From a unique theme to branded edibles: Creating a wedding that’s totally ‘you’

It’s springtime and wedding season is in full bloom and about to gain momentum as we head into the summer months. The recent nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have only heightened our collective attention on all things wedding-related.

As noted in our recent blog on the royal wedding, we can even take some event-planning inspiration from the world’s most famous newlyweds.

According to Esquire, the new couple reportedly capped off their huge day of quintessentially British formalities with “… a Tiki-themed after party with “Apache shooters” and “frozen strawberry sparkles,” as well as an ice luge and South African wagyu beef.” Their official cake was a lemon and cream extravaganza and their choice of location for the wedding ceremony—historic Windsor Castle—was a break from tradition (most major royal weddings are held at Westminster Abbey).

In other words, Meghan and Harry made their wedding their own. You can, too, minus the exorbitant costs of booking a castle as your venue and hosting thousands of guests from around the world. How, you ask?

Several years ago, we realized that couples wanted something different when they approached us to design their wedding menus. They not only wanted a customized look and feel, something they could call their own and share with friends and family as a unique memento of their big day, but they wanted a turn-key experience. That’s why we developed an in-house event design service dedicated to producing the branded wedding of your dreams. What’s a branded wedding, you ask? Good question!

It can take a few different forms, but a branded event is one that typically follows a theme of your choosing. Let’s say you wanted to create your own royal-themed wedding, for example. You’d sit down with our event designer to discuss your vision and event requirements, review our planning process, design services and a range of other options to create an experience that would leave the House of Windsor in awe (OK, they’d at least be impressed), and all within your budget. Maybe you want a menu inspired by dishes featured on past royal wedding dinner tables. Perhaps royal-themed décor and china are your preference. These are all finer details we’d discuss to turn your wedding day into a magical affair.

Next, it’s time to storyboard your event. It’s a process similar to how Hollywood directors create a step-by-step overview of how they want their movie to be staged and filmed. We offer up two detailed story board options that capture your theme and vision in one amazing package. That includes an overview of everything from décor colours, floral arrangements and potential menus, to specific branding options (maybe creating your own crest is in order if we’re sticking with the royal theme?) and menu samples to give you a better sense of exactly how the day will unfold. We call it our event design blueprint and it’s always a hit with clients.

From there, we accompany you on a visit to your wedding reception site of choice to discuss a site plan, take photos and offer our event set-up recommendations. We’ll handle sourcing of all the extra bits needed to put the event together, from staff and seating to technology and flowers. Best of all, we’re your sole point of contact for the event, so you don’t have to coordinate with multiple service providers. Your event design blueprint is the document that brings all of this important information and insight together in one handy package.

That’s the process, but what about the fun stuff? It’s the creative aspect that really gets us excited. From themed backyard barbecues to Tiki-themed parties a la the newest royal couple, the sky’s the limit in terms of the possibilities for branding your event. That means customizing your menus, stationary, tags, labels, logos, signage, cocktail and wine list—even branding the edibles you serve such as your delicious desserts!—to make your wedding all about the two of you.

That’s the part that couples often overlook. Many people find themselves stressing over their guests’ wants and needs, but forget about their own wishes. While it’s totally understandable to want to create a wedding menu or event theme that everyone will love, you still need it to reflect your personal sense of style and history as a couple. Case in point: we’ve seen couples stage punk-themed weddings replete with spray-painted graffiti art and a Clash-and-Sex-Pistols-laden party playlist. Others have chosen a specific cultural theme—Indian and Italian are always popular choices in their respective communities—that feature those countries’ food, music and other cultural accoutrements.

Again, the possibilities are endless. You just need the right event planner and caterer to bring it all together. So, choose wisely. Not every firm can deliver the goods when it comes to a specific themed event. Hint: we’re one of the few who can—and we do it really well!

So next time you want to create a totally unique, super-personalized unforgettable wedding, be sure to give us a call and let Kiss the Cook Catering turn your wedding into an extravaganza worthy of Buckingham Palace (or Windsor Castle, seeing as you’re personalizing it to your tastes).

Fia Pagnello

Want to plan a branded wedding event? Contact us now