Got Light?

There are many aspects to wedding planning, food, cake, floral, dress, etc. One aspect that can be become over looked is lighting. Fortunately at the City Club, we have an in house lighting package called “Up Lights” that illuminate our white leather walls in the Café, and our walls of ash, ebony, pear wood and Philippine mahogany in the Main Dining Room with a warm amber glow.

If you’re looking for more, you can add more to our up lights with outside vendors. Lighting sets the mood of a venue, and enhances the atmosphere you are trying to create. I compare lighting to floral…..it illustrates the ambiance and look you are trying to showcase.
Recently, I have experienced the work of Got Light at a wedding at The City Club. The look requested by the bride was a “champagne glow”. The Café and Main Dining Room had this look throughout the event, and especially during dancing. The dance floor lighting had a scroll design on the dance floor, as well as the cake, and colored spot lights on the bar, cake, and dessert station. Everything matched impeccably, and perfectly reflected the look of a modern, elegant, and the "champagne glow strived for".

Other companies whom have great lighting ideas & packages are Elle Music & Events; contact Brandon Cruz at 925-236-2663 for assistance and booking. Pictures are compliments of Got Light? Cake by Carolyn Wong Cakes.

-Alison Angelo
Sales & Catering Manager

The City Club recommends San Francisco!

Thinking about where to have your next event or Wedding?
I recommend San Francisco!

San Francisco has so much to offer within its mainland of seven square miles.
At your very fingertips you have sites, smells, and sounds of such a diversely populated city. From the restaurants, neighborhoods, historical sites, museums, and sporting arenas, the culture that San Francisco offers is truly one of a kind. Your guests can experience all of this by taking urban hikes, jumping on our Cable Car lines or by utilizing our public transportation system. It’s really easy to travel around, take it from me, I grew up in suburbia!

If you are out of town planning for an event in San Francisco I recommend checking out: http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/

If you are local to San Francisco and want to provide your guests valuable maps and information about San Francisco, head downstairs near the Powell BART station and you’ll see the Visitors Information Center at 900 Market Street. Here you can grab complimentary maps, visitor’s guides, restaurant coupons and Bay Area tour information, great for welcome bags.

Looking for large party restaurant ideas, check out San Francisco Private Dining Venues, http://www.sfpdv.com/. Here you can access the city’s finest restaurants with private dining space. You can search by group size and even view photos of each restaurant.

Need a place for your guests to say?

The City Club has partnered with the following hotels:
Galleria Park Hotel, contact Monica Bowman, (415) 835-6466
The Hotel Monaco & Serrano Hotel, contact Chad Schyvincht, (415) 292-0149
The Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Prescott Hotel and Hotel Triton,
contact Sarika Patel, (415) 395-8569
Mandarin Oriental, contact Candace Balandra, (415) 276-9713

All of the above recommendations are easily accessible and very close to The City Club.

Once you get to The City Club your truly San Francisco experience promises to continue.
If you’re here reading this, you’ve found us, we are one of the city’s most historical and hidden gems.

Hope you are getting excited for your next San Francisco visit.
We look forward to seeing you here soon!

Michelle Kimmins, Director of Sales & Catering

Weddings at the City Club De La Cruz & Oshima, 1.3.09

In our budget conscious economy, finding ways to stretch your dollar a little further is the key to planning a successful wedding. One of the best options to bring prices down is to consider moving your celebration to what are considered “off” times. Since Saturday evenings are the most desirable dates and times they are also the most costly. Why not consider hosting your event on a Friday or Sunday evening, where rental and vendor fees are sure to be lower? Or, do as Jim and Carmen did, and host your Wedding on a Saturday or Sunday Afternoon! They chose Saturday, January 3rd in the afternoon and it was truly a wonderful event.

Compared to the evening events, I felt like to focus of the afternoon was really on the couple and on the marriage. The ambiance was mellow and open and the Club had a fresh, bright feeling. On the budgetary side of things, for “lunch” they hosted a variety of different heavy appetizer stations including an Asian Station with Dim Sum as well as a Prime Rib and Salmon Carving Station along with a variety of passed hors d’ oeuvres. This option got them away for the per person full meal price but still offered enough food for their guests to enjoy a hearty afternoon nosh. They also saved on the beverage bill by choosing to host a variety of non-alcoholic beverages along with wine and beer.

A couple of other great ideas from this couple…
1) Higher a great coordinator, wait you are thinking, that costs money, but not when it’s Jessica Goldblatt with Dreams on a Dime, who specializes in working with budget conscious events.

2) Rather than the traditional tiered wedding cake, the couple purchased a sheet cake from Tartin and had them cut it down into smaller pieces. The smaller peices were then frosted on all sides and once strategically displayed it had the same great effect!

3) They used their family as a great resource for assistance. Cousins and other family members were responsible for floral, folding origami votive boxes and other décor.

I hope you will away at least one money saving tip from this couple that did it right! They had a wonderful wedding surrounded by friends and family and did it without breaking the bank.

Happy Planning!!

-Cassie Harris, Sales & Catering Manager

Second Tuesdays Takes On a New Flavor!

Each Second Tuesday of the month, our fabulous Catering Team opens our doors to you for a special intimate Open House. Our purpose is to give you an opportunity to really feel the level of hospitality and warmth that we are so proud to extend here at The City Club. It also gives us an opportunity to show our guests how The Club transitions from day into evening.

Since we’ve had such a great response from our visiting brides, grooms and guests regarding how helpful Second Tuesdays are for planning and visual purposes, we have decided to invite our favorite vendors to come in for a monthly stoplight.

From now on, we’ll have at least one special Spotlight guest for you to meet whom we feel is someone you should know about for your big day! Whether the Spotlight is a photographer, DJ, or wedding cake designer, you can be assured that we have carefully hand selected them based on great experience, reputation and product.

This month our Second Tuesday Spotlight was Krista Markell of Sugarcoat It Studio. Her sweetly sophisticated cakes look as though they are freshly baked from your favorite letter-press stationary boutique! Her designs are elegant and graceful of course with a pop of fun! But looks aren’t everything… Once you taste her rich flavors – you’ll know that her cakes aren’t only beautiful on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that’s sure to have you hooked!!

Also, Classic Party Rentals styled out a beautifully decorated sample wedding table that definitely sparked a creative chord for many of our guests. As a great partner of The City Club, Classic’s resources are a great way to bring a festive glow to your wedding or special event. They have beautiful linens, chargers, napkins, chairs and beyond. Just ask your City Club Catering Manager to help with your selections to bring a polished charm to your table décor.

February 10th is our next Second Tuesday, and is sure to be a blast! We’ve got a great group of people coming in to Spotlight!!

You’ll be able to meet Peter Rudolfi of Artists in Music for your musical needs; whether you want a full band, string quartet, or a single classical guitar – he’s got it!

Carol Attia will be here from Under the Chuppah, helping you bring a personal touch to your traditional ceremonial chuppah.

Classic Party Rentals will have a great imaginative table set to help you get your ideas for your own décor flowing.

And, La Tavola Linens will be here to show you that adding a little pop to your linens is fun, easy and a sure way to impress your guests!!

If you would like to check on future Second Tuesdays dates, definitely check out your local news stand for San Francisco Brides Magazine! We're listed throughout the Summer/ Spring 2009 issue, and you'll find endless helpful hints about planning your luxurious City Club Wedding!

See you here on the 10th!
-Alison Bianchetti, Catering & Sales Manager