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Chapter 6.
PLACE SETTINGS
Fancy Butter Art
 The cut or shape of your Fancy Butter can be anything that appeals to you. Look in craft stores or in kitchen supply stores for cookie cutters and molds. Then decide how you will complete the Butter design with garnish. Plan to coordinate your design with First Plate garnish. You can use raisins, fruit, herbs, vegetables, greens or edible flowers. Your design can be abstract, symbolic, or simply the initial of your new last name.
Preparing Fancy Butter takes time because it must be done in steps over a series of days and the garnish needs to be added the day of the wedding to ensure it is fresh and perky. I recommend you put your design on paper ahead of time before proceeding to Step 1 below:
Step 1 – Decide if you need to buy blocks of butter by the pound from a superstore or if your design can be cut out of ordinary sticks. Figure that a ¼ lb of butter will produce servings for four or five guests. Be sure to refrigerate the butter as soon as you get it home.
Step 2 – Using cookie cutters, knives or anything else you can think of, cut the well refrigerated Butter into pieces. Work fairly fast the butter so the butter will remain cold. Freeze the newly cut pieces in single layers in a 12 x 17 aluminum pan as soon as possible. Be sure to put waxed paper between each layer and then double-wrap the whole pan with plastic wrap to keep the butter tasting fresh.
Step 3 – Plan to buy the garnish no more than two days ahead of time and then cut to fit your design. Store your cut garnish in wet paper towels in little baggies in the refrigerator – one baggie per guest table.
Step 4 – In an ice chest or even a garbage bag full of ice, and in a pre-cooled well-air conditioned vehicle, ask one of your Pre-Production Producers to bring the still frozen butter and pre-cut garnish to the reception facility for assembly by your Helpers at about the time you expect the Helpers to arrive. Whichever member of your Pre-Production Team you ask to take-on this responsibility must be prepared to handle the job while already dressed because they will have to go from delivering the butter directly to the ceremony.
Ask this Pre-Production team member to take a few minutes with the Helpers to be sure they can assemble a sample Bread & Butter Plate with garnish and know exactly where they will place it on the table when the time comes later in the day. Remember, by the time the Helpers are assembling and putting out the Bread & Butter plates, all of your Producers will already be at your Wedding Ceremony.
Brides Note
Who’s responsible for?:
a. Buying Butter
b. Buying Garnish
c. Preparing Garnish
d. Transporting everything to the facility
e. Final Assembly
PLACE CARDS
Place Cards are a thoughtful and inexpensive way for you to relieve your guests of their anxiety about choosing where to sit. Left on their own to choose seating at a big table, many people imagine they will seem presumptuous no matter which seat they choose. A place card, plain or enhanced, plainly hand written or in calligraphy, will solve this problem and comfort your guests. Be sure your Set-Up Producers get a seating legend in the same container (waterproof plastic bag) that you put the place cards in.
Bride’s Note:
Who’s responsible for?:
Enhancing Place Card Design
Personalizing Each Place Card
Producing Seating Legend
Nut cup
 I am famous for my nut cups and my guests always appreciate this extravagant detail. Unfortunately, nut cups not being in vogue means there is not a wide selection to choose from when you shop. . . unless you use your imagination. Anything can be a nut cup. Use a selection of the best nuts and candies you can afford. And if you want to really delight your guests, a decadent little piece of chocolate is sure to make them smile. Be sure the enhancements you tie or glue onto your nut cups coordinate with your napkin rings, place cards and favor wrap.
Bride’s Note:
Who’s responsible for?:
Producing the nut cups? |
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