Gil's Elegant Catering

Tips for Having a Morning Wedding With a Doughnut Brunch

Dallas Caterer

If you’ve been thinking about having a brunch reception in Dallas then you’re not alone. During the summer months, many couples opt to have their ceremony and reception earlier in the day to escape the heat. We have put together some tips and tricks for a successful morning reception brunch complete with donuts and mimosas.

Bring on the Donuts

Donuts are a great conversation starter at your reception. If you have lots of different flavors to choose from, everyone will love talking about the doughnuts and deciding which one they are going to pick. Pro tip, before the reception have your caterer set aside you and your fiancé’s favorite donuts with some mimosas so that you favorites donuts don’t disappear before you can try them.

Brunch Menu

You want something savory to go with your sweet dessert. In addition to donuts, include other great brunch foods like omelets, croissants, maple bacon or chicken and waffles.

Mimosas or Milkshakes

Set up a mimosa bar with different flavors of drinks such as strawberry-kiwi, mango-peach, orange, pineapple and grapefruit. Add fruit to skewer with your customized stirrer or simply add it to the rim. If you’re looking for something non-alcoholic milkshakes are a great alternative.

5 Cocktail Hour Dos and Don’ts

Dallas Caterer

As a Dallas caterer, we’ve seen quite a few cocktail hours. With that experience in mind, we’d like to give you these 5 dos and don’ts for a successful cocktail hour that will set the tone for the rest of your event.

Do Have Comfortable Seating

People will want room to mingle easily, so don’t crowd the room with furniture. However, you will want some comfortable seating for older guests and somewhere for people with heels to take a break. Consider having a lounge area and some high tables and chairs for people to gravitate towards.

Don’t Have Loud Music

Typically during cocktail hour, guests are not looking for entertainment but rather socializing. Keep the music low so people can hear each other and the vibe mellow. Guests will have plenty of time to party later once the bride and groom arrive and they’ve had dinner.

Do Have Scrumptious Bites

When serving alcohol its important to have something bite-sized for guests to snack on as they mingle – this also tides people over until the meal. The best appetizers are the ones that you can pop in your mouth.

Don’t Forget the Signature Cocktails

Let your personality shine with a signature cocktail or two. Have fun and give them creative names that reflect who you are or as a couple. You can even name ones after your bridal party or in honor of your parents.

Do Have Non-alcoholic Options

Not everyone will want to drink, but they will still want to celebrate with you. Make sure not to leave them out by offering other options such as water, soda, sparkling water, or even a virgin cocktail.

Showcase Your Love of Snacks on Your Wedding Day

Have you always been someone who loves snacks – if so then these wedding reception snack ideas are the perfect idea to incorporate in to your big day. No matter whether your event is an upscale or a laid-back affair, snacks can be incorporated in to any wedding day. Check out our ideas below.

A Midnight Snack

If you’re a late night snacker you can showcase your love of an after hours bite by bringing out your favorite snack after dinner. Your guests will welcome the extra treat as they probably worked up an appetite on the dance floor.

Snack Bar

Have to many favorite snacks and can’t choose which one to serve? Then create a snack bar of you and your fiancé favorite treats. You can even label which ones are the groom’s favorites and which ones are the bride’s favorites. This also allows guests to choose rather than hoping everyone loves your favorite snack.

Build Your Own Trail Mix

Almost everyone loves trail mix, but always a little differently. Setting up a station for guests to mix their own is a great way to incorporate a snack in to your reception. This sort of set up is perfect for a laid back gathering.

 

The Complete Guide to Hosting a Post-Wedding Brunch

Post-wedding brunch can turn your event into a weekend-long celebration of you and your fiancé’s love. While not necessary, if you’re afraid that you won’t have enough time to greet and catch-up with each of your guests during your reception, then hosting a brunch the morning after to personally thank them for attending is the way to go.

Capping your guest list

Keeping your list to only out-of-towners or immediate family and the wedding party can be a great way to have a post-wedding gathering. You’ll get to re-live all of your favorite moments and hear about some hilarious moments that you didn’t witness when the memories are still fresh with all of your loved ones.

Location, catering and hosting

While there are many ways to serve a post-brunch, the most convenient way to is by having it catered. Having a parent, friend, or relative host the party is a way to save cost and take some of the pressure off you. However if you don’t have someone step up you can utilizing free or low cost event spaces such as a park or garden. Gil’s caters in many public spaces in the Dallas area including Fair Park, White Rock Lake, and the Dallas Arboretum.

Healthy Catering Options

It can feel overwhelming to try and cater a healthy meal for your guests. Instead of reaching for the veggie platter at your next event try serving these healthy alternatives.

Pan-Crisped Salmon

This savory pan-crisped salmon dish is a hearty, healthy meal to serve your guests. Guests will appreciate the healthy option and it’s easy to serve with rice, potatoes, vegetables or a salad!

Fajita Bar

Veggies and a lean meat of your choice with tortillas are a perfect healthy way to get your protein and veggies at your event. And the best part of this flavorful meal is you and your guests can assemble them yourselves so you can portion according to your preference.

Quinoa Burgers

This quinoa burgers are topped with roasted red pepper, mayo, and the optional bacon (we can all afford to cheat a little). These juicy, pan-seared quinoa patties are a great healthy alternative to regular patties while still being delicious. We bet you guests will be coming back for more without the guilt of seconds.

Parmesan Crusted Butternut Galette

There’s something about the sweetness of squash, the caramel brown butter, the tangy parmesan and the crunchy sage that makes your mouth water. Butternut squash is a healthy alternative that doesn’t taste healthy at all. This delectable galette is a perfect healthy pastry for your event.

Healthy Cocktails

Healthy Party Cocktails

Alcoholic drinks can be a sneaky source of calories, sugar, and even salt—but don’t worry. We consulted our experts here at Gil’s for a few healthier alternatives.

Fruit Mojito

Prep a classic mojito, but before pouring in the rum and soda, muddle in ¼ cup fresh or thawed frozen fruit like strawberry, blueberry, mango, or kiwi in the bottom of the glass. Top with ice, rum, and seltzer and garnish as desired!

Pom Cosmo

In a shaker with ice, combine 1 shot pomegranate vodka, 1 shot orange liqueur, and the juice of 1 lime. Shake, strain into a martini glass, and garnish with a slice of lime.

Rosemary-Cucumber Lemonade

Stir together juice from 3 lemons and 1 teaspoon honey. Add 1 shot rosemary-infused vodka and ¾ cup seltzer. Garnish with a cucumber spear and lemon wedge.

Lemondrop

In a shaker with ice, combine ⅓ shot. vodka, ⅓ shot fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon honey.

White Sangria

In a wine glass, combine two strawberries (halved), ½ a fresh peach (diced), ½ a pear (diced), 2 shots white wine, and ¼ cup seltzer.

Gin and Juice

Pour over ice: ½ cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice, 1 shot of gin, and ½ cup seltzer.

Watermelon Margaritas

Combine watermelon, a ½ cup tequila, 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon Triple Sec in a blender; process until smooth. Fill each prepared glass with ½ cup crushed ice. Add ½ cup margarita to each glass. Garnish with lime wedges or melon balls, if desired.

Thanksgiving Decor for Your Table

thanksgiving decor ideas

Thanksgiving Decor Ideas for Your Table | Gil’s Elegant Catering

The air is crisp and the leaves are changing and it just makes us want to bust out the decorations! Here are some decor ideas for your Thanksgiving affair that’s sure to add some flair:

Pumpkins & Gourds

Pumpkins and gourds scream fall and and we are loving the look they take on when the are spray painted festive colors and scattered across the table runner with a little greenery and some red berries. Want to go less traditional? Take your pumpkin and carve out your pumpkin’s insides, fill it with dirt, and plant a succulent garden. Make them the centerpiece of your table–as an added bonus they’ll last all season.

Personalized Place-settings

Want to make your guests feel extra special? Create personalized place settings for each guest. Whether it’s writing their name on a gold spray-painted leaf in beautiful calligraphy or having the silverware wrapped in a belly band with the person’s name your thankful to have at your table.

Thankfulness Game

Place customized sheets of paper on top of each place-setting that have a blank list to fill in. Then play the game while having dinner and see who can come up with things to be thankful for that are not on everyone else’s list. The person who has the most unique list wins.

Butcher Paper

Butcher paper is the latest trend in creating a runner for your table. Butcher paper’s neutral tones make it so versatile for styling and eco friendly. Add some greenery and candles and you’re good to go. A different approach would be to cover the whole table and draw each place setting in white or black ink. As a fun activity for your guests, they can write what they are thankful for on the paper near their seat.

 

Thanksgiving Appetizer Ideas

Thanksgiving Appetizer Ideas

Thanksgiving Appetizer Ideas

Not sure what to feed your guests while they wait for the main dish? Don’t worry, we consulted our experts here to bring you several appetizer ideas that are sure to be a hit.

Caramel Apple Pie Squares

These treats are simple to make, but oh so delicious. Simply roll out crescent rolls. Top with a single layer of brown sugar, top with apples distributing evenly, then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Drizzle caramel on top. Bake until golden.

Irish Potato Bites

Nothing is more fun to eat than bite sized treats. To make these boil small red potatoes until they are fork tender. Cut in half and scoop out the inside and save the potato centers. Mix the potato centers with  cheddar cheese, diced ham, and melted butter and add to the potato halves. Bake again till the cheese is melted, and you will have a oh so tasty bite sized treat. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with finely chopped chives. 

Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs

Add sweet and tangy flavors to meatballs for one delightful appetizer. To create your sauce mix cranberry sauce, cocktail sauce, a little brown sugar, barbecue sauce, and water and dip your homemade meatballs in these scrumptious sauce. Then let slow cook for a couple hours to let the flavors blend. To make finger-food friendly add a toothpick for ease of eating.

Harvest Pumpkin Soup

Serve up a hearty bowl of pumpkin soup to get your guests in the Thanksgiving mood. Start with a large pot and melt the butter then add potato and onion. Next add chicken broth and bring to a boil and then stir in pumpkin–purée mixture until smooth. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Stir in cream and you’re ready to serve.

 

Unconventional Food Ideas to Leave Your DFW Wedding Guests Awestruck

As the trend of serving unconventional food at weddings sees a rise, DFW wedding guests are only too happy to oblige the experimental brides and grooms. Since food is one of the most important element of a party, it makes sense to bowl over your DFW wedding guests with delicacies they’ll remember forever.

For brides and grooms who’d love to go the untraditional way, here are 12 delicious and extraordinary wedding food ideas you may not have heard before.

Experiment with dessert

Consider playing up with the wedding dessert. Instead of the same old cupcakes or pies, how about croissants, donuts, or even a mix of two – cronuts! Half croissants, half donuts, these delicious pastries are full of buttery, flaky goodness.

Mini treats

Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs? But instead of the classic version, think about the mini style– a single meatball topped with curled spaghetti and a garnishing of sauce. This bite-sized treats are yummy and oh-so-finger lickin’!

Do Away with Cutlery

Offer your guests some delicacies that don’t require any utensils – like finger foods or snacks on a toothpick.

Upgrade Your Comfort Foods

Your home-cooked favorites are instantly elevated when served in unexpected ways, like grilled cheese points served with dainty tomato soup shooters.

Try a Late-Night Snack

Keep them snacks coming—mainly after everyone’s worked up an appetite on the dance floor. Hold them over with something to munch on, like the mini hamburgers in poppy-seed buns.

Keep It Healthy

Appeal to guests’ lighter sides by putting a few delightful good-for-heart options on the menu. A baby-Greek salad for example is a mouthwatering appetizer that is a breeze to whip up.

Include a Beverage

Complement your favorite meal with a cocktail. For a black-tie wedding, try caviar and vodka. Having a more laid back affair? Sliders and a craft beer are just the ticket.

Serve Breakfast for a Dinner Party

Breakfast is always a hit among the crowd, so why not serve it at your wedding? A bacon cup filled with scrambled eggs is a sophisticated twist on the classic morning staple.

Let Guests Help Themselves

A lavish buffet is a great way to ensure everyone gets what they want, but it also creates an appetizing central point. One tasty buffet option is a cheese station with a collection of mild and strong flavors, different textures, and cow, goat, and sheep cheeses. Add labels so guests know what they’re diving into, and then pair them with breads, fruits, and nuts.

Raise Your Drinks

Think shots are only for frat parties? Think again. Wedding-worthy sangria-inspired gelees are infused with sweet wines and subtly undercut with citrus flavors, making them elegant and delicious.

Make It Collaborative

A DIY food station is a great conversation starter that allows everyone to help themselves. An adult snow cone station stocked with cups, crushed ice, and peach daiquiri, mojito, margarita, and cosmo, cocktail syrups.

Dessert Time

Though dinner is the main course, delicious desserts will ensure your wedding ends on a sweet note. One surprising option? Try nutmeg-dusted beignets served with mini malted milkshakes.

You Must Avoid Making These Wedding Cocktail Mistakes

Raise your hand if you are all for free drinks! Flowers and food might be an important part of a DFW wedding party but can we be honest here for a second? The first thing 90% people do at a wedding is make a beeline for the bar! Okay, so we might have made that statistic up..a bit..but you know it’s not that far off the mark.

We guess it’s the stress that drives guests straight to the bar; single folks are stressed out by all the ‘so who are you seeing?’ Q and A coming their way; introverts are stressed out because they have been seated at a table with strangers; the rest of them just want to enjoy the free drinks.

Now for the bride and groom, providing all your guests with adequate liquor without breaking the bank might seem like a tough feat to accomplish. That’s why we contacted some experts and came up with these golden nuggets of advice on how to avoid the wedding cocktail pitfalls.

Self-serve drinks option might backfire

If you think giving people easy access to drinks will ease the pressure off the bar, think again. We have actually seen this tactic go so wrong that it’s not funny. People put up these huge nooks filled with beer or punch and hope that guests will help themselves. The problem is guests end up drinking way way more than they should!

It’s like giving an ice-cream lover a tub of Ben n Jerry’s, and hoping they will only eat one scoop out of it! If you don’t want to end up with an out-of-control (and expensive) situation at your hands, don’t do it.

Champagne toast is highly overrated!

Yes, you heard that right. A lot of our event organizers confessed that they end up throwing most of the champagne away because not all people enjoy the same kind of sparkling wine. What might be a favorite of one person could be too tart or too sweet for another.

If you think an expensive sparkling wine will be loved by all because well, it’s expensive, think again. Most people don’t even notice the difference between expensive champagne and less-expensive wine! So, instead of pouring your money on champagne, let your guests toast with whatever they are drinking.

Having only one bar

Unless you are going to have a small wedding party, it’s imperative to have a second bar. Why? Consider this real-life situation: the one-and-only bar is totally packed and guests know that they’d have to wait a long time to get their next drink, so they end up ordering a double or triple of what they originally planned to save that extra trip!

Serving expensive liquor to specific guests

Other than the fact that it looks super rude when bartender pours a pricey single-malt whiskey for your favorite uncle and less-expensive liquor for guests standing right behind him, this tactic also creates a strange kind of vibe.

Instead, choose to serve the pricey stuff for a certain portion of the party, like the first couple of hours.

Consider the changing weather

People love getting married in fall and spring – two of the most fluctuating-temperature seasons! If you are unsure about the weather on the day of your wedding, consider having two options for the signature wedding cocktails; one for cold weather, and one for warm weather.