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With the exception of our spandex cocktail table covers, we've been stocking all sizes of tablecloths in three colours—white, black and ivory. Our customers have loved the quality of the tablecloths and our wide range of sizes, but they have consistently asked us for more colour options. We talked with numerous customers and the most common colour requested was navy blue tablecloths by a wide margin. I'm pleased to announce that, effective immediately, we now have navy tablecloths in stock.

You can purchase a navy blue tablecloth in the following sizes:

• 60 in x 102 in rectangle polyester
• 60 in x 126 in rectangle polyester
• 90 in round polyester
• 108 in round polyester
• 30 in spandex cocktail table cover
• 30 in spandex cocktail table topper

Our polyester tablecloths are 180 gsm polyester fabric featuring a surged hem and seamless design. Our spandex table covers are 190 gsm spandex fabric also featuring a surged hem, with reinforced boots to avoid any ripping.

Everyone in the catering industry knows the importance of food and beverage at a wedding. It can make or break a guest’s experience and can be one of the highest costs a bride and groom must pay for. Because of this, wedding reception and wedding cocktail reception menus are an extremely important part of a great wedding. Many a bride is eager to impress guests by ensuring the food is on trend with the hot items in the industry.

To help you more efficiently keep up to date on the wedding reception catering trends for this year, we’ve compiled 20 of the top wedding catering trends below.

Beverage Trends:

1. Beer cocktails are quickly rising in popularity. Already gracing restaurant menus, cocktails with beer including margaritas with beer, the Michelada made with beer, lime juice and hot sauce, beer sangria and much more. And speaking of sangria… Source.

2. High-end shareable punches that incorporate a creative blend of ingredients and top-shelf liquor and presented in large apothecary jars or statement bowls offer guests a creative way to have a signature drink at a wedding. Source.

Cocktail Receptions:

3. It’s raining….oysters? Oysters are showing up everywhere during the first hour of cocktail receptions – such as at a raw bar and passed oyster shooters. Source.

4. Hor d’oeuvres with sweet-spicy sauces and condiments are being highlighted. Source.

5. Vegan and vegetarian dishes continue to rise in popularity and based on personal preference, clients are increasingly featuring these dishes during cocktail hours in ways such as falafel bars, hummus and bruschetta stations. Source.

6. If it’s smoked, pickled, fermented, fire-roasted or preserved it’s going to be popular this year with charcuterie, homemade pates and spreads as well as seafood charcuterie playing heavily in the cocktail hour. Source.

7. Action stations are still a smash hit with the wedding crowd. Memorable stations include bruschetta bars accompanied with hand-carved serrano ham and pulled pork action stations. Source.

8. Complementing the above trend, DIY stations have become a key component to wedding menus including a create-your-own-ceviche bar, build-your-own-taco-bars and caviar bars. Source.

9. Champagne bars with sparkling wines, with a variety of unexpected (and expected) garnishes such as herb sprigs, handmade syrups, fresh berries and candied ginger to customize a drink are gaining momentum. Source.

10. Complementing the wedding décor trend of curated vintage or antique dinnerware, curated hors d’oeuvre with mini cocktails or shots have made their way into the cocktail reception trends. Source.

Appetizers:

11. Upscale ramen noodles gain popularity as appetizers with caterers substituting whole wheat, soba, cellophane and rice noodles. Source.

12. Anything on a stick. Think about it – no need for guests to hold plates and it makes conversations easier to take place. Try prosciutto-wrapped melon, bite size Caprese salads, or spicy chick satay skewers. Source.

Entrees:

13. Seasonal menus that take advantage of locally grown produce remain popular taking advantage of locally grown produce and natural / organic fare. Source.

14. Environmentally sustainable foods will reign supreme during the dinner portion of a wedding. Source.

15. New cuts of meat (such as braised beef cheeks) and non-traditional fish such as mackerel and whiting will replace the more common cuts as the popular protein options for entrees. Source.

Entrée Sides:

16. Root vegetables shine as sides with celery root, parsnips and kohlrabi gaining speed. Source.

17. Move over quinoa as ancient grains such as spelt, forbidden rice and amaranth replace the much hailed superfood. Source.

Dessert:

18. Homemade savory ice creams and shaved ice desserts gain popularity for the much awaited dessert course. Source.

19. Waffle and crepe stations will provide a creative alternative to DIY sundae stations. Source.

20. And finally – although not a new trend but continuing to rise – food trucks arriving anywhere from an hour before the end of the evening to just before guests depart offer all different kinds of gourmet savoury street fare. Source.

Any organization that has to launder and iron textiles such as polyester tablecloths knows the pains a traditional iron can be. When a party rental company receives their tablecloths back from a rental, they can have hundreds to turnaround before another rental. This means traditional irons don’t normally cut it where the time to finish one tablecloth is just too long to efficiently finish the linen. This is where commercial ironing equipment such as a rotary iron comes in. Rotary irons conveniently and easily process larger volumes of laundry regardless of how large a tablecloth may be. Because of this they are a perfect edition to a larger party rental operation that needs to turn around tablecloths at a reasonable speed. But who makes the best rotary irons?

Here are the best rotary irons in Canada for Party Rental Companies.

Continental Girbau Rotary Irons:

Continental Girbau offers a 12.8” and 20.1” roller with the option of either gas heating, electric heating and steam heating. Ironing speeds are from 3ft per minute to 49 feet per minute. The rotary irons can finish tablecloths from 60” to 124” in width. They offer two programmable controls: the Logi control – available on 13” models – provide a simple control over iron variables such as temperature and speed which the Intelli Control – available on 20 inch models – provides complete programmability and energy efficiency. All models also have Continental’s patented AutoSpeed® System which is a programmable control option that automatically modifies speed based on temperature ensuring constant temperatures and highest quality finishing results.

Huebsch Flatwork Ironers / Finishers:

Huebsch offers an 8”, 13” and 20” rolls that include frequency controlled motor, finger guards and safety handles. Speed can be varied from 3ft per minute to 30 feet per minute. There are gas heating, electric heating and steam heating machines available to purchase. Finishing widths range from 55 inches to 126 inches with temperature settings between 176 degrees to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Unimac Commercial Ironing Equipment:

Unimac offers an 8”, 13” and 20” heater roller with finishing widths that vary from 55 inches to 126 inches. Temperature controls range from 176 degrees Fahrenheit to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There are also seven speed settings from 3 to 15 ft per minute to assist in the precise speed for fabric type and moisture content. Stop bars prevent hands from being too close to the machine and an alarm system helps ensure maintenance is consistently given. Electric heating is used to ensure a heated roller.

Are there any rotary irons you’ve used that we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments.

If you’re interested in receiving a quote on our polyester tablecloths:

If you’re not already on social media, you need to be. Just look at these stats that showcase the opportunity that exists for your business:

• 80% of businesses indicated that their social media efforts increased traffic.
• 92% of all businesses indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses.
• More than half of businesses who’ve been using social media for at least three years report it has helped them improve sales.

While mainstream media likes to exaggerate claims that social media is a passing fad, dying etc., the fact of the matter is – it’s not going anywhere. In fact, it’s changing the very way we do business. It helps your customers find social proof regarding your business. It allows your customers to interact with you in a non-formal, no pressure forum. It helps small businesses gain market intelligence by listening to customer feedback.

But I get it. It can be completely overwhelming with where to start. That’s why I’ve compiled 6 tips for event rental companies to use to get started with social media. These tips should provide you with the formula necessary to begin using one of the most powerful (and free) marketing tools at your disposal.

1. Figure out your business goals for engaging in social media.

Do you want to gain a loyal following or generate traffic and business leads? Or do you want to do both? What you share and how you interact with followers on social media determines your business goals. For example, if you’re interested in generating traffic and business leads, make sure that you’re sharing links that lead back to your own content. However, if you’re interested in gaining a loyal following create contests, giveaways, and share other people’s content that is relevant to your followers.

2. Choose the right social media platform for your business

You want to make sure that you’re choosing the right social media website to post to, to attract and boost your brand and business. Check out this fantastic article by Scott Levy, author of the book Tweet Naked to learn about each of the social media platforms and select the one(s) that offers the best opportunity for reaching your ideal audience. Pinterest, in my opinion, is the perfect social media platform for event rental companies to showcase their special event equipment as well as humbly brag about their extraordinary weddings and special events either planned or rental products provided for.

3. Create an Account

This is the optimal place to include your website, and a little bit about you or your company so potential followers and prospects can get to know your brand or personality. Upload a nice photo of your team in front of your offices and then include a background image that speaks about what your organization does.

4. Start Slow

Because you can either be overwhelmed or not sure how to start posting on social media, it always makes sense to start slow. Once you’ve determined the platforms you’d like to engage on, create social media accounts on those sites and follow a number of people in your industry. Look up your competitors and check out who they follow for ideas. Then, simply sit back and watch/listen to what the people you follow are saying. It’s the best way to become comfortable with a platform. You can actively see how others are engaging on the site and mimic them until comfortable.

5. Learn the platform’s features

Before you go and start posting or replying to someone’s post, learning the different features and how to post, repost / retweet, share links etc., will reduce the anxiety associated with taking the next step into engaging with prospects and customers. To learn the different features of each platform, check out the links below:

• Instagram – Features and getting started guide
• Facebook – Features and getting started guide
• Google Plus – Features and getting started guide
• Twitter – Features and getting started guide
• LinkedIn – Features and getting started guide
• Pinterest – Features and getting started guide

6. Create your first post!

I’m sure your question about this tip is what should I post? Do I post my own content or content from another business? The bottom line is you need to do both. Most social media experts, say using the 80-20 rule makes the most sense. Use 80% of other people’s content and 20% of your own. If you want to engage with brides, consider sharing interesting and relevant articles from Stylemepretty.com or brides.com about wedding planning. If you’re looking to appeal to the corporate event planner, bizbash.com should have some articles of interest to share. As far as your own content is concerned, write a short post on what tradeshows you’ll be exhibiting at shortly or if you are frequently asked the same question, write a post that answers it.

Menu optimization is a fine balance between attracting and pleasing customers while meeting the needs of a restaurant’s profits. It’s easy to focus too heavily on marketing while forgetting about the bottom line or focusing too much on the latter and not enough on the former. Not only that, but coupled with the overwhelming number of articles and books on menu optimization and lack of time everyone these days seems to face, it’s enough to drive someone crazy.

To help you use your time most efficiently and learn something new to make you better at your job (and hopefully more money in your pockets), we’ve compiled 16 of our favourite menu optimization tips. Study them! You’ll learn fantastic new tips you can implement on your menus to squeeze the most value out of your menu.

On Menu Items:

1. Keep track of what your customers order most and which menu items will generate the most profit for your bottom line and highlight those prominently. Source.

2. Update your menu seasonally – not only does this ensure you’re taking advantage of lower cost, in-season produce, but it also keeps the menu just fresh enough that repeat visitors are attracted back again and again. Keep the favourites and signature dishes on the menu but use seasonal specials as a way to try new menu items that can hopefully replace underperforming dishes with a high popularity, high profit margin winner. Source.

On Menu Design:

3. Never forget the attraction of mouth-watering, taste inducing descriptions combined with delicious food photography. Something that looks and sounds amazing to eat can increase sales by up to 27%. Source.

4. On average, customers only spend 90 seconds reading a menu. Reduce your menu length by eliminating under-performing menu items and increase white space making the menu easier to read while increasing the likelihood of high-margin items being chosen. Source.

5. Instead of featuring drinks and desserts on the main menu, where they can get lost, use separate menus for drinks and desserts to make them stand out. Also consider putting higher margin drinks and desserts on table tents to tantalize the appetite and leave them wanting more. Source.

6. Consider pushing more alcoholic beverage sales by highlighting complementary pairings on the menu. On average, the margin from a single-portion alcoholic beverage was nearly twice that of the average non-alcoholic beverage. Source.

7. Reduce visibility of lower margin menu items by relocating to back of menu. Source.

8. Utilize borders and shading to highlight and emphasize higher margin menu items to draw the eye. Source.

9. Reference Grandma’s homemade peach cobbler or Mama’s Succulent BBQ & Beer Pork to tug on heart strings. Utilizing menu psychology, customers like the names of mothers, grandmothers and other relatives on their menus – research shows they are much more likely to buy. Source.

10. You can also impact the sales of certain items based on their position on the page. Hot spots include the first page’s top right corner and the top or bottom item in each category. Source.

On Menu Pricing:

11. Embed price in the description of a menu item so you don’t attract attention to the price alone and unintentionally highlight all lower-priced items. Source.

12. Alternatively, remove dollar signs from the menu because it immediately reminds customers they’re spending money. Source.

13. Ensure your pricing speaks to your brand and restaurant concept – if you’re a high-end full service restaurant, pricing items with .99 is tacky and aggressive and doesn’t denote quality. If you’re a restaurant focused on providing value though, pricing that includes .99 works, but .95 works even better as it’s friendlier and more effective. Source.

14. Price the highest markup to be on the second-least expensive bottle of wine as many diners will order the second least-expensive bottle or glass of wine to avoid looking cheap. Source.

On Menu Strategy:

15. Learn to say no. In restaurants (same as in business) it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be all things to all people by trying to put too many items on the menu to please everyone. Not only does this drive up food costs, but can also confuse customers. Focus on a niche that works with your restaurant brand. Doing this will ensure the critics fall by the wayside while the evangelists sing your praises far and wide. Source.

16. Ensure an open feedback loop exists from front of the house to the chef so guest feedback can be taken into account when revising the menu. If you don’t know what customers rave about and can do without, you won’t be able to know what to scratch off the menu and what needs more prominence. Source: March/April 2015 Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice News Print Edition