BLACK TIE WEDDING AT THE BENTLY RESERVE

If you're looking for a classic, quintessential San Francisco venue, the Bently Reserve should surely be on your list. Once an old banking hall known as the Old Federal Reserve Bank Building, it's Beaux-Arts exterior has been an iconic building in the heart of San Francisco's financial district for many, many years. It's classic, marbled banking hall inside is one of our favorite spaces to plan and design weddings! 

Alice and Randall fell in love with the space for its clean lines, high ceilings, and beautiful chandeliers. From the start, they imagined a formal, black tie wedding at the Bently filled with glamorous details. We had so much fun getting to know them through the planning, which helped us greatly in creating a wedding that truly reflected their personalities and style. 

On the morning of the wedding, Alice and her ladies got ready at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, conveniently located just blocks away from the Bently Reserve. Randall and his men were even closer, at Le Meridien Hotel, right next door to the Bently. Both places offered stunning views of the city! 

The two had their first look at the Embarcadero, and I don't think I'll ever forget the way Randall teared up when he saw his beautiful bride. It was such a sweet, sentimental moment, and the first of many times that day in which Randall teared up. 

We arranged for a cable car trolley to take them around San Francisco for their bridal party photos. Alice, looking absolutely remarkable in her Vera Wang gown, definitely made a lot of head turns as even tourists were snapping photos of them along the way.

At the Bently, white chiffon drapery softened up entry ways to the banking hall as ushers welcomed guests to the ceremony. The room was lined with rows of sleek, white Chameleon chairs with faux diamond buckles, and a black baby grand piano sat behind the last row, filling the room with soft, beautiful music.

As I witness the sentimental moment of Randall watching Alice come down the aisle to be married to him, I can't help thinking to myself that every couple needs to always, always remember this moment during hard times in their marriage. That moment of feeling overjoyed and immensely grateful to be marrying each other and all the reasons why they've decided to join union as one. Getting to be a part of such a monumental day in people's lives will always remain one of my greatest rewards of being a Wedding Planner!

The mood always lightens once the formality of the ceremony is over. Guests are ready to kick the party up a notch with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and the energy is much greater when the newlyweds are present. We advise clients to do the majority of their family and bridal party portraits before the ceremony, so that they can join in on the festivities of the cocktail hour and spend more time with their guests.

A room flip is required at the Bently Reserve, because both the ceremony and reception takes place in the same banking hall. We have approximately 1 hour for the room flip, and to execute smoothly, every logistical detail must be thought through in advance. Each vendor has very specific needs in terms of their set up. The band requires a certain amount of space, access to electrical outlets, space for speakers, and adequate time for sound checks. Dinner tables are set in layers that consists a team effort from the floral team and catering team. The lighting team has ladders and equipment that has to be maneuvered around everyone else. Without a detailed plan in place, it would be pure chaos as everyone would be toppling over one another trying to get their job done in time. 

As challenging as room flips may be, it is also a rewarding experience to see how awe-inspired guests are when they walk back into the same room one hour later and see it in a completely different context! 

For the remainder of the evening, guests feasted on a sumptuous meal catered by Componere Fine Catering, danced the night away to the tunes of their band-- Black Market Jazz Orchestra band, and indulged in desserts that included a nitrogen ice cream station and macarons hung from a faux banyan tree.

Thank you to our hard working team of vendors who helped to make this wedding a huge success! 

Event Planning + Production: Jubilee Lau Events
Event Design: Gloria Wong Design
Venue: Bently Reserve
Catering: Componere Fine Catering
Photographer: Samuel Lippke Photography
Cinematographer: Lighthouse Studios
Floral Design: Hunt Littlefield
Lighting/Draping: Enhanced Lighting
Music: Bay Music + Entertainment
Officiant: Jon Olson
Cake: Studio Cake
Banyan Tree: Blueprint Studio
Furniture Rental: Hartmann Studio
Chameleon Chairs: Classic Party Rentals
Linens, napkins, napkin rings: Wildflower Linens
Paper Goods: Good on Paper
Makeup/Hair: Mimi & Taylor
Transportation: Classic Cable Car

Cheers,

Expert Interviews: Ethan Mantle of Componere Fine Catering

We're excited to launch a new series--Expert Interviews, featuring some of the very top wedding professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area in different categories, from catering to photography to makeup/hair styling. Each interview will give you some insight into the company, as well as a tip or two from the experts themselves.

To start, we are thrilled to present Ethan Mantle of Componere Fine Catering, one of the finest and most innovative caterers in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Photo by Lisa Lefkowitz

Jubilee: Ethan, we've worked on so many fabulous weddings together. Our mutual clients tend to be well-traveled, self-proclaimed foodies, and knowledgable when it comes to food and ingredients. They're very much about supporting local farmers, the "farm to table" concept, and creating one-of-a-kind custom menus for their guests. You seem to always nail it with the very first proposal, and you always surprise us with new items. How do you create such unique menus that speaks to each couple?

Ethan: Well, it starts with finding out information that allows us to truly customize the each menu, such as what the couple's favorite foods are, what their favorite restaurants are, where the majority of their guests are coming from, and so on. After gathering that information our next step is always to look at what ingredients will be in season at the time of their event. We look at seasonality in four week blocks instead of the typical four seasons so that we can use ingredients that have short peak times, such as green almonds when they have a perfect green gelatinous center.

We're developing our own Marin farm right now which is going to take seasonality and fresh to the next level. We look at the best restaurants as benchmarks and have really been inspired by places like Manresa and their amazing farm.

As you mentioned, we're constantly developing new menu items. I do most of the menu writing but we're fortunate to have an incredible culinary team so it's also a collaborative process. We've all worked at top restaurants so we bring a solid culinary foundation and our different experiences to the creative process.

You know our top event managers, servers and chefs from our work together over the last several years but we're really excited about a couple recent additions to our full-time culinary team. Rob Dort was named an Eater Young Gun last year while he was the Executive Chef of Daniel Patterson's Plum restaurant, and before that he trained at several top Michelin starred restaurants including at the French Laundry, where he worked all the stations as Chef de Partie. Kayla Vennard has also come on board as Chef de Partie, she just moved here from Seattle where she worked for at Tilth, a very farmer-centric organic restaurant named one of the Top 10 in America by the New York Times.

Jubilee: One common concern that clients have is the quality of food on the wedding day. The tasting may be fantastic, but cooking for 2 is very different than cooking for 200, especially when you're working at sites like museums, historical buildings, and private estates. How do you maintain the high quality for your food when cooking for so many people at such logistically challenging places?

Ethan: There is so much involved in producing the level of food that we do at challenging venues that it could probably be multiple blog posts all on it's own! That said, people are key and without an exceptional team it's impossible to consistently produce the kind of special experiences people will really remember.

Logistics are crucial so our event producers work very hard to anticipate potential problems at each event site and have contingency plans. The menu has to be designed specifically to work in each venue taking into account the space, equipment, and restrictions. We do our plating to order, instead of ahead of time and topping with plate covers, so we set up our kitchen like a restaurant line instead of like a typical catering or hotel banquet operation.

Jubilee: You were the first caterer here to offer the liquid nitrogen ice cream station. How did that idea come about?

Ethan: We first started doing liquid nitrogen ice cream in 2007. I saw Heston Blumenthal making bacon ice cream with it at The Fat Duck in England, when it was the number one ranked restaurant in the world, and thought we could take that concept with different flavors and turn it into a dessert station for catering. The liquid nitrogen freezes very rapidly, resulting in minimal ice crystal formation and exceptionally smooth ice cream. I had no idea how popular it would be. We were also the first caterer in the country to get an Anti-Griddle, developed by Alinea's Grant Achatz and Polyscience, which freezes food on a griddle instead of cooking it.

Jubilee: I know you have a wonderful pastry chef, Erin, who makes the best macarons we've ever tasted. What other desserts have been her specialty, and how involved are you in the sweets department?

Ethan: Yes, she trained in Paris and makes awesome macarons. She is very good at everything but especially chocolates and different petite desserts for buffets. The dessert menus are often a collaborative effort. I might have a general idea and then let her run with it, or she'll bounce ideas of me and we'll refine it together.

Jubilee: Can you name a few menu items that have been the most popular amongst wedding guests? 


Ethan: It's hard to say because menu items change frequently but the aforementioned liquid nitrogen ice cream station is still one of our most requested items. We also have several hors d'oeuvres that we have done for a while and are often requested, like the Kona Kampachi Tarter with Avocado, Macadamia Nut, Lime, and Crisp Purple Potato.

Jubilee: What is one great tip that you can give our readers, in regards to creating their wedding menu?

Ethan: Hors d'oeuvres are a great place to push the boundaries a bit because guests can always pass on something if they don't like it. If you love spicy food or sweetbreads but aren't sure if all your guests do, make it an hors d'oeuvre! Then, be sure to have a few crowd pleasing bites as well.

Jubilee: Lastly, can you share one of your favorite Fall recipes with us?

Ethan: Yes, check out this technique for fall root vegetables:

Be sure to "Like" Componere's Facebook Page to get more fantastic recipes and tips! 

Sweet and Romantic Asian Art Museum Wedding

We've worked at a lot of weddings at the Asian Art Museum, but no matter how many times we've been there, we are still very much in love with this classic San Francisco landmark venue, especially when it comes to weddings.

Earlier this year, I posted some pictures of Danielle and Jonathon's destination wedding in San Francisco. It was such a delight for us to work with this down to earth, sweet, Boston-based couple! Because we are so use to working with out of town couples, the planning was extremely smooth and efficient. Danielle, Jonathon, and Danielle's parents took 2 trips out here during the whole duration of the planning, and accomplished all that they needed to--site visits, tastings, meetings, etc. The rest was done via email, dropbox, google docs, and skype.

Now, I get to relive the prettiness all over again, through the lens of talented photographer, Sarah Peet! Kudos to Sarah for documenting the day so perfectly, from the limitless love between this adoring couple, to the unspoken emotions between the families, to the eye candy all throughout the wedding.

The morning of the wedding couldn't have started off on a better foot. While Danielle and the ladies got dolled up under the magic of Mimi & Taylor's team, the suite they were in at the Mandarin Oriental provided them spectacular views of the city and its renown landmark buildings and bridges.

Jonathon and his men took it easy that morning with a casual brunch before getting into their tuxes. For Danielle and Jonathon's "first look", we decided to head up to the 40th floor deck in the hotel. Due to high wind issues, we couldn't remain outside, but still got to maximize the great lighting there.

A vintage rolls royce took them to the pier, and to Mission Dolores park (where Danielle's grandmother and grandfather had their first date!) for photos. The bridal party and families were not far behind in a luxury shuttle by Pure Luxury Transportation.

Danielle and Jonathon married inside the old Mission Dolores church. Though small in size, the church is big in character and history.

After a meaningful, and personal ceremony, guests were shuttled off to the Asian Art Museum for the reception....beginning with a festive cocktail hour on the Loggia, where guests were entertained with the art exhibits on the second floor in between delicacies by Componere Fine Catering.

Following the cocktail hour, the drapes to Samsung Hall were swag opened, revealing a sweet, romantic setup for 100 guests. A combination of long farm tables and round linen tables wrapped around the room, with a spacious dance floor in the center. Eclectic, vintage furniture were placed by the dance floor, offering a cozy setting for those that wished to kick back and watch the dancing. When guests entered the room, they were immediately awe-inspired by the 4 tier wedding cake which sat perfectly atop the vintage sewing table provided by One True Love.

After a fantastic dinner by Componere Fine Catering, which included a surf and turf entree of Butter Poached and Cast Iron Seared Filet Mignon, Maine Lobster-Green Garlic-Morel Mushroom Fricasee Asparagus, and Smoked Potatoes, amongst other amazing courses, the guests danced the night away to the tunes played by DJ Jason Mitchell. In between all the dancing, guests were treated to a Nitro Ice Cream Brownie Sundae Station, where they had made-to-order ice cream with -320 liquid nitrogen.

To satisfy everyone's sweet tooth further, guests got to leave with an assortment of fresh macarons made by Componere Fine Catering's own pastry chef, Erin Emmett.

As always, this wonderful wedding couldn't have happen without an amazing team in the background.....

Event Planning + Production--Jubilee Lau Events
Event and Floral Design--Nancy Liu Chin Designs
Ceremony Venue--Old Mission Dolores Church
Reception Venue--Asian Art Museum
Photographer--Sarah Peet Photography
Videographer--Weddings on Film
Caterer--Componere Fine Catering
DJ--Jason Mitchell
Vintage Furniture--One True Love
Lighting/Draping--Enhanced Lighting
Cake--Inticing Creations
Rentals--Classic Party Rentals
Makeup/Hair--Mimi & Taylor
Vintage Rolls Royce--NLS Limousines
Shuttle Buses--Pure Luxury Transportation
Hotel Room Blocks--Mandarin Oriental & Omni Hotel
Paper Goods--Lucky Luxe
Calligraphy--Little Miss Press