Past PEC Brides - what entrees/food did you have

Cackle6

So we went to the tasting event last night, and while we found some stuff that we liked, I have to be honest that both FI and I were a little underwhelmed with a lot of the food, especially the appetizers. I know all you ladies raved about the food, so I was wondering what all you guys had at your receptions. Maybe some of the stuff we tried had just been sitting out too long or something. We did like the prime rib, salmon, cheese ravioli and garlic mashed potatoes. Anyhow, any input is welcome!

Also, for any brides considering the PEC, a heads up that it looks like you can no longer bring in your own alcohol - they got a liquor license and have bar packages now. They're kinda going from a unique, non-traditional wedding venue, to more of a typical wedding venue, which makes me kinda sad. Don't get me wrong, I still love the place, but I loved that you could bring in your own booze and cake, and you can't do that anymore (they're still honoring all the old policies for people who booked previously).

KristinAndAlan

I agree about the liquor license. It will be nice for those of us who booked previously since we can serve whatever we buy, then do cash bar after. It's kinda the best of both worlds for us. Sad to see that option go.

I thought the tasting was a lot of fun and super helpful. I will definately need to attend another to narrow it down though!

leggwilliams

Oh man, that sucks about their bar package! That was such a huge money saver for us! And it's too bad that you had such a so-so experience at the tasting, we loved all the food we went with!

For apps:
Bruschetta
Crab Cakes
Coconut shrimp (SO good! Seriously some of the best I've ever had)

Salad:
House salad with fruit and honey lemon vinaigrette

Dinner:
Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce w/ asparagus and yukon potatoes
Chicken supreme with mixed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes
Chicken fingers meal for kids

Late Night Snacks:
Fried mac and cheese
Sliders
Sweet potato fries

jennipea382

What!!! Well at least we can do a cash bar for liquor I guess. So if I already booked with the idea of bringing in our own alcohol, can we still? I don't think I can afford a bar package, bringing in our own was going to save us TONS :-/

Cackle6

No worries - if you already booked you're locked into the policy as it was when you booked. So if you booked when they still had a byob policy, you're fine. At first it looked like they were going to do both, but now I can't find any language on the website about bringing your own. I'm glad we booked before all the policies changed, so that we can still bring in our own liquor and cupcakes.

Leggs - one of my BM's did say she liked the coconut shrimp. I don't eat seafood so I obviously didn't taste it, heh. And I did love the bruschetta and the teriyaki beef, but that was pretty much it for appetizers. We're going to go with mostly platters I think and just a few of the passed hors d'ourves.

We did have fun at the event, and the food wasn't bad or anything (except for the chicken tapanade, that was downright gross), but I guess I was just expecting to have more options that we really liked. Although this makes it easier to pick the entrees, heh.

jennipea382

Think they'd let me do a cash bar just for the liquor? I wanted to provide that but it's just so complicated to get what everyone likes. Hmm looks like I'll have to email Heather..

Cackle6

I'm sure you probably could, but personally I wouldn't. One of my big things with this wedding was that I wanted the alcohol to all be hosted so the guests don't have to pay for anything. But that's just my personal preference of course. 

We're doing 4 signature drinks - one vodka, one tequila, one rum and one whiskey. I figure from those 4 alcohols most people will be able to find a drink they like (rum and coke, vodka sour, etc). That way we don't have to stock a full bar and slow down service.

jennipea382

Well I can't afford to provide much more than beer and wine. If they have a full bar stocked now, I'd feel kind of bad if my guests can see all this liquor they can't have. So I'd rather provide what I can and let them have the option to buy liquor if that's what they prefer.

I know any sort of cash bar doesn't go over well on most of TK but it's the norm for 99% of weddings I've been to. As a guest, I'd rather have the option to buy drinks than not have anything at all. But that's just me I guess :-)

Cackle6

I don't think they would have the stocked bar out for guests to see if you don't have that option selected. I'm certainly going to make sure that only our alcohol is stocked in the bar for ours so that there are no mix ups and then we get charged for using their liquor.

And I think most people out in this area agree that they'd rather have the option to purchase liquor when faced with the option of just having wine and beer, and I'm fine with that as well as a guest. That being said, I think we're only spending around $300 on hard liquor for the night, which is pretty affordable IMO.

ETA: I kinda threadjacked my own post by getting into the cash bar/host bar. My bad, lol. It's been debated to deal so I'm going to end by saying to each their own, and everything is all good.

jennipea382

I think I might have had a hand in the threadjacking.. haha. Anyways, thanks for the info, gives me some things to think about!

Now I want to hear about the delicious food!

Jeskay

Hi guys!
I'm kind of new here and just started all my planning, I'll be checking out this venue this weekend and had heard that if you book this month yet you'll still be able to bring your own alcohol.  I'm a little nervous about the food now though!

I too had initially thought about just doing wine and beer, but when I did some price analysis, I realized that the cost for liquor might actually be less than beer or wine since you mix it with something else.  It might be worth looking into. 

You may want to check out crowdcut today, there are a couple of 50% off liquor deals, below is the link for one in Minneapolis (spend $20, get $40 - not sure how their prices are but I'm going to chance it.)  The certificate expires in April, but I'm assuming if you don't open the bottles they'll be good for a while.

Here's the link:
http://www.crowdcut.com/minneapolis-stpaul/deal/team-liquor--wine---spirits/10006029?r=688096

KristinAndAlan

Dont be worried about the food, I have heard all good things. I LOVED the food at the tasting and I love the venue!

I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the cash bar (if needed). I was a little scared we would run out of alcohol and not have any.. Atleast we can pay for as much as we can afford, and there are options after that!!!

cheeseandrice

I'm not sure if you'll still see this response, but we got married there 11/10 and our guests STILL rave about the food. And we had a *gasp* lunch buffet.  The food was freaking delicious.  Because we had the buffet, we tried to go for food options that would go better like that. We had the chicken marinara, shrimp alfredo, and beef tips, I think.  Maybe there was another option? We had both salads, a pasta salad, fruit/veggies, and  saffron rice and garlic mashed potatoes.  I hope I'm remember that correctly!

And, BOO to the alcohol policy change.  That was the best part of PEC!  We also were able to serve Spotted Cow (We had a friend border hop that morning to Hudson.)