Wedding Week Special - Day 3

Ah...the food. What can I say? The food was really the shining star of my wedding and picking out the dishes was probably my favorite part of planning.

Aside from the flowing champagne and an open bar, we had 5 amazing passed canapes for our cocktail hour. Logistically, Per Se has a perfect setup for weddings (that is, if you are planning a more intimate wedding and don't care to have a dance floor - though, it is definitely possible to coordinate it to fit). There is a beautiful garden entrance and front reception area that leads straight to the larger private dining space, perfect for a ceremony. The bar area is adjacent to the ceremony room and beyond that is the main dining room and small private dining room at the very opposite end. This worked out beautifully; as the day progressed, more and more of Per Se's gorgeous space was revealed to the guests.

We had a string quartet (Hire Conservatory Alumni) for an hour for guest arrival and the ceremony, and at cocktail hour through the end of the reception, we had a live performance by The Supper Club (managed by Stuart White Productions). Marty Silkeys, the lead vocalist and pianist, accompanied by a female vocalist performed some divine classic jazz favorites. My entrance song was Brown Eyed Girl and we requested Makin' Whoopie for our cake cutting song.

photos by David Willems 

Back to the food...for cocktail hour, we served Cornet of marinated salmon, Gruyere cheese Gougeres, Foie Gras, Roulade of Liberty Valley Peking Duck, and Lemon Arancini. Brides and grooms who love to eat, ask your venue to save aside some cocktail hour favorites for you since you'll be busy greeting guests and posing for photos.

Photos by David Willems

We coordinated nine courses (there were of course, vegetarian and kosher options offered) that would take close to 4 hours to consume...yes, 4 hours seems a little long for a meal, but at Per Se, the food is truly an amazing culinary experience...the meal, a theatrical unfolding of one masterpiece after another. First, the seated canape, a white truffle-oil infused custard served in an eggshell - delish! A signature Keller canape served at both Per Se and French Laundry. The first course was a black truffle Agnolotti, followed by a fish course of Crispy Skin Striped Bass Fillet, then a gorgeous "Beets and Leeks" Lobster course topped with a potato flower. Our fifth course, one of my favorites and an eye opener for most of my guests, a Pork Belly dish; our last meat course was a beautiful Snake River Farm's "Coalotte De Beouf" with crispy Marrow Bone, we then had a cheese course followed by a palette cleanser course of Lemongrass Sorbet (Per Se's young and talented pastry chef created this to celebrate my Thai heritage). Our dessert of choice was Per Se's signature "coffee and donuts" a sugar donut paired with espresso semi-freddo. (Stay tune tomorrow for my glorious cake when I cover wedding design essentials" and some of my DIY projects).

photos by David Willems

There was lots of eating and drinking and guests didn't mind not dancing. The air was filled with sounds of wine being poured, great conversation and live Jazz Standards. But just in case that wasn't enough, we set up a Portrait Studio in Per Se's smaller private dining room. The room was perfect for this, it was an all glass room with lush brown curtains (a great backdrop for photos) and a glamorous view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. Our photographer brought an assistant who helped setup shots while guests had a hand-held clicker for snapping random fun shots of themselves. We placed a chalkboard in the room so guests can photograph themselves with makeshift signs that were anything from marriage advice to a plea for an invitation to come along with us on our honeymoon.   

 

Please come back tomorrow for my feature on essentials like the cake, flowers, favors and a look at some of my DIY projects.