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Water's Edge offers the most spectacular views of the Manhattan skylines anywhere on the East River. |
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A Tradition of Luxury and Grandeur
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Waterfront views, decks, great living spaces, spa bathrooms, this home has it all! |
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From the moment you enter the marble and cherrywood lobby tower, you’ll know that your guests will enjoy our brand new accommodations. |
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You’ll fall in love with this trendy Northern Italian restaurant located in the heart of Garden City’s Seventh Street shopping area. |
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Dream Come True
By George Cranford
Imagine a decorated outdoor ceremony site, a grand reception banquet and a dance band under a gigantic tent. It’s all located in a remote scenic setting with no buildings, facilities, electricity or running water.
Impossible. Impractical. Too expensive, you think. Your mind reels at the obstacles and details as you move on to more conventional locations. But wait. Full-service caterers have a different perception. They say off-premise weddings are not only possible and affordable, but they’re rapidly gaining in popularity.
After all, food isn’t the only service a caterer provides. Couples are being married in parks, gardens, wineries, mansions, open atriums, art galleries and museums. Many places have no kitchens or furnishings, but caterers can provide all of that.
Many a bride has fallen in love with a reception location, without a thought to what they need to pull off a celebration. Caterers can fill in the blanks for them. Even in private homes or historic mansions where the kitchen is inadequate, a catering company can set one up in a garage or covered tent.
To pull this off, caterers coordinate with rental agencies to transport dishes, silverware, tables, chairs, linens, dance floors, propane gas, electrical generators, drinking water, portable toilets, arches, gazebos, tents and other essentials to wedding locations. They also provide decorations, chair covers, centerpieces and theatrical props to add ambiance.
Realistically, off-premise weddings should be planned at least eight months to a year in advance. But other than advance coordination, off-premise weddings have very few restrictions or limitations. Couples can have any size of wedding anywhere they want. Popular off-premise locations might include vineyards, open fields, riverbanks, or beach pavilions. The effort takes coordination, and the caterer’s challenge is to orchestrate a flawless event.
Most caterers begin with an overview of the bride and groom’s vision and establish a realistic budget. Brides often find a catered, off-premise wedding to be as cost efficient as one at a full-service luxury hotel or formal banquet facility. And, where costs are equal, the allure of the outdoors is often the deciding factor.
Many brides want backyard tented weddings, and some like a park with an ocean view. With outdoor settings brides are less restricted and don’t have check-in and check-out times. Catered weddings also have the flexibility to accommodate staggered serving times for brides who want a different set of guests for a late-night dinner. And on private property, bars and bands can often continue past normal closing times.
As an additional bonus, many off-premise caterers allow brides to purchase their own alcoholic beverages at liquor store costs, thus avoiding liquor-by-the-drink prices. But, the caterer provides a bartender, glassware and mixers.
Food is generally partially prepared in central commissaries and finished on location. Huge warming ovens in trucks ensure entrées are served fresh and hot, while portable refrigerators keep salads crisp and desserts frozen.
Seated dinners and formal buffets are most popular for tented and outdoor weddings. However, food stations are growing in popularity for catered outdoor weddings. Brides can have standing lawn events where guests travel between manned pasta, meat, veggie, rice, potato and salad stations. These are favorites at poolside and dockside receptions.
Often, brides choose to round off the outdoor reception dinner with fresh fruit salads, chocolate mousse, parfaits, and confectionery delicacies like chocolate-dipped jumbo strawberries. Some outdoor catered weddings have ice-cream sundae stations, or liqueur and cigar bars to cap off reception dinners.
Brides like the versatility of catered weddings, and food is only a small part of what off-premise experts offer. Taking care of the transportation arrangements or rental items is just another facet to what an off-premise catering company can offer. But unique food makes the picture complete. Ice cream and bananas flambé on the beach is not an unusual request for a bride wanting a trendy prelude to her cake cutting.
With catered, off-premise weddings, brides and grooms are assured of privacy and intimacy. But the best benefit of a catered wedding is that a bride can assert her individuality. Very few caterers have restrictive menus, and reception foods are customized to fit the wedding theme.
Most caterers do it all. They provide outstanding food, exotic beverages, up-beat entertainment, dazzling wedding cakes and professional staffing. But more importantly they supply portable, self-contained environments that turn remote sites into enchanted backdrops for wedding ceremonies and receptions.
So whether it be an orchard, a mountaintop, or a historic farm, go for that romantic location you’ve dreamed about. It’s not impossible. Not impractical. Not even overly expensive. And forget the obstacles and details. A full-service, professional caterer has everything well in hand.
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