Archive for September, 2011
Setting the Tone: Band vs. DJ
Posted by: Robert Battoe
Your venue is secured & your planning is well in hand. She wants a DJ & he wants a band.
Let’s talk pros & cons.
P
utting your signature on your day can be as simple as determining the direction of the music. When selecting a band you must be mindful of the level of professionalism they represent. Have they performed at a wedding site prior? What do their reviewers say? And once you find the band that performs the music you want to hear, do you want them at your wedding or would it better to save them for a later party? You may end up with a garage band that performs mainly for house parties and not elegant venues. Definitely look to bands that have wedding experience. Also, would you want them involved as an MC? If you do find the band for you, ensure that you have that additional someone that is willing to be involved in announcing events. Certainly hiring an independent MC is a great option, just be prepared.
The DJ is the most popular choice and can save money when opposed to hiring a band. A band can easily be more expensive than the venue and a DJ you can typically obtain for less than a band. The one major advantage of the DJ is that you’re pretty much guaranteed someone who can MC effectively. Check of course to see that they are comfortable doing so and verify how involved or removed they are willing to be.
Ultimately, these individuals become part of your day. Find the person or persons that have the product & the value you want. More importantly, make sure you and the artist have a personal connection where you can communicate, so that you may express your vision and ideas. You want people you can count on and people you’re comfortable managing.
Feel free to select from our many musical services through one of our all inclusive packages…
Light In The Midst Of Darkness
Posted by: Chris Campbell
September 22nd, 2011 >> Abbey staff, Events, Preferred Venues, Weddings
It was a beautiful day in Coronado, as Heather and Kurt arrived at The Coronado Community Center. The weather was perfect for the Twilight Ceremony on Coronado Beach.
As we were began setup, the power went out in the building. Power outages when the weather is warm is common. When we were told how large of an area was without power, we acted on the areas that we had control over. The remaining problems were met with creative solutions. One of which was the Center getting the generators. I was very impressed at how quickly The Coronado Community Center responded to this crisis. They were able to rent two portable generators from the City of Coronado and had them on-site within 45 minutes which allowed us to setup temporary lighting for both the banquet room and for the kitchen and have enough power for the DJ. Everything had been accomplished prior to the ceremony even ending. As the guests arrived for the reception, they entered an oasis of Music and Light while the rest of Southern California sat in darkness.
The reception area has beautiful views of Glorietta Bay and the San Diego Skyline.
As guests arrived, they were welcomed by the Abbey Staff passing trays of Ahi Poke served on a Wonton and Filet Wellington. The open bar, fresh fruit floral display and gourmet cheese and cracker display was also a popular area of the patio.
The Marina Village – Where Price Fancies Joy
Posted by: Chris Campbell
September 17th, 2011 >> Design, Events, Preferred Venues, Tips, Weddings
If you’re on the look out for a bay front wedding at an easily affordable price, look no further, The Marina Village is on the southwestern tip of beautiful Mission Bay.
Marina Village – with all its charm and attraction, can accommodate small intimate affairs of 60 guests or grand weddings of 350. For Saturday receptions, rental rates start at $600.00 for the “Nautical Room”, which holds 60 seated guests and the Saturday price is still low at $2600.00 for the “Baja Room”, a room which holds an amazing 350 guests. Rental of a suite includes a 5 hour period to hold your event, and you can setup and breakdown, at any time of the day, the dance floor or complimentary tables and chairs. Each room is only rented out once 
per diem, so you can come in to decorate as early as 9:00am and even rarer for San Diego event venues – your event does not have to end until midnight! Still another bonus is a costless and vast parking space available for you and anyone you are so inclined to invite.
Consider having your wedding ceremony in a beautifully landscaped lawn, the birds humming perfectly pitched tunes, the wind blowing soft curls through your hair and all for $600.00, renting a prime locale on the best day of the week – Saturday, for only six benjamins the beauty of this experience could be yours to remember. The $600 covers a liberating 3 hours, an arch and a hundred white wood chairs. If you book the ceremony and reception through The Marina Village, you can look forward to a $100 discount.
If any of the above intrigued you, The Marina Village is located on 1936 Quivira Way and stays open 7 days a week. Feel free to check out their website to find some wonderful pictures and an array of information at their website or you could pick up a phone to schedule a visit by dialing (619) 222-1620.
We have always enjoyed working with The Marina Village and if you also require culinary expertise our phones and doors are always open – we offer cash saving specials on catering and event design with this beautiful venue.
The Abbey Saves the Day
Posted by: Chris Campbell
September 16th, 2011 >> Abbey staff, Events, Other, Weddings
Last Thursday Southern California was blanketed in one of the largest blackouts in US History. You wouldn’t necessarily think it’s a big deal even in wedding season and especially on a Thursday. Guess what? We had two couples, eagerly awaiting their weddings on 9-8-2011. Just as the lights went out, the Abbey Team went into action. Ocean View Villas suffered a brief outage until our emergency generator arrived and kicked in. It was able to power the DJ and provide enough juice to get the lights going.
Abbey one, Outage zero!
On to the Coronado Community Center, at reception time it was lights out for millions in San Diego and Coronado Island was not exempt. Fortunately, the Community Center & Abbey Team worked in concert with one another to ensure back-up generators powered the Reception.
Abbey Two, Outage Nothing.
When a situation seems beyond all our control it could have easily been a time when people stood by and just accepted the state of affairs. Brides & Grooms may have been understanding but when you secure the best, expectations must be exceeded.
Congratulations to our Happy Couples & Go Team!
Thank You All for All Your Appreciation
Posted by: Chris Campbell
September 11th, 2011 >> Client Testimonials, Notes from our Clients, Weddings
We want to thank all the amazing people we have met over the years designing and creating events, we are gracious for the opportunity to work with all of you and highly appreciate all your kind words. We think such wonderful emotions should be shared for all to enjoy and wish to dedicate this blog to all our new clients of 2012.
From Lisa and Ned Harbour:
“WOW! Words can seriously not say enough about The Abbey. My husband and I got married in July this year and had our wedding at the Cuvier Club, catered by The Abbey. We worked specifically with Zapher Dajani, the president and founder. We also worked with Derick and Warren. May I say that these men made my dreams come true. My husband and I are from Phoenix, AZ so our wedding was a destination wedding in La Jolla. Our families are also from Tennessee, so this was a celebration of our marriage, but also a vacation for many. Our family and friends had nothing but incredible things to say about the staff, the food, and our wedding as a whole.
Destination weddings can tend to be stressful as a bride because you are not always there, you can’t see things in person all the time nor speak with people face to face. Zapher and the Abbey made me feel as though I wasn’t even having a destination wedding. He was always available by phone or email at all times, and if he wasn’t going to be, he would let my husband and I know and he would put us in contact with Derick. I never once felt a sense of discomfort or stress that I wasn’t able to be in La Jolla to plan my wedding. It was true peace of mind. The whole team coordinated with my florist and my bakery. We used the DJ recommended by The Abbey and he was incredible!
The staff at the Abbey is so talented. The chefs are amazing, I have been to many weddings where the food is good, but nothing that I will remember forever. The Abbey surpassed any food I have ever had! Our guests are still talking about our food today. Anytime we talk to someone that attended our wedding, they comment about how they want to eat our wedding dinner all over again. The wait staff that serves the food is wonderful as well. My father had made a slide show to be shown during dinner, I was concerned about this because I thought the wait staff might get in the way when changing from salads to dinner. This worry was most definitely a silly one with The Abbey. My guest said that they never saw the wait staff even clear plates or bring out the dinner, the staff was so smooth with this transition. The guests said they were watching the slide show and next thing they knew they looked down and dinner was there! Simply incredible.
The Abbey Catering and Event Design is truly full of multitalented people. They took a vision that I had and sent it soaring above and beyond my wildest dreams. Zapher has a true gift and has staff that shares this gift. They all work so incredibly hard… and they LOVE what they do. They live and breath The Abbey and I can guarantee that they will never do an event with less that 100% passion and heart. Their passion and talent is the reason they make dreams and visions come true every day.
One last note, people have always said to me “Don’t sweat the small details of the wedding, if they don’t go right, no one is going to notice.” I took this quote into great consideration and can honestly that NOT ONE single small detail of our wedding went wrong. Everything was perfect, it was a dream come true with The Abbey.
Thank you!
Leah and Matt Harbour”
From Alicia Urban:
Alicia Urban’s Voicemail Testimonial
Just click on the link above to listen.
A thank you from the Rob Benzon Foundation to the Abbey
July 25, 2011
The Abbey Catering & Event Design Company
On behalf of all of us on the Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for your continued — and very generous — support of the Rob Benzon Foundation. When we came together over twelve years ago in an effort to make a positive impact out of the tragedy of Rob’s passing, we had no idea how his loving and giving spirit would engage our community as it has, Your contribution serves to remind us that the spirit of caring and giving is well alive in our community.
We are blessed and grateful to have underwriters such as The Abbey Catering and Event Design Company supporting our efforts. Your generosity at this summer’s Launch Party will allow us to continue our mission of helping worthy organizations in our community, as well as making much-needed grants to individuals with urgent needs. Over the past six month, we have provided grants totaling almost $14,000. The proceeds of this summer’s fundraiser, will allow us to continue to sustain these grant levels for the coming year.
Thank you so much for making the 2011 Launch Party such a huge success! It was my pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with you on this event and look forward to working again with you in the future.
Very Truly Yours
The Board of Directors of the Rob Benzon Foundation.