Corrie and Mark's Wedding

January 1, 2010
1:00 PM
My niece Corrie is getting married tomorrow and I am catering the wedding and doing the wedding cake. I am over at the church setting up the tables and cloths for the reception. My sister Nancy just arrived with some of her in-lawsfromher other daughter's wedding to help set up the room. I keep bringing in chaffers and glassware while they are setting centerpieces. I think about the cake we are doing for Corrie. The top two layers are white with a mocha filling, the third layer is a spice cake with a molasses filling and the bottom layer is butterscotch. Butterscotch cake is my favorite cake. Amy and I have baked the cake and both of us have been working on icing and decorating it.

As I am finishing bringing in all the glassware, I hear Nancy mention that Marc told her last night that a bunch of the couple's friends are coming to the wedding even though they didn't respond with an RSVP. She is thinking there could be 140 people instead of 100. This is an offhand comment by her, but my heart stops when I hear her say it. I call her over. "Nancy-140 people is a lot more than 100." I think about what thestaff is preparing. We have a good and varied menu planned: sliced tenderloin with small buns and a horse-radish sauce, grilled salmon, grilled pineapple and shrimp skewers, stuffed new potatoes Romanoff, stuffed mushrooms, Gougere cheese puffs, chicken tarragon salad in filo cups, Rumaki, stuffed dates with goat cheese and wrapped with Prosciutto, imported cheeses and seasonal fruits and grilled vegetables. It is a nice menu that should make a good light meal at 4:30 for everyone, but I am planning on 100. I think about my brother David. I remember that he just hovered over the shrimp and caviar at my wedding and I begin to get panicky that we will run out of food. Nancy seems to think that we will just make do, but I worry about those last 40 people going from station to station not finding anything to eat. I decide that I need to get more food. I usher them out of the church and head to my wholesale market to get more provisions. They are closed.

January 2, 2010
9:30 AM
Two of my daughters, Ashley and Shelley and her baby Eleanor arrived last night and are here for the wedding. We are having breakfast together and I am still worrying about getting the rest of the food together for Corrie's wedding. I finish up making breakfast, get a second cup of coffee and head out the door for the wholesaler. I get more tenderloin, more shrimp, more Prosciutto, more filo cups and head back to the shop to grill the tenderloin and shrimp. I know I have more cheese, plenty of vegetables and enough potatoes. I decide to fill more mushrooms while I am grilling the tenderloin. All of a sudden I remember about the salmon. I have 6 sides and would have bought two more if I had remembered. Now it is too late. I can't go back. I cut the salmon into pieces and pipe some cream cheese on each piece. I have about 180 pieces and decide that is plenty. I try to relax.

2:00 PM

I call Brian. I don't think I can get everything loaded in time to get to the church and I need him to come and help. He shows up about 30 minutes later and we get the food and the cake loaded and head over. Amy and I unload the cake and finish setting it up and decorating it. Dudley helps add flowers and I move on to directing the staff to get the buffet ready. Rich and Shirley and Ann all look at me like I am some sort of nervous Nelly. We get the buffet ready and it is time for the wedding. I run upstairs and sit next to Lisa behind Nancy and Bill. Corrie looks beautiful, but I am wondering how the staff is doing downstairs. I take a quick count of the guests. It looks closer to 100 than 140. I know we will be fine on the food and as the wedding ends I sprint downstairs. Everything is set and the room looks great. The guests are right behind me and we open the buffet. Everyone has plenty to eat.