Plan & Cater Your Own Wedding

My friends from La Cuisines just sent me this note about two unique seminars they are offering for those brides and/or grooms who want to be more hands-on about their wedding, their wedding cakes, flowers and do their own catering.

I personally didn't go through any of this, I opted for the courthouse and took the dollars my parents were willing to spend as a down payment on a home. I'm a pratical kind of gal.

La Cusine is saying that with the down turn in the economy, young couples are looking at alternatives to the big expensive wedding. (Bad economy huh! - when I first bought my house the interest rate was 12 3/4% and that was considered good at the time. Enough history about me.)

So if you have a wedding in your future, check these seminars. Be sure to say hello to my friends at La Cuisine in Old Town Alexandria - a real cook's speciality store - CHECK IT OUT!

From La Cuisine:

In these economic times, expensive weddings are not as popular an option as they were a few short years ago. With the help of Jan Kish (www.jankishlepetitefleur.com), La Cuisine is offering these seminars to help people have more of a hand in preparing their own events, along with money-saving tips and ideas to help them create a beautiful, low cost (but more importantly, FUN) affairs.

April 19, 2008 - HOMESPUN WEDDING OR SPECIAL OCCASION CAKES WITH JAN KISH

La Cuisine is proud to be able to offer this extraordinary seminar for brides and aspiring hosts and hostesses with Jan Kish of La Petite Fleur. Ms. Kish is distinguished as a culinary artist and event planner and has the diverse skills needed to help brides create memorable weddings. Jan has been a guest on Good Morning America, and The Today Show, and has been featured in magazines too numerous to mention. In addition to being incredibly talented and creative, she has a warm and funny personality that will ensure a day of educational enjoyment. Spring is an especially lovely season here in the Washington DC area, and this would be the perfect time for you to treat yourself to a weekend getaway!

The first seminar will be held on Saturday, April 19th, 2008, and is titled Homespun Wedding or Special Occasion Cakes. In this class, Jan will delve into the "anatomy of a wedding cake", her objective being to elevate you from novice to semi-professional in six hours (and perhaps a wee bit more). She will take you from imagination, to design, to creation, while demonstrating how the techniques that you learn here can then be transferred to other celebration cakes.

The following cakes will be featured: The Classic French Croquembouche - France’s traditional wedding cake, but with a twist. This one is made for that next day brunch or the special holiday breakfast, yet is complete with spun sugar and decorative accents; A tiered pirouette wrapped wedding cake, decorated with fresh raspberries or gum paste tissue puffs and fresh flowers; A tiered, but separated Bundt cake covered with a fondant glaze and enhanced with a simple hand piped design and fresh flowers; Several decorated buttercream iced cakes displayed on a tree stand (this stand is quite versatile and may accommodate a variety of seasons); and the now popular "cupcake cascade". All of these cakes involve a different type of support structure inherent in their design. Jan will teach you about the intricacies of each as it relates to cake type, weather, display, and transport. A few helpful hints and secrets will get you on your way to creativity and sweet magic without the risk of an unwelcome crash on your special day. This class is perfect for those of you who want to create your own cakes, start a small cake business of your own, or for professionals who want some fresh and simple ideas to apply to an existing business.

For the first time, La Cuisine is holding these two classes off premises, so we can open it up to more participants. Instead, it will take place at A La Lucia Restaurant 315 Madison St., Alexandria, Va , where the gracious Michael Nayeri will also be hosting a special luncheon for us that is included in the price of the class. Class will begin at 10:00AM and last until 5:00PM, and the cost is $250.00. The price includes lunch, an organizational notebook, handouts and recipes, and a goodie bag full of useful items and coupons. The extra space allows us to offer thirty seats for this class, but sign up early, because they will sell out quickly.

*Note: La Cuisine is unable to issue refunds for class cancellations, but will always try our best to work you into a future class. Link to La Cuisine to purchase your tickets http://www.lacuisineus.com

April 20, 2008 - HOW TO CATER YOUR OWN WEDDING OR PRIVATE PARTY (and not lose your cool!)

La Cuisine is proud to be able to offer this extraordinary seminar for brides and aspiring hosts and hostesses with Jan Kish of La Petite Fleur. Ms. Kish is distinguished as a culinary artist and event planner and has the diverse skills needed to help brides create memorable weddings. Jan has been a guest on Good Morning America, and The Today Show, and has been featured in magazines too numerous to mention. In addition to being incredibly talented and creative, she has a warm and funny personality that will ensure a day of educational enjoyment. Spring is especially lovely in the Washington DC area, and this would be the perfect time for you to treat yourself to a weekend getaway.

This second class is even more action-packed than the first! (Jan encourages you to bring along a floor plan of the space in which you will host your event.) The objective of this class is to provide you with a comprehensive overview of all aspects of planning your event, with the focus being on fun rather than budget blowing and stress.

The class will begin at 10:00AM with coffee, beverages and introductions, and an open discussion of your priorities and goals. Jan will explore with you the many options available, present foods and recipes that would be most appropriate for various venues and styles, and the many different elements that make up a comfortable and memorable event. Realistic time lines and organization will be discussed with a handout listing equipment and services needed. You will be served a delicious lunch by our host at A La Lucia, Michael Nayeri, during which Jan will discuss the pros and cons of different kinds of service to fit an event (buffet vs. full service,etc.). After lunch, the all-important dessert discussion will ensue. Jan will present a wide array of choices, set up, what’s possible, and what’s not.

From 3:00PM until 5:00 PM we will be joined by our good friend and florist extraordinaire, Kevin Canfield, of K. Aubrey Flowers. He will be demonstrating the many decor choices available, from doing your own floral designs using flowers purchased in bulk, to utilizing seasonal items, or even things available in your own yard. Kevin’s creations are always full of imagination, and we’re sure you will be inspired by his ideas.

At 5:00PM, Jan will end the day with a sabering of Champagne, then make herself available to all class participants for in depth questions and discussion of your personal floor plans and traffic flow patterns.

La Cuisine has packed an enormous amount of invaluable information and demonstrations into this class to assure that you will all leave it with a wealth of new knowledge and the ability to save yourself a substantial amount of money and hair-pulling. The cost for this seminar is $350.00, and includes lunch, an organizational notebook (with local sources included), handouts, personal consultation time with Jan Kish, and a goodie bag full of useful items and coupons.

As with the Saturday class, we have 30 seats available for this one, just be sure to sign up early, as we are already fielding inquiries about sign-up. You can sign up on-line below.

All of us at La Cuisine are very excited about these two seminars! Stephanie will be flying out from Montana for the event, and both she and Nancy will be in attendance each day to answer questions and offer assistance. If you have any additional questions about either of these events, please contact Stephanie at stephanie@lacuisineus.com.

P.S. Jan strongly suggests that as homework, you view either version of Father of the Bride in the week leading up to the class!

*Note: We are unable to issue refunds for class cancellations, but will always try our best to work you into a future class. Visit the La Cuisine website http://www.lacuisine.com to purchase your tickets.