For a buffet lunch or dinner for a wedding or any other banquet setting, the standard rule is to have 5% available above and beyond the guaranteed number of guests. But how much food you have to put out to feed your guests adequately? That amount is up to the chef and the catering professional where you want to have plenty of food but not excessive. The problem arises when a guaranteed number is unrealistic, and the day of the event the number increases by 20% in this one example. The budget for 350 people was $8000. 430 people actually showed up, and within 20 min. the food was gone, and a lot of people went hungry and complained.

With the budget  being very tight at $17++ per  person, and with a basic menu there was not a lot of extra fluff.

Other  issues concerning  the group such as are they big  eaters, what time of day is it, did they have lunch or did they miss a meal? If the catering people had sensed a problem brewing they could've erred on the side of success for them and success for the client.

The client who was in charge of the party was wrong to not get them a realistic number of attendees. The final resolve by the client was to maintain their budget even though they knew there were more people coming and that they did not want to pay more.

The facility comes off looking unprofessional and ill prepared for 430 people, and all the staff gets beaten up.

Sometimes accepting a client who is inflexible and ultimately doesn't care about the vendors reputation is not a client you want or to work for.

                                                           Photo by Ed Champagne

That being said this event was a lose, lose.

White Cake and Red Wine don't mix well......

Photo by Lucas DeSousa  Cake by Michelle Hines

Why you should keep the cake away from the stationary hors d'oeuvres….

The ceremony was over.  The reception had started. We had a small celebration cake for the cake cutting and we placed it between the 2 stationary hors d'oeuvres on an elevated prop.  A lady approached the hors d'oeuvres with her glass of red wine, and proceeded to place the glass next to the celebration cake. As she reached over to put some hors d'oeuvres onto a plate her elbow kicked the wineglass into the cake, splashing her red wine over the white cake, which panicked the lady into a quivering mass of ”What can I do to help?” I told her to please get a glass of white wine and that everything was going to be okay. I took the cake into the back and patted it dry. We added some flowers to the exposed area, brought it back out to the reception and turned the wine stained part of the cake away from the guests. Nobody spilled the beans to the bride and groom. The cake cutting went on without a hitch. The next morning the bride and groom and their entourage were laughing over the incident at breakfast. Planning a wedding in Vermont is aided by the experience of what not to do....

Blue Sky Blog VI 3.1.2012

Blue Sky Blog VIII 3.4.2012

Some of the best places in Vermont to have a wedding are off the beaten path. Sterling Ridge Resort is located in Jefferson Vermont and offers the backwoods safe relaxed style while having the comfort of beautiful cabins to relax in. You'll have to find a good caterer,  and a wedding planner to help you with the details. There are no supermarkets nearby nor any box stores to help you with supplies. You have to plan ahead and in Vermont it means a checklist of all the supplies you will need for the entire event. I've had weekend events were everyone was assigned one meal to be concerned with and it was a fun family style event. Who knows you may even see a deer at the ceremony! They're just curious and hopefully will stand still for a photo. Those type of events make for a special occasion.

Blue Sky Blog VII 3.2.2012

Using friends to perform services for your wedding, can save you lots of money. It can also cost you missed or ruined opportunities at your celebration.


The DJ was a friend of the groom. The  Vermont wedding seem very relaxed and low-key at the time. The groom was getting drinks for the DJ. And the DJ was really enjoying himself. The celebration progressed and the DJ was getting hammered. About the 2nd hour after dinner when the crowd was taking a break from dancing,  some bridesmaids went up to the DJ to request some songs.  The DJ began to make rude and crude remarks about the bridesmaids.  One bridesmaid got very insulted and went off to get her other half. He  showed up in a not so friendly mood and proceeded to jump across the table and grabbed and tussled with the DJ. After the incident the DJ decided not to play any more music. He left the room for the remainder of the celebration,  which came to a sudden end.  When planning a wedding, using friends to be the vendors at your wedding does not mean they can't do a good job for you. But if these people are celebrating along with you, things can get out of hand very quickly.