Trends We Love: Seasonal Cocktails, Part 2

Last week, we poured on some inspiration for your wedding reception cocktails in the first of our two-part series on seasonal cocktails. Seasonal cocktails are a fun way to bring in the holidays' best flavors and provide your guests with a unique signature cocktail. Last Friday, we focused on apples and pears, sparking wine and champagne and cranberries. Today, we're all about ginger, pomegranate and eggnog!

Ginger is delicious and gives a cocktail a nice bite, perfect to warm your guests up during this chilly season! And the spice mixes very well with other seasonal flavors to create a unique taste. Here are a few tasty ideas we think sound fantastic!

This crisp Ginger Sparkler features the unadulterated flavor of ginger with a fizzy accompaniment.

This beautiful and luscious beverage is a Ginger, Mint, and Pomegranate Vodka Cocktail - what a great mix for the holidays! Enjoy a video of the drink being made here.

The classic Ginger Sidecar - this World War 1-era cocktail gets a modern twist. 

Pomegranate often makes an appearance during the holidays, not only for its gorgeous red appearance but also for its festive seasonal flavor. The tart and tangy fruit is great in a punch but also lends itself to mixed drinks.

This Pomegranate Champagne Punch is a gorgeous hue of red and packs a sparkling tang.

The classic martini gets a seasonal facelift in this Pomegranate Martini.

This pretty Sparkling Pomegranate Punch is tart-sweet and bubbly.

We could not have a post about holiday cocktails without ubiquitous eggnog! Love it or hate it, this rich, creamy beverage is always made better with a splash of a little somethin' somethin'! We like these scrumptious concoctions as potential cocktail hour signature beverages:

It can't get much more traditional than an Eggnog Martini featuring the quintessential flavors of the season.

We die! Bacon is still all the rage, especially in unexpected ways. Why not wow your guests with this bacon-accented Maple Bourbon Eggnog?

The Texas Farm Nog is a unique twist on eggnog featuring layers of rich flavors - created right here in Big D a few years back!

We hope we've whet your appetite with these lovely libations and now you're thinking about a unique holiday-inspired cocktail for your winter wedding celebration! There are so many more options on all of the linked sites where we've found these recipes, but you can always talk with your wedding planner, catering manager or bartender/mixologist about creating something special for your big day! Cheers!

Trends We Love: Seasonal Cocktails, Part 1

Ahhh, the holidays! The time of year when we can enjoy delectable food and drinks during many wonderful celebrations guilt-free. Well, at least a little bit guilt-free. Lucky for those of you planning your winter wedding, you can incorporate some of the season's most adored flavors in your wedding day menu and your guests will be oh-so-grateful! Today, we are focusing on cocktails!

Seasonal cocktails are festive and tasty, and they give you an opportunity to do something fun and different for your signature drink at your reception. There are so many delicious flavors of the holiday season, it's not hard to find something special for your big day. And we discovered that there are so many fabulous options that we're going to break this into a two-part series. Let's take a look at some of your numerous options!

Apples and pears are what's know as pome fruits, but all we really care about is that they're crisp, juicy and sweet - a perfect jumping-off point for a luscious cocktail while these lovely fruits are in season.

An Amberjack is a beer-based cocktail mixed with apple vodka.

Isn't the garnish on this Apple Cidercar just so pretty?

Would you believe this Pear of Desire cocktail features a slash of cream soda?!

The Pear Essence Cosmopolitan features two flavors of the season: pear and cranberry!

Which brings us to our next featured flavor - cranberry! This tart little berry can help balance out sweetness that can overtake a cocktail. Here are some tasty-looking beverages.

The cranberry stirrers are super-cute in these Cranberry Cocktails, but for your wedding, you might want to ditch the Santas.

This Cranberry-Mint Martini features vermouth that's been infused with the tart berries.

Spice things up with this Cranberry-Spice Cocktail.

Keep things festive with a signature drink made up of wine, champagne or sparkling wine. A little more special than just a glass of wine or champagne, a mixed drink starting with one of these is perfect for your wedding reception cocktail hour.

A Bubbly Poinsettia calls for either a Rose Brut Champagne or sparkling wine, so it's flexible.

As if mojitos could get any better, but they did, when someone decided to add a splash of champagne to these Champagne Mojitos!

Mmmmm...Hot Spiced Wine, guaranteed to warm your wedding guests from the inside out!

This Marasca Fizz is light and bubbly and so pretty!

A Mulled Manhattan is a lovely seasonal take on the classic cocktail.

Crispy and woodsy - a surprisingly good combination in this unexpected Sparkling Bourbon Cocktail.

What lineup of seasonal drinks would be complete without mint- or candy cane-inspired beverages? There are a surprising number of options when it comes to these mint-centric drinks, but it seems the mixologists all agree - they should be served in a martini glass!

Super-minty and a pretty shade of red, this Candy Cane Cocktail includes both peppermint schnapps and candy cane-infused vodka.

A richer, creamier version of a Candy Cane Cocktail features peppermint, vanilla and white chocolate.

This pretty little Candy Cane Cocktail is a berry-mint combination, sure to make your guests' spirits bright!

The White Chocolate Candy Cane Martini - we think this sounds divine!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this feature, when we'll focus on ginger, pomegranate and (of course!) eggnog cocktails! And if you're looking for ways to bring special details or unexpected surprises into your wedding day, give our phenomenal team of wedding planners a call!

Flavors of Fall and Winter

Happy fall, y'all! We may have mentioned a time or two that we cherish this time of the year! The saturated colors, the wonderful scents and the luscious, rich flavors of the amazing assortment of fall and winter foods! By the way, if you didn't notice the slight change in weather today, winter is right around the corner!

 

Bringing in the flavors of fall and winter is a great way to incorporate a seasonal theme into your wedding. Plus, with the chillier weather, your guests will appreciate warm, filling food. Here are some suggestions that are sure to satisfy your guests.

 

Hors d’oeuvres

Small bites are still big! Warm your guests’ hearts and bellies with shooters of thick, creamy soups such as butternut squash or potato leek.

Or incorporate the fabulous flavor of everyone’s favorite round orange squash in a pumpkin goat cheese tartlet or pumpkin mousse in puff pastry. Or what about sweet potato rounds replacing the expect crostini topped with herbs, cheese and olives?

Is your mouth watering yet?!

 Salads and sides
Salads are wonderful first courses year-round, but in the fall and winter, they are even better served with a warm vinaigrette!

And you might want to consider comfort food for your sides such as whipped sweet potatoes or roasted root vegetables.

Fennel is a slightly sweet seasonal flavor that partners wonderfully with all manner of foods, from fruits and root vegetables to garnish and being cooked into a demi-glace to go over meat. Scrumptious!

Desserts
Apples, pears and citrus are at their peak right now and are incredibly delicious! Incorporate these seasonal fruits into pies, tarts and cakes to take advantage of their luscious flavors.

If you’re an adventurous bride, be bold with your wedding and groom’s cakes flavors. Think gingerbread, carrot or spice cake; a vanilla or chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream; or red velvet.

 

While red velvet is ubiquitous in the south year-round, it feels especially seasonal around the holidays.

Cocktails
Lest you think we’ve forgotten, seasonal flavors make for fun and creative cocktails! You might want to check out our post on seasonal cocktails last fall, but we’ll give you a bit of inspiration here as well.

Anything cranberry would be a delightfully tart and tasty beverage. Warm drinks such as hot toddies or any spiked versions of coffee, cider and hot chocolate would thrill your guests as they head into your cocktail hour from the cold outside – guaranteed to warm them from their toes up!

Work with your caterer to find ways to include the season's best in your wedding reception menu. More and more caterers are planning their offerings around local and seasonal foods (thank goodness!), so this should be a fun and easy way to give your big day a little holiday flair.


image credits: Epicurious, Just a Taste, Martha Stewart, NY Times,  Pinterest,  One Stylish Bride, Sil Azevedo, Sweet Little Peanut