The Eve of the Day That I've Been Dreading!

Kendra called me last August and asked me to plan the menu for her wedding. I met with her and consulted. She told me that the wedding would be in April of 2008. Well, that seemed so far away-- the pessimistic side of me wondered if they'd still be a couple, much less still engaged in 8 months! Hell, 8 months is a long time! We had a couple of meetings about the menu last Summer and then I didn't hear anything from Kendra until early this year. She announced to me that the wedding was 93 days away and she still wanted me to cater it.

A lot has changed since our initial meeting-- there is a wedding planner from New York and some future in-laws (AKA: Parents of the Groom) involved in the planning process. The guest list has doubled and the menu has evolved to reflect the ethnic hungers of the hundreds of people that are traveling to Atlanta from London, the Middle East, Australia, China and God knows where else! Oy Vay!!!!!

Kendra and I originally agreed that 2 attendants would be enough. Later in the process, she agreed to pay for 4 attendants. As the date got closer and I became more nervous, I hired 6 attendants (plus myself) to pull this thing off! Kendra requested that all of the attendants be dressed in black. I thought this would be an easy request, but it turns out that the people I hired have never purchased black clothing (except for Aja- who said that she had a black T-shirt). I went shopping and bought matching shirts for all of us to wear. Some of the girls thought that the shirts I bought were too large, so I had to exchange them. Today, Alex told me that he didn't own any black pants, so I went to Macy's and got some for him. I found out later that he doesn't own a belt, but that's just going to have to be OK, unless I can find something in my closet to fit him.

I was really impressed with how our kitchen manager, Jesus, took over when I presented him with the order last week. He created spread sheets for all of the prep team to follow in the days leading up to the wedding. Everyone was on task today and we completed everything that Jesus assigned. I'm bringing the prep team in early at 3:00am tomorrow to complete the order, and the attendants will arrive at 9am for a dress inspection and to load the van. A couple of days ago I really had my doubts that this would all come together--- now I'm feeling more confident--- we can do this!

The price of the catering job is over $6000. This is the biggest job I've ever done and I'm still afraid that I've bitten off more than I can chew. What can the staff of the Biscuit do that would warrant a $6000+ price tag? How can I expect my staff of Larry, Curly and Moe to pull this off? What was I thinking when I accepted this job? I'm going to be a nervous wreck for the next 24 hours. Did I mention that the Bride is a co-worker of my boss's wife? As if I didn't have enough pressure on me already!

I just want this experience to be over and done with as quickly and as easily as possible! Please send positive vibes my way & if you're so inclined, go ahead and say a prayer for me, I'll need it!