When hosting a dinner party at a restaurant or hotel it's a very nice touch to customize your menu card by including your logo, a ribbon in your company colors or simply typing your company name at the top.  Often restaurants will do this for you, but if you want to do it on your own it's quite simple. 

In the templates section you'll now find three menu card templates for weddings or dinner parties.  One version is long and thin showing a wedding buffet dinner menu, the other wider showing a plated corporate dinner, and the third is a square shaped menu card.  There is no right or wrong way to do a menu card, just personal preferences and the length of the menu often dictates what shape works best. 

You can emphasize a certain feeling with the way you separate your dinner courses.

• Standard menu card: Appetizers, Salad, Entree, Dessert
• A more formal approach: Course 1, Course II, Course III and you can include wine pairings
  
• An Italian theme menu card :  Antipasti, Primi, Insalata e Zuppe, Pasta, Secondi, Dolci  (anything in Italian sounds delicious doesn't it?)

If you use one of the templates experiment with changing the font colors or fonts.  It's really fun once you have the frame work there to play around a bit.  An earlier posting on wedding menu card templates, and great sources to order cards from, can be viewed by clicking here.   Happy Hosting.

Could seating charts be the hardest part of planning a wedding or dinner party? I just came across a user-friendly software that makes this lovely part a bit easier.  Perfect Table Plan loads your guests' contact information in a savvy manner and then not only keeps track of the RSVP status and meal preferences but allows you to drop and drag names into your custom "floor plan". 

You can configure your floor plan with as many round, square or rectangle tables and easily indicate the number of seats.  Once this step is done it's an easy drag & drop system to place your guests in their seats.  You can zoom in to view one table or zoom out and see your whole room.  And when a new vision for the room comes to mind... Drag the tables where you want them.  The other smart thing about this software, you can view your seating plan as a floor plan, a spreadsheet, or a table format.                  

At $35, Perfect Table Plan is appropriate for anyone planning Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings, formal dinner parties and charity events.  You can try the software for free at their website.  (I'm no, not getting a commission, its a great tool to share with you.)

 

Once you’ve decided to host your dinner party or wedding reception in a tent the next part is figuring out how to “make it work”.  How many tables can you fit? Where should the entrance be? Where is the least likely location for someone to tango into the cake?                    County Marquee Photos 

A brilliant woman in the UK has developed a very user-friendly software to help you design the floor plan for your next event.  County Marquees free software allows you to drop and drag tables of various sizes to your proposed location, easily adjust the dimensions of your tent, and add doorways.  It’s wonderful.

County Marquees' website also contains hundreds of event photos and case studies that may help you determine the type of tent, or more elegantly called by the British, type of “Marquee,” that best fits your event.  And if you’re in the UK, County Marquees is ready to provide you with the highest quality Marquees and service.

Here’s the link to the software section and a link to their very helpful Q&A section.

If the brown hotel foyer isn't the giving the hip vibe you envisioned for your wedding reception or cocktail party, have no fear, rental furniture is easy.  Adding a few funky chairs or a crisp white sofa to a lounge area can transform the overall feeling of your event. You can rent white tables with a light in your theme color inside the base, colorful pillows, mirrors and unique chairs guests will talk about.  I think pictures offer the most inspiration because the options are endless.

Even if your budget is small, adding a few peices can have a large impact.  A great resource for chic designer feel furniture rental is Studio Collection.  Based in the bay area, but servicing the entire country, this company offers a very wide selection of color and design options from modern to traditional for weddings and corporate clients.  Here's a bit about their site, but please visit their website for a full showcase.  Their work is wonderful.

                        
Click to enlarge photos, Studio Collection examples
From Studio Collection: Experience a brilliant collection of stylish and versatile furnishings designed specifically for your next special event. Create chic lounge groupings for your wedding reception in modern and traditional styles. Explore the many design and color options to match your reception palette. Our specialty chairs to create the finishing touch for your dining tables. Request a quote for your favorite furnishings today via our website.