Introducing Carl House OFFSITE CATERING!!!

Photo Credit: Sarah Eubanks Photography
Carl House is excited to announce its newly developed offsite catering division!
Offerings include holiday menu options and packages, buffet trays and
box lunches for corporate meetings, full buffets for weddings and other social events.
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on our
delivery options available for Barrow, Athens and Gwinnett areas.
Call 770-586-0095 or email info@carlhouse.com today for more information!

Wow! What a spectacular success our Summer 2011 Bridal Event turned out to be! A huge thank you to all of our vendors who participated in the event!

The Carl House Grand Ballroom all set for the visiting brides!

Brides-to-be and their guests enjoyed strolling about the house, sampling selections from our bridal menus and connecting with potential photographers, DJs, cake bakers, hotels and many more!

Vendors are able to give detailed information in person at bridal events.

Our vendors also enjoyed sharing with potential clients all of the services they provide in addition to awarding several door prizes throughout the course of the event. See below for an album of pictures from the event!

Carl House owner, BB Webb, and Sales Director, Monika Williams are all set to meet the brides!

Did you know the Carl House offers in-house floral services?

A big thanks goes out to Jan from My Bella Weddings for providing a HONEYMOON to one of our lucky brides and grooms!

YUM! Sugar Kneads provided tasty samples or their delicious cakes at the event.

DJ Louie is all set to meet brides and grooms in need of musical entertainment!

We love Sarah Eubanks Photography! Be sure to ask us about our vendor packages; she has one!

Did you know? Shutterkiss photographers Sarah and Bryan were married at Carl House!

Want to add some oomph to your outdoor ceremony? Ask about our large trellis at your meeting!

Miss out the food and vendors this time? Stay tuned for our next bridal event in November!

We will be posting a list of all of our participating vendors tomorrow! Be sure to visit their sites to get more information on the services they offer, and also call to see if we have vendor packages with them!! It’s a great way to save money and consolidate all of your wedding payments into one!

The Carl House events team is rolling out the red carpet for Mom this Mother’s Day, Sunday May 8, 2011 for an incredible Mother’s Day Brunch.    It’s a wonderful opportunity to gather the family, and even more special if someone in your family is planning a wedding, because you will have the chance to experience our cuisine, hospitality and overall charm!

Executive Chef Terrell has plans for a royal feast.  Check out the Mother’s Day Brunch menu and make your reservations before May 3rd.   Call us to make the reservations so we can be sure to set a table just for you and your family!

5 years old and younger no charge

Mimosas $4.95 Champagne $22.00 bottle.

Sunday May 8th 2011 Seatings at 11am and 1pm

You’ve fallen in love with the man of your dreams, NOW it’s time to Fall in Love with Carl House– the wedding venue of your dreams.

Every quarter Carl House hosts a bridal event where we gather together some of our prefered vendor partners to meet with you lovely brides. This bridal event, aptly named “Fall in Love with Carl House” will have an autumn-themed menu in mind. For the first time as an evening event, you’ll be able to taste the culinary treats of our Executive Chef Derek Smith, meet the entire Carl House team, tour the estate, and meet vendors face to face.

Brides to be, and one guest are free! Each additional guest is a nominal $15. Reserve your spot today, by calling 770-586-0095 or by emailing diane@carlhouse.com RSVPs and prepayment requested by Thursday, October 14th.

To learn more about our participating vendors click the links below.

Carl House Florals

Atlanta Magazine

Savii Formalwear

Cakes by Mark Fitzpatrick

Forever Endeavors Photography

Courtyard by Marriot

Diversity Limo

Global Escapes

Hampton Inn Lawrenceville

Hilton Garden Inn

Marlon Galviz Photography

Tod Peavy Entertainment

Mary Kay by Crystal Rice

Matt Bowman Photography

Music Masters by Andrew Byrd

Perfect Wedding Guide

Rev. George Callahan

Sarah Eubanks Photography

A Sound Occasion

Your Story Starts Now

La Ti Da

We hope to see you there!

- Lauren, Director of First Impressions

(top photo by Krisi Odum, middle photo by Sarah Eubanks, bottom photo by John Campbell)

Our FIRST Monthly Wine Pairing Dinner was a huge success! With 25 guests, harpist Dania Lane (who was LOVELY by the way), and a menu fit for kinds and queens, (prepared by Carl House Executive Chef, Derek Smith, a great time was had by all!

Check out the latest installment to our Carl House YouTube channel, with still photos and audio of the event.

If you couldn’t make the September dinner, don’t worry- there’s plenty of time to reserve a space for October.

This month’s fall-themed menu includes:

Appetizer

Chef’s Derek’s Choice

Soup

Seasoned squash bisque and pumpkin seed brittle with whipped fennel cream

Entree

Buttermilk fried chicken breast with stone ground grits cakes
Brussel sprout leaves and roasted shallots in a warm bacon dressing

Dessert

Pear & apple streusel tart with vanilla bean angliase

With Carl House Signature Coffee and Peach Iced Tea

We’ll be announcing our featured winery shortly, so stay tuned!  Please come join us!!

The price is a nominal $37.50 per person, plus tax and service.

RSVPs and prepayment requested by October 12th. Call 770-586-0095 or diane@carlhouse.com for more details.

 Why all the excitement around Carl House? Our Wine Tasting Dinner is fast-approaching of course!

Corned beef and cabbage, and Roasted rack of lamb with stewed veggies among other things will be a part of the luscious menu. And how about the featured Sabastiani wines?! My mouth is just watering thinking about it!

For more information, including a complete menu for the Wine Tasting Dinner click HERE

Come stroll through our gardens at dusk, enjoy the beautiful scenery that is at the heart of Carl House, and learn more about the Sebastiani winery.

When: September 17^th 6:30-9:00pm

Price: $37.50 per person, plus tax and service fees

Contact: Diane 770-586-0095 or diane@carlhouse.com with your name, address, phone number, email address, and number in your party.

RSVP: Wednesday Sept 13^th by noon.

And don’t worry if you can’t make it to THIS month’s Wine Tasting Dinner, we’re planning on making this a tradition, with a dinner every 3^rd Friday of the month! Stay tuned for details involving NEXT month’s event, scheduled for October 15^th.

Lauren, Director of First Impressions

We’d like to share…..when the wedding is all said and done, guests tend to remember, and talk about, two things- the bride’s GORGEOUS wedding dress and the SCRUMPTIOUS wedding cake. Wedding cakes are the “piece de resistance”, and  WE think….should be a feast for the eyes AS WELL as the palette!

With that in mind, Carl House is proud to introduce Frosted Pumpkin- a PREMIER bakery operated by Jeff and Karyn Schwerzle. Owner BB Webb met the Frosted Pumpkin duo several years back during the first years of Carl House’s opening and ran into Jeff at the last ’Say Yes to the Dress’ event in Atlanta the other week.

(P.S. Stay tuned, the ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ crew was at our place last month highlighting one of our brides!!!  Exciting!!!!)

But I digress…The Schwerzle’s have been in the business of making exquisite cakes for a combined 35 years!  Karyn Schwerzle herself has won more than 20 awards from the American Culinary Federation, and has been presented the prestigious NY Guild of Chef’s Award for professionalism and creativity!! Frosted Pumpkin was also nominated Best Cakes by The Knot for 2007-2008, and received Allie Awards for Best Cake Presentation from 2003-2007. IMPRESSIVE….we think so and LOVE to have Frosted Pumpkin Cakes prominently displayed in our ballroom!

Frosted Pumpkin cakes range from the classic white bride’s cakes and luscious chocolate and strawberry groom’s cakes, to the novelty cakes and cupcake displays.  And, if you’ve not seen a cupcake display….they are outrageous fun!

One of the GREAT things about Frosted Pumpkin is that they create unique designs to suit YOUR specifications—whether contemporary and modern or classical and elegant- EVERY beautiful cake is made using the finest ingredients with the ULTIMATE attention to detail!

Anywhoooo….just bragging about one of our friends!

Top photo by Jeffrey himself and below, Sarah Eubanks Photography….pretty cake sitting atop our lovely square grand piano in our ballroom!

Diane Burdick, Events & Marketing– and cake-lover!

Author Ernestine Ulmer once said that “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” With that BRILLIANT philosophy in mind, I need to share my latest excitement.  BB Webb, (Carl House’s Grand Mistress)…..learned from Monika, our Bridal Sales Princess, that Candy Stations were all the rage with brides.  So, after we all looked into what kind of Candy might make for a fun option for brides, BB created a terrific Candy Station option which we presented at last week’s Bridal Brunch.  Yep, it was popular, for sure….whoopers being my favorite delectable treat!

Some brides we learned like to select candies which coordinate with their wedding colors, whereas others choose their favorite candies…. if it were ME though, I’d choose nothing but chocolate, chocolate, CHOCOLATE- with the occasional sprinkling of peanut-butter, of course!

Or for even MORE decadence I’d add the Carl House Chocolate Fountain as well, complete with fresh fruit, marshmellows, brownies, pretzel rods, (who’d a thunk it) or other delectable dipping treats!– YUM!!

At the Candy Bar last weekend, guests were digging into BEAUTIFUL treat-filled glass containers by using silver scoops.  At weddings the Candy Stations are used as action favor stations where guests scoop their favorite candy into coordinating candy bags which they can either eat from at the reception, or take home as a party favor. (I’d of course do both)!!!

Merely sharing…..from one Choco-holic to perhaps another!!

Diane Burdick, Event Manager and choco-holic

….Well, if it didn’t, it SHOULD have!!!

FIRST of all…. thank you to Ms. Cyndi from Coverups– we work closely with this fabulous company– table linens made Carl House pop!  Just look at the pinks and lavenders.  It’s official, I want to get married all over again!!

YES, Carl House’s Summertime Bridal Brunch was a HUGE SUCCESS, thanks to our lovely bride participants and their guests as well as our preferred vendor partners!  We were thrilled that our new Candy Station offering was a hit– I mean who doesn’t love Whoopers and Peanut M&Ms??  And although it was a hot summer day in Georgia, the Carl House Gourmet Coffee Station was a loved as well, with all those sweet mixings, (coconut and carmel being my favorite)…..and of course whipped cream.

Guests enjoyed visiting the wine tasting at the beautiful granite Carl House bar, (I love the look of that bar) and sampled of the second and third-tier wine selections at Carl House.  Several commented that they loved the Rodney Strong Merlot, although Carl House Owner BB Webb prefers  the Oxford Landing Savignon Blanc, which came in as a strong second.

The DJs Andrew Byrd, Ted Crowder, Louie Londono kept the house abuzz with fantastic music throughout the day! And one of my favorite features was the live BAGPIPE music provided by Winter Taylor!  Who knew that bagpipes could rock a room? And the young Darrien Davis on fiddle was a delight as well– passion and talent for SURE!!

Perhaps the biggest hit (TO ME) at THIS Carl House bridal brunch was the FOOD!  The menu was prepared by the incomparable Chef Derek Smith, (Carl House Executive Chef) and executed by Carl House Sous Chef David Hull.  I spoke with several brides who were ‘ga ga’ about the coconut shrmip appetizers, (butler passed mind you) though my favorite (and I did go back for seconds) was the beef brisket which just melted in my mouth–honestly, it was BEYOND yummy.  And I adoree how the shrimp and grits were displayed in pretty martini glasses where you could add fresh scallions or bacon as you pleased!  Sweet potoatos and orzo pasta made it on my ‘yum’ list as well.   And of course, I had to go back to the chocolate fountain with fresh strawberries two or three times.  

Owner BB Webb officiated the event and Cornelia Powell shared her wisdom and thoughts with the crowd, giving away many of her books and CDs. Most guests walked away with one (or more) door prizes, ranging from the beautiful floral arrangements displayed on the tables (compliments of Debbie Garmon Florals, European Floral Design, Perfect Stem, and Truso Weddings), a free hour of limo service (compliments of Diversity Limo), discounts on photo packages from Sarah Eubanks, John Campbell, and Matt Bowman, as well as discounts on DJ services from DJ Louie and Ted Crowder with Atlanta Bands and DJs. Hotel accommodations were also offered by our friends at Courtyard by Marriot and Hampton Inn!

Carl House had goodies to give away as well along with GREAT incentives for booking a wedding by the end of the month– contact our Bridal Sales Consultant Monika Williams (pictured below) for more info.  By the way– the next three brides who come in to tour Carl House will receive a complimentary copy of Cornelia Powell’s CD “Open Your Heart- Meditations for Brides!”

All told, it was a great day at Carl House and fun, fun, fun to visit with great bridal talent, terrific people and brides, brides, brides!

Stay tuned for the next Carl House Bridal Brunch, planned for November 14^th!  And no, maybe the people in Great Britain didn’t catch wind of the big day, but with the buzz of those bagpipes, they just MIGHT have!

Diane Burdick, Carl House Event Manager and Bride Wanna-Be!

(see our last blog for a complete list with vendor contact info)!