The Asbury Park Press is running their annual Readers Choice Contest. Branches Catering has received an award for the past 6 years in a row! Keep the tradition going and vote for Branches as Best Banquet Facility AND Best Caterer (off-site catering) for 2011!

It only takes a minute to vote. All you have to do is click here by July 31st and fill out the form. Remember to vote two times for Branches Catering under the categories Banquet/Reception Facilities and Caterer.

Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to serving you in the future!

Branches Catering
123 Monmouth Road (Rt. 71N)
West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Toll Free (877) 316-1753
www.BranchesCatering.com

As the summer continues to heat up it can be tough to keep your cool when thinking about summer wedding ideas. Summer is a beautiful time of year to tie the knot and with simple wedding tips this Jersey Shore catering hall can help prepare you for your big day. Check out this blog post from Volumeone.org which details five simple tips to help make your New Jersey wedding memorable.

by Alyssa Schulte

It’s that time again. Summer means weddings, and if you’re in the midst of planning one, we’ve got some helpful hints for you. And they’re (relatively) inexpensive, too!

Tip #1: Go outside, man. Summer days are long, warm, and inviting. Weddings in gardens, parks, or even beaches—if you don’t mind a little sand—are ideal places for couples to say, “I do.”  (The days can also be hot, humid, and rainy, but you just have to take your chances.)

Outdoor tree aisle?

Tip #2: Choose a lighter meal. Fish can be great for the main course, plenty of fresh fruit and/or veggies, or even a barbecue if you’re celebrating outdoors. Don’t forget plenty of ice and cold beverages. And the cake! Lighter frostings and fruit fillings are perfect for summer.

Tip #3: Dress for the weather. If you’re a blushing bride and you want to remain that way (i.e. not a sweating bridezilla), sleeveless dresses are ideal, preferably in a lighter fabric. If you’re the hunky groom, keep it light and classic. And stay away from the heavy black blazer.

Tip #4: Treat your guests with wedding favors they can use. For example, on a hot summer day, lovely fans or paper parasols are unique and appreciated.

Tip #5: Be creative and make your wedding uniquely you. (A tip for all seasons, I suppose.)

For the full article: click here

Branches is no stranger to a summer wedding and we wanted to share with you some tips on how to prepare for a perfect summer wedding day. Whether you’re ceremony and reception is held at our waterfall garden, or you’re planning a Jersey Shore wedding, preparation is key!

By: Lise Rina

Having a summer wedding is a dream of many brides, though this type of event is not without its own challenges. You want a day where nothing goes wrong, the sun shines and everything is perfect. Luckily by following a few simple guidelines this should be easy to achieve.

Marrying in the open air is a lovely idea. However when it comes to saying your vows you want to make sure you are either in the shade or the sun is behind you. Being blinded by the sun shining straight into your eyes is not a good look for your wedding day.

Your guests will also appreciate some shade. However if the plan is that they are in the open air, and high temperatures are forecast, you want to make sure that they are not going to pass out in the heat. A good way to avoid this is to provide little fans and bottled water on the seats. Holding a wedding either early in the day or in the evening will also make the temperature a little cooler.

One of the big advantages of summer weddings, apart from the weather, is the choice of flowers available. However this can also bring challenges. Any guests that suffer from hay fever or pollen allergies are not going to enjoy being surrounded by a sea of blooms. If you know anyone who suffers from allergies let them know they types of flower you are using and then they can take precautions.

Insects are another consideration for weddings held in the summer, and they will happily turn up without an invitation. The most challenging time tends to be as the photographs are being taken as people are milling around with sugary drinks in their hands. As you can’t ban insects the next best thing is to make sure there is a handy first aid kit available should anyone get stung.

Think carefully about where you are going to place your cake. You may think that your beautiful tiered creation covered in butter cream roses would look perfect with the sun shining on it, but it’s more likely it would start to melt. Keep your cake out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources such as spot lights.

Having a summer wedding is a very special thing. You want to do everything you can to make the day as perfect as possible. In many cases it is taking care of the small details that will turn your wedding from a good one to one that will be talked about for years.

By: Lise Rina

As a bride is planning her wedding, there are numerous ideas running through her mind.  The gown, the reception hall, the color scheme, and those infamous bridesmaid dresses.  Here at Branches, we have seen so many beautiful bridesmaids’ dresses.  We can only assume the brides thought about their wedding party collectively and with reason.  Picking a bridesmaid dress is really important for a beach wedding because it’s outside and the weather can change at any moment; but with these helpful tips, picking a bridesmaid dress might be easier!

Source: News by Company

It has become a running joke in our culture that a bridesmaid dress is one of the ugliest garments you will ever be caught dead in, in public.  Usually a bridesmaid dress ends up going to Goodwill, in the garbage, or stuck in the back of a closet for years—gladly forgotten.  Many brides will try to convince their bridesmaids that the dress can be used for a cocktail dress after the wedding and that they will be able to wear it again, but unfortunately this is rarely the case.

If you are a bride to be, take pity on your bridesmaids and think outside the box when selecting the usually hated bridesmaid dress.  Try to select something that actually can be worn as a cocktail dress in the future—and proudly!  Typically you don’t expect to wear your wedding dress again but that is for a reason.  You probably want to save your bridal gown a keepsake memory or even perhaps to hand down to your own daughter.  While your bridesmaids love you, I don’t think they plan on holding onto their bridesmaid dress forever as a reminder of your wedding.  A photo will suffice.

One way to make sure that you choose a bridesmaid dress that won’t end up in the garbage is to look to designer dresses.  This will let you know you are choosing something stylish not only for your wedding, but also for your bridesmaids to want to wear again.  You or your bridesmaids may not be able to afford the true designer dress but that doesn’t mean you can’t go shopping for cocktail dresses that look very close in style to the ones the top designers make.  Typically this is going to get you much better results than choosing a pseudo cocktail dress from a bridesmaids catalog.

Some designers that do specialize in bridal wear are now much more conscious that women don’t want to put their bridesmaids in a cliché dress that just makes them look ridiculous.  Some of the designer collections to check out include Pronovias, Aire Barcelona, JLM Couture, and La Sposa.

One last important tip when choosing the perfect bridesmaid dress is to sit down and actually talk with your bridesmaids!  You may find that something you thought would be just perfect actually makes the women that are going to have to wear it cringe!  You may also find that that little inexpensive cocktail dress you fell in love with is also loved by all your bridesmaids and that the dress looks amazing on each and every one of them!

Ultimately every decision of your big deal is yours to make but you also don’t want to make other people completely miserable just to follow your orders.  There is almost always a compromise and especially between close friends.  If you didn’t trust and respect your bridesmaids’ opinions, you wouldn’t have chosen them to be your bridesmaids.  So whether you choose a cute little cocktail dress or a flowy casual summer dress, make sure it is a bridesmaid dress that not only you will love.

For the full article, click here.

Here at Branches we love these great tips on finding a wedding dress for less. A lot of brides are coming in to our central jersey catering hall with a budget that can’t stretch for the perfect dress. Many of these bride-to-be’s have chosen dresses they didn’t like as much as another one, but purchased it anyway because of the price. These tips are so helpful when trying to find the one dress that will be perfect on your wedding day whether it’s a jersey shore wedding or in a lavish ballroom!

Source: sctimes.com

NEW YORK — A bride-to-be who doesn’t have the funds, or the stomach, to spend thousands of dollars on a dress she’ll wear once doesn’t have to pass up Italian silk for plain polyester.

If you’re willing, you can find a gorgeous gown for much less than the $1,505 the average bride spends.

Here are six tips:

Hit sample sales: At the sales where designers unload excess merchandise, you’ll find gowns discounted up to 75 percent. Most sales happen in early fall and spring, but you should e-mail your favorite designers and the bridal salons that stock them to ask about planned events, says Heather Levine, fashion editor for wedding-planning site TheKnot.com.

Just be prepared to dig through racks of less-than-perfect merchandise.

Buy off the rack: Buy ready-made from retailers such as J. Crew, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom and White House Black Market. They offer high-quality dresses for one-tenth the price of an Oscar de la Renta. Anthropologie, beloved by women who favor vintage-inspired chic, debuted its wedding collection in February.

Embrace secondhand: Brides have found vintage gowns at consignment stores for generations. Find once-worn dresses online at sites such as PreownedWeddingDresses.com, OnceWed.com and RecycledBride.com or on Craigslist, eBay or regional parenting websites.

Just beware, says the Knot’s Levine, that a dress marked size 8 may have had 3 inches taken off its waistline or be otherwise altered.

Relive prom: Early spring is a good time to shop the prom section at department stores and discounters. For a casual or outdoor wedding, a bride could wear a bridesmaid dress in white, ivory or champagne.

Rent: Consider doing what grooms do. Borrow. RenttheRunway.com let you wear a designer dress for 90 percent less than it would cost to own.

Get it custom made: If you feel you must have a dream dress that’s outside your price range, consider having a replica made in a less-expensive fabric and without some detailing.

Source: sctimes.com