full article - Scaggs Vineyards

C
C
weddings
CALIFORNIA STYLE
C a l i f o r n i a’ s l i f e s t y l e m a g a z i n e
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spring weddings 2011
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spring weddings 2011
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gowns, invitations, bouquets, menus,
favors, florals, dessert tables, tiaras,
trousseaus and honeymoons
C
the menu
Sweet
Temptation
The latest slice of the final course
is anything but predictable
jose villa photography
A table of vintageinspired desserts
includes dainty
coconut minicakes
and an edible
bronze-chocolate
garnish (cupcakes
couturemb.com).
edited by alison clare steingold
Spring weddings 2011
C 73
menu
FROM LEFT
Dessert
table, sugar
flower and
lace cake by
Sweet &
Saucy Shop,
Long Beach.
Bar None
Maison Bouche’s latest:
Marriage a la Mode, $72, a gift
box of nine bars in flavors like
lavender-fleur de sel and
violet—each wrapped with a
jaunty old print from East Bay
chocolatier Diane Beaty’s
collection. maisonbouche.com.
Local Lagniappes
Event planner Merryl Brown of Montecito
likes to stay in the neighborhood with
custom-labeled jars of Santa Barbara
honey wrapped in twine. “Edible gifts won’t
end up in a landfill,” she explains. Other
favor buzz: themed candy tables, minipies
and olive oil. merrylbrownevents.com.
Cracking Tradition While CA produces
nearly 100% of U.S. almond supply, Jordan
almonds are usually imported. Marich
Confectionery, however, crafts the candycoated treat in Hollister. marich.com.
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spring weddings 2011
sugar Flower: Melody Brandon. cake: anna costa, coordinated by joy proctor. honey: miguel fairbanks
W
hether selecting minicakes by S.F.’s Cakework (cakework.com) or a Perfect
Endings classic in Napa (perfectendings.com), there’s no deeper impression
made than by this all-important indulgence. Go French with a cream puff
croque-en-bouche from Emil’s Swiss Pastry in West L.A. (emilsswisspastry.com). Or play
with rustic elegance, like Valerie Confections’ “Fallen Fruit,” Angeleno Valerie Gordon’s
bark-like ripple of buttercream with fresh figs, grapes and pomegranate dropped onto
jam-layered tiers (valerieconfections.com). With fine detailing, Sweet & Saucy Shop
of Long Beach shapes sugar flowers (like this pictured aubergine dahlia), crafts colorful
macaron trees and fashions fondants in towers of lacy white and peach (sweetand
saucyshop.com). The sky’s truly the limit for designer desserts—and for their heights.
menu
Cheese to Please
The events duo at Sir August May recently
designed a naturally sweetened, honey-themed
cheese display which was 100% locallysourced. At the Bear Flag Farm wedding, guests
toasted with sparkling mead from Heidrun
Meadery and feasted on Cypress Grove cheese
“cakes,” and pastries and candies from Tell Tale
Preserve Co.—all before departing with wooden
Cowgirl Creamery miniboxes for a savory finish.
Trending Now
Wolfgang Puck says “a Spago-style menu of smokedsalmon pizza and mini-burgers” will indubitably satisfy
guests. Here, the gregarious chef’s other favorite choices for
a crowd: caviar and stone crabs • fresh donuts for late-night
bites • monochromatic candy tables • quality, not quantity.
...Off the Market
B
rides aren’t the only ones wearing white to weddings.
While Campanile, Lucques, Patina Group, Bouchon
and FarmShop cater off-site, many California toques
have left restaurant life to create their own special-events companies. Take WhoaNelly!, a collaborative project between
Stephanie Bone and Elizabeth Griffiths, two former chefs/cheesemongers at AOC. Much like contemporaries Heirloom L.A. (Angelini Osteria, Cake Monkey) and Savore (Spago), the pair touts
farm-driven menus (think Shaner Farms tangelo punch, crab
gougères) that keep them walking the Santa Monica Farmers’
Market on Wednesdays. And in lieu of traditional pre-wedding
samplings—same as Danielle Steckler of Paper Palate—“We’ll
just throw them a dinner party,” says Griffiths. “You can’t taste
them on a tomato dish in December, but it’s like a dress fitting.
The style is there; you just have to use your imagination.”
SCOUTING REPORT High-end comfort, fruit pies, vegetarian
menus, antipasti, exotic meats like goat, oyster stations, familystyle dining, long tables instead of rounds, vintage-era punches.
All from Jessica Lasky Fine Catering/Alison Events: Family-style arugula salad; Summer menu; Local appetizer at Meadowsweet Dairy.
C 76 spring weddings 2011
wolfgang Puck: amanda marsalis. Arugula Salad and Menu: Sabine Scherer weddings. table setting: B&N Photography
Sir August May
topped a “cake”
of Humboldt
Fog chèvre with
dates and
Meyer lemons.
menu
Pre-Party
Panache
L
perfect
pairing
Al fresco
menus call
for a versatile
Rosé—like
the latest
from Scaggs
Vineyard.
(Or make it
a cocktail
with gingerinfused
Domaine
de Canton
and a splash
of soda.)
2009 Scaggs Vineyard
Rosé, Mt. Veeder, Napa,
$25, scaggsvineyard.com.
C 78 spring weddings 2011
After Hours
A wedding at the Vibiana in downtown L.A.
A night of dancing calls
for low-key comfort from
CA’s favorite meals on
wheels: L.A.’s Grilled
Cheese Truck griddles
brie to an unctuous crisp,
while donut ice cream
from Lake Street
Creamery satisfies the
yen for nostalgia. In S.F.,
Spencer On The Go!
proffers foie gras torchon
on toasts, and S.D.’s
Miho Gastrotruck takes
fresh-from-the-farm-toyou (literally) for a spin.
Old laws prohibit many wineries from hosting
weddings, so unless you’re marrying a vintner,
vetting a private wine country estate with Mint
Locations is the way to go. mintlocations.com.
Calistoga Ranch: Meg Smith Photography. The Grilled cheese Truck: Rebecca Rotenberg/Docuvitae
A Laurie Arons
dinner at the
Calistoga Ranch
Lakehouse.
aurie Arons has long
been planning nuptials
of extreme elegance for
some of society’s most recognizable couples (Vanessa and
Billy Getty, for one). Since not
every bride and groom can
snag Arons or her new and exclusive collaborator, superchef
Tyler Florence, she offers here
her ideal selections for convivial rehearsal dinner venues throughout the state: INVERNESS Manka’s
Inverness Lodge. MARSHALL Hog Island Oyster Co. PHILO Goldeneye
Winery. CALISTOGA The Lakehouse at Calistoga Ranch. NAPA Angèle
Restaurant’s patio. CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA Casanova. RUTHERFORD Hall
Winery wine cave. CARMEL VALLEY Holman Ranch. SAN FRANCISCO
Wayfare Tavern’s third floor. SAUSALITO Cavallo Point. YOUNTVILLE
Paraduxx Winery. ST. HELENA Durham Ranch (through Paula LeDuc
Fine Catering). MONTECITO San Ysidro Ranch. SANTA BARBARA The
Wine Cask. DEL MAR L’Auberge Del Mar.