Blog

January 20, 2022

By Matt

Planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic presents unique challenges but also incredible opportunities. If you hear wedding bells in the near future, here are some hints for how to create a safe and sensational celebration.

Think big by thinking small

You may have to get innovative. Hot tip: Micro-weddings are the new posh. By trimming the guest list you can reduce crowding while relaxing your budget at the same time. Brides are starting to realize what mind-blowing experiences they can create for 20 guests instead of 200. In the last year we’ve seen small weddings in the middle of the Salt Flats and light tunnels created in the middle of a forest. We've served 10 course meals and even catered a dinner under a waterfall. With a smaller number of intimate friends and family, you’re free to open your imagination and entertain your most elusive dreams.  

Weigh and minimize risks in advance

You owe it to your guests to identify risk factors and take reasonable precautions to minimize them.  If asking Grandma to fly in from out of state poses too much risk, consider setting up a Zoom or Google hangout for guests who can’t attend in person. For those who do come, think about ways to encourage social distancing and reduce traffic congestion. A lot of couples are finding incredible outdoor venues.  But if you need to be inside, implement a crowd-control design that prevents “clumping.” Consider providing private dining areas for your guests such as bubble tents, igloos, or simple separate table-spaces. Traditional self-service buffets can be replaced by safer options like boxed meals or a dessert drive-thru. Recently, a charcuterie served in pre-portioned bamboo cones was a huge hit.

Communicate expectations

Whatever safety plan you choose for your celebration, as the host it’s up to you to communicate your expectations to your guests. A classy insert with your invitation can let people know in advance whether they’ll need to do a temperature check on arrival, show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, wear a mask, or whatever precautions you decide are appropriate. Don’t worry about pleasing everyone: you can’t. Everyone’s situation is different. If you communicate clearly and let people know what to expect, they’ll be able to make their own choices about how to celebrate your day with you.  

Customize

Invitations, favors, and place cards are all pretty standard for a wedding. But the pandemic blew open a door for creating new items to customize! Masks, sanitizer, soap, towels, water, or even social distancing/selfie sticks can be practical and personal. Our favorite customized gifts are fun “in sickness and health packages” which sometimes include a hangover kit.             

Get help

The best way to enjoy your big day while staying safe is to hire a social coordinator. Your event planner or day-of coordinator may be perfect for the job. Along with a trained catering team, your social coordinator will direct traffic, answer questions, and make sure that everyone has a safe and spectacular experience. Meanwhile, you'll be free to relax and enjoy the day you've planned and waited for so long.

March 2, 2018

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from @nannetteyorkfloral who posted a peek of this STUNNING Sleepy Ridge wedding that we had the pleasure of being a part of!  One of my favorite parts of this spectacular day?  The Culinary Crafts signature Flaming Doughnuts station (seen here)!  Always a crowd favorite and SO delicious! Thank you for sharing, Nannette, and remember, for your chance to be picked next, tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your post and check back to see who's pic we choose!  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

December 4, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from M + B Events, who posted this BEAUTIFUL detail shot of an inspiration shoot we were a part of this year!  We LOVE this photo and think its perfect for the season, plus, pomegranates and gold leafed pears as table decor?  Yes, please!  Thank you so much, M + B Events for sharing!  And remember, for your chance to be next week's pick tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your post and check back to see who gets picked next!  Happy Monday, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

November 3, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from the fantastic M + B Events who we had the pleasure of working with on this stunning inspiration shoot that happens to be featured on Utah Valley Bride here!  We absolutely LOVE this shoot and it's such perfect inspiration for fall weddings and events!  Plus, who can resist a custom menu design and gorgeous florals?  I know I can't!  Thank you for sharing, M + B Events!  And remember, for your chance to be next week's pick, tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your posts and check back to see who gets selected next!  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 22, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from the fabulous Amber Shaw Photography who took this pic of a DELCIOUS vegan buffet we created for a recent wedding at Louland Falls!  We love this pic because not only is it mouth-wateringly yummy food (Buffalo Cauliflower?  Yes, please!), but it also showcases that Culinary Crafts can do any specialty menu you could think of and still make it AMAZING!  Thank you for sharing, Amber!  Remember, for your chance to be next week's pick, tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your posts and check back to see who gets chosen next!  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 21, 2017

By ACecala

Everyone here at Culinary Crafts is getting excited for fall!  I mean, how could you not?  Believe me, we love summer, but there's always a welcome feeling for the change of season and we are loving it!  This gorgeous wedding is a perfect fall showstopper at one of our favorite venues, Red Cliff Ranch - and it happens to be the couple's wedding anniversary this weekend too!  Pretty perfect, right?  We also love this wedding because this bride was on a pretty tight budget, but it was still a STUNNING wedding with delicious Culinary Crafts food!  Now, check out this beautiful fall Red Cliff Ranch wedding! Oh, Red Cliff Ranch, even your entrance is beautiful.  And isn't that fall color amazing?! I love all of the horses on the property and they are so friendly!  It's such a great part of getting married at Red Cliff Ranch! How pretty is this bouquet?  Great inspiration for a beautiful bouquet that is perfect for a fall wedding without getting too crazy.  Simple and gorgeous! The beautiful bride and groom.  We love the bride's fun cowboy boots and the groom's snazzy vest was perfect for this fall fete! This meadow at Red Cliff Ranch is easily one of our FAVORITE ceremony spots.  The couple kept their casual, rustic vibe by having guests sit on hay bales and the addition of a simple wooden ceremony arch decorated with more pretty sunflowers was so beautiful! Who says simple can't be stunning?  The tablescape was so pretty, but kept the decor minimal.  We absolutely LOVED how it turned out! For cocktail hour we offered these beautiful Artisan Cheese Platters with local cheese and honey and a variety of fruits and crackers.  Such an easy way to add a special touch to cocktail hour! The guests loved this light snack that allowed them to mix and mingle.  Plus, how cute are those little Bamboo bowls! We made sure the guests had something fabulous to drink and we loved offering our infused waters in these rustic water vessels.  So fun! To keep with the rustic, laid back vibe of this wedding, we served a delicious buffet with all the fixin's to make yummy Pulled Pork Sandwiches!  Easily, one of my favorite low-key offerings! Of course, we made sure to add amazing sides to the buffet like our Roasted Vegetable Salad and our Coleslaw!  So good! The couple gave their guests these cute favors with a sweet treat and we loved how fun these little boxes were. Another gorgeous pic of this couple!  Love! For the reception party, we loved this lounge area and it was perfect for the style of the day! How fun are these Polaroids?  A perfect way to end this post for this amazing wedding day.  And happy anniversary to Ari and Derek!  We loved this wedding day and love how it can inspire any couple on any budget to make their wedding day amazingly gorgeous!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! Photos by Trevor Hooper Photography

September 19, 2017

By ACecala

QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE GET TO TODAY'S BLOG: Thank you to everyone who joined us at the ‘Showdown for Support’ yesterday! It was such a great evening and we loved having you all there to support such a great cause! As we plunge into cooler temperatures (and then back out, because Utah likes to keep us on our toes), our thoughts turn toward fall and winter weddings and their GORGEOUS color palettes that we love so much.  Today, we have a Culinary Crafts wedding that just screams 'winter beauty' with its rich blues and accents of silver.  Pair that with elegant white and blue florals?  Well, I think you'll see why we love this event so much!  Check it out! Isn't this GORGEOUS???  We absolutely LOVED the sequined runners and the navy linens.  So pretty! Every Blooming Thing's elegant florals were so perfect for this wedding!  Plus, isn't the cake from Carrie's Cakes AMAZING? Another gorgeous floral arrangement!  We loved the use of different heights and types of arrangement to create a more visually interesting space. This couple was so fun!  They gave each table an 'assignment' to encourage guests to mingle and share stories about the couple.  Such a fun idea! How cool is this head table?  The use of the aspens trunks really added some drama to the table design! Another cool element on these tables were these super chic table numbers! Now, onto the food - which we thought was pretty amazing, if we do say so ourselves!  Guests were greeted with butler-passed hors d'oeuvres like these Pomme Frites with Aioli Dipping Sauce in bamboo cones.  Yum! Another shot of these delicious fries, because why not? Another butler-passed hors d'oeuvres was our Argentinian-Style Chicken Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce - so good! The couple chose to serve an amazing buffet which included our Miso-glazed Salmon and, of course, our House Made Breads with Sea Salted Butter! Along with the Miso-glazed Salmon, we also served Teriyaki Grilled Chicken, Sautéed Zucchini, and Asparagus Risotto with Mascarpone Cream.  Such a decadently delicious winter menu! Another fun element?  The bride and her mom created this candy table for guests to fill a box to take home as their wedding favor!  We love how pretty it turned out! We absolutely loved this glam wedding and think the Rice Eccles Tower was the perfect venue!  We hope this inspires all of you with winter events to maybe add a little sparkle to your event!  You won't be disappointed!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! Vendors: Venue - Rice Eccles Tower // Catering and Tablescapes - Culinary Crafts // Lighting and Decor - Scenemakers // Cake - Carrie’s Cakes // Florals - Every Blooming Thing // Linens - Creative Coverings // Rentals - Diamond Rentals // Photos by Kelli Bramble

September 13, 2017

By ACecala

Today, I am going to share a GORGEOUS Culinary Crafts wedding that is brimming with natural beauty that you might recognize from the pages of Salt Lake / Park City Bride and Groom Magazine!  Plus, it's perfect inspiration for the upcoming fall season because the menu took queue from some of the bounty of local fall produce.   We absolutely LOVED this couple, the venue (The Natural History Museum of Utah ) is gorgeous, and the beautiful, yet low key, organic vibe was so perfect.  Plus, our friends at Fuse Weddings & Events did the event design and planning, so it was flawless, of course!  Thank you for sharing these stunning images, Elisha Braithwaite Photography - now, check out this amazing wedding! How pretty is this Minted invitation suite?!  Even the stamps are perfectly picked to match the style of the wedding!  LOVE! The Natural History Museum of Utah is such a GORGEOUS backdrop for photos!  We love the architectural design of the space and the mix of materials makes it so full of texture and visual interest! Isn't this couple stunning?  Love them! Another great feature of this venue?  The natural light!!!  Not only do you get amazing views of the Salt Lake Valley, but it makes this reception area so bright, open, and airy!  Also, we loved that the dinner menus were custom designed to match the invitation suite!  Such a great touch. A simple, organic table scape is anything but boring!  We loved the pop of gold with the natural and white linens, the texture of the glass, concrete, and wooden flower vessels, and the soft pinks, whites, and green colors of the florals that Orchid Dynasty put together.  Add a sprig of lavender with a simple tie of gold raw silk in the napkins, and you are set! Another simple, yet gorgeous, piece of this wedding was this escort card table!  We love the use of succulents and the white rocks with the modern design of the cards!  Such a clean, polished look! Of course, we put together one of our signature charcuterie boards!  Full of local cheeses and meats, local honey, and dried fruit this is a perfect nosh for guests before dinner! This couple chose a 'family-style' dinner - which is one of our favorites!  This setup encourages guests to interact and mingle while sharing plates of delicious food, like our house made breads and gourmet butters.  We loved the Heirloom Carrot Sourdough with Black Lava Salted Butter and the Rustic Ciabatta with Pesto Butter! The salad course was our Snuck Farm Salad with Spinach, Romaine, Utah Pears, Cranberries, Candied Walnuts, Gorgonzola, and Balsamic Vinaigrette.  So yummy! For the entree course, we served a bunch of different options so guests had a ton of variety to choose from!  This is our Rocky Mountain Red Trout with Granny Smith Apple Chutney.  Such a great fall menu choice! Next, our Roasted Vegetable Napoleon with a Rosemary Skewer, Olive Oil Drizzle, Garnished with Sea Salt.  Aren't these so pretty?  They are pretty tasty too! Another fantastic fall menu option?  Our Brown Butter Sage Gnocchi with Chantrelle Mushrooms and Sweet Corn.  This is always a guest favorite! Last, but certainly not least, our Cabernet-Braised Short Ribs.  SO.  GOOD. Isn't the view AMAZING?  Imagine dining with this incredible backdrop, some fun conversation, and fabulous food!  Pretty perfect, I'd say. Staying true to the simple, yet gorgeous, feel of the event, the couple asked us to create a simply gold accented Almond Cake which we garnished with blueberries and simple greens.  I absolutely adore this cake, so pretty! Another fun element that the couple chose that we loved?  Local chocolate and tawny port tastings!  You know how we LOVE our local chocolatiers, so this was a favorite part of this wedding for sure! Of course, there were sweets too!  These Lavender Shortbread cookies tied in the sprigs found in the guests napkins and also were a great little treat to grab before going back onto the dance floor! For autumnal weddings, we love serving a dessert that perfectly pulls from the fall harvest!  So, we served Sweet Potato and Pecan Cakes with a Salted Caramel Moat.  And let me tell you, this dessert was made of the stuff of my dreams, people.  A knock-out way to end this couple's amazing menu! Wasn't this wedding so dreamy?!  Thank you so much, Salt Lake / Park City Bride and Groom Magazine for featuring this gem in your glossy pages!  We hope this inspires all of you to have fun with your menu and go for simple, yet striking details that will amp up your wedding day!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 8, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from our friends at Soiree Productions!  We absolutely LOVED this unique and beautiful menu that was custom cut to fit these vintage-style plates!  Such a fun element to any tablescape.  Plus, isn't that gold flatware gorgeous?!  Thank you for sharing, Soiree!  And remember, for your chance to be next week's pick, tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your posts and then check back to see who's chosen next time.  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 7, 2017

By ACecala

I think you all know this by now, but the people here at Culinary Crafts love food.  I mean, really, truly LOVE food.  And you know what?  We believe that a lot of you out there share this love of good food.  So, when we are asked to innovate some new experiences for events, of course we wanted to elevate our shared love of food into something even more amazing.  Enter Chef Experiences!  Basically, these are 'Chopped' style competitions to build teams, learn new skills, and have a great time!  We recently hosted one of these events at the GORGEOUS Big Moose Yacht Club - and I can't wait to show you the pics!  Side note, if you want to check out this venue in real life, we are hosting our Harvest Pop Up Restaurant here on October 6th.  You can get your tickets here.  Now, check out this awesome event! Isn't the Big Moose Yacht Club beautiful?  We absolutely love this venue and we so excited to host this novel experience in such a great space! As you can see, we set up each team's station with their ingredient kit, a stock set of kitchen tools, and dishes to plate the final creation.  We were so excited to get started on this fun evening! The ingredient kit!  We really wanted to focus on local foods so we used local Beehive Cheeses, local heirloom tomatoes and corn, plus other farm fresh produce and some sauces to mix it up!  Looks like the start of something yummy, I tell you! Some items in our specialty tool kit, because you never know when you'll need to julienne something!  :) Of course, we had a fully stocked 'pantry' where teams could come to get items to round out their dishes.  Of course, we stocked more local favorites like Amano Chocolate and Slide Ridge Honey Wine Vinegar! Another surprise?  Lavender Brittle as a basket item - totally different and unexpected! Our pantry was also fully stocked with herbs, spices, and grains! How pretty  is this live wood edged table?  Loved it for the teams to settle in after the competition to eat the final menu! Of course, our staff was on hand to inspire and help (or maybe scheme?!) with the teams if they needed! Lastly, I love this picture of our very own Kaleb Crafts, who was the emcee for the evening!  We absolutely loved this event and the energy and excitement from the guests was infectious!  I definitely think this is a great idea for any one looking for a unique and memorable event activity - whether it be for a family party, corporate event, or even an intimate rehearsal dinner! We hope this inspires you to think outside of the box and shake up your events with an activity that is totally new!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!