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FeedWedding Woes
How to finish all of your “big day” planning with a big smile.
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Is it possible to have wedding success without stress? Not likely. After all, good things come to those who … work hard. But that doesn’t mean stress should spoil all of the excitement. Plenty of people are on standby to help. And when Grandma, your sixth bridesmaid and everyone in between is offering more two cents than recompense, put your money on the advice of these wise professionals.
Venue Blues
Choosing a reception setting brings with it a torrent of questions: How many guests? DJ or live band? What is my color scheme? Where will my college professor and his wife sit for dinner?
Take it easy. First, sit down with your future spouse (maybe to a candlelit picnic in the living room) and envision the entire day together. Next, calculate a realistic budget for that vision. After that, Domenick Savino advises not to compromise on what’s important—even if you’re not footing the whole bill.
“Input is merited when asked for,” says Savino, the CEO of Drexelbrook Catering and Corporate Events Center. “Couples today have far more access to information than they did 10 years ago, with the advent of websites and countless TV shows. They are informed, knowledgeable and really do not require much input from others as they seek a wedding that reflects their own style and taste.”
But what if you’re the type of bride who wants to bring everyone together in preparation of the celebration, or who can’t help but feel obligated to financially generous parents? Sometimes the result is a bride who’s so eager to please she ends up feeling like a guest herself. That’s where Savino and other wedding planners might—figuratively speaking—jump up and down and wave their arms in the air to get your attention.
“Presenting the pros and cons helps to create a clear direction,” he says. “Many times, it ends in a compromise.”
What’s it take to have the “perfect” planning process? In Savino’s experience, the best couples are like fine wine—in that they’re above the average national marrying age of 27 for men and 25 for women. “They’re well informed, have participated in other weddings and are confident in their style, tastes and decisions,” he says. “I’ve said to myself many times, ‘I wish I was a guest at this wedding.’”
Food Fight
There are never enough wine tastings throughout the planning process. Fortunately, choosing the menu is rarely unpleasant when everyone’s sipping libations and pleasing their palates with fine cuisine. Unfortunately, not all palates are created equal.
“Appeal to the masses, not the classes,” says J Scott Catering president Scott Walsh. “I don’t try to side with anybody; I just try to lend my professional advice. And that—95 percent of the time—solves the problem. I remind them that it’s a joyous occasion.”
The first point of contention: sit-down dinner or food stations? “Often, a bride and groom are leaning toward a food station because they want it to be a little more eclectic,” says Walsh.
For the record, J Scott-catered receptions—often held at Phoenixville Foundry, Radnor Hunt and Appleford—feature food stations only 20 percent of the time.
With the rise in health consciousness and a subsequent fear of red meat, couples might wonder what the “masses” prefer. Should they forego tenderloin and filet? “I see red meat on 90 percent of our menus. It goes back to the parents usually being traditional,” says Walsh, who graduated first in his culinary class from Paul Smith’s College in New York.
