Not far outside the city of Columbia, MO sits a beautiful mansion surrounded by countryside. Sorenson Estate was the perfect venue to gather with loved ones before Nick and Nikki's big day!
The theme for the evening was "A Taste of Columbia." Nick and Nikki chose nine of their favorite local restaurants (most with a specific memory from their dating days) to cater the special evening. They picked one or two items from each restaurant to share with guests, and the menu was nothing short of a true taste of Columbia's favorites:
Planning the Event
Mother of the groom -Joan -worked closely with our wedding coordinators to get every detail in place. She also put together many decor items including this photo collage of the couple which welcomed guests as they entered the foyer.
Prior to the day-of, our Blue Diamond Events team worked with Joan to create a working floor plan and detailed timeline. We also worked with A-1 Party and Event Rentals and nine local restaurants to arrange all of the necessary rental items and food orders that were needed to make this party happen. It was no easy task, but every restaurant did their part to help us put together this one-of-a-kind dinner party.
Event Prep
Our team arrived at Sorenson at noon to begin setting up furniture and decor. Beth, a family friend, arranged the beautiful hydrangea centerpieces which were paired with seeded, baby, and silver dollar eucalyptus. Rustic dark wooden bases held the arrangements as well as glass vases with white candles. Darling greenery themed place cards sat in front of each mahogany chiavari chair.
To add a personalized touch, photos of the couple were placed on the mantle above the fireplace, directly behind where the soon-to-be-newlyweds would sit later that night.
Catering the Event
So much is needed when it comes to putting together a 40 person dinner! We rented tables, chairs, linens, glassware, silverware, serving dishes, buffet serve-ware, and more. If you can name it - we probably rented it! A-1 is such a great company to partner with and Elizabeth is always ready and willing to make suggestions and meet at the showroom to go over decor and linen options.
Our clients wanted a classic look with a natural feel that matched the decor of the estate. After looking through the various textures and swatches A-1 has to offer we ultimately decided on matte satin linens in light olive and white.
We draped the buffet, appetizer, and dessert tables with ruffled olive green linens to give each food station a bit of dimension and tie in the decor theme. After setting out all of our catering dishes, chafers, serve-ware, custom signage (made by the Groom's fabulous mother and her friend), we added a few sprigs of greenery and soft white rose petals for decor, and we were ready to meet our local vendors to begin receiving appetizers, dinner, and dessert!
Cocktail Hour
As guests started arriving, they were greeted by Nick, Nikki, Joan, and her husband in the foyer and directed to the lounge for drinks and appetizers.
Sorenson's Great Room is equipped with plenty of comfy furniture perfect for guests to mingle before the party starts. We set up our modern bar sectional from A-1 and stocked it with a variety of red and white wine, and of course tasty suds from Flat Branch Pub & Brewing. The couple's custom monogram cocktail napkins were a great way to add a personalized touch to cocktail hour.
Dinner
After a short welcome speech everyone was invited to enjoy Nick and Nikki's favorite Columbia dishes. As guests poured into the dinning room of the estate, they had a plethora of options to choose from.
After dinner guests were treated to a video slideshow of Nick and Nikki, created by the groom's father. There was laughter and tears throughout the room as photos from the bride and groom's childhood and time together graced the screen.
We had a truly wonderful time working with Joan to put this evening together.
Special thanks to Kylee at Sorenson Estate and all the vendors that were willing to help us make this special rehearsal dinner a success!
RESTAURANTS
Sophia's
Flat Branch
Hy-Vee
Buck's Ice Cream
Hot Box Cookies
Broadway Brewery
Pickleman's
Seuol Taco
Shakespeare's Pizza
VENDORS
A1 Rentals
Sorenson Estate
Blue Diamond Events
Blog Post Photography by Blue Diamond Events - Amy Blevins
GALLERY