{ beef tenderloin with a lobster tail | Union Bank Inn | photo: Kelsy Nielson Photographer }

You can make this process a little easier by following some basic principles:

• make your rsvp date 2 weeks before you need to give final numbers. It gives you time to track down any tardy guests to determine if they can come & celebrate or not.
• remember your vendors in the final count. If your photographer, videographer, DJ and wedding planner are staying for the reception, it’s common courtesy to provide them with a meal
• if your venue allows you too, decrease your numbers for late lunch to 50% of your overall guests. Not everyone is going to partake in a late lunch (some guests leave, some guests are too busy partying!)

{ seating cards at entrance | color coded per their selected entree choice }

If you are providing a plated meal and your guests were able to rsvp in their choice, be sure to tell your venue/caterer the color codes you are using on your placecards to differentiate the guests’ meal selection.

A little bit of advanced planning will ensure you and your caterer are ready for the big day – with no unexpected surprises! Happy Planning!

Jolyn | Lifestyle Wedding Planner & Designer
Nuance Occasions
780.628.6457

It’s hard enough knowing when to serve your dinner, but then you must sort out when it ends and when your speeches, cake cutting and dances can begin.

So, let’s break this down a bit for you and see if I can’t simplify the process for you.

Buffet Dinners
Generally, you want a buffet line per 100 guests for ease and speed of speed of services. It’s best if there is a line on each side of the table for even speedier service.

If you can keep to one line per 100 guests – then generally, you can be starting your speeches and rest of your program at the hour mark. Guests will be onto dessert and coffee service can begin.

If your venue offers you less lines, then you need to add more time – so if you only have one line 200 guests, mark 1.5 hours for your dinner time, because the last table will take longer before they can be onto dessert.

Plated Dinners
Sit down meals get a little trickier to plan simply because there are more variables: service speed, number of servers per guest ratio, size of room for distribution and much more. For you, I’ve put this into a basic formula – for my couples I’m able to tailor this number more specific to their venue – but these numbers will give you a good starting point.

For soup, salad, palate cleaner & dessert courses – I plan about 5 minutes for service, 15 minutes for eating, 10 minutes for clearing (so 0.5 hour per course).

For entree course, I plan 10 minutes for service (especially if they have to provide specific entree choices to specific guests, this takes more time), 25 minutes for eating and 10 minutes for clearing (45 minutes for the entree course)

Plan the Time in Your Reception Timeline
None of these formulas are set in stone! After 9 years, I’ve got a different formula for each venue I’m in – and even that depends on the number of guests at that wedding, the size of the room and many other factors. Ultimately, you want your guests to enjoy a fantastic dining experience which includes allowing adequate time for conversation & digestion.

If you aren’t working with a wedding planner, and stuck working out your itinerary on your own, then I hope these formulas will give you a good starting point on creating your reception timeline!

Jolyn | Lifestyle Wedding Planner & Designer
Nuance Occasions
780.628.6457

Each venue and caterer has very different policies surrounding tastings, so you’ll want to be sure to check with your venue or caterer in advance about what their policy is.

Generally, tastings are only offered for plated menu service – sorry, if you are choosing a buffet option, tastings aren’t offered because it’s impossible to prepare small portions of each of the varied items for an appropriate tasting.

Tastings are usually offered within the 3 months prior to your wedding – close enough to ensure you can choose from the current menu, but still enough time to make changes or substitutions in your final menu.

Chocolate Mousse at Fairmont Newport, California - during ABC Wedding Planner Conference 2008

Here’s a couple tips to ensure you get the most of your tasting session:

• Schedule in Advance. Schedule your tasting a couple weeks in advance, to ensure your chef has time to order ingredients that may not be standardly in their kitchen (such as fresh seafood or unique dessert ingredients).
• Give Chef Some Freedom. Although you’ll pick the main entrees, allow chef to recommend the best seasonal vegetables and starch to be paired with each dish
• Share your thoughts. Be sure to share with the chef any of your thoughts (too much sauce, would prefer a different presentation, etc) but keep in mind your guests may not share the same opinion. Your ultimate goal is to select a menu you’ll love, but will also be widely accepted by your guests.
• Seek Professional Guidance. If you love all the options and can’t decide which salad to serve, ask your Chef for recommendations about what will pair well with the rest of your meal selections. Don’t hesitate to ask your Chef for their wine recommendation for your meal pairing as well.
• Enjoy the experience. Enjoy becoming familiar with the taste, smell, visual presentation and personal care and attention your Chef will put into helping you plan the most perfect wedding meal.

You don’t want to rush yourself – so make sure you plan to spend approx. 2-3 hours at your venue meal tasting. Take notes, and while your meal is still fresh in your mind, make your final menu selections and pass them along to your venue or catering coordinator.

My couples love the menu tasting when it comes along on their planning tasks to complete. I hope you have the same experience at yours!

Jolyn | Luxury Wedding Planner
Nuance Occasions
780.628.6457