Vibrant Table
Catering & Events

Catering to the Senses

503.297.9635
Plan an Event
  • Menus
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall & Winter
  • Delivery
    • Gift Boxes
  • Weddings
  • Venues
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Hybrid Events
  • Floral
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Sustainability
  • Blog
BLOG
  • CATERING
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Fall & Winter
  • Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Hybrid Events
  • About Us
  • Our Team

Biz Buzz

7 Expenses to Consider in your Wedding Budget

May 7, 2018 Filed Under: Biz Buzz, Catering, Events, Factual FAQs, Setting the Stage, Weddings

With so many things to organize for your wedding, it’s easy to forget little details that can add up fast. When determining your budget, consider these expenses:

Extra meals

When calculating catering expenses and the potential headcount for your wedding celebration, be sure to include you and your fiancé. Additionally, consider vendors who will request a meal for your celebration (i.e. photographer, band members, DJ, coordinator, etc.)

Photo by Catalina Jean Photography

Marriage license

Don’t forget your license to love! In the state of Oregon, marriage applications must be received 60 days prior to your wedding day with a non-refundable $60 marriage license fee. After your license has been issued, Oregon has a three-day waiting period before you can officially walk down the aisle. The waiting period can be waived, but it still involves filling out a waiver form with an additional $10 in cash. Don’t wait until the last minute to do this, but also don’t do it too far in advance. A marriage license is valid for 60 days, so getting your marriage license more than two months before your wedding date will not be usable.

Transportation for guests

At some point during your wedding, your guests will have to travel. Walking is great, however, other modes of transport such as taxis, buses, or cars will likely come into play during your festivities. Although it’s not necessary for you to provide transportation, it’s a thoughtful addition your guests will appreciate. Here in Portland, we have some diverse transportation options such as Pedicab, Lyft, Uber, Double Decker PDX and TriMet public transportation system.

Day-of food for the wedding party

You and your wedding party will be spending the day getting ready. It’s important to eat, so be sure to have something planned for yourself and the wedding party. We recommend ordering fresh and delicious food via a drop-off catering service prior to your wedding day.

You’ll thank yourself in the long run for thinking ahead!

f&b cafe and catering

Liability insurance

Most venues require you to carry single-event liability insurance. This coverage is designed to protect you against unforeseen incidents such as injury or alcohol-related accidents. Depending on the coverage you need, liability insurance usually ranges from $125 to $400.

Gratuities

It might be confusing which vendors you should tip for your wedding. Make sure to read the contracts and see which have gratuity already included. Consider providing tips prior to your wedding day to if they aren’t included. If that’s not an option, prepare tip envelopes prior to your wedding to give to your vendors. Here’s a helpful guide to wedding tipping.

Postage

Don’t forget about postage fees for save-the-date cards, invitations, and thank you notes. Depending on the weight and size of your invite, you can expect postage to cost $100+ when budgeting for your wedding.

Preparing for additional expenses will help keep you within your wedding budget and start you and your partner off in a positive financial direction after you’re married.

What to Expect at Your Upcoming Tasting

August 14, 2017 Filed Under: Biz Buzz, Catering Chronicles, Factual FAQs

tasting policy

What is a client’s favorite part of planning their event? Tastings of course! As part of the event or wedding planning process, clients often want to test the food to ensure it’s to their liking. Though this usually doesn’t require too much convincing of our clients, below we have shared some important details to get you fully prepared for your upcoming tasting with Vibrant Table.

Vibrant Table Catering & Events offers a complimentary tasting for up to 4 guests, for confirmed events valued at $8,000.00 (exclusive of venue rental).

Tastings take place at The Loft at 8th Avenue on Wednesday, starting between 11am – 3pm.

Clients are invited to taste their prospective menu, selecting from up to three hors d’oeuvres, two salads, and two entrées with sides. If dessert will be part of your Vibrant Table menu, you may select up to two for your tasting. For hors d’oeuvres receptions, guests may taste up to 8 items.

If you would like to sample wine, beer, or specialty cocktails, please notify your planner at least one week prior to the tasting; see current drink menus for pricing.

For events totaling less than $8,000.00, or for tastings prior to client confirmation, the price for a tasting is $50.00 – $100.00 per person, based on your menu selections. For events totaling $8,000.00 or more, the tasting fee will be credited to your event invoice when you confirm with Vibrant Table.

Please confirm your tasting with a credit card or check at least one week prior to tasting date. Should you decide to cancel your tasting, notify your planner at least 7 days prior to the scheduled tasting; otherwise, the full tasting fee will be charged.

Think of your tasting as a trial run of what the event will feel like. Your caterer, especially if they are helping with event planning, will want to discuss the specifics of your entire event during the tasting, including the timeline of events. You don’t need to know everything at this time, but this information will help them to put together a list of outstanding items to discuss and decide upon in the future. We know no one will turn down the chance to eat delicious food, so a tasting is the perfect way to mix business with taste bud pleasure. Enjoy!

Awards in Equity: Vibrant Table’s Kurt Beadell

August 19, 2014 Filed Under: Biz Buzz, Catering Chronicles

 

awards_kurtWe are happy to announce that Creative Director/Partner of Vibrant Table, Kurt Beadell has been selected as the honoree of Equity Foundation’s 2014 Equity Awards. Equity Foundation promotes philanthropy, and seeks to represent the interests of the LGBTQ community and those that promote diversity and inclusion, by granting funds to organizations that work to eradicate prejudice against gender and sexual minorities, and people from other diverse communities. The Equity Award is given to individuals and businesses that are champions in creating social, economic, and political equity for the LGBTQ community.
Congratulations Kurt!
To find out more about Kurt and the Equity Award visit : www.equityfoundation.org

Thank you to Evrim Icoz Photography for allowing us to use his images. These images have been stylized by Vibrant Table.

You might Also Like:

  • Learn more about Kurt Beadell

VT Group Receives ACE Award from Catersource

April 17, 2014 Filed Under: Biz Buzz, Catering Chronicles

Button_Read-Press-ReleaseWe have some exciting news! VT Group has been recognized with an ACE Award. We are still swooning from the honor and can’t wait to share why this is such big news for us.
*   *   *

ACE_WINNER_LOGO

What is the ACE Award?
Standing for ‘Achievement in Catering Excellence’, the ACE Award is a recognition from Catersource. There are three regional categories — East, West and International — and two financial categories — businesses above $2 million in sales and businesses below $2 million in sales. VT Group received the ACE Award for the Western region, which is everything west of the Mississippi River, in the above $2 million category.

What are the criteria?
Caterers are judged on a variety of factors in two stages. The first stage reviews culinary achievements, outstanding business practices, and contributions to community. Five finalists are then selected. The second round of judging looks at brand materials, recent events, and testimonials.

Who are the judges?
Judges are Catersource board members and the previous year’s winners. That means we get to help choose the recipients of the 2015 ACE Awards!

What is Catersource?
Catersource is one of catering’s leading industry organizations and is dedicated to the education and growth of professional caterers. Their outreach includes an industry magazine, tradeshow and conference. They also have formed the Leading Caterers of America (LCA), a professional peer organization of award-winning caterers that support each other by sharing experience and knowledge. Vibrant Table has proudly been a member of LCA since 2010.

Why is winning the ACE Award a ‘big deal’?
The ACE Award is one of our industry’s highest honors. Being in the same category as larger markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, we believe that a win for VT Group is a win for Portland. President Art Fortuna says it best: “We’re proud to be able to score another win for the Portland food scene as a whole – particularly since we believe serving such a unique and discerning market is what puts us at the top of our game.” So way to go, Portland! Thank you for challenging us to ever-greater levels of excellence and creativity!

Who is VT Group?
VT-Group_logo_smallVT Group is a collection of hospitality and event companies based in Portland, Oregon. Flagship brands include Vibrant Table Catering & Events, Food in Bloom Catering, f&b cafe and catering and Vibrant Flowers. They also manage event venues including the new Exchange Ballroom, Treasury Ballroom, Atrium at Montgomery Park, Lan Su Chinese Garden and the Loft on Belmont.

*   *   *

You Might Also Like To

  • Learn more about Catersource and the ACE Awards
  • Learn about VT Group partners
  • Read the press release about VT Group’s ACE Award

Photo Credit

Thank you to Evrim Icoz Photography for allowing us to use his image in our header image. This image has been stylized by Vibrant Table.

 

 

Tour Event & Wedding Venues

February 10, 2012 Filed Under: Biz Buzz, Catering Chronicles, Spectacular Spaces

Vibrant Table offers guided tours at many of our partner event venues. There’s a lot to choose from! We provide services at over three-dozen event and wedding venues throughout the Portland-Salem-Gorge area, and are honored to have exclusive status at five amazing locations.
Vibrant Table is intimately familiar with each of our partner facilities and their unique requirements. Allow us to assist you in finding THE VENUE for your celebration.

How to Arrange a Tour

We would love to bring you with us on our next tour! Please email Karen Rich and tell her what size venue you are looking for, general location preferred, and any other details you’d like at your venue. We will organize tours based on the general interests of everyone who emails us. The more info you provide, the better we can tailor our next tour!

You might also like

  • To find a complete list of event venues where Vibrant Table provides services.
  • To peruse our gallery of event venues with pictures from real events!
  • To learn more about some of our favorite event venues in Spectacular Spaces.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »
Plan an Event
Vibrant Table
Catering and Events
facebook
twitter
instagram
pinterest
youtube
2010 SE 8th Avenue • Portland, OR 97214
503.297.9635
TriMet stops   Google Map
Join our team and apply today!
Wedding Wire
The Knot
Yelp
Google+
Portland Business Alliance
Leading Caterers of America
Sustainability at Work
Join our mailing list!

    Vibrant Table is a proud entity of VT Group: Oregon’s premier hospitality purveyor.

     

    Check out our exclusive venues:

     

    The Loft at 8th Ave
    The Exchange Ballroom

    Lan Su Chinese Garden
    VT Group provides casual to high-end, full-service catering, event production and facility management. Our mission is to foster exemplary relationships within our community, developing and maintaining quality connections with partners who share our same ambition, drive and values.
    Back to top
    Privacy & Cookies Policy
    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settings Read More   ACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT