family last week had me quite lustful), there are certain keys to implement to insure that everything goes smoothly and comfortably for your guests.  

Warn your guests before hand 

You’re the leader and visionary.  And as the leader, you are responsible to provide your guests with as much (up-to-date) information.  Make sure your guests know that they’re going to be outside for a couple hours (if not longer) and that they should plan accordingly.  This is especially true for out of town guests less accustomed to the nuances of your city’s weather.  I recently found myself on a remote Portland camp ground in short sleeves and it was a very long two hours.  Don’t forget to keep an eye on weather conditions or any other changes that your guests should know about.  It’s usually easy enough to proliferate weather news through the help of some relatives and friends.  

Can you hear me now?

Spend some time at your venue and really make sure that person officiating the wedding can clearly be heard.  If not, consider a microphone or even moving everyone closer together.  Also, don’t forget about unexpected wind conditions as they can also greatly affect how far one’s voice carries.

Photo credit

While we’re talking about wind

Wind should be considered not just for voice travel and weather (see above), but a slew of other concerns, such as, but not limited to:  hairstyles, decorations, food, the tent, your dress, paper handouts, furniture, and allergies.  Whew.  That was long and probably sounds very daunting.   For the most part you hopefully won’t have to deal with any of those things, but it’s important to be prepared and warn vendors/stylists/guests to take the necessary precautions.  

Bugs, burns, and backup, oh my! 

If it’s a buggy area and/or taking place during sunsetting hours, you might want to offer guests some bug repellent candles or those other nifty devices they sell.  If sunny, warn guests to wear sunscreen, sunglasses, and shade.  

Last, and the most important, have a backup plan! The weather is unpredictable and a lot of things can happen that you don’t expect.  If you’re prepared and have a backup plan, things will go great and you’ll have a wonderful and memorable day.  

New RSVP Changes

We’ve made some cosmetic and functionality overhauls to RSVP on the user side as well as on the admin side.  Our main goal was to make it easier for guests to get the most important information, the event’s details and note/description, and the input process info friendly and intuitive.  

On the user side, you’ll notice the major change to the look on the user side, mainly the addition of the event detail box on the right side and moving your note in a more prominent position (the example below doesn’t have a note, but it appears under the main headline.)  Users RSVPing yes select the number of people from a drop down menu and enter in the names of each guest (something that wasn’t available before.) 

Another big addition was that of meal choices.  If you’d like to have guests RSVP with their meal choice, you can enter in the food options on the admin side.  Guest who RSVP yes will then be presented with a meal choice.  

On the admin side, we spruced up the guest list table with some formatting and display options.  The box can be expanded vertically to make it easier to see all responses.  Then, we added an Export to CSV option, an much requested feature that I’m sure will make things much easier for everyone.  

Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback! 

Our Mom is a professional pastry chef and wedding cake maker extraordinaire.  Check out some of her most recent creations:

Great niche food roundup

If you’re starting to see a theme around here, you’re right.  We love food!

After the great response from our last post on the rise of niche food, I figured it’d be great to do a roundup of sorts, outlining some of the great food trends that your wedding can benefit from.  

1)  Cheese Burgers 

2)  BBQ

3)  Korean-style frozen yogurt 

4)  Cupcakes (also see deconstructed cupcakes, cupcakes on a stick, and cupcakes in a jar)

5)  Korean-Mexican fusion

6)  Empenadas 

7)  Rustic Pizzas 

8)  Micro-brewed beers

9) Artisanal made Chocolates

10)  Gourmet Hot Dogs

Know any we’re missing?

Three great food trends to apply to your wedding

Wedding food seems so simple.  Chicken or fish?  Steak or veggies?  But as we all know, that’s just wishful thinking.  Food has become a full-on epic quest in determining a creative and unique menu that appeals to the majority of guests.  

Well, unsurprisingly, we’re advocating a new food approach.  Forget plated menus and fanciful finger food and jump head first (mouth first?) into the new food movement taking over restaurants.  We’re talking farm-to-table, make-your-own, all-around nom nom yummy goodness.   

Interested? Confused?  Let us walk you through an eclectic approach to great buffet tables, combining great local elements with rustic and whimsical fare that perfectly tie in with desserts and drinks. 

Food truck sensibilities

Let’s face it.  We want good, creative and well thought out food fast and inexpensive.  A food truck revolution is taking over San Francisco, Portland, New York, and Los Angeles, bringing gourmet fare more often found at 5-star dining establishments than refurbished Volkswagen buses.  Coolhause, a ice cream sandwich truck curated by former art students, features lush flavors like Cantaloupe, Salted Caramel, and Blood Orange.  Skillet in Seattle features a weekly changing menu, with spruced up staples like grass fed burgers with bacon jam and combozola.   Mmmpeanadas in Austin has fiften varieties of savory and sweet pastry perfections, such as green-chili chicken and barbecued brisket and mango ginger. 

The important thing to take away from these roaming gourmands is how fanciful and creative foods can still be remarkably simple and fun.  Don’t shy away from comfort or fast foods out of fear they’re too low key.  Whereas many would think burgers or ice cream sandwiches are kids food, the above examples show how drool-worthy they can become with care, craft, and quality.

www.marinationmobile.com - Korean Kalbi-style short-rib tacos with a special vegetable slaw, kalua pork sliders

Fast casual and the rise of niche food retail

Almost as if perfectly contrasting the food truck revolution, just as many food purveyors are choosing to keep their restaurants grounded (literally and figuratively.)  No longer though are they trying to offer a plethora of menu items, but are rather choosing to focus on one or two products and making sure they’re damn good ones.  Chipotle, for example, only offers one product a (deconstructed) burrito.  While many might think they’re alienating a large group of customers by not having full-scale Mexican fare, they’ve been able to lap the competition by delivering one product, full customizable and fully awesome.  Sprinkles and Red Mango demonstrate this as well, choosing to offer one product done to perfection with a variety of options and flavors. 

Don’t try and offer every meat and veggie cuisine available.  Instead, focus on a few main dishes with many options.  This works the best with buffet-style serving as you can lay out all the ingredients for guests to whip up their combination.  It’s a win-win for you as guests get exactly what they want and you don’t have to have a million menu items.  Try a slider bar with buns, meats (pulled chicken, pork, meatloaf), and sauces (bbq, honey mustard, hot sauce) or tacos or noodles.

Farm to table and eco-concious movement

While the main emphasis of this movement is the quality, freshness, and small carbon footprint, the main thing to ascertain here is the lush and diverse spread of foods.  Think earthy goods like colorful veggies and fruits meant to be the main focus, not over-marinated or dressed up dishes (sorry, no bacon wrapped filet.)  Despite being really literal, it is a cool thing for guests to know their food came from nearby farms.  This can be especially great if you’re having your wedding in an area known for a particular harvest.  Fried Green Tomatoes with Aioli, a very simple dish, will taste even better with such fresh tomatoes.   

If you’re looking for dishes with lots of ingredients, than this route is differently for you.  Underground dinners are popping up in many different cities, usually hosted by great chefs all using local ingredients.  Check out some of their menus as they’ll provide you with great inspiration and ideas for your wedding menu.  X-Marx, a Chicago underground dining group, will get you started.