The Reception, with food & alcohol

One of the things that Doyle and I like to do when we have people over is to feed them. With every party we've ever thrown, we always feed our guests and feed them well. So, what would make this any different?

The Successes... food

We found a great local caterer (Gene's Catering) that was extremely affordable and had what we wanted. We wanted something different, delicious and fun. So what's more fun than a barbecued hog on a spit? I know, sounds a little obnoxious (and I definitely apologize to my vegetarian friends) but when I found out this caterer could do this, I jumped at the chance. Doyle originally wanted a barbecue, anyway. It was really funny, actually, since we went into the office, told him the date of the event, approximately how many people we were expecting and the location. Then he finally asked what it was for, and was he SURPRISED when he found out it was for a wedding! He'd done weddings before, but the menu usually consisted of chicken cordon bleu or prime rib. We had no interest in that frou-frou stuff, since we didn't even tend to eat that way ourselves. Right when we walked into their establishment, the aroma of delicious food wafted in our noses. That was the first good sign. We were also dealing with the owner of this family owned business and that was the second good sign. When we sat down and talked to Dave (the owner, Gene's son) he was a regular guy, with the kind of work ethic that Doyle & I were familiar with and admired. You know what I'm talking about. Not once did he talk down to us nor kiss butt. (excuse my french). But he was a genuine "good people" person. We were able to hire a cook and assistant for a very small fee along with the food, so that took care of the "serving". The assistant was also a god send. Not only did she do what she had to - kept the buffet full, making sure all the drinkwear was available, kept the buffet neat, and help set-up the dessert table, she also went above and beyond by first giving the bride & groom the choice cuts-tenderloin of the pork, cleaning up after guests at the tables and letting us hold on to the drink containers other accessories until the next day.

The Glitch...

In regards to the food, only one glitch. We forgot to make sure we had containers for the leftover food! They had their own chaffing dishes, but had to bring them back with them when they left for the evening. So during dinner, Doyle jumped in the truck, ran to the store and bought containers for the food! It was so funny, because during dinner, people were clinking their glasses for the bride and groom to kiss, but the groom was no where to be found! What a riot!

The Successes... alcohol

Trying to find out how much alcohol we would need was a little intimidating. We'd decided on wine & beer since we wouldn't have a bartender and I'd also decided that a decorated bucket of wine on every table would make for a cute centerpiece. During most of our parties, I found out that the preferance was usually a white wine, so most of the wine was white with a good selection of red. If people wanted a different wine, they would have to go to another table, which made for some good socializing. We'd actaully bought an abundance of wine, but hey, we'll just drink the left-overs. We acutally have 5 more bottles of merlot that's aging in our wine cellar (a cabinet in our basement), that we plan on drinking on our anniversaries. The best part about the wine was that we bought it at a grocery store that was closing and all the alcohol was 1/2 off! I think the wine gods were looking over us because there were a really nice selection of Savignon Blancs, Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios available just for our wedding. It was a fabulous hit!

The Glitch...

We only had 3 cork screws available! Doyle, with the help of our friend, Warren, was being a better host than I was making sure wine was opened and available for all our guests. I think I was too busy dancing my patootie off to realize how busy he was. (Yes, I was dancing without him, but he doesn't dance much.) But he took that opportunity to chat with our guests and family and had a good time, too... so he told me.  :)

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