We love bubbly – whether it’s Prosecco, sparkling wine or imported champagne, and we loved featuring our split-personality Prosecco bar at the B-List Wedding Blog event at the Torpedo Factory earlier this Summer.  Part conversation piece, part ritual …totally delicious and unexpected.

The entire concept began a few months earlier as a small station of infused champagne cocktails.  

Guests were treated to chilled glasses of sparkling wine, which they then
infused with an array of aromatic herbs snipped fresh from a vertical cutting
garden – including lavender, rosemary and mint.

We expanded the original station to include beaker-shaped flutes, rustic tins and baskets, frozen white grapes and even small bites of dill havarti to compliment.

But not everyone is of the savory persuasion – so we complimented this station with three others; ”The Rebel,” featuring custom spikes of Midori, Kahlua and Chambord, hourglass  flutes, mounds of coffee beans and Cheez-Its (Think Guns n’ Roses meets the Four Seasons).

“The Dandy,” featured silver creamers brimming with fruit juices and nectars,  chevre-stuffed figs and gilded glassware…

…and for those that like their giggle water straight up – we also featured “The Purist” – unadulterated champagne in crystal glasses, paired with Mimolette cheese.

This specialty bar has been a guest favorite at both large and small events – you can tuck a single themed station into a tight space or feature up to all four for pre-Gala cocktails.

We noticed a lot of guests branching out from their usual Kir Royale or Mimosa, others were happy to get their old standbys mixed to perfection.

And a special thank you to John Farr Lighting for hitting all the right spots – the finished station exceeded our expectations.  Cheers!

Photography by: Rodney Bailey Photography
Lighting by:  John Farr Lighting
Glassware & Equipment: DC Rental
Location:  The Torpedo Factory

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• Tags: champagne, drinks, Events

Classic drinks have been weaving their way back into the celebration libation repertoire lately, bravely delivered to us by the deft cocktail shaker of celebrity mixologists and intrepid chefs who know that a glass of chard isn’t the only way to accompany your fish entree anymore.  Since we at Design Cuisine are a playful bunch never afraid to fearlessly face the frontier of new cocktails head on (we are always here for you, our cherished clients, in even the most arduous of tasks!), we decided to experiment.

Enjoy our herbally-inspired sips:

Lavender-Vanilla Champagne Cocktail: a spritz of vanilla vodka kicks this lavender yum-yum into overdrive, allowing the fresh lavender garnish to lull you to your happy place.

D’Cider: using fresh pressed apple juice and Elderflower liqueur mixed with Tequila and cinnamon, this cocktail is a city girl with a country past.

A Classic – the Negroni: incorporating another hot trend in the drink market – Bitters – along with gin and sweet vermouth. This classic embodies everything that is good about “What’s old is new again”.

Written by our very own Design mixologist:  Ginger Dockery

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• Tags: drinks

A Before & After

When Analia and Tomas first contacted Design Cuisine about catering their August 2010 wedding, they had already decided on a hip Georgetown venue and a white and turquoise color scheme. Providing our design team with inspiration photos helped us imagine their modern and whimsical vision of their special day. Pictures are worth a thousand words! These inspiration photos define the couples’ idea of what “modern and whimsical” means to them. Collect lots of pictures, it helps the professionals you’ve hired design a stunning look just for your wedding. Here is our journey of Analia’s dream design…

This inspiration board was created by our bride, Analia. She brought it to our first consultation and we loved the colors. We then set off to create place settings, menu items, floral and a dessert buffet that would allow her vision to come to life.

Somewhere between cerulean and chartreuse, are vibrant teals and turquoises. These are beautifully reproduced in glass, ceramic and fabrics but hard to find in the floral and culinary world. Have you ever tasted a teal apple or smelled a turquoise rose? This was a significant challenge. We decided to present our design to the couple with a sample table setting and a tasting of desserts. They loved the colors! We also welcomed the possibilities another color would bring to our design.

Orange You Glad We Chose Orange?

Orange tones pair beautifully with rich turquoise and citrus is a knock out late-summer flavor. From saffron to honey to kumquat, orange tones are abundant in the culinary world. We can’t wait to show you what we came up with!

We followed two rules when designing this look. For orange we let the various shades shine through with the food and floral. The blue takes center stage with the glassware, lighting, accessories and linens. By following these two simple rules we showcased a spectrum of turquoise and teal colors with hints of baby blue in the delphiniums. Now Analia will let us know what she thinks …

What is a wedding without a few hearts? We love this plated first course
that highlights fabulous citrus tastes with blood orange and grapefruit.

When we design weddings and photoshoots – everyone jumps on board!
One of Design Cuisine’s owners, Bill Homan, helps create the backdrop for our place settings.

Our fun dessert sampling for our bride included coconut cupcakes, Tiffany blue petit fours,
baked Alaska brownie bites, Laudrée macaroons (in orange and blue, of course!) and
chocolate clementine cake.

We love helping brides create innovative escort card tables that are inspired by their theme.
Brightly colored clementines provide the backdrop for whimsical name cards.

Specialty drinks in shades of turquoise and orange

Robin’s egg chocolate truffles

Two of our favorite florists, Phyllis and Gina at Enchanted Florist
created a bridal bouquet that perfectly complimented our table design.

Photography by: Rodney Bailey Photography
Flowers: Enchanted Florist
Place settings & linens: DC Rental

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• Tags: desserts, drinks, weddings