Caterer:
Naturally Delicious

Not every bride knows the exact moment she knew that her groom was the man for her, but Beth Levison does. It hit her on her first date with her now-husband Henry Sidel.

Having noticed Beth "across a crowded room" at a party, Henry, a former chef, invited her over for dinner.

"He made this incredible meal," she recalls, relating a story she shared with family and friends at the couple's October 2001 wedding. "He made sea bass in a pecan crust with a citrus salsa and portobello mushrooms. I was like, 'Who is this guy?'"

But it was the dessert that clinched it.

"When he told me he was serving poached pears, I couldn't believe it," Beth says. "It's my favorite dessert in the whole world, so right then, I knew he was the one."

So important was the pear moment to the couple that they decided to forgo cake at their wedding, at a Greenwich Village loft, and instead serve their 120 guests the dessert that Beth says "sealed the deal for us," having given Naturally Delicious Henry's special recipe.

The meal included family touches, as well. Beggar's purse appetizers, for instance, were made with caviar imported by the bride's sister's in-laws, who are from Azerbaijan. And guests toasted the couple with mead made by the bride's brother.

"It's a honey wine," Beth explains. "In medieval times, people used to drink it after their wedding to symbolize a sweet honeymoon."

Even the couple's choice of wine held a special meaning for them. Having gotten engaged in Spain and planning to honeymoon in New Zealand, the couple selected a New Zealand white and Spanish red. The bar was also stocked with a special cocktail, a passion fruit martini, to evoke the couple's intense feelings for each other.

"For us, love is definitely transmitted through food," Beth says, adding that she and Henry wanted all the elements -- ceremony, music, seating, flowers -- to feel "warm, organic and intimate," something they worked closely with Naturally Delicious to achieve.

"We just decided to have a really personal wedding. It wasn't my parents' wedding and it wasn't Henry's parents' wedding. It was really our wedding," she says. "We wanted to have a great party with all the things that had meaning for us."

The Wedding Feast of Beth & Henry

Trays of Passed Still & Sparkling Water with Wedges of Lime

Wedding Ceremony…

Passed Proseco, Passion Fruit Martinis,
Cranberry & Concord Grape Fruit Spritzers

Passed Hors D Oeuvres

Beluga Caviar Beggars Purses with Cream Fraiche
…tied with a chive

Charred Sliced Steak with Watercress & Sesame Dip

Malaysian Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut
Dipping Sauce

Passed Raw Bar with: Oysters, Shrimp, Classic Mignonette Sauce & Cocktail Sauce

Dumplings of Shiitake Mushrooms, Asian Chives in a Bamboo Steamer

At the Bar and on tables in the cocktail area:
Spiced Asian Mixed Nuts, Sembe, Wasabi Peas

Dinner

First Course
Mixed Baby Lettuces, Arugula, Roasted Red & Yellow Beets Marinated Baby Tomatoes & Herb Vinaigrette

Second Course
Seared Chilean Sea Bass, Spicy Cilantro Soy Pesto,
Jasmine Rice Salad & Asian Greens

Dessert

Poached Market Fall Pears
Chestnut Honey, Vanilla Ice Cream & Lace Cookie

Mead Toast

Coffee, Assorted Teas

Sweets at the bar
Bittersweet Chocolate Squares
Pecan Squares
Cinnamon Sables
Assorted Cookies

Passed Sherries & Ports