'Occasional Episodes' October 2009

from Jennie (Owner of Occasions)

Weddings happen all year round and we always look forward to catering these lovely affairs.  However, the main season for weddings is May-September.  We sometimes have 6-8 weddings in one weekend during this time.  So, come October, we do like to take a deep breath and say Thank –you, God, we did it.  Actually, our staff, including the hard working chefs in the kitchen, the stagers, the dishwashers, the office staff, our event supervisors and all the servers (and me too) are so happy to be able to look out the window and say, “Oh, it’s fall, the most beautiful time in the NW!”  I’m encouraging all of us to take a few more walks and enjoy the slight slow-down that October and November brings to the catering business.

Please note that caterers can “smell the roses” for a short time- or we start to compost.  (Go stir crazy.) 

So WHAT’S COMING UP?

 ·        Christmas!- Yes, and this year Occasions is hosting a community Santa Breakfast at The Heritage Room in downtown Olympia on December 12, from 9am-noon.  Click on the Santa Breakfast tab for more information or call 360-943-9494, to get your very reasonably priced tickets.  Note that a portion of the proceeds will go to the JLO “Kids Count” program. 

• Here is a big thank-you to the servers and staff who are volunteering their time to help make this special morning a success.

• Bookings for company holiday social events are coming in from Thurston, Pierce and Lewis Counties.  Believe it or not, we are already in cookie-baking mode with beautifully decorated holiday cookies just finished and ready for the freezer and then to add to our holiday dessert trays. 

• Kim Combs, our marketing and event specialist has been on the road as a featured speaker at the South Sound Wedding & Event Show in Tacoma, representing Occasions at the Business Showcase and taking ‘wedding recovery’ treats to all our venues and vendors. Kim, thanks for doing a great job!

• Click on ‘Occasional Tastings” on our website to find where Occasions will be hosting our October and November wedding and corporate tasting event.

• Look for our new dessert buffet menus coming soon to our website. These fabulous menus are a perfect addition to a party or wedding reception.  They’ll, add the ‘wow’ factor to any event.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY:

I happily reviewed the documented comments from our clients from September 1- October 15.  Because of space limitations in this episode, I’ll mention just 2 and maybe put some more on our blog. 

The first one is from a conversation Marie had with a MOB (mother of bride) from a wedding on October 3:

“The wedding was perfection.   They all had too much fun, the staff was wonderful, everything went really smoothly, the room was gorgeous, the food was fantastic.  They are still having people call them with praises and raves of the room, food, staff and everything!”

The second was an email forwarded to me from Ashley.  I am especially happy to know that people appreciate our customer service from the initial phone call to the follow–up of the event:

“Thank you for the prompt and comprehensive response, Ashley. Sometimes when evaluating various suppliers and vendors (regardless of the event type), the differences among them are subtle. In the case of our catering services exploration for this wedding, Occasions has been a standout in terms of

customer service and professionalism.”

PROMOTIONS:

We welcome Kara Lewis as our newest Event Specialist Assistant.   Kara has been with us for 2 years as a server, stager and now works closely with our office staff and clients.  We are so happy to have her savvy and warm personality at Occasions!

A note from Jennie:

We are grateful for all our clients, vendors and employees.  Thank you for all the support and fun experiences you give to Occasions!  We like to give you the same.