New trends in wedding reception décor

Wedding receptions are the part of the wedding everyone looks forward to! You mingle with lots of new people, especially friends and family of the wedding party, eat yummy food, and have a great time celebrating the newly wedded couple.

At Finley Creek Vineyards, we enjoy all the celebrating, too. We also take note of some of the great decorating ideas we see inside and outside our beautifully chic barn facility.

Here are some of the new trends we are beginning to see at Finley Creek:

English Garden Weddings – We have seen seated wedding guests in aisles that look just like garden beds. That means lots of greenery and potted plants. The pots themselves can be wrapped in silky or semi-transparent fabrics to hide the pot and create a natural garden feel.
The After Party - There are weddings and receptions, sure, but recently, we’ve seen quite a few after parties. The emphasis being on the late-night part of the evening, with bride and groom changing into casual clothes and the event becoming a fun dance party. Hors d’oeuvres, light desserts and special drinks are often a part of the fun!
Big, airy, un-stuffy, open spaces are very on trend for receptions. Among the favorites are industrial, loft-style spaces, updated barns (like ours at Finley Creek Vineyards), rooftops, and even museums. These spaces are great fun to decorate and invite having fun!
The big floral trend this year is vintage drama! Rather than soft, lush greenery, we’re seeing darker and more textured floral arrangements. Lots of dark reds and violet colored florals paired with contrasting ferns and palms. For spring, industry experts expect dogwood bouquets to be big.
Laser-cut overlays on reception tables are gaining in popularity. They add depth, drama and texture when layered over solid colored tablecloths. Vintage statement candelabras with colored candles complete the look.
Lots of fun lighting! We are seeing lots of lanterns – large and small – everywhere. Hanging lanterns are also a thing, and strands of hanging light bulbs are still in vogue.

At Finley Creek Vineyards, we are happy to help you plan and decorate as much or as little as you want. Let us know your theme and colors and we can go to town – or just tell us what you need to rent. Either way, our lovely grounds and updated party barn are ready and waiting for your next event or reception.

Making summer parties memorable

At Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, we think summer parties are some of the most fun to cater.

Why? Because they are so free-spirited, casual and outdoorsy. Plus, they can take so many forms, from celebrations of life events to fun-themed parties, just for the heck of it. All “al fresco,” and under the stars at Finley Creek Vineyards, at a popular downtown destination, or under a tent at one of our customers’ backyards.

Here are some of our favorite summer party themes:

Summer Solstice Party – Begins promptly at 6:21 PM (since summer officially begins on June 21^st), and goes through the longest day (and shortest night) of the year. We offered lots of drink and food items that were long; Long Island iced teas, extra long marinated skewers of marinated steak, foot long hot dogs with all the fixings, as well as lots of classic summer favorites like liquor-infused popsicles and individual strawberry shortcakes.
80s Glam Party - From the funky disco music right down to the glitter outfits and big hair, this party was non-stop fun from the get-go. We served over-the-top drinks, and adapted our dinner menu for whatever favorites our customers had back in the day.
Prom Party – Some guests still fit into their prom dresses and tuxes. Others found wonderful gems at Goodwill and topped them with giant corsages. The dance list was schmaltzy and highly danceable. The food was a riot, including pork sliders, burger bar, milk shakes, and 8 kinds of popcorn, all under a disco ball and strobe lights. There were even prom pictures!
Garden Cocktail Party - We held this one at Finley Creek Vineyard, including a lovely wine bar (frozen rose` was a huge hit!) and fun cocktail bar including lots of edible flowers & veggies and herb-infused cocktails. There was even a spiked lemonade stand. Appetizers ran the gamut from grilled veggie tapas with zucchini flowers, to chilled gazpacho soup. Flowers hung from the rafters and there were potted plants and cactus everywhere. Everyone received an adorable succulent plant in a giant olive, to take home.
Mexican Sangria Party – This was a kid’s party for adults, which is why our clients made sure there was plenty of room for the piñata in the center of the dance floor. Our party-goers found their piñata filled with chocolates, but others we know filled theirs with lottery tickets and even a grand prize (round trip tickets to Cancun). The sangria was refreshing and full of berries. We made sure guests had plenty of classic and nouveau Mexican foods, too, from grilled peppers and steak fajitas to bountiful desserts including tres leche cake, flan cheesecake and churros with coconut sauce.

The point of any party is to make guests feel special and welcome, feed them bountifully, and make sure everyone leaves happy. Sounds like the recipe for a perfect summer party, right there!

Barn weddings & outdoor receptions are here to stay

There’s something breathtakingly romantic about timeworn wooden planks and high vaulted ceilings strung with electric lights and crystal chandeliers hanging between the rafters…

The popularity of barn weddings continues to gain momentum with couples looking for a memorable casual-rustic experience. Barn wedding parties can be as casual and country, or as lavish and extravagant as a couple wants it to be. They are no longer limited to DIY chalkboard signs, mason jars and garden flowers.

Today, barn weddings are a blank canvas where couples can get creative and set a tone based on individual preferences. The diamond-in-the-rough characteristics that come with a care-worn barn allows brides a perfect backdrop to design a wedding that is an authentic reflection of the couple.

Finley Creek Vineyard is the perfect country chic setting for a lovely barn wedding and/or reception. When Finley Creek gets all dressed up for a wedding party, something magical happens. The setting sun peeks through the rustic barn wood here and there. The serenity of the Zionsville countryside is palpable through soft breezes, birdsong, and the sweet smell of wild flowers from across the fields…

and Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering artfully prepares sustainable, farm-to-table gourmet foods, from appetizers to desserts… the aromas pulling all comers in for seconds and thirds.

Finley Creek Vineyards - Indianapolis wedding and event venue

We fully embrace couples making a statement with their individual styles. You’ll find no cookie-cutter weddings here. Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering creates a culinary experience for their guests, and our brides and grooms love it! They really want their friends and family to have fun. And that comes naturally within the barn setting with fire pits, outdoor spaces for yard games, lovely wild flowers growing on nearby hills, and newly planted grape vineyards on the horizon.

There is just something about attending a Finley Creek Vineyard barn wedding that tells guests they are going to have a good time! We hope you will come join us for a tour and see what we mean.

~ The Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering team, Exclusive caterers for Finley Creek Vineyards

Every day is Earth Day at Finley Creek Vineyards!

This month’s Earth Day celebration (Sunday, April 22^nd) is all about honoring our planet by celebrating the amazing diversity of life around our lovely state and beyond, and getting in touch with nature’s bounty.

It’s also about protecting our environment through education, recycling, and support of sustainable, environmentally sound practices, as we do at Finley Creek Vineyards.

Owned and run by Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, Finley Creek Vineyards supports responsible Indiana farms by purchasing from sustainable and non-GMO, organic farmers across the state. We use locally sourced organic meats from Indiana farmers as much as we possibly can, too.

Jacquie Bols, owner of Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, is a fan of sustainable farm-to-table, environmentally conscious practices. “Not only does organic, sustainably raised meat and produce have a superior taste,” says Jacquie, “but the practice supports responsible farmers who choose to raise their crops and animals sustainably rather than mass-produce them on factory farms.”

And now that Finley Creek Vineyards raises several breeds of chickens, we have a steady supply of organic, all natural chicken right in our own backyard. Fresh eggs, too.

Since we recycle at Finley Creek, you’ll notice we never use plastic stirrers or straws at our events. No plastic plates or cups either.

As a part of that sustainability, we recently added three bee colonies to the grounds of our Finley Creek Vineyards. As the hybrid bees get settled in, they will be pollinating produce and flowers on nearby Zionsville farms, as well as producing honey for us. Our plan is to use the honey for baking, and eventually, we will offer it for purchase.

Our next addition to Finley Creek will be Tea Cup pigs, which will eat leftover food from our events (lucky pigs!)

“I’m confident I’m giving my customers safe, quality food,” Jacquie continued. “That’s something that’s incredibly important to me, and I believe it’s something my clients value and support as well.”

Celebrate the earth and sustainability with us every day, and with every event -- at Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering and Finley Creek Vineyards.