JOURNAL
Thinking About Hiring a Food Truck to Cater Your Wedding?
Plated dinner or a buffet used to be the only option when it came to how to cater your wedding dinner, but a newer option has popped up in the last couple of years. With the rise in popularity of food trucks, especially in the Portland Area, many savvy brides and grooms have been opting for a third, trendier option. Here are a few things to consider when deciding if you should hire a food truck to cater your wedding.
Food trucks:
Have the ability to offer unique fare at an affordable price
Have more menu options
Are less formal than traditional options
Look cool, make you feel cool
Can be brought in for a late-night snack
Provide easy cleanup
There are a few things to consider though before making your final decision:
Logistics/flexibility of the venue
Size of your guest list- you don’t want lines to get too long if you have a larger guest list (over 75 opp) consider hiring 2 trucks or stick to limited menu options.
Portion sizes, factor in 2nds
We HIGHLY recommend hiring a service to assist with food carts for ease of serving/bussing and all of the extra logistics that come in to play. Our favorite group Portland group is The Wait Staff Team. They can literally do it all.
Pro Tip: let guests pre-order their meals upon arrival for the ceremony as well as submit their order for each table at the beginning of the cocktail hour.
All in all, we think hiring a food truck is a fresh, fun option for our more laid back couples. Here are some of our favorite Portland trucks:
Solstice Wood Fire Pizza (delicious pizza!)
Koi Fusion (excellent food and quick service)
808 Grinds (food is great, very fast, and lots of leftovers)
PBJ Grill (YUM!)
PDX Sliders
The Whole Bowl
Rip City Grill (If you lose track of any guests, it’s likely that you’ll find them congregated around the grill)
The Mobile Scoop Shop
1927’s Smores
Romantic Summer Wedding at Barn Kestrel
Take us back to Shauna + Armando’s perfect September wedding at Barn Kestrel. This Romantic Farm Wedding was one for the ages. Full of vintage rustic glamour, complete with modern touches.
Sometimes we get so lucky with our Brides and Grooms that they put their words and feelings about their wedding in writing. Shauna + Armando were one of those amazing couples. Throughout this post, I’ll share their words with you!
Pretty, pretty, pretty invitation suite by Crave Design! We love how this set perfectly matched the details and florals from their beautiful day.
"First look! It was so emotional and such a loving moment. Armando has never cried in front of me and his eyes started to and it was one of the most emotionally happy moments we’ve had together. “
“Vows: waiting to hear each other vows made it so much more heart felt. Armando’s vows made me laugh out loud and made me cry tears of happiness.”
We set up a cozy lounge seating area for guest in the reception barn. It was the perfect place for guests to escape the heat and to enjoy watching all of their fun dances.
Perks of wedding at a Farm? Sunset Bridal Horse Portraits!! The four resident “cowboy horses” love hamming it up for photos which worked out well for our equestrian bride, Shauna, who loved being able to snap some pics with these beauties since she couldn’t have her own horse with her on their special day.
“Favorite moment of our day: our first dance. We had ours choreographed and the song was a reference to our video game nerdiness. We also had so much fun with our dance and the crowd went wild!”
“Advice as a newlywed: Make time to continue “dating” each other. Surprise each other and keep communication open! Do random acts of kindness…. and remember, just because the wedding is over doesn’t mean that the foundations of your relationship don’t need as much love and care as you gave before getting hitched.
Thanks, Shauna and your team for making our day so stellar!" ~Shauna + Armando
Vendors:
Photography: Sweetlife Photography
Venue: Barn Kestrel
Catering: Verde Cocina
Florals: Distinctive Designs by Denice
Hair: Ambrosia Carey
Makeup: Hair Mettle
Dress: Allure Bridals
Dress Shop: Ania Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu
Invitations: Crave Design
Rentals: Party Place, Bridge Wood Events
Dessert: Churros Locos
DJ: NW Mobile DJ Service
Bar: Bar Truck PDX
Photo Booth: Smirk Booth Photo Co.
Spanish Festival Themed Private Resident Wedding in Ashland, OR
Phillip + Alicia, who were introduced by two of their best friends (who happen to be married to each other) have come a long way from their first date. Phillip was a third wheel to Alicia + her mother at a music event at a winery in Napa.
Philip is of Spanish descent and his family throws big parties. Their wedding was hosted at Alicia’s family home (this is the home she grew up in that her sister now owns).
For their engagement, they went canoeing down the Russian River and Phillip hung a giant proposal sign off a bridge and had family + friends on the shore to witness the momentous event.
In Spanish weddings, the bride traditionally wears a dress with lace details. Alicia also wore her hair in a Spanish style to complete the look.
During the ceremony, scarves tied together were passed across the aisle symbolizing the uniting of all the guests and the bonding of the two families.
Alicia’s mom collected all of the colorful glassware and bird cages over the course of a year.
The guests greeted the new couple by shaking colorful Spanish maracas.
They wanted a fun and light hearted vibe. They even ended the night with a silent disco!
Fabulous Vendor Team:
Photographer: Emily Hary
Florist: Petal & Seed
Rentals: Motif, Encore
Bartender: Bar Nomadic
Dress: Grace Loves Lace
DJ/Lighting/Dance floor: Sights & Sounds
Catering: Sheild Catering, The Melt Food Truck, Daddy Ramen Food Cart
Cake: Peace Love & Little Donuts
Linens: La Tavola
Trolley: Allaboard Trolley Tours