everydaysmiles

So, I was planning on blogging about our engagement pictures tonite, but tonite we went to a tasting at our venue, Sodo Park, sponsored by our caterer, Herban Feast. I'm really excited to share about that, so I'll blog about the pictures tomorrow. The tasting was absolutely fantastic. Not only was the food good, but it was great to see the venue again. We also got to get a sense of what it looks like at night. That really helped know what kinds of light we might need.

Plus, they had floor plans from some of the weddings they'd done before, which was awesome. 

Wait...I'm getting ahead of myself...I'll start in the beginning...I haven't even talked about the venue here yet.

We're going to be getting married at Sodo Park in the Sodo area of Seattle. It's an old factory that's been refurbished and has great exposed beams, huge windows & some great character. It also has different seating areas, including a couch area with comfortable chairs that will be great for people who don't want to dance. Sodo Park is owned by the same people that own the catering company Herban Feast, so they'll be our caterers. Since then, Sodo Park & Herban Feast have gotten the 2009 Vendors' Choice Awards from the Seattle Bride Magazine for "Best New Wedding Vendor", "Best New Reception Site" and "Best Caterer".  Here's a couple pictures from their website:

 

When we signed the contract with Sodo Park, they told us that we'd also get to attend their regular tasting events. The events would let us sample the options for the menu, as well as get to see what the venue looks like at night. Since our wedding is in late March, though, we're kind of in between seasons for the food. So, the things we tasted tonite may not be available for our wedding; we'll find out what's available once we get closer to the date.

A few weeks ago, we got an email from our coordinator, Reese, telling us that the first tasting was coming up. We RSVP'ed as soon as we got it. Heck yes we were showing up!

You see, our caterers opened up a restaurant, Fresh Bistro, in May and we've been going way too frequently. It's absolutely awesome. 

Not only do we really enjoy the food, but the people there are so nice, friendly & genuine. The first time we went there, K was parking the car and dropped me off at the door. When I went in, they asked if we wanted to sit at the kitchen table.  Well, duh! Of course we did!

So, that evening, we sat at a bar, over looking the kitchen and talked to the chefs. That was the first time we met Dalis Chea, the executive chef and co-owner of Sodo Park, Herban Feast & Fresh bistro. Chef Chea sat and talked to us, answered our questions, told us about the food & offered us samples of the various things.  It was one of the best dining experiences we've ever had.

Since then, we've taken friends there, gone for special occasions (both of our birthdays) and attended their first wine tasting dinner. Every time we've gone the staff has been incredibly friendly and the food has been fantastic.

So, we jumped at the chance to try the catering menus, even if they wouldn't be the exact same as the Fresh Bistro menu.  When we got there, we were greeted and invited in. The hostess recommended that we try their signature drink (a lemon basil martini - YUM) off of the "drink tree" they have or grab a glass of wine at the bar.

 

Instead, we walked around a bit & then headed for the food. :-)  We didn't take any pictures of it, but boy was it good - as we expected.

Chef Chea was there; when he saw us, he shook our hands and was genuinely glad to see us. He took the time away from what he was doing and chatted with us for awhile about the food and the wine tasting dinner we went to recently. He also said not to worry too much about the food because they'd have a private menu tasting for us closer to the date. I thought that was the absolute sweetest thing. I feel honored that he remembered us; I know they serve a lot of people every day. The fact that he remembers us - he remembers that we're getting married there - and he knows that our wedding is between seasons & is willing to do something special for us speaks to his personality and customer service. Here's a picture of our favorite chef:

 
We sat and ate the food we chose and then walked around the venue to try to imagine what we'd want.  I think we now have a general idea of how we want the ceremony & reception set up, and where the kids area, candy buffet, escort cards, gift tables and DJ will go.

Plus, some of the rentals companies had binders there with sample linens and I think we picked out our table cloths!  We'll do these as an overlay over either white or navy floor-length table cloths.  I'm so excited. It's neat to see the copper coming out as a major color in our wedding; I was concerned it would become an accent against the navy instead of equal to the navy.

(source)

K took a bunch of pictures of the venue with his cell phone (I forgot our camera) so that we'll remember what it looks like & get an idea of what we need as far as flowers & decorations. I've included some of them above, here are the rest. (Sorry that some of them are blurry, but you can get an idea of the space.)

 

 

So, what do you think?  Any ideas of how we could decorate?