Rich in Love and Color

Fall is in the air and with it all of the fantastic fall wedding themes and colors.  We had a great time working with the couple who got married at the Foundry this weekend, designing a very original look.  The bride decided to mix and match several colors and prints to create a rich look with lots of trendy flares.  Some tables had mulberry kiwi linens, a fun green zebra style sateen linen, while others had chocolate brown and forest green stripe linens.  These two styles of tables were accented with kiwi, chartreuse or eggplant napkins.

Flower on the tables were simple but vibrant with multi-colored Gerber daisies.  The Foundry was also given a makeover with assorted greener throughout; some of which had up-lighting to highlight the stairs on either side of the dance floor.

The couples menu was as complex and intriguing as their décor.  Hors d’oeuvre included vegetable potstickers, panko crusted scallops with bacon and chicken satay.  The highlight of the cocktail hour was the quesadilla station on the mezzanine featuring brie and papaya quesadillas, smoked chicken, wild mushroom and fontina quesadillas and chorizo and grilled corn quesadillas with cojita cheese.

The first course was a composed salad of Bull Blood micro greens and baby arugula with oranges, pomegranate seeds, shredded red onion, black garlic and Hawaiian black lava salt, drizzled with pomegranate vinaigrette.


The entrees included a seared tenderloin served with or without lump crab, topped with hollandaise, accompanied by potatoes au gratin and baby vegetable bundles.  The other entrée was a black sea bass with lemon zest, drizzled with lemon walnut oil, accompanied by wild rice pilaf with sundried cranberries and baby vegetable bundles.

The couples wedding cake was ornate with the colors of the décor and added silver edible beads. The cake was lemon with rich vanilla buttercream.  As always we thank the couple for choosing J. Scott to take part in their big day.  We wish them all the best in the future.

Decor Dilemma

Choosing the style or theme of your event can be a daunting task.  There are endless combinations of colors, motifs, shapes, layouts and themes to choose from.  Linens, tables, glassware, flatware, china, flowers, you name it the decisions are endless.  So how do you nail down the perfect look.  There are different schools of thought on this dilemma.  Some think you should pick one object that you really love and build around it to achieve your desired décor.  Others suggest choosing colors and finding things that will suit them.  However you choose to proceed there are few guidelines and tips to keep in mind to make the process a little easier.

  • Talk with a professional-  This could be an number of people including your caterer, florist or even your interior decorator.  These folks are in business because they have an eye for what goes together and what’s got to go.  Bring them your ideas and work toether to create the look you’ve always dreamed of.
  • Research styles and décor everywhere- You never know when you will find that right vase or perfect place card holder so always be on the lookout for ideas.  We often page though magazines looking at clothes, home décor or food pictures to get ideas for our new favorite décor trend.  This includes wedding magazines for those of you getting married because someone may have already done the hard work for you and will be able to tell you the best places to find exactly what you are looking for.
  • Keep an open mind- We very often get stuck in the same style set because it is what we are comfortable with.  Don’t be afraid to try something new.  Test run it at a dinner party and see what people think; you just might surprise yourself with how impressed people are with you design.

In the end your guests will enjoy any look you choose.  Have fun with the planning and don’t stress over the little details.  It all comes together in the end no matter the path you took to get it together.

Celebrating the Unconvential

This past weekend we helped a wonderful young couple celebrate their marriage with friends and family at a backyard tent wedding.  This non-traditional couple had big ideas for their big day that included fun passed hors d’oeuvre and stations that represented their backgrounds and celebrated their lives.

The passed hors d’oeuvre included our signature mini Caesar salads in parmesan tuile cups, mini Philadelphia cheese steaks with whiz and grilled onions, quintessential pigs in a blanket, chorizo and grilled corn quesadillas and chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce.

Stationary hors d’oeuvre during cocktail hour included a garden vegetable crudite accompanied by roasted red pepper and spinach dips.  The other, a bruschetta station, included four types of crostini toppings.

The couple chose to pay homage to their individual heritages by serving dishes from Korea, Belgium and Memphis.

The Korean station’s dishes were served from woks with subtle Asian décor.  Mandoo, a steamed dumpling filled with chicken and potato, vegetable japchae, a vegetable stir fry with sweet vermicelli noodles and grilled beef bulgogi served with lettuce, offered guests a taste of classic Korean fare.

The ode to Belgium included pommel frites served from delicate paper cones, with several dips and toppings.  Moules marinieres, a dish of mussels sautéed with white wine, shallots, parsley and butter, finished off the station.

The next station brought guests to the southern United States with Memphis style barbequed pulled chicken served with our homemade corn bread.  Molasses baked beans and baked macaroni & cheese rounded out this station.

Dessert was no less exciting then dinner with a Belgian waffle station offering made to order waffles with a hazelnut cream topping.  The bride and groom cut a waffle and shared it “Lady and the Tramp” style finishing the bite with a kiss.  Just another example of an option other than a wedding cake, and a very delicious one at that.

This fabulous tent wedding was exquisitely understated with taupe linens on the guest tables and ivory linens, with grey rattan accents.  I hope this wonderfully non-traditional wedding will inspire other young couples to celebrate in any way they choose.

Celebrating the Traditions of the Past and Present

Every culture celebrates this bond with different traditions symbolizing the journey the couple is about to embark upon.  This past weekend we catered a wedding for a young couple of which the bride was of Polish decent.  At the reception it is tradition for the parents of the bride to give the gift of bread, salt and wine to the couple to help them understand their new lives together.  The bread is for the hope that the couple will never go hungry, the salt is a reminder that life may be difficult at times and the wine gives hope that the couple will never go thirsty.  While these traditions may have been born from years past filled with hardship, they find a place in the 21st century to remind us how fortunate we all are.

Through food, we are able to assist couples in making this seamless transition by incorporating items that celebrate the bride and grooms different cultures while also embracing new traditions they will create together. The couple themed their wedding around Hawaii and as such the décor for the stationary hor d’oeuvre table, which included a varietal cheese display, was Hawaiian inspired.

The hor d’oeuvre list included sesame California rolls, miniature classic Caesar salads, chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce, Portobello mushroom and fontina quesadilla and several other culturally diverse dishes.

Entrees included seared tilapia with jalapeno pineapple salsa and pesto rubbed flank steak thinly sliced and topped with tomato concasse.  Both entrees were accompanied by roasted red bliss potatoes and grilled seasonal vegetable batons.

The guests enjoyed a J. Scott exclusive in our black bars at the Phoenixville Foundry where this couples wedding was celebrated.  Adorned with candlelight filled lanterns and tall black lighthouses it is a piece that adds a special character to the venues atmosphere. The Foundry itself is a celebration of old meets new as it is a fully renovated steel foundry used for over 100 years.

We truly enjoy working with couples to achieve their dream wedding whether it is 100% traditional, a mix of the past and present or a modern affair.  Congratulations to the couple, from all of us at J. Scott Catering we wish you the best in the years to come.