You might not be marrying an heir to the throne, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a wedding fit for a princess/prince.
These tips from our top event planner and catering director, Melina Glavas, will have you feeling like royalty in no time. Inspired by Kate Middleton and Prince William’s upcoming nuptials this month, Melina and her team of experts at The Little Nell in Aspen recommend high-quality food, big cakes and late-night parties to up the “glitz” factor for your affair.
Vintage, classic style – With the royal wedding, we are seeing a return to very elegant and classic designs in glassware, drapery, flowers and other wedding details. At the hotel, we’ve also seen a trend towards more classic cocktails, highlighting simple and clean ingredients, rather than fussy concoctions with names you can never remember.
Big cakes – The wedding cake is back, and thank God! In case you didn’t get the memo, cupcakes are out. Perhaps we can thank the royal wedding for making the traditional wedding cake trendy again. (The royal wedding cake will be a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake, decorated with cream and white icing featuring a floral theme.)
High-quality food – Food is taking center stage in 2011. People care more about what they are feeding their guests and want something more interesting than overdone surf and turf. For Aspen, think organic, local, high-quality dishes with a Colorado twist (like our crispy river run trout with rapini, garlic and chiles). We’re still guessing as to what Kate and William will be serving at their royal reception, but royal feasts have always been grand affairs. We’ve read that the couple will be featuring food grown or produced on various royal estates.
Rocking into the night – While Britain is bracing for street parties to celebrate the royal wedding, your nuptials won’t likely involve closing off city streets for late-night revels. Or will it? Receptions are getting later, more involved and more creative in 2011. We’re seeing late-night cigar bars, pop-up jazz clubs and late-night DJs making appearances. One recent wedding at The Little Nell also featured late night “munchie food” like macaroni and cheese to keep guests dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
