Earlier this year, Gatherings for Good partnered with the William Sansum Diabetes Center (WSDC) to produce their 15th Annual Taste of the Vine & Auction fundraiser which was held on August 26, 2017 at QAD in Summerland, CA. Money raised went to support the organization and the work they do in the Santa Barbara community through education, care and treatment to those affected with diabetes.

The event included 36 food, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverage purveyors who offered up small bites and tastings to over 300 guests which included several sponsors including their largest sponsor, Rabobank. Event goers were treated to music by local Santa Barbara DJs Zeke Monarrez and Jerry Rodriguez who were also the event Emcees. 

A VIP reception on the balcony was set up beautifully with lounge furniture provided by the Tent Merchant and Riverbench Winery served glasses of sparkling wine as first guests began to arrive.

The Gatherings for Good team along with the WSDC staff and event committee worked together to create a fun afternoon event that provided people with a wide variety of food and beverage options, live entertainment and impressive auction items to bid on during both the silent and live auctions which included trips to Tuscany, Ireland and Costa Rica! ​

Here is a brief video the WSDC put together with photos and music from Jackson Gilles of some of the day's highlights.

The event raised $127,000 for the diabetes center and generated more exposure in the Santa Barbara community. We were happy to do our part to ensure the event was a success by strategic planning, design concept, vendor sourcing, volunteer coordination and management, overseeing all logistical elements as well as on-site event execution. ​

Weddings are a beautiful occasion where friends and family gather to celebrate the marriage between two people in love. In some cases, wedding guests travel long distances to be able to attend, spending money on flights, hotels, transportation, meals and activities both before and after the wedding takes place. 

The best thing you can do to ensure your guests are well taken care of during the wedding is to give them the best experience possible. One of ways to do this is to make sure you are feeding your guests well. As a Wedding Coordinator, I have witnessed couples make choices regarding their wedding food that are not always in the interest of the guests, but rather food is selected based on what the couple can afford. 

Now, I understand how expensive food can be especially if you are planning a large wedding. But if you want the guests to leave happy and enjoy themselves for 5-8 hours, you really need to be realistic about your food budget and either increase it (and cut back in other areas if necessary), or decrease your headcount. The guests who are traveling to see you get married expect to be fed and it is one of the things they will remember about your wedding day. Food leaves an impression on people, either good or bad.

So, here are 5 tips to make sure your guests are happy and well fed!

1. Feed them a lot!  You must feed your guests and feed them well. Wedding days are long days. From the time you get up in the morning to the last song of the night, you are going non-stop and your guests are too. Parents, grandparents, the wedding party, cousins from out of state, nieces, nephews, nannies, co-workers, ex-boyfriends, your neighbor from across the street.. whoever you have invited to the wedding is going to need to eat to keep up with all the wedding day festivities. You don't need to plan for meals the entire day but by the time the wedding comes around, your guests are probably already hungry so plan to serve food as soon as possible.

In fact, my #1 rule when it comes to food at the wedding: Do not make your guests wait too long to eat after your ceremony.

​Waiting too long to serve food can leave your guests feeling "hangry." If you are having a formal meal after the ceremony, plan a cocktail reception with passed hors d'oeuvres or appetizer stations (or both) if dinner cannot be served right away. If you are taking pictures and have an hour or more in between the ceremony and reception, serving some small bites will keep your guests happy until the main meal arrives. 

When it comes to hors d'oeuvres, have at least 4 different options for guests to choose from - something with meat, something vegetarian, something hot and something cold.  Give guests a good mix to choose from and order enough so each person can have at least 2 pieces of each type of food to nibble on.

2. A Better Buffet.  Buffets... (sigh).  Many guests will cringe when you mention you are having a buffet at your wedding because in general, it means they will have to wait longer to get their food. Let's be real. Nobody wants to wait in line for their food at a wedding. People want to sit down and immediately eat something, otherwise they will end up getting impatient and cranky. I've seen it happen. They will sit at their table anxiously waiting for their turn while people around them get up to go through the line. No table wants to go last. I've even seen guests walk out in the middle of dinner because the buffet was taking too long. Don't do that to your guests people.

That being said, If you must have a buffet you can make things easier by asking your caterer or wedding venue to create two buffet lines. Having two buffet lines going at the same time will speed up the dinner service giving your guests the opportunity to get their food much faster. This is particularly helpful for large weddings with over 100 guests.

3. Have a kid friendly menu. If you are planning to have children at your wedding be sure to have a few kid friendly options on the menu for children who will need a meal. Determine how many children will be attending the wedding and give them 2 or 3 options to choose from such as chicken strips, cheeseburger and fries and pizza. If there are very small children or babies attending the wedding, parents should plan to bring snacks for them if they are not old enough for their own meal. Nobody wants a hungry, cranky child having a melt down in the middle of the reception. Their parents (and your guests) will thank you.

4. Have dessert.  Not everyone is a fan of traditional weddings, I get it. Now days there are so many options when it comes to desserts for weddings. You no longer have to have a wedding cake (although, it is still nice for pictures). You can choose to have a dessert buffet with lots of "mini" desserts which are both cute and tasty! You can also serve homemade pies, fresh baked doughnuts, mini cupcakes, cake pops, ice cream sundaes, a cookie bar.. the list is endless. The point is, people want dessert - sugar is not the enemy. It keeps people happy and energized for dancing and in a good mood in general. And serving coffee and/or tea with dessert ... bonus!

Have late night snacks. If you're one of those couples who wants to throw an all night party ('till the break of dawn), for goodness sake have some late night snack food! Think about it.. dinner at 7pm followed by dessert and then dancing for 2-3 hours.. your guests will be getting hungry by 10 or 11pm. If you're planning to party until midnight or later plan to take the party to a bar where you can get late night food served until 2am, hire a food truck to serve up some delicious meals on wheels or order in a few pizzas. Either way you go you can't go wrong. 

The bottom line is to keep guests happy, it's better to have more food than not enough.

For more wedding tips, click here!

If I had to sum up Taylor and Ryan's wedding day I would have to say that is was definitely not boring! This wedding had A LOT going on including a very brief (yet scary) microburst storm that sent tourists scattering from beaches, umbrellas flying in the air, street lights that lost power and fallen tree branches and debris in the roadways causing major traffic in downtown Santa Barbara. 

Thankfully the storm was brief and the sun came out shortly after. As a Wedding Coordinator it is my job to be prepared for anything! I was fully prepared to move the ceremony indoors if necessary. Luckily we did not have to do that and we were able to still have the ceremony at the beautiful Winslow Maxwell Overlook at Santa Barbara City College overlooking the breathtaking Santa Barbara Harbor with endless ocean and mountain views.

Nothing was going to take away from Taylor and Ryan's day, not even a little rain in the forecast! This young and vibrant couple were able to celebrate their love among family and friends who got to see Santa Barbara in style courtesy of Santa Barbara Trolley. Once they arrived at the ceremony site, guests enjoyed the view and music from a mariachi trio who set the tone for a beautiful and joyous occasion!

Once the bridal party arrived and guests were seated, the ceremony was quickly underway. The officiants who happen to be close friends with the bride and groom got everyone laughing and kept guests fully entertained with the couple of honor taking part in the fun themselves! 

After the ceremony, the fun continued at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center where guests enjoyed a delicious dinner served from LA based food truck, Shrimp vs. Chef. Dessert came in the form of refreshing Hawaiian shave ice in a variety of flavors from ParadICE Shave Ice and Welcome Coffee Cart kept everyone fueled with caffeine and dancing all night serving up coffee to order. 

The most entertaining part of the night (and gets my vote for most creative grand entrance of 2017) was when the entire bridal party entered the reception to their wrestler alter ego and was announced by the bride's uncle, in his best wrestling announcer voice! The bride and groom, who are huge wrestling fans, came up with the idea and even got their parents involved!

This wedding was full of surprises. All jokes aside, I am so happy for these two and was thrilled to be part of their special day! 

Thank you to the following vendors!