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You’ve planned, you’ve prepared,
you’ve advertised and now it’s finally happened.
You have your first client for your professional wedding
planning business. There are many details to attend to,
but one of the most important is to get your customers ready
for all the meetings they will have with the professionals
that will put on their wedding.
One of the most important, and memorable, aspects of any
wedding is the food. Unless someone faints, few except the
immediate family will remember the ceremony. The reception
is another matter entirely. Just let old Uncle Irv get a
hold of a tough piece of brisket or a piece of undone chicken
and chances are the married couple will hear about it for
years.
Prior to meeting with the caterer, take some time to sit
down with your clients and assess their needs. It’s
important to find out the following:
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How much is their budget for food? If they have a meatloaf
budget it will do little good to arrange meetings with
filet mignon caterers. Whatever you do, assure them
that no matter what the budget they will have a perfectly
lovely wedding with you at the helm (and then figure
out a way to pull that off).
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Are there any special restrictions you need to know
of? Perhaps they require a kosher menu or they are strict
vegetarians.
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Do they have any special desires? Perhaps the bride-to-be
has an idyllic remembrance of a special restaurant or
certain type of food she’d like to have at her
reception. Maybe the future groom has his heart set
on nothing but corned beef sandwiches from that little
pub on the corner. You may be able to steer them in
another direction, but it’s good to get these
things out in the open.
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Will children be in attendance? Perhaps you’ll
need a special child’s menu if there will be many
children, or just something a little more benign on
the menu that any tot would appreciate.
The pre-planning session is also an excellent opportunity
to pick the newlyweds’ brains and see what they are
really looking for. Perhaps one is dreaming of a banquet
room full of white linen-covered tables with folks dressed
to the tee enjoying their steak and fish. The other might
be perfectly satisfied with a buffet table full of pizza
and chicken wings with a wide-open keg of beer sitting at
the end of the table.
It’s your job as the professional wedding planner
to get their desires out on the table, respect the thought
that went into them, then weave them into a wonderful party
that both will remember for the rest of their lives.
Remember that the menu will set the tone for the rest of
the reception. Decide on a theme for the entire wedding
and make sure that the menu fits in. While it would be silly
to have pizza and beer while a 60-piece orchestra dressed
in white tie and tails plays, it would be perfectly acceptable
if there were a country theme and a small cowboy band was
set up on some hay bales.
Most importantly, prepare your clients for the meeting
with the caterers. If they know what to expect, you will
come off as an asset that is well worth the money. Prepare
them for the expected costs, as well as all the ancillary
charges for staff, flatware, linens, etc. that can add up
to more than the cost of the food.
By preparing your clients well, you will be well on your
way to a successful career as a wedding planner. Good Luck!
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