wedding reception

Wedding Menu

When thinking about your wedding menu – for your cocktail party, your wedding reception dinner, and your wedding cake and desserts, be sure to keep in mind your guests’ special dietary requirements.

It’s now become far more prevalent for our New Jersey and New York City wedding couples to customize their wedding catering choices with a large selection of food items that their gluten-free and vegetarian guests can enjoy. Brides and grooms have read horror stories on wedding websites, wedding blogs and wedding message boards about weddings at which dietary-restricted guests could only pick on a small number of foods. They certainly don’t want that for their own wedding guests, nor do we. Read more…

Being Introduced Into the Room

Making an unforgettable entrance to your wedding reception is now a top trend. While there are some couples who happily embrace the traditional method – the emcee announces each bridal party member, parent and the couple by name, and everyone cheers as these honored people walk into the room – many of our New Jersey and New York City wedding couples ask for a more creative Grand Entrance.

Here are the top new trends for making your entrance into your wedding reception venue:

• The deejay or band plays an upbeat song for the bridal party’s introductions, at which point the couples dance their way into the room. When it’s the parents’ turn to be announced, the music switches to a different, upbeat song chosen just for them. The wedding couple then gets a different song. (Our favorite New Jersey wedding deejays and bands can provide you with lists of song ideas.) Read more…

A great many of our New Jersey wedding couples have gone back to the tradition of offering wonderful wedding favors for their guests to take home as they leave our wedding reception venue. (In the past few years, some couples chose to skip the favors as a way to save money, but thoughtful take-home favors are now back on the Must list!) What the couples choose to give as wedding favors has evolved from those tiny photo frames and wine glasses embossed with the bride and groom’s name to a new trend that makes guests much happier – edible gourmet treats.

Your wedding reception lasts several hours, and the wedding cake and desserts may have been served an hour or two before the close of your celebration. So when guests find that their wedding favors are delicious frosted brownies or theme-decorated cupcakes, they very often treat themselves to these treats before they even leave your reception! That’s the mark of a great edible wedding favor. Guests can’t wait to enjoy them.

• Frosted brownies
• Frosted cookies, in heart-shapes or cut into wedding theme shapes like a bride’s dress or a wedding dove
• Chocolate-chip cookies
• White macadamia nut cookies
• Gourmet truffles
• Theme-shape chocolates, such as hearts or butterflies
• Pastel sugar-covered Jordan almonds (a traditional, symbolic favorite of our New Jersey wedding couples!)
• Gourmet flavored wedding cupcakes
• Hazelnut cream-filled cookies
• Personalized candies, such as M&Ms sporting the initials or names of the bride and groom
• Wedding color-matched jelly beans
• Chocolate bark
• Fudge squares in a variety of flavors
• Seasonal-matched wedding favor treats, such as maple brownies for a fall wedding
• Baggies of gourmet-flavored popcorn or kettlecorn, the couple’s favorite snack
• And more…

Presentation is key for wedding favors, so package each edible treat in its own ribbon-tied box or cellophane baggie, and affix a thank-you message label right to the package, expressing your gratitude that guests came to share your day with you.

All the best, Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Private Dining, Ram’s Head Inn

A highlight of any wedding reception is the Mother-Son First Dance, and we’ve seen some truly wonderful moments between mothers and sons at the start of the couple’s big day. It’s such a special moment when the groom and his mother take to the dance floor, smiling as ‘their song’ plays, and tears of joy often flow for both of them. This is a moment when both mother and son thank each other for being so special, so loving and supportive, and for the mother-son dance, a very special song is played.

Here are some of the most popular mother-son dance songs, reported by some of the top New Jersey wedding entertainment experts that we’ve had the great fortune to host here:

“What a Wonderful World”                             Louis Armstrong

“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”        James Taylor

“Because You Loved Me”                               Celine Dion

“She’s Got a Way”                                           Billy Joel

“Through the Years”                                         Kenny Rogers

“Unforgettable”                                     Nat King Cole

“You Raise Me Up”                                         Josh Groban

“Thank You For Loving Me”                            Bon Jovi

“Kind and Generous”                                        Natalie Merchant

One trend that we’re seeing for Mother-Son dances is the groom choosing a song as a surprise for his mother, sometimes playing a song that his mother has always loved, one they’ve held close as a special tune between them for years. Dancing to that wedding song now, in front of all of their family and friends at such a special celebration is a wonderful tribute to the mother’s special place in the groom’s heart, and he in hers.

Best,

Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château

After your traditional first dance as husband and wife, it’s customary for the bride and her father, or step-father, to take to the dance floor to perform their Father-Daughter Dance. During so many years as home to beautiful New Jersey weddings, we’ve seen thousands upon thousands of sentimental moments between fathers and daughters at the wedding reception, and some of their first dances took our breath away. The songs they chose were so lovely, such a heartfelt tribute to the special bond between father and daughter on the wedding day.

Since so many of our wedding couples have inspired us with their Father-Daughter dance songs, we thought we’d share some of the most memorable ones, as well as songs you may like to consider for your own father-daughter dance:

“My Girl”                                  The Temptations

“Unforgettable”                         Nat King Cole

“Wind Beneath My Wings”       Bette Midler

“My Dad”                                 Paul Petersen

“Because You Loved Me”        Celine Dion

“Isn’t She Lovely?”                    Stevie Wonder

“Have I Told You Lately”          Van Morrison

“What A Wonderful World”      Louis Armstrong

“Butterfly Kisses”                      Raybon Brothers

“And Then They Do”                Trace Adkins

“There You’ll Be”                      Faith Hill

“In My Daughter’s Eyes”           Martina McBride

“A Song For My Daughter”       Ray Allaire

“You Raise Me Up”                 Josh Groban

We’re seeing a wonderful trend in Father-Daughter dances – father and daughter are picking out Their Song together, using a song from the bride’s childhood. So in addition to the most popular songs listed above, we’re also seeing fathers and daughters dancing to unexpected songs with great memories attached, like You Are My Sunshine and My First, My Last, My Everything by Barry White – the song the father always danced with his little girl to at other weddings they’ve attended over the years.

Whatever your Father-Daughter song, consider the other new trend: brides and fathers are practicing their first dance ahead of time, perhaps even having a dance instructor choreograph it. It’s their moment in the spotlight, and they make it special.

Best,

Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château

When the bride and groom step onto the dance floor for their first dance, the song they choose to dance to is more than just a pretty tune. It’s ‘Their Song,’ a deeply-meaningful first dance song that reflects their relationship, their joy, their new life together. First dance songs are now being chosen from a list of songs that have played a big part in the bride and groom’s love story, perhaps the first song they ever slow-danced to.

Wedding deejays and wedding bands in our North Jersey region say there is a trend toward perennial favorite first dance songs, and that many wedding couples say they’re choosing their first dance song together as a team. They’re also reporting that the couple is now choosing two special songs for their wedding reception’s spotlight dance moments: one for the First Dance and another for the bride and groom’s last spotlight wedding dance of the reception.

Here are the top First Dance Songs that you may wish to consider for your own big moment:

Amazed                                                Lonestar

At Last                                                 Etta James

Beautiful In My Eyes                             Joshua Kadison

Because You Loved Me                       Celine Dion

Breathe                                                Faith Hill

Can You Feel the Love Tonight            Elton John

Can’t Help Falling In Love                    Elvis Presley

Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You           Frankie Valli

Come Away With Me                          Norah Jones

Embraceable You                                 Nat King Cole

Everything I Do (I Do It For You)         Bryan Adams

Faithfully                                               Journey

Fly Me To The Moon                           Frank Sinatra

From This Moment                               Shania Twain

Groovy Kind of Love                           Phil Collins

Have I Told You Lately                        Rod Stewart

Here And Now                                    Luther Vandross

I Can’t Help Falling In Love                  Elvis Presley

I Could Not Ask For More                  Sara Evans

I Cross My Heart                                 George Strait

I Only Have Eyes For You                   Flamingos

I Swear                                                John Michael Montgomery

I’ll Be There                                         Michael Jackson

It Had To Be You                                Harry Connick Jr

It’s Your Love                                      Faith Hill/Tim McGraw

Just The Way You Are             Billy Joel

Someone Like You                               Van Morrison

The Best Is Yet To Come                     Frank Sinatra

The Way You Look Tonight                 Frank Sinatra

To Make You Feel My Love                Garth Brooks

True Companion                                   Marc Cohn

Unforgettable                                        Nat King Cole

Wedding Song (There is Love) Petula Clark

What A Wonderful World                    Louis Armstrong

When A Man Loves A Woman            Percy Sledge

When I Fall In Love                              Celine Dion

When I Said I Do                                 Clint Black

Wonderful Tonight                                Eric Clapton

Some songs are contemporary, some are classic, some country, but all – and so many more — are open to your consideration as the soundtrack for your lovely first dance as husband and wife.

Best,

Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château

A great many of our New Jersey wedding couples have gone back to the tradition of offering wonderful wedding favors for their guests to take home as they leave our wedding reception venue. (In the past few years, some couples chose to skip the favors as a way to save money, but thoughtful take-home favors are now back on the Must list!) What the couples choose to give as wedding favors has evolved from those tiny photo frames and wine glasses embossed with the bride and groom’s name to a new trend that makes guests much happier – edible gourmet treats.

Your wedding reception lasts several hours, and the wedding cake and desserts may have been served an hour or two before the close of your celebration. So when guests find that their wedding favors are delicious frosted brownies or theme-decorated cupcakes, they very often treat themselves to these treats before they even leave your reception! That’s the mark of a great edible wedding favor. Guests can’t wait to enjoy them.

Here are some of the most popular edible wedding favors that we’ve seen, and made, for our New Jersey wedding couple’s take-home treats:

•Frosted brownies
Frosted cookies, in heart-shapes or cut into wedding theme shapes like a bride’s dress or a wedding dove

• Chocolate-chip cookies

• White macadamia nut cookies

• Gourmet truffles

• Theme-shape chocolates, such as hearts or butterflies

• Pastel sugar-covered Jordan almonds (a traditional, symbolic favorite of our New Jersey wedding couples!)

• Gourmet flavored wedding cupcakes

• Hazelnut cream-filled cookies

• Personalized candies, such as M&Ms sporting the initials or names of the bride and groom

• Wedding color-matched jelly beans

• Chocolate bark

• Fudge squares in a variety of flavors

• Seasonal-matched wedding favor treats, such as maple brownies for a fall wedding

• Baggies of gourmet-flavored popcorn or kettlecorn, the couple’s favorite snack

• And more…

Presentation is key for wedding favors, so package each edible treat in its own ribbon-tied box or cellophane baggie, and affix a thank-you message label right to the package, expressing your gratitude that guests came to share your day with you.

All the best,
Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Private Dining, Ram’s Head Inn

While some wedding websites advise choosing child attendants who are no younger than six years old, we know that your adored nieces and nephews may be younger than that, and you very much want them to be your flowergirls and ringbearers. Here at our wedding banquet hall and wedding gardens, we’ve seen children as young as two perform quite well as child attendants, and the key is smart preparations for the little ones at the wedding rehearsal.

Our wedding staff, as well as the top wedding coordinators and special event experts in the New Jersey region, has helped many brides and grooms during their wedding rehearsals, offering our expertise in helping flowergirls and ringbearers prepare for their big moment at the wedding. The key, we’ve found, is making sure kids are comfortable, know what to expect, and know what they might earn by behaving well.

Here are some top tips for helping kids at your wedding rehearsal, improving your odds of a tantrum-free day:

• Be sure that child attendants will be comfortable in their wedding day clothing. Itchy lace collars and shirt tags that poke, too-tight bow ties and other wardrobe issues are the #1 cause of kids’ acting badly at weddings. So be sure the kids’ dresses and tuxes have been checked and adjusted to allow for the little ones’ comfort.

• Be sure that kids have eaten before the wedding, and that they’ve had plenty of water to drink. Hunger and thirst are also top causes of kids’ misbehavior. So practice the same Musts for the rehearsal.

• Tell kids what they’ll see when they walk down the aisle. A practice walk down empty rows is very different than the people-filled rows, flashbulbs, flowers and other distractions. From the youngest kids to the teens, spell out the things they’re likely to see as they walk down the aisle.

• For small children, have a treat waiting for them at the end of the aisle. A grandparent might be holding a big, colorful lollipop or a (silent) toy that they can have when they reach the end of the aisle.

• Allow kids to sit down during the ceremony. This big trend provides for kids’ comfort, they can sit with parents who can shush them if needed, and kids won’t be tempted to wander around, fidget or panic in the face of so many people looking at them.

• Let kids practice their walks down the aisle a few times, and test out who they’re most comfortable walking with. There’s no rule saying the flowergirl has to walk alone. If she’s happiest walking with the maid of honor, that adjustment may be made.

• If children are frightened, talk with them privately to ask what they’re concerned about. A child is more likely to open up about her shoes being slippery on the aisle runner than she might be with a dozen strangers looking at her.

• Prepare children for what happens after the ceremony, that they’ll pose for photos, then be introduced into the room at the reception, dance and sit with the other kids. When children know what to expect, they don’t act out as much.

Keep these tips in mind, and your child attendants will have more fun, be happier and more comfortable and thus be a wonderful part of your wedding day.

Best,
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château

>After your traditional first dance as husband and wife, it’s customary for the bride and her father, or step-father, to take to the dance floor to perform their Father-Daughter Dance. During so many years as home to beautiful New Jersey weddings, we’ve seen thousands upon thousands of sentimental moments between fathers and daughters at the wedding reception, and some of their first dances took our breath away. The songs they chose were so lovely, such a heartfelt tribute to the special bond between father and daughter on the wedding day.

Since so many of our wedding couples have inspired us with their Father-Daughter dance songs, we thought we’d share some of the most memorable ones, as well as songs you may like to consider for your own father-daughter dance:

“My Girl” by The Temptations
“Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
“Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
“My Dad” by Paul Petersen
“Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion
“Isn’t She Lovely?” by Stevie Wonder
“Have I Told You Lately” by Van Morrison
“What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Butterfly Kisses” by Raybon Brothers
“And Then They Do” by Trace Adkins
“There You’ll Be” by Faith Hill
“In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride
“A Song For My Daughter” by Ray Allaire
“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban

We’re seeing a wonderful trend in Father-Daughter dances – father and daughter are picking out Their Song together, using a song from the bride’s childhood. So in addition to the most popular songs listed above, we’re also seeing fathers and daughters dancing to unexpected songs with great memories attached, like You Are My Sunshine and My First, My Last, My Everything by Barry White – the song the father always danced with his little girl to at other weddings they’ve attended over the years.

Whatever your Father-Daughter song, consider the other new trend: brides and fathers are practicing their first dance ahead of time, perhaps even having a dance instructor choreograph it. It’s their moment in the spotlight, and they make it special.

Best,
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château

The best wedding catering is as beautiful as it is delicious. Chefs and pastry chefs prepare and present their delectable cocktail party, wedding reception menu, and dessert hour items with painstaking care, creating a breathtaking display of wedding menu treats. Chefs have gone to great lengths to make every dish a work of art, garnished to perfection and arranged so beautifully that guests hesitate before digging in.

From shiny pearls of caviar on top of salmon puffs to tiny martini glasses filled with mango salsa and shrimp, that platter of perfect little petit fours with the tiny little pink rosettes on top. The entire wedding menu features fabulous accent details just like the wedding dress does…which is why photographing the wedding food is a new top trend in wedding photography.

While the bride and groom are dancing or visiting with guests at the start of their celebration, the best professional photographers move through the cocktail party room, snapping fabulous photos of the buffet menu items, in HD close-up, capturing the most sensory elements of the cocktail party and reception with the same spotlight focus given to close-up photos of the bride’s bouquet or her wedding ring.

The result is a collection of magazine cover-worthy images of the gourmet fare at the reception, a capturing of wedding menu details the couple planned together yet didn’t notice fully during the swirl of their wedding celebration. But now, and in the future, they can look at these photos and marvel at the beautiful platters and food displays their wedding venue’s caterers arranged for their big day. Photos of the food become cherished images from the best day of their lives. In fact, many brides and grooms include photos of their food in their professional album collections, and guests have even been spotted photographing impressive cocktail party spreads, texting the images to far-away friends.

Other foodie photographs: close-ups of the wedding cake details, platter shots of dessert bites, monogram-shaped swirls of sauces on dessert plates, and brightly-colored cocktails and champagne glasses at the bar.

Best,
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château