Friday, November 19, 2010

Try a fruit and veggie bar instead! Featured on Amy Atlas

With the rise in popularity of dessert stations and candy bars at children's parties, Kristine & I recently came up with a fun dessert/snack station concept, by substituting typical desserts with fruits and vegetables as a healthier alternative for snacks.
You can see the feature on Amy Atlas' blog! This table caused a phenomenal sensation in the blog world right now! :)


As a mom, I am always conscious of what my son eats on a daily basis (and particularly at parties when kids get out of control and load up on sweets!), so I thought it would be great to present fruits & veggies in a stylish and fun way that would appeal to both the parents and children.
Kristine did an amazing job and really went above and beyond by purchasing all the ingredients herself, and also created the most beautiful arrangements made ONLY of veggies. She created a garland out of brussel sprouts to lay in front of the display, and put together gorgeous artichoke and purple cabbage arrangements to adorn the table. Wiley Valentine created fabulous tags that were clean & modern, which dressed up our fruits and vegetables beautifully. To bring all the elements together, I created a backdrop out of artichoke green fabric, purchased all the containers and vessels for the snacks, and also prepared a custom made linen for the display table.

Floral Design & Food Styling : Kristine Shin Designs
Photography: Serena Grace
Stationery Design: Wiley Valentine

Concept Design & Styling: Esther Kim of My Bride Story











This garland made of all brussel sprouts was Kristine's labor of love! took her 10 hrs to make this baby!







Our menu consisted of the following:
Veggies: Carrots, celery and bell peppers were cut into sticks, and served with four different kinds of dressing for guests to dip the veggies in.

Fruits:
Caprese Salad - Grape tomatoes & mozzarella cheese balls topped with a balsamic vinaigrette, w/ basil leaves as garnish
Watermelon Salad - Watermelon cut into square cubes, with a small round hole carved on top, which was filled with a combination of diced grapes and apple & dressed with a yogurt dressing
Yogurt Parfait - Plain yogurt shots topped with raspberries, blueberries & granola
Pumpkin Latte Shots (w/ a dollop of non-fat whipped cream)


Our adorable Sunday School kids, Aiden & Eva can pass for abercrombie & fitch models, right? :)


While no one can deny how tasty cupcakes and whoopie pies are, I am sure that parents who are health conscious and always looking for ways to feed their children a healthy diet will find our table inspiring, especially as the holiday season is rapidly approaching!
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alright, folks! hope you enjoyed reading all the juicy details about our fruit/veggie table. While Serena Grace was photographing our little project, we actually had another special event going on in the same room.(What's the point of having the fruit/veggie station if no one can eat them? :)
Our church pastor asked me a few months ago to help plan a 'confirmation celebration party' for the youth group kids who completed the confirmation class. We wanted the party to feel like a real celebration because this was a very important moment for our young people. They publicly made a decision of their own and claimed their faith (that was first introduced to them by their parents as children) in front of their parents and family.

We rented an art studio at the Brea Community Center and of course, Kristine create simple white arrangements for the tables and Signature Party Rentals generously sponsored the rental items including white chiavari chairs, linens & chargers. Each table had the kids' name on it to make the space more intimate.
We also created a fun DIY photobooth for the parents & kids to take family photos to treasure this important day in their lives. This party would not have been the same if it wasn’t for Chef Julie's scrumptious hors d'oevures and I cannot stop raving about how tasty the food was. The moment I laid my eyes on her blog, she completely sold me and I knew I had to have her on board for this event. (HEAD OVER TO HER BLOG NOW IF YOU'RE HUNGRY LIKE ME!!)
The program consisted of a short message from the pastor & a video message by the parents (edited by my husband) and we also gifted them with personalized Bibles.






Here's a very rare picture of the 'Kim' family!

It was such a blessing time to be serving our church in this way. I have to thank our Pastor Iron for giving me complete freedom to do my own thing! ;) Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

P.S We've been getting overwhelming responses from this table so check back next Monday, I'll reveal all the behind the scenes of our mini shoot we pulled together in one week and show you step by step on how to make a custom backdrop and tell you how you can create this look! Yes... you can thank us! ;)

12 comments:

milk tea + polkadots said...

I can't believe how fabulous the fruit & veggie bar looks! It's BEAUTIFUL! It's unbelievable you pulled it all together in a week.

Sheek Shindigs said...

This table is AMAZING and so inspiring! As someone with a background in health and fitness, I often feel guilty about serving my guests a table full of sugar, no matter how beautiful. You created a stunningly beautiful table for your guests AND you provided them with healthy, quality food. Great job!

Jane said...

awesome job esther!!!! Dylan would have gone gaga over all those fruits and veggies (he actually loves them!!!)

milk tea + polkadots said...

Thanks for the sweet comment! You SHOULD have a dinosaur themed party for your little boy. =) You throw the best parties! I loved the Curious George one. Seriously inspiring!

Esther said...

lol@ milk tea +polkadots, i think grant gets scared of dinosaurs right now so maybe in a few years? :)
@jane, let's really get together soon!!

Grace said...

esther,

i've already raved about your stand, so i won't bother you (jk, it's so awesome. i love it) but also... i am so inspired by the event that your church did. It's so amazing that this special and unique occasion of proclaiming of faith was extra special with your amazing touch!! looks like this event was exciting and very warm at heart

Esther said...

@grace, awwww... thanks so much for your sweet words! it was a very meaningful event and glad we were part of it ;) let's meet up soon!!

mari said...

This is stunning. Stunning!
I am thrilled for the time and energy expanded on behalf of your youth outwardly proclaiming their faith and commitment.
I thank you for supporting them and in turn, our world's future.
I am in awe.
Thank you for creating and sharing this blessed event!

Esther said...

awww, thanks mari! it really was a blessed event and so thankful that we were part of it!

Nicole said...

Loved this idea about fruit for a wedding! Very elegant too!

I also had a wedding idea you might check out...WeddingScan wedding registry app.

It allows you to register for any item at any store by scanning barcodes with the WeddingScan iPhone app. It syncs with the online registry account so that couples have only one registry for which to invite guests, no matter how many different stores they visited to register items. Very cool idea.
www.weddingscan.com

The Wrights said...

I am having a tea and treasure time for our Mops(Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church. I would love to borrow inspiration this. Thanks os much for a wonderful idea!! Can't wait to share with my moms!!

colloto said...

I can not believe my eyes!!! This is stunning! Wonderful. I will copy some of your ideas for my family parties!!!
Kala y chas. blogspot.com.es