Elegant Event Decorations & Catering

Oscar de La Renta Bridal Fashion

2012-03-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

There are so many gorgeous gowns out there and so many talented designers. A classic one will always be Oscar de La Renta. His Fall 2012 fashion is out and these are our favorite via Wedding Bells!

This one might be our favorite!

Which is your favorite?

Vendor Spotlight - Torrance Bakery

2012-02-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

As a business who has been in the business for a years, you undoubtedly build relationships with other businesses. We have a couple but one that we absolutely love and never let us down is Torrance Bakery.

Torrance Bakery provides the cakes for most our events and not only are their designs amazing, but they taste so good!

Here is a little info on them:

Family-owned Torrance Bakery is the busiest bakery in Los Angeles and it's easy to see why. Our expertise and experience shows in the beautiful, finely crafted wedding cakes, the large selection of delicious cakes and fillings, unique wedding cake showroom, and our friendly, personalized service.

Red and Black Wedding!

2012-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Red and black seems to be a favorite among our clients. This is one of our past brides! Great color scheme and great wedding!

Happy National Margarita Day!

2012-02-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

Today is National Margarita Day and to celebrate we are sharing a recipe from Paula Deen!

Can you believe this is strawberry margarita mousse? So yum! Here is what you need:

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry flavored gelatin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup limeade
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped until stiff
1 cup small diced strawberries
red sanding sugar for garnish
strawberry slices and fresh mint for garnish

Directions

Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until light.

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup of the sugar, gelatin and salt. Stir in the beaten egg yolks, lemon juice, lime juice, limeade, orange juice and turn the heat onto medium. Gently stir the mixture over the heat until the sugar, salt and gelatin have dissolved completely. Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Cool to room temperature, stir in the food coloring and lime zest and then place in the refrigerator to chill. Stir the mixture occasionally until it begins to set, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the whites, beating constantly, until stiff and glossy.

Remove the gelled mixture from the refrigerator and fold in the diced strawberries. Next, add the meringue and whipped cream and thoroughly fold everything together. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Pour the red sanding sugar out into a shallow bowl or pie plate, at least 1/4-inch high. Dampen a thick paper towel, folded in quarters, with water. Press the rims of 6 (8-ounce) margarita glasses onto the wet paper towel and then lightly dip them into the sanding sugar.

Divide the mousse into the margarita glasses with a spoon. Garnish the tops of each mousse glass with freshly sliced strawberries and mint leaves.

Sounds amazing right? Happy Margarita Day!

Elegant Review

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

From one of our past clients:

Elegant was a great company we were very pleased with everything they did for us the food was delicous the decorations were great everyone that came to the wedding were complimenting on how beautiful it looked I recommend this company to everyone getting married or just having a nice party Carlos and his wife and staff were very professional.

-Eligio and Gloria

5/5 on Wedding Wire! We look forward to making your day flawless and unforgettable!

Wedding Favors :: Plants!

2012-02-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

This was a great favor to give to guests during one of our past weddings!

Couples are always looking for something their guests won't throw away and this is perfect! Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

May there be lots of love and lots of engagements!

XOXO,
Elegant Events

Cocktails to Love!

2012-02-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Besides recipes, we'll be sharing our favorite cocktail recipes here. For our first, we have a ginger lime soda inspired by Martha Stewart. It's great because it's all about guilt free libations. Ready?

Mix 8 cups of ginger beer, 2 cups of vodka, and 2 cups of fresh lime juice and stir!
Serve over ice with a lime garnish.

Want to sweeten a bit? Add a splash of grenadine!

Bouquet Love

2012-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

In love with this bouquet! We can't find the source so if you know, please let us know!

More Red and Black Wedding Inspiration

2012-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

These images are from one of our past events.

Gorgeous! Linens always add that special touch!

Hollywood Glam Inspired

2012-02-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

We have a bride who is in love with the Hollywood Glam and her wedding will be just that! We always love to design and come up with ideas for our clients so our in-house coordinator/designer has come up with an inspiration board just for them!

Fall Black Red White Centerpieces Indoor Reception Place Settings...
weddingwire.com

Black White Red Swirl Wedding Invitations from Zazzle.com
zazzle.com

WEDDING FLOWERS « Utterly Engaged } The 1st Online Wedding Magazine....
utterlyengaged.com

Search results for hollywood glam
pinterest.com

Cristi Owen Photography » Erica & Justin *Wedding at the Valley Ho*
cristiowen.net

Search results for red black wedding
pinterest.com

glam
glitzglamgossip.com

Themed Events: Hollywood Inspired Party

2012-02-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!

We're excited to show you a couple teasers on one of our past events that was Hollywood inspired!

We do all this and more! Call us or email us here to find out more!

More Super Bowl Ideas!

2012-02-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some more Super Bowl ideas to entertain your guests!

Nachos!

Via MSN.com

Hot Wings!

Via MadeMan.com

Cheese Balls

via SunglassWarehouse.com

There's definitely an ongoing theme: fried! Why does it have to be so good?

These next two are shots from one of our past events that can easily be made for a Super Bowl party as well!

Sliders!

Twice baked mini potatoes

There are definitely a lot of healthy alternatives out there but it's OK to splurge once in a while right? In any case, from our family to yours, we hope your Super Bowl Sunday is filled lots of food and lots of friends and family!

Pantone Inspiration

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

We love inspirations boards and just a while ago we shared that the Pantone color of the year was Tangerine Tango. Here is an inspiration board that we love and uses this color.

via Just Wenderful

So bright and fun! One more Super Bowl recipe coming up tomorrow, stay tuned!

Super Bowl Smokey Bites

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

I make this dish at home every so often when I have friends and/or family over and I thought it would be perfect to share because they're perfect for SuperBowl!

Ingredients:

1 or 2 packages of the Hillshire Farms Lit'l Smokies depending on the number of guests.
1 package of bacon
1 cup brown sugar
1/6 cup of paprika

Directions:

Wrap every Lit'l smokey with a piece of bacon.
Layer them on a cookie sheet and set your oven to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle brown sugar and paprika evenly on your smokies.
Cook for 20-25 minutes or until browned.

So easy and delicious!

Happy Friday!

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

We had the Golden Globes 2 weeks ago and this was our favorite dress!

Via AP

Would look perfect on a bride!

Super Bowl Hot Wings!

2012-01-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

With Super Bowl right around the corner, who doesn't love hot wings right?

via Hubpages

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 chicken wings
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot®)

The fun part about these is that if you bake them, they turn out crispy as if they were fried!

Directions

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

Super easy and super yummy! Happy Super Bowl! Who are you rooting for?

Wedding Chicks Feature

2012-01-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Our lovely bouquet was featured on Wedding Chicks last week. We love creating florals and we love out of the box couples who love to use a different array of florals!

Wedding Chicks now has a feature where they share wedding bouquet recipes which is an amazing idea! Amy called us to get the scoop and of course we shared! This is what you need to recreate this beautiful bouquet!

6 Cold Water Roses

3 Purple Dahlias
3 Coxcomb
3 Seedum
3 Trachelium

Thanks to the Wedding Chicks for the feature and Ashley Rose for the photos!

Grey + Yellow Inspiration

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today we are continuing with the yellow and grey inspiration. We absolutely love this color scheme! Here is an inspiration board from Hephzibah Bride.

It's fun, soft, and bright at the same time. We're also in love with Pinterest.com. We haven't started pinning yet, but we've heard it's addicting and we'd love to one day make our own inspiration boards! In the meantime, we'll just visit and drool at all the pretty pins.

Recipe Monday: Mango Salsa

2012-01-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

When we cater Mexican-style events, we always have our signature pico de gallo, but sometimes we get to experiment and change it up. If you love spicy, mangoes, and salsa, you're going to love this mango salsa recipe.

What you need:

1 ripe, diced mango
1 ripe, diced avocado
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (use habanero if you like a bigger kick!)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

via WokwithRay

Not everyone loves spicy as much as I do, but this is delicious and different!

Pantone Color 2012

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

Pantone has announced that the color of 2012 is tangerine tango.

via artfire

What do you think of the color? Do you think we'll see this color in a lot of events and color schemes? We actually really love it! So bright and fun! Here's to a great weekend!

Southern Inspired Wedding

2012-01-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

We had a couple who recently booked come to us with inspiration full of southern goodness! First off they have a grey and yellow color scheme which we looove!

via best hudson valley wedding ever

They're thinking mason jars, billy balls...

...and the food is the best part! What do you think when you hear Southern food? We think pulled pork and mini apple pies!

Via My Baking Addiction

Via Martha Stewart

Can't wait to start working on their menu!

South Bay Consult Space for Wedding Industry

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Need a more professional space than your local Starbucks? Want to increase the chances of your client bookings?

For all you wedding industry vendors who need a meeting space in the South Bay area, we are now available for a $25/hour rental rate of our front office. Decor is neutral and you can bring anything to display! Our business sign is not on the rental side so as not to confuse your potential clients. Available by appointment only. Please contact us!

16210 Inglewood Avenue - Lawndale, CA 90260
info@elegantdecorations.com - 310.793.0099

Happy Friday!

2012-01-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we are catering a Boy Scout's luncheon at South End and we're looking forward to serving them and their families a fabulous meal!

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy your weekend! Here's a little inspiration to keep moving forward with 2012!

via weheartit

Stay tuned for some exciting news about our office next week!

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

How was everyone's New Years? Ours was amazing surrounded by family and friends!

via Camille Styles

Cheers to a successful, happy and healthy 2012! We'll be busy this month with more events; many which are mitzvahs! Looking forward to sharing inspirations, teasers, and recipes!

via Flickr

Winter Wonderland Wedding Inspiration

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

What do you think when you hear "winter wonderland"?

We think:

Via Gig Masters/Pinterest

Since we don't have snow in LA, we're having lots of white for our winter wonderland wedding this weekend! After that the new year will be here!

Via Citified.blogspot.com

We wish you all a safe and spectacular New Year! Looking forward to sharing more and more news in the year!

Cheers!

Sneak Peeks!

2011-12-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some sneak peek's from this weekend's fashion inspired XV.

Phone shot teasers that do not even capture the entire details of this event. This Friday we're looking forward to a Winter Wonderland Wedding and then 2012 will be here!

Fashion Inspired XV

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week we are working on a fashion inspired XV. Here are a few images that look like amazing inspiration.

via Daily Mail

What do you think when you hear fashion? After Friday, we're off to celebrate Christmas. We wish you the happiest of Holidays!

via Kat's Designs

We'll be back next week blogging about our Winter Wonderland wedding coming up next Friday.

Inspiration

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, we met with a bride who has a yellow/tiffany blue scheme for her wedding and we are in love!

via Just Wenderful

She came to us for florals and we're looking forward to sharing the wedding once it's here!

Simple Touches!

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

A simple addition and touch to any Holiday dinner can be...roasted sweet potatoes and/or pineapples.

via Martha Stewart

All you have to do is preheat the oven to 450 degrees, add salt, vegetable oil, and cayenne pepper, bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring them every10 minutes and wa-la!

via Tastespotting

It's a perfect addition to baked ham or roasted chicken. Small things like this can definitely spruce up your menu... and it's perfect for the Holidays!

Corporate Holiday Arrangements!

2011-12-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

It's that season and corporate Holiday parties are in full gear! We've had everything from the usual green and red Christmas requests to an icy blue Winter Wonterland.

Do you keep it traditional or go for a something more modern? Can't believe there's 18 more days in December with the Holidays just around the corner!

Katy Perry XV

2011-12-09T09:50:00.001-08:00

As promised, here are a couple shots of an event we had last week at South End. It was a quinceanera inspired by Katy Perry who was inspired by Candyland.

So sweet and fun!

Definitely full of bright colors and edible candy everywhere!

The cake was gorgeous and one of our favorite projects was definitely the photo backdrop that we custom created!

Don't you just love it?! Cheers and happy weekend from Chef and owner Carlos de Alba!

Bouquet Love

2011-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

via Ashley Rose

One of our latest favorite creations..

Sneak Peak

2011-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Just a sneak peek of what's to come later this week:

Candy Land & Katy Perry Inspiration

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend we have a Candy Land themed Quinceanera and we're excited to see it all come together. Our birthday girl was inspired by the Katy Perry music video! So much fun right?

via LPD

We can't wait to share some sneak peeks soon! In the meantime, we loved researching and finding inspiration for this big bash!

Come back next week for the teasers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving full of cheer, great food, and surrounded by loving families!

via Catch My Party

Recipe Mondays

2011-11-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and here we are always looking forward to good eats. Everybody loves mac and cheese but what better way than to serve them in bite-sized portions. Whether you're in a cocktail hour or pairing it as a side next to the big ol' turkey, here's a recipe we love for mac and cheese bites.

What you'll need:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
4 ounces white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*Add 2 large jalapenos, 1 diced and 1 thinly sliced (for garnish) if you like that extra kick!

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.
Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess.
In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.
Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano on top.
Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve.

And enjoy!

Sneak Peak!

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Have you liked us on Facebook yet? If not, you should to keep up with our updates and sneak peaks! Here's one of our weddings we worked on back in August.

From piping and draping to rentals and florals, this Nigerian wedding turned out beautifully! Stay tuned for next week's first post on some of our favorite recipes in honor of Thanksgiving!

Meet the Owner

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Meet Carlos de Alba, owner of Elegant Event Decorations & Catering.

Ever since 1992, Carlos has worked in the hospitality and catering business. He started as a washer and diligently worked his way up to director and manager at very prestigious hotel chains such as the Marriott. Along the way, Carlos always dreamt of one day opening his own company. After working hard and earning 22 service awards, he started Elegant Events Decorations as a family ran business. He started his business with 300 chair covers and now has over 12,000. Soon after, he added a catering department and has grown ever since.

Want to know more about what we can do for your event? Read on!

Elegant Event Decorations and Catering is an innovative full service event and production company that is committed to fashioning personalized unforgettable events.

All our events start with an initial consultation to determine the theme of the event desired. The consultation helps to understand your vision, and allows us to provide you with the necessary resources and logistics, to ensure that your event is seamlessly executed. We have working relationships with the best vendors in the Los Angeles + Orange County area, and will always deal with numerous companies on your behalf to make sure you are getting the best price, product and service.

From an informal dinner party of 10 to a formal event for 500, Elegant Event Decorations and Catering is ready to provide you with the perfect event. We are passionate about what we do, and will supersede your expectations.

With Elegant Event Decorations and Catering, you can relax and leave the planning to us!

Esther + Daniel

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is the perfect time to share one of our latest weddings. It was featured in Style Me Pretty and it's actually from the very same bride we mentioned in our earlier post. Everything turned out beautifully and we're happy to have provided them the florals and catering.

Thanks to Ashley Rose for the beautifully captured photographs and Esther and Daniel for allowing us to be part of their day!

Come back later this week to meet and learn more about Carlos de Alba, owner of Elegant Events.

Website Re-launch!

2011-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Almost a year after our first entry and here we are again! It probably couldn't be at the best time too.

Have you seen our updated website yet? If not, clock HERE to check it out. We have been working on it for a while and are happy to be announcing a couple of new things!

Here is a screenshot!

Come check out one of latest weddings next week!

My First Blog

2010-11-25T23:42:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with all the variations in foods from the traditional turkey.
My family and I enjoyed the day bowling and having turkey at PV bowl. Our friend John invited us over.
He is a basketball, swimming and baseball coach, busy man, I was surprised to know John the chef.
I firmly believe we must be open to learn from everybody, from dishwashers telling me how to remove grease spots from our linens to general managers coaching me in food cost and financial statements.
I found John's recipes to be what is called comfortable food, but his watermelon and mixed berries sauce was delicious, I personally love to tweak recipes, I like trendy and cutting edge foods.

I'd love to know from our readers what will they like to find in our blogs, we are a family-run business, myself with eighteen years in the hospitality business, as well as food and beverage, going from dishwasher to Director of Food and Beverage plus Hotel Manager, My wife Rosa with ten years in the flower and decoration business, my daughter Karla about to graduate from The Arts Institute as Fashion Design Marketing and Merchandising bachelor degree and my brother Luis which basically run operations within our business, finally there is Frida (15) and Ricky (12) my other kids, slowly learning the ropes in the business.

I can offer you that our blogs, will be real and your comments and questions will be answered based in the best of our knowledge. We have an extensive network of the finest professionals in the industry to offer you a full service event company. Where you come with your wish list and we make your dreams come true.
We pretty much design your event, based in your personal style and taste.

I also have this idea of running a separate blog were a real couple tell you all the challenges, issues, ideas and of course the joy of planning their wedding. Last Friday I met with Esther and Daniel (what a great couple) it was the second meeting and I really like them, great personalities Esther is very outgoing, with all this great ideas and Daniel, who takes care of the financial decisions and to make sure his bride is happy.
Their wedding day is August 20, 2011 and after telling them my idea, they were more than happy to share with all of us. Soon we'll link both blogs.
I think this will help other couples to understand and to relate to the wedding planning process.

Have a great night.