Saffron & Smoke — Vineyard Wedding Proposal
Vineyard wedding table at golden hour
Saffron & Smoke Private Event Catering
A Catering & Service Proposal

A vineyard table
worth lingering at

A full menu, service, and hospitality package designed for the marriage of Elena & Marcus — 140 guests, golden hour, among the rows at Larkspur Hill.

Prepared For
Elena Reyes & Marcus Hale
The Day
Sept 20, 2025
Guests
140 seated
Investment
$28,000
01 — Hello

It would be an honor to feed your favorite people.

Elena, Marcus — thank you for the long walk through Larkspur Hill last month, and for letting us taste the wine you've quietly fallen for. We left talking about your table the whole drive home.

We're Saffron & Smoke — a small private-event kitchen built around one belief: a wedding meal should taste like a memory, not a banquet. We cook seasonally, plate with intention, and run service so quietly that you'll forget anyone is working at all.

11
years catering private weddings across Sonoma & Napa
60+
vineyard & estate weddings of 100–200 guests
1
event per weekend — yours has our whole kitchen

What follows is a menu-first proposal — because the meal is the heart of it. Logistics, timeline, and a clear investment follow, all tailored to the 140 of you under the oaks at golden hour.

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02 — Where You Stand

A beautiful site, a real logistical puzzle.

Larkspur Hill is stunning — and it's also a working vineyard with no permanent kitchen, a single gravel access road, and a 7:30pm light you'll want to be sitting down for, not waiting on dinner through.

140
guests to be plated within a 35-minute service window
0
on-site kitchen — every burner and refrigerator arrives with us

You told us your last two tasting visits left you worried about the same things: food that arrives lukewarm after the long walk from a back-of-site tent, a bar line that swallows cocktail hour, and a service team that feels like staff rather than hosts. Those are the exact problems we build around.

Our read on the day, stated plainly:

You want the food to be the talked-about part — distinctive, warm, generous — without a single seam showing. The win is a meal that lands hot and on time, a bar that never has a line, and a team your guests mistake for friends of the family.

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03 — The Menu

A curated four-course progression.

Built around late-September Sonoma harvest and tuned to your wines. Final tasting locks every choice 8 weeks out.

PASSED · 6
Golden Hour Bites
Smoked trout on rye crisp, fig & black-pepper jam on crostini, charred-corn arancini, heirloom tomato tartlet — passed through cocktail hour with a sommelier-poured sparkling.
FIRST
Stone Fruit & Burrata
Grilled peach, torn burrata, basil oil, saba reduction, and toasted hazelnut — plated cool and bright to open the seated meal.
MAIN
Smoked Short Rib & Saffron Risotto
Our signature 14-hour oak-smoked short rib over saffron risotto, charred broccolini, and a red-wine jus built from your estate's own varietal. A wild-mushroom & farro plate mirrors it for plant-based guests.
SWEET
Late-Harvest Honey Cake
Olive-oil honey cake, mascarpone cream, and macerated blackberries, with a passed tray of salted-caramel bonbons to follow as the dancing begins.
Every menu accommodates allergies, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free counts — built in, never an afterthought.
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04 — Scope & Deliverables

Everything from first bite to final tray.

Culinary

  • Four-course tasting menu for 140
  • Passed canapés through cocktail hour
  • Dietary & allergen plates, built to count
  • Late-night passed sweets

Service & Staff

  • 18 service & kitchen staff
  • Lead captain & maître d'
  • Two-bartender estate bar program
  • Full setup, turn, and breakdown

Bar & Beverage

  • Sommelier-guided wine pairings
  • Two signature cocktails
  • Glassware, ice, and garnish program
  • Non-alcoholic curated list

Rentals & Logistics

  • Mobile field kitchen & power
  • China, flatware, linen coordination
  • On-site plating tent placement
  • Vendor & timeline coordination

One private tasting for the two of you, plus a final menu-lock tasting four weeks out, are both included — so nothing about your meal is a surprise on the day.

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05 — How the Lead-Up Runs

Four phases, each ending in something settled.

1
Booking → Wk 1
Lock & Design
Deposit secures your date and our full kitchen. We draft your bespoke menu and service plan.
Signed plan + held date
2
Wk 6–8
Private Tasting
The two of you taste every course and pairing in our studio and refine to taste.
Confirmed course list
3
Wk 4
Final Lock & Counts
Final guest count, dietary needs, and a minute-by-minute service timeline coordinated with your planner.
Locked menu + run-of-show
4
Event Week
Build & Serve
On-site kitchen build the morning of, plated dinner at golden hour, late sweets, and a clean breakdown by midnight.
A flawless, warm, on-time meal
We arrive seven hours before service and leave the site as we found it — your venue's coordinator gets our load-in and breakdown plan in writing.
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06 — The Investment

Everything above, transparently priced.

Four-course menu — 140 guests
canapés, three seated courses, late sweets
$15,400
Service & culinary team
18 staff, captain, maître d'
$6,300
Bar & beverage program
sommelier pairings, two cocktails, bartenders
$3,400
Mobile kitchen & rentals coordination
field kitchen, power, china & linen
$2,900
Total Investment
$28,000
20%
$5,600
To book
30%
$8,400
At tasting
35%
$9,800
Wk 4 lock
15%
$4,200
Event week
Optional — Welcome Brunch
A 60-guest day-after vineyard brunch for the wedding party.
+$3,200
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07 — Why Saffron & Smoke

Cooks first. Hosts always.

A signature, not a menu
Our 14-hour smoked short rib and saffron risotto are why couples find us. We cook food with a point of view — guests remember it by name, not as “the wedding dinner.”
One wedding a weekend
We never double-book. The chef who tastes with you cooks for you, and the captain who plans your timeline runs your floor.
Built for off-grid sites
Our mobile field kitchen means hot food at any vineyard, hillside, or barn — no compromise because there's no permanent stove.
They didn't just feed our 130 guests — they made the meal the thing everyone still talks about. The short rib, the timing, the way the team disappeared into the party. Flawless.
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Acceptance

Let's set your table.

Sign below and your September 20th date is held with our full kitchen. We'll send your tasting invitation within the week — and start dreaming up your menu the moment we hear yes.

Scope
Full menu & service
Timeline
Through Sept 20
Investment
$28,000
Deposit to secure your date
$5,600
Client Signature
Date

Deposit is non-refundable and applied to your total. Final guest count and balance schedule confirm at the four-week lock. Proposal valid for 30 days from issue. We can't wait to cook for you.

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