Catering

Another benefit of a Rustic Oaks wedding is the fact that you get to choose your own caterer; having the freedom to serve exactly what you want - from exactly who you want - is definitely another way to truly make your day reflect you!

More often than not, food is not an overly memorable part of a wedding - but with the freedom of choice that Rustic Oaks offers - you have the opportunity to "wow" and impress your guests and serve them something they may remember. So forego the oh-so-typical chicken breast and green beans almondine and exercise your freedom of choice!

When it comes to your wedding day meal, I think it's important to serve your guests some of your personal favorites. This is your day, and as much of the day as possible should reflect you...including your meal! Dare to be different...make your meal memorable...and don't be afraid to think outside of the wedding dining box.

The fact that Rustic Oaks isn't your typical hotel reception venue benefits both the wedding couple and the caterers; we don't have the normal hotel "food minimum"...and you're not locked into a venue-specific caterer or menu. And there are definitely some super-talented local caterers that will jump at the chance to cater your wedding!

This past wedding season we had a number of caterers "show their stuff" at Rustic Oaks. The owners and I got to sample everything from a hog roast to a local church's famous mac and cheese! It was fun to see what the different couples and caterers came up with - and we are looking forward to see what will be served in 2011!

Ryan and I had heard more than once to "serve your own personal favorite meal." This was an easy one for us, as our favorite meal in all of FM is (hands down) the Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Pasta from Carino's Italian! After meeting with Julie, the deal was sealed! Julie and the whole Carino's Crew were beyond accommodating from the start! They have a large variety of both menu items/prices and levels of service - which make it possible for Carino's to cater to basically any budget.

We had a larger wedding, so a big priority for our meal was getting everyone through the buffet line in a timely manner. Our solution: choose a level a service through Carino's that included servers to dish up the food for our guests. After everyone had gotten their food, the servers became table bussers and clean-up crew. Julie was there to oversee the staff...and a GM/cook were around to oversee the food. And when all was said and done, they even made an appearance in our photo booth. What an awesome group!

Lastly, I'll end with a money saving tip. Dessert can be spendy. We were looking at about $2/head or $700 for a pretty generic catered dessert. We went a totally different route - in attempts to please more guests and save some money! Our solution: a dessert and candy bar, compliments of our aunts, cousins, parent's and grandparents. A number of our relatives made 2-3 pans or dozens of their "specialty;" a giant serving table became our dessert bar - filled with various desserts labeled with the baker's/dessert's info. (Cousin Kelly's Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes were a big hit!) We added some giant jars of Laffy Taffy, Snickers, and so on...and voilà!! - a pleasing dessert spread full of Finley Favorites!



*For more details about Carino's catering- visit www.carinos.com/page/catering/ and contact Julie! (jcarinos@cableone.net or 701.261.4640)

*I also have to give some major props to another local favorite: Eric & Sara @ Mosaic Catering - www.mosaicfoods.net/catering-event-service/! (mosaicfoods@aol.com or 701.373.7805)

Wedding Update!

Rustic Oaks is happy to be hosting the following wedding:

*Jenilee & Ben - 7.2.11

*Katie & Jon - 6.23.12

*Erica & Andrew - 7.1.11

*Megan & Fletcher - 10.15.11

*Lacey & Mike - 6.30.12

I look forward to working with all of these fabulous couples!

Happy Planning and Happy Holiday!

Cheers!