Catering Tasting, YUMMM....

I've been waiting for THIS DAY for quite some time now...

TODAY we had our official CATERING TASTING & SELECTED OUR RECEPTION MENU for our Wedding! I can't tell you how good it feels to type those words, considering choosing and booking a caterer was one longest things on our "TO DO" list of things we've had to do so far.

We began our search for the perfect caterer at the beginning of February and met with 4 companies.  All were good and we knew all would do a great job at catering our event.  When it came down to price, we had it narrowed down to 2 companies: Millenia Catering & Big City Catering.  I've posted about these two companies before and to be completely honest Mr. Hess and I teetered on who to choose between the two by going back and forth every day for about a week.  It finally came down to a deadline to choose and BAM on the day we needed to make one comes an offer to throw in an additional few menu items, beverages, and $1,000 discount = SOLD!

MILLENIA CATERING was the company for us! I have mentioned them before, but you can find more information about them and visit their website at: http://www.milleniacatering.com/

Excited to respond to this offer, Mr. Hess and I contacted Chef Lo right away to let him know we had finally made a decision.  We got on the books to do an official tasting and boy oh boy let me just say, after today we are 200% POSITIVE we made the right choice!  The food was incredible, Chef Lo went above and beyond to provide unique and personalized choices, and everything we chose is EXACTLY what we were hoping for.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about Millenia Catering and I know the food at our reception will be simply amazing!

Our personalized Tasting Menu - how cool is that?!

I was thinking about the food we were going to experience the entire day at work today and couldn't wait to preview what will make up the menu at our reception.  We were finally on our way to the appointment for a tasting and I was extra excited that for the first time in a long time we got to include my dad in the planning!  Well, he had plenty of time to get acquainted with Chef Lo, because a detour on the way there set me, Mr. Hess and my mom back 30 mins. and we were late!  Figures....right?!  After calling and apologizing for the detour, we finally arrive hungry and ready to pick out our favorites!

My parents, ready to test out the dinner menu!

The entire time, Chef Lo and his assistant Rhonda were SO nice and accommodating.  Right away, I was greeted with a glass of wine, and the table was set up so cute with place settings and fresh flowers.  They really went out of their way to make us feel like we were special, and that was such a great feeling knowing we will feel exactly the same on our SPECIAL day!  So, we started with a fruit & cheese tray, pretty standard you might say, right?  I thought so, but then when it was all said and done even Mr. Hess and I decided to jazz THAT up a little.  I can't wait to see how the final touches will be added to make everything made for US.  I'm not going to give you much more details than that, but let's just say our menu for the wedding reception is one like I've never seen before...It is very out-of-the-ordinary and anything but the traditional "Beef or Chicken?" plated dinner...(Not traditional? Us? SHOCKER, I know.)

Ready to pick out a fabulous dinner menu, and...this is just a "taste" of the fruit tray! :)

What started with a few Hors d'oeurves and dinner options turned into what felt like an 18 course meal.  We covered all ends of the spectrum with from different meats, seafood, and appetizer bites to veggie options, pastas and wines to make sure we have a variety of everything we wanted for our guests.  We were very impressed with the amount of samples Chef Lo provided for us to try and it was truly a treat to get to experience such a private dining experience, just for us. 

Today was one of the first days I could truly begin to picture what the experience at our reception will be like.  I've always said that flowers and photography are my biggest "has to be perfect"categories for our BIG DAY, and I've always said that I will be happy as long as our catering is "good."  It wasn't a priority of ours that we serve filet mignon & sea bass, but instead to provide our guests with a food experience that is one they will surely walk away from remembering something about.  You'll see what I'm talking about once the BIG DAY finally gets here, but until then I can only leave you with one hint...Check out our choice of salad - BOTH were amazing...but the set up is what we fell in love with!

YUMMY....which one to choose?!

Needless to say, by the end of the night all 4 of us were completely STUFFED!!!! I could barely finish the last few things on the menu, and for those who know me well know that in itself is an accomplishment.  Thank you Chef Lo for an amazing tasting experience and I am SO EXCITED to see everything come together at our reception.

Yup, this was the point where we started feeling the food comas coming on...

98 days until the REAL tasting begins! 

Can you BELIEVE we are under the 100 day mark?! WHOOO!

Presh