Planning a Wedding in a Private Home

Planning a wedding reception at a private home can be a challenge, especially if the ceremony is occurring there as well. But when planned correctly, an at-home wedding is not only good for your budget, but also extremely intimate and meaningful. There is nothing like celebrating one of the most important days of your life in a place you call home. So if you're hosting a wedding in your home, whether a large estate, or a conservative cottage, here are some tips:

• Space is so important, especially if the ceremony is also occurring at the home. Guests will arrive at least a ½ hour early, so be sure to separate the ceremony and reception areas.
• Be sure to allow your vendors a minimum of (3) hours set-up time. When your guests arrive to a fully decorated reception area, the additional hour will be worth it.
• Having an open bar prior to the ceremony is a personal decision, but if you choose not to open the bar, make sure to have bottled water available for the guests - especially if the ceremony is taking place outside.
• If you choose to take pictures between the ceremony and reception, be sure to include a cocktail hour with a bar and butler passed hors d'oeuvres or a station. And keep the cocktail "hour" just that.
• As for the actual meal, ensure prompt service by providing the caterer with easy access to the main reception area, especially if it's a plated meal. Service will be much quicker if the wait staff doesn't have to walk over the meadow and through the woods to provide your guests with food.
  
• And most importantly: have a rain plan! This is Florida and it’s never smart to take Mother Nature for granted as she really has her own agenda.

With smart planning up front and an educated off-site Special Event Planner, you can have the most fabulous “home” wedding and enjoy family and friends in an intimate setting that reflects your personality!

Mary Brumley, Special Event Planner

407.398.6304 | mary@puffnstuff.com

Free Flatbreads in May and June!

Book your graduation party with us in the months of May or
June and get our Gourmet Flatbread Station free!

Whether you’re graduating a jock, nerd, prep, skater, punk or band geek, right now it’s all about you. So here’s an idea—why not throw a party that’s totally you, too? Hey, you only get to do this once. So make sure you do it right!

Just imagine a catered graduation party that’s personalized and themed to practically anything your heart desires: Your favorite class. Your favorite decade. Your obsession with “Glee.” Or your love of dreamy vampires. High-end. Laid back. Whatever.

And if you’re lookin’ for a little help planning your palooza, Puff 'n Stuff Catering definitely has the hook-up. We can help with everything from the decorations to the music to the food and beyond. Check it out…

Check out WLOQ.com for themed menu ideas and our
famous Lobster Mac 'n Cheese recipe!

Wedding at Winter Park Farmer's Market

Check out the beautiful photos below taken by Amanda McMahon Photography at a wedding catered by Puff 'n Stuff Catering at the Winter Park Farmer's Market. The bride and groom were possibly the sweetest couple we've ever met - and shared their very first kiss during the ceremony at Mead Gardens!

Congratulations Rafaela and Kendall!

Green Wedding in Orlando

New Year's Day, 2010, Katherine Fertakis and Jeffry Perkins were joined in matrimony. What a way to ring in the New Year! Their reception was held at the stunning Lake Mary Events Center.

The couple wanted a simple wedding with one request—to be as green as possible. This was something personal for the couple, not something they wanted to over emphasize to their guests. The menu we created was filled with organic ingredients and locally grown produce, including:

• Waterkist Farms Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta
  
• Matt’s Organic Satsuma Salad with locally grown Arugula, Satsuma oranges, sliced red onion, sliced almonds, shaved Parmesan in citrus vinaigrette
  
• Chicken Piccatta with a garlic, lemon caper sauce

To pay homage to their Greek and Filipino backgrounds, Lumpia Shanghai (a Filipino egg roll) was butler passed, and miniature baklava accompanied the dessert station.

Their color palate was very soft and earthy, showcased in their 4-tier wedding cake (made by Jennyfer Mancino from The Sugar Suite), escort cards and room décor. Another small symbol of their passion for green was seen in their favors. I personally LOVED this idea and solved that always difficult decision of whether or not to include favors…a reusable grocery bag (compact to boot)!


Katherine and Jeffry were a joy to work with from day one, and I’m proud to have fulfilled their desire to go Green on their wedding day!

Darby Poole, Special Event Planner
407.398.6309 | darby@puffnstuff.com

March of Dimes Burgers, Dogs & Dunking Fundraiser

Thank you so much to everyone who came out today for our Burgers, Dogs and Dunking fundraiser for the March of Dimes. The event was an even bigger success than we hoped. Your generous contributions helped our team raise over $1000 for the March of Dimes March for Babies!

Warren Dietel and Kevin Kulikowski were both great sports - even after getting dunked for the 13th, 14th and 15th time! I'm sure they'll be staying dry for a while after this.

If you were unable to come out and would like to join our team or make a donation, please visit our March of Dimes team page.

A huge "Thank You" to our vendor partners:
Fun Planners for bringing the dunk tank.
Casino Parties Orlando for entertaining our guests with shuffle golf.
Old Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream for some of the best ice cream I've ever had.
John Unrue for the spectacular event photos.

Simple, Elegant Wedding Cakes in Orlando

One trend that is constantly changing in the Wedding industry is Wedding Cakes. Through the years, I have found more brides wanting a “simple cake” versus an eccentric design. Yet, the bridal magazines still feature artistic cakes, so I guess my question is this, “Why can’t simple cakes be creative?” For some inspiration, take a look at the blog below from Jennyfer Mancino (one of Puff 'n Stuff Catering's Cake Designers).

These cakes are simple, but creative. Instead of just a basic design of dots with flowers, I urge you step out of the box with a printed border that matches invitations or just a inspired design from a dress pattern! Linking a small element such as these, captures your guests attention through the reception, because they begin to notice the small details! If you decide to serve your Wedding cake as dessert, make it taste like dessert! Yes, we may need to include a layer of vanilla for the basics, but why not offer a layer of Caramel Macchiato or Key Lime Pie?

Suitie Central Blog

Heidi Brice, Senior Special Event Planner
407.398.6301 | heidi@puffnstuff.com

Bringing Gourmet Kosher Catering to Orlando

Since October of 2009 Puff ‘n Stuff Catering has had a revolving door of Rabbis and Mashgiachs with one goal in mind – to offer the Jewish community of Central Florida kosher catering at a gourmet level.

It began with a drive to offer another option to Orlando Jewry; it progressed with a fateful phone call to Amira Cohen after she had to close the doors to her own kosher catering company and restaurant.

With the combination of Amira’s matriarch-like reputation in the Jewish community and Puff ‘n Stuff’s 30 years of experience in perfecting events there’s no telling what we can do with Kosher. After a little elbow grease, hours of meetings and a lot of research, we were approved for certification under the Great Orlando Board of Rabbis to provide Orlando with dairy or meat kosher catering at a Conservative or Orthodox level.

Shira Smith, Special Event Planner

407.478.5820 | shira@puffnstuff.com

Cooking for Food Allergies

This week, we ran across a lovely compliment for one of our clients on her blog. Nicolle writes tips on cooking for food allergies, specifically egg & dairy. She came to us recently to come up with a menu for her wedding that does not include any of the offending foods, and our team gladly obliged.

We only choose the best chefs here at Puff 'n Stuff Catering, so our staff is experienced in creating food for all kinds of needs, including kosher, vegan, and the gamut of food allergies.

Thank you to Nicolle Avery for the kind words on your blog! We here at Puff 'n Stuff Catering love flexing our creative muscles when it comes to developing unique food solutions for all of our clients' needs.

You can read her blog here.

Mary Brumley, Special Event Planner

407.398.6304 | mary@puffnstuff.com

Puff 'n Stuff Catering at Catersource Conference

As I write, four of our team members are attending the annual Catersource Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas! The best and the brightest of the industry come together each year to collaborate and learn from each other so that we can continually perfect our business for you, our clients!

Puff 'n Stuff Catering owner, Warren Dietel, is sharing his knowledge with 3 different presentations this year!

1. Incentive Programs that Drive Accountability
   
2. The Operations Toolbox (presented with Kevin Kulikowski, Director of Business Operations)
3. Creating a Loyalty Program for Your Business

Every year, our team comes back inspired with a wealth of new and innovative ideas. So stay tuned - there will be many new things to come! We can't wait to see what they come back with.

Vegan Wedding at Orlando Science Center

The best part about what I do is work with new people everyday, and help them plan one of the most exciting days of their lives. I find it even more interesting when I am approached by a couple that wants to plan something different, a step out of the box. Celeste and Jason where very up front when they first met me. They were quick to tell me they were Geeky, and had specific ideas about their reception. Of course, the food was our largest discussion, they were vegan and wanted their guests to all learn more about vegan food.

My main concern was making sure the guests that were used to eating meat would be not only comfortable with the food – but thrilled! So after discussing with our Chefs and finding out some of Celeste and Jason’s favorite foods, this is what we came up with:

Butler Passed Hors d'Oeuvres

Avocado Sushi & Asparagus Rolls

Sweet Potato Fries

Eggplant & Roasted Pepper Tapenade
on grilled Tuscan rounds

Dinner Buffet

Field Greens Salad

Fruits of the Season

Oak Grilled Vegetable Display

Crispy Breaded Eggplant
with garlic and basil marinara

Stuffed Portabello
with spinach, chopped onion and mushrooms

Penne Aglio e Olio
e.v.o.o., whole roasted garlic cloves, sun-dried tomatoes and broccolini

Yukon Gold & Parsnip Mashed Potatoes
topped with sage

Fresh Green Beans Almondine

Thanks Celeste and Jason for choosing us to help you create such a fantastic vegan catered event for your family and friends! Celeste wrote a blog about the wedding as well. Read her blog here.

Heidi Brice, Senior Special Event Planner

407.398.6301 | heidi@puffnstuff.com

A Single Entree For All

Most of our clients, when choosing a menu for their event, find themselves in a dilemma. How do I please the majority of my guests with just one entrée? You'll always have the vegetarians and vegans or, those with a gluten allergy or other dietary restrictions, and we are more than happy to accommodate those guests. But if you'd like to stray away from the confusion that inevitably comes along with allowing your guests to choose what plated entree they'd like, we've created some plates that are sure to please any palette.

Play it Safe:
Turkish coffee-rubbed braised boneless short ribs, served with hazelnut-infused mashed potatoes, sautéed broccolini, caramelized pearl onions, and an espresso demi glace.

This dish may sound fancy, but it’s a homey, ‘comfort food’ dish with very familiar flavors—think: Mom’s mouthwatering pot roast. If your guests love meat, filet mignon is a standard choice, so short ribs will be unexpected, but very familiar and appreciated.


Wow the Crowd:
Roasted pork tenderloin en croute, served with an Italian sausage, shallot, and mascarpone cheese pâté, fennel risotto cake, and roasted broccoli rabe with garlic.

This is essentially an updated take on classic beef Wellington. Pork is an unexpected ingredient, so guests will be intrigued, but the flavors are still familiar. The fennel risotto cake accompaniment is more unusual than a standard rice pilaf or roasted potatoes, but the flavor and texture will appeal to everyone.

Paul Lorrain, Executive Chef
407.629.7833 | paul@puffnstuff.com

Catering the Time Away

It's happened again. It seems like we were just preparing for the 2009 Holiday Season, and "pow," today is already February 1st, 2010 - amazing. People often say time can "stand still" or they need to "save time," but time keeps moving. In the catering business, it is amazing how it passes so quickly.

From an operations perspective, we're already beginning to focus on summer and holiday business. We're busy inventorying linens, purchasing new color offerings, looking at new and stylish serviceware, and adding fresh menu items while also focusing on creatively reinventing some traditional ones.

In just over a month, I will be speaking at the Catersource Conference in Las Vegas with Puff 'n Stuff Catering's Owner, Warren Dietel. We'll be showcasing our process for executing the perfect event. Every year, we attend to see the upcoming catering trends first-hand so we can continually "wow" our clients, whether the event is big or small.

This year is off to a busy start and we are looking forward to the challenges that brings! I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year and look forward to the opportunity to assist in creating your special event!

At Your Service,
Kevin Kulikowski, Director of Business Operations

Celebrating 30 Years Serving Central Florida!

This year will mark the Puff 'n Stuff Catering 30-year Anniversary. Since 1980, we have been Orlando's premier catering and full-service event planning company and are now the largest of our kind in Florida. We've achieved this status largely in part to one word: Innovation. It’s what drives our business and our team members—evidenced in everything from our Special Event Planners and expert Chefs to our state-of-the-art facility.

But if you've ever wondered where it all began, and a more commonly asked question--how we got our name, here's a short history:

In 1971, Puff 'N' Stuff (sans Catering) opened as a puff pastry shop in San Fernando, Trinidad, owned by three friends who thought they'd put their baking skills to good use: Yuklan Laing, Gwyneth Pogson, and Susie Dietel. Because they specialized in puff pastries, and created some other "stuff" too (cakes & breads), the name Puff 'N' Stuff was a natural fit.

When Susie and her husband, Glenn, moved to Florida in 1978, they wanted to bring a piece of home with them. So in 1980, they opened Puff 'N' Stuff here in Orlando, Florida. The pastry shop quickly grew into something more, and they were cooking up full meals and providing catering services in no time.

In 2003, their son, Warren Dietel, had a vision for the company, so he purchased the company from his parents and immediately set out to grow Central Florida’s premier catering operation into a full-service event planning company. He updated the brand, added "Catering" to the company name, and grew the business over 250% in 3 years. Puff 'n Stuff Catering is now recognized as a national leader in our industry.

So for you, "Puff 'n Stuff" may invoke thoughts of a TV show or a head shop. But for us, it is a legacy, an evolution, and an inspiration.

Passionately Perfecting Life's Celebrations for 30 years!