A few days after the 22nd Annual Newport Wedding Show, The Social Diary held a consultation meeting, and a perfect time for tea as well!1 We discussed all things hosting and entertaining. Place settings were at the top of our discussions, of course. The Social Diary is a connoisseur in these matters. And, we pride ourselves in giving pointers, when necessary.
Notice the knife in the gallery photo to the right? Incorrectly set! In American place settings, “above the plate” refers to dessert. What dessert requires a knife? Besides, the knife handle should point to the right. That’s because diners and guests usually cut using their right hand. Additionally, the blade sets inward to the right of the plate.
Historically, the knife blade inward signified “non aggression.” Moreover, it is easier to pick up the knife and cut food with the blade facing the plate. Newport Wedding Show sponsor, Cos Bella Events, with their exceptional “red” colour scheme, hit the brief!
It’s always nice to see an accomplished place setting exercise, as above by Party Rental Ltd, here at Hotel Viking. However, another vendor at Rosecliff got it all wrong. They set the knife blade outward, with the spine toward the plate. This forces the guest undue exercise of flipping the knife around.
They corrected their error, with our supervision. To be fair, the person did admit they were not an expert and thanked us for our attention to detail. Well, details do matter! This is especially true when buyers are spending premium dollars for expertise!!!
Annual Newport Wedding Show
Sweet Treats & Macrons
As many of you are aware, The Social Diary has a “thing” for macarons. Moreover, these delicious bites are also finicky to produce. It’s all about the batter and the technique called Macaronage. Additionally, the perfect macaron requires the right temperature, including the oven!
At the Newport Wedding Show in 2024, we visited Wooden Pin Baking company. Last year we tried their wedding cake samples. This year, we also tried their macarons. How disappointing! Both flavours were “chewy” with a taffy-like consistency. We knew right away this was the result of “over mixing” the batter. Macarons are delicate biscuits, so they require consistency, without over mixing or under mixing.
A macaron “bite” should be effortless. One bite or two, you should be able to sink your teeth into it. You shouldn’t have to “fight” for each bite. The macrons from the ribbon wrapped gift bags were the perfect shapes and texture. Moreover, size, shape and presentation matter. Wooden Pin Baking company sandwiched together two misshapen macarons. Yikes!
The International Tennis Hall of Fame “served up” delicious tennis racquets in dark and milk chocolate. Ideal for our afternoon tea service.
Love, Romance and Florals
Personally, The Social Diary can do without the neon lights. Additionally, it’s too glaring, distracting and takes away from the design scheme. A classic, simple and clean floral backdrop (right) is enough. Wedding decor should be elegant, not loud. The classics are always the best, in our honest opinion.
Expressions of L-O-V-E adds a romantic touch. Moreover, integrate signage into the design scheme. However, the lit signage (left) is too neon for romance. However, the stand alone floral decorative adds the right balance of this emotional expression. Skip the neon and add more romance with florals!
Floral centrepieces strike the right romantic chord. The Social Diary recommends softer colour palettes. English roses including the Wild Edric are our go-to florals. Stay away from the red American “bouquet roses,” reminiscent of grocery grade florals. Not unique or appealing in the least. And in the same category as carnations, in our honest opinion. Pick florals with open, bountiful petal layers in soft hues.
Annual Newport Wedding Show
Wedding shows typically have a nice flow of lite bites. That’s because restaurants and hotels flock to these shows for catering gigs. However, on this occasion, the food offerings were scarce. And there was no cooking demo, which was fun to watch in the previous year.
Lite Bites & Refreshments
One restaurant served meatballs in marinara sauce. This was a hard pass. Too messy! Besides, they did zero catering. Chelo’s served their rendition of “Lobster bisque.” Another hard pass. The Social Diary is a connoisseur of this delicious creamy dish. Unfortunately, Chelo’s was a watery mess. Hardly creamy and missing that hint of Sherry. However, the one bite salmon canapé from Brick Alley Pub hit the mark!
The Newport Wedding Show selected Hotel Viking as their second venue. Whilst there was plenty of space, it felt “empty” due to the low turnout of attendees. It also did not have the same vibe as the Newport Craft Brewery. Granted the Brewery had a “tighter” space configuration, but the ambiance worked. However, Hotel Viking provided a delicious “juice bar.”
Hotel Viking used to be a beautiful hotel outside and “inside.” However, they ruined the interior decor which now looks too modern and bland. Weather permitting, The Vanderbilt would have been a better second option. They redesigned their bedrooms, which looks 100% better. The Social Diary did give Auberge a nudge on numerous occasions. The pastel “beachy” colour palette one would expect in Miami simply didn’t work for a Gilded Age mansion in Newport Rhode Island!
It’s always fun to see the sugar spinning and weaving into a giant ball. Cotton candy courtesy of Le Petit Pouf. Great name! You can also watch “sugar spinning” at T-Square in NYC. The Social Diary attended a special event for American Express Black card and Platinum card members.
- In 2024, we received plenty of enquires about our tea set. So here is a run down. The teapot is Royal Albert Heirloom. The tea cups from France are Limoges Castel, 22 k gold. The Titanic tea tin is Harney & Sons, black tea, purchased at The Elms, Newport Mansions. ↩︎