wedding wednesday

the day before my birthday, randy and i had our food tasting with the caterer for our wedding reception. and i will be honest - food tasting is my favorite part of wedding planning so far!

the caterer we booked is dj's california catering. they service ventura, los angeles, and santa barbara counties and, in addition to weddings, can cater pretty much any event that requires food/beverages. when we decided to book our venue, i was immediately scouring yelp, google, and the knot for local caterers. for randy and i, food was something that was on our non-negotiable list. dj's was a recommended vendor from camarillo, but also has ridiculously great yelp reviews, so i immediately asked for a quote.

i sent an email to doug, who is the owner of dj's. doug is super helpful and very quick in responding to emails, which is a quality i find invaluable in a person! we paid the deposit and then anxiously waited until a more appropriate time to have our tasting.

what you see here: mashed potatoes, pasta, tri-tip, chicken, and vegetables (i had already eaten most of the vegetables by the time i took the photo)

the tastings are held in their kitchen, which is basically a big warehouse building. there's a separate section where there are tables set up, so it looks kind of like a mini-restaurant (there's a photo of our table at the end of this post). i have to admit, it's a little bit awkward - imagine being in a restaurant by yourself. luckily, they gave us space to try the food, so it's not like they were watching us eat. everything we had was delicious! we started with a garden salad and some fresh rolls. then we got to try all of our entree selections (pictured above). we are still torn about the beef option, but everything else was spot on!

chicken stuffed with tomato, basil, mozarella, and avocado in a roma pink sauce

tagliatelle pasta with fresh tomato, parmesan, and basil

not only was the food good, but i'm totally excited about the service we will be getting at our reception. for our wedding, dj's is setting up the chairs for the ceremony (and then moving them in for the reception), setting up tables with linens, configuring the layout of our reception space, setting up cocktail hour + snacks, setting up a water station for the ceremony.. i was so much more at ease after i found out everything they would be doing at the wedding. i have to admit, the biggest thing i've learned throughout my wedding planning experience is that people are here to help you. i'm pretty independent and usually a "to get it done right you have to do it yourself" type of person, so asking for help isn't one of my strongest qualities. but between the caterer, our day-of coordinator, the florist, and my parents, i feel so much more comfortable that our wedding will turn out exactly as i imagine it will. when i started the planning, i just imagined myself with my wedding dress hiked up setting up centerpieces!

 

so what's left for us before the wedding? so many little things! my stepmom and maid of honor threw a very beautiful bridal shower for me (which i'll be posting about soon), and randy's bachelor and my bachelorette parties are coming up in early-february. after that it's venue walk-throughs with the coordinator, confirming the vendors, finishing the favors and escort cards, getting my dress altered, making sure everything is in order.. the list seems endless! but i honestly can't wait for our wedding day to get here already!