Wedding Planning|Wedding Planning & Wedding Advice

Last week, in the first part of our Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst series, we focused on The Bride. This week we focus on one of my favorite topics, food.

Part 2: FOOD

A good meal goes a long way to a great wedding!

Tips

1. Select a menu that your guests will enjoy – consider age range, lifestyle, etc.

2. Butter cream frosting and real whipped cream are tastier than their counterparts, but they do not have staying power. You can have your tasty cake and eat it , too, but make sure your venue will have room in the refrigerator and limit the display time before the cake cutting begins (particularly if the venue is warm – and most are…). While we’re on the topic of cakes – make sure your cake it out of harm’s way and on a stable surface.

3. Don’t miss out on the sample tasting your caterer offers – you want to make sure you like their recipes!

4. Use caterers, bakeries, and other vendors that have good reputations and staying power (they’ve been around for a long time or you know them personally and trust them). You only need one good relationship with a company that provides weddig services and then you can ask them to suggest other companies for everything you will need. You can also check online wedding forums for reviews or pay for a one-time consultation with a wedding planner and get recommendations.

Here’s a great example of why it is important to use a reputable business! A British online news service, The Bromley Times, reports that 29 weddings guests became ill after eating improperly cooked chicken and unpasteurized eggs at the reception. During the investigation, it was discovered that that the venue’s fridge was also malfunctioning. (Powell, Doug, “This is why we got married at city hall…”, Barflbog)

Sources, Additional Information, Great Articles:

Cohen, Gabriel, “Wedding-Food Disasters”, Gourmet

Shin, Jeanette, “Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters”, Food Editorials

Here are some of the funniest comments I’ve found from people about their real-life wedding disasters: Disaster Stories at Tressugar.com.

Are You Planning Your Own Event?

Here are some helpful tips if you want to plan your own wedding, from someone who has been through the experience!?

The Six R’s of Planning Your Own Wedding:

3 R’s

1. Realistic

By realistic, perhaps I mean pessimistic – but it’s actually for your own good. Don’t take any chances when planning this important day. Don’t leave things to luck. For example, don’t assume that someone will pick the best man up from the airport. Arrange it. Don’t assume that the caterer knows where the Main Hall you keep referring to is located – there might be several places called Main Hall in your city. Don’t hope it won’t rain, have a contingency plan in case it does.

Also, you need to be realistic about what you can ‘pull off’ all by yourself. If you’re not hiring a wedding planner, consider taking things down a notch or two. (You’ve heard the expression KISS before, haven’t you? Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Reduce the guest list size, try to hire caterers and rental companies that provide service staff and set up/tear down, or consider a destination wedding – many ‘destination’ hotels help out with services for weddings…

2. Research

There is a lot of information online and in wedding planning books. Also, make sure you research any vendors you want to use. Wedding Planners often have established relationships with vendors. Your vendor could suddenly go out of business or not show up – ask for customer references, check with the Better Business Bureau, look online to see what other people are saying about their experience.

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