The Beginning

1. Where do I begin?
   
2. Do I need a budget?
   
3. Should I plan on a full meal or just appetizers?
   
4. How does the time of day and season effect the plans?
   
5. How does the location of the reception site affect our plans?
   
6. What resources do we have to draw from?
   

The Facility

1. What are the five key questions to ask the rental facility coordinator?
   
2. Do I need additional insurance if I rent a hall?
   
3. How big of a facility do I need to rent?
   
4. How can I find a facility to rent?
   
5. How far in advance should I rent the facility?
   
6. What does the rental hall provide?
   

Planning

1. How much food do I need?
   
2. Should I rent linens, dishes, flatware and glasses, or purchase disposables?
   
3. If I rent dishes, how many will I need?
   
4. Besides cost, what is the most negative aspect of renting dishes?
   
5. How much should I budget for renting dishes, flatware, glasses and linens?
   
6. What kind of serving pieces do I need?
   
7. If we rent, should we have the rental agency deliver everything?
   
8. We don't have room to set up a buffet, how can we still serve a crowd?
   
9. Can you modify a family favorite recipe to feed a varied number of guests?
   
10. How many servings are in a keg of beer?
    
11. How much champagne do we need?
    
12. What should we serve the non drinkers for the toast?
    
13. How much help will I need before the day of the wedding?
    
14. Where can I find extra help?
    
15. How many helpers will be needed to get the food and buffet ready?
    
16. How do you feed between fifty and three hundred people in a time frame that leaves ample time to cut the cake, have a toast, dance and party?
    
17. What is the most effective way to prevent a long line at the buffet?
    
18. What is the biggest problem with disposable champagne glasses?
    
19. Should I hire someone to work the day of the event?
    
20. What is a good alternative to canned soda for small children?
    
21. Why shouldn't you serve both punch and soda?
    
22. What decoration shouldn't be put on the tables?
    
23. What is a inexpensive, but stunning, center piece for the buffet?
    
24. How can I save money on the wedding cake?
    
25. What looks beautiful on the cake, but is difficult to handle and tastes terrible?
    
26. How much time should I plan on spending in the kitchen the day before the wedding?
    
27. Why shouldn't I use slide lock baggies?
    
28. How much food can I heat at the facility?
    

Shopping

1. How much alcohol do I need to purchase?
   
2. What is the one beverage that everyone drinks?
   
3. What needs to go in my back-up box for the kitchen crew?
   
4. Where can I find the best buys on disposables, without buying 1000 of everything?
   
5. How can I economize on the food?
   
6. How can I economize on the beverages?
   

The Big Day

1. How do we figure the best layout for the room? Where should we put the buffet line, the bar, cake table and gifts?
   
2. How much time do I need to set up?
   
3. What is the most common problem in setting up and decorating for the reception?
   
4. How can we keep food warm until it gets to the reception hall?
   
5. Why shouldn't we put the napkins and silver ware at the beginning of the buffet line?
   
6. How should we set up the food on the buffet?
   
7. What is the most effective way to keep the buffet line running smoothly?
   
8. What can we use to hold ice and beverages so we don't look like we are on a camping trip?
   
9. How much ice do I need?
   

The Reception

1. How do you avoid a mob scene at the bar as people arrive from the wedding ceremony?
   
2. How do you keep the kids from sneaking food off the buffet before the bride and groom have served themselves?
   
3. How much time do we need to allow for all the guests to get through the buffet line and eat?
   
4. When should we serve the champagne?
   
5. How much champagne should be poured in each glass?
   
6. Should the champagne be passed by servers or filled glasses put on a table for guests to serve themselves?
   
7. How do we know when to cut the cake?
   
8. How do you cut a wedding cake?
   
9. What three items must be handy when the cake is being cut, in addition to the plates and forks?
   
10. Shoud the cake be passed by servers, or the plates layed on a side table for guests to serve themselves?
    
11. How many people do we need to cut and pass the wedding cake?
    
12. When should the toast be given?
    
13. What is the best way to get the guests to leave in time to clean up the hall so we can be out on time?
    
14. How much time will the clean up involve?