It wasn't easy finding the perfect venue in Los Angeles to fit our needs for the party. We wanted a restaurant with an open area where we could sit about 60 people (yep, we have big families.); it needed to be fairly cheap, i.e. an inexpensive/not-getting-ripped-off type of meal (doi!); the food had to be good (I heart me a good meal); we didn't want our guests to have to pay for alcohol so we needed a way to order liquor in bulk (like pitcher style) yet still be able to control the amount that gets ordered (so that it didn't break our bank). Simple enough, no? NO
We spent a good 2 months on the lookout for a party spot. I'll spare you all the details of our search, but we finally found the perfect one: a cute, family-run Ecuadorian restaurant in Silverlake. When Mr. Tortolito and I met with the owner, William, we were relieved to have finally found a restaurant flexible and easy-going enough to fit our budget and party needs. We worked out a buffet-type dinner that included mixed greens salad, arroz marinero (seafood rice), seco de chivo (goat meat - similar to Mexican birria), rigatoni a la vodka con pollo (rigatoni with chicken), white rice, fresh vegetables, and my all-time favorite food: platanos fritos (fried plantains). I'm kicking myself that I never got pictures of the food, but it looked and tasted as good as it sounds - trust. We also made sure to keep our guests' thirsts quenched with pitchers of margaritas, sangria, and mojitos.
For the actual party space, William gave us complete access to their outdoor patio from the hour that we requested it to as long as our party lasted. He told us we could add our own decorations if we liked although we didn't really need to because it was already so charming by itself with its little fountain and yellow walls. But you already know how we do. Mr. Tortolito and I made fresh floral arrangements the morning of. Here we are slaving away after an early morning trip to the LA flower market:
A couple night before the party, I made some chocolate lollipops to hand out as favors. They went from this:
To this...
We arrived at El Caserio about an hour before the party to set up our decorations.
My wonderful mom is super talented in cake decorating. She made us a cake for our engagement party and it turned out beautifully. We decorated our cake table with one of our engagement pictures and some of our flower arrangements.
My dad and uncle are musicians and were kind enough to offer to be the entertainment for the night. When they get together, they love to sing Mexican boleros and rancheras.
Even Mr. Tortolito's dad joined in!
The party was a success, and I think our families enjoyed themselves.
Although this party was pretty small in comparison to our planned wedding reception, I think it was good experience to plan this from start to finish. It prepared us for future planning issues such as guest lists, sticking to budgets, and learning how to shop around until you find exactly what you're looking for. I'm also making sure to keep in mind some of those regrets I have from this party to make sure they don't happen for the wedding. For example, I need to make sure to take pictures of ALL the details (Again, I can't believe I didn't get one picture of the food!! DOH!)
The most important part, though, was that our guests, Mr. Tortolito, and I had fun. We were glad to have been able to do something to bring our closest family members together for the first time. Now I can't wait to do it again come November!
Did you have any pre-wedding day events that have helped you to better prepare for the big day?
