October 14, 2023 • 46 mins
Join us as we navigate the intricate world of event planning with industry veteran, Fausto Pfifferer. From cost estimation to strategic diversification of income avenues, especially in the wake of the pandemic, listen in as we take a deep dive into the nitty-gritty of event catering.
Crisscrossing further into our dialogue, we tap into the potential hazards tangled in large event catering. From the looming threat of food poisoning to the quintessential legalities of serving liquor, Fausto's insights are an absolute treasure trove. Are you aware of the serv safe certification requirement in every state for serving food at a wedding reception, insurance, and a business license? Or the criticality of a professionally trained bartender adhering to safety protocols? This episode is sure to elevate your awareness.
Finally, our conversation takes a savvy turn as we discuss the various facets involved in wedding planning and catering. Striking a balance between timing, managing overlapping tasks, assigning a dedicated staff to the couple, and the subtle art of serving dinner during cocktail hour, we cover it all. Plus, we also examine the consequences of unchecked alcohol consumption at weddings and the need for a no-alcohol clause in vendor contracts. Tune in to this enlightening session for some exclusive industry insights from a seasoned professional.
To listen to more episodes visit www.yourdreamday.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we
go, we are hoping that we'll goso either after, either after.
Hi, welcome to your Dream Daypodcast.
(00:32):
I'm your host, kathy Peek-Lukas.
We have a very, very, veryspecial treat today the one and
only Fausto Ferrer.
Are you, fausto?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I'm good.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Fausto is a huge, huge treat today because he is
one of the leaders in the eventsindustry.
I've heard him speak at WeddingMBA and he speaks at
conferences all over the country.
We even had the opportunity tohave him here at Greater
Cincinnati earlier this yearbecause he was speaking at a
catering conference.
We took you on a one-on-onetour of the Reading Bridal
(01:06):
District.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I was so happy about that.
What was that duck place wherewe had the brunch.
It was really good.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Oh gosh, taste of Belgium.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yes, it was really good.
I bought the t-shirt, or Iactually had him give it to me.
I had a wonderful time.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wonderful, but we are so excited to have you here.
I think today we're talkingabout a very, very, very
important topic, which we talkeda little bit before we started
recording, but I think we'regoing to hit a little bit about
catering, one-on-one and workingas a team and things that you
can and can't do as a plannerwhen it comes to catering.
(01:46):
Tell us a little bit about yourbackground.
Do you have a phenomenal resume?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Well, I went into my 37th year this August.
I tell people I am not old, I'mjust experienced.
But I am an experienced personwho still every day learns
something new about thisindustry and I still get
butterflies.
So my career started inPhiladelphia and then I moved
into New York a little bit andthen, when our daughter was born
(02:13):
, we moved to Maine and we'vebeen here for 16 years and I
watched Maine explode into theindustry.
Like when I moved here, youcouldn't find Chevari chairs
anywhere.
You had to go to Boston.
Nobody had them.
You're kidding.
ClearTop10 has just made theirway up this way and everybody's
(02:35):
like, oh, cleartop10.
I'm like, oh my God, we used touse those in 1995.
They're so hot inside, that'sthe last thing you want to do.
So it was really interestingand we've seen the whole
industry really explode.
It was 2014, right after therecession, that everything just
opened up.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And you actually work for a catering company as well,
correct, Well, when I firststarted out I had my own and
anybody who first starts out inbusiness you don't really know
what you're doing and it's sortof when it's way.
And I was young and I went towork for two women who gave me
my start in my career and I dida lot in Philadelphia with them.
(03:15):
There isn't any historicbuilding or mansion or museum
that I have not put my hands onand I'm very proud of that,
because I love a historicmansion or museum for a wedding
and the Philadelphia Zoo was oneof my pride and joys because we
created the picnic program forthem until Lancer took it over.
And then you know, on and on,you just go in, and then I went
into just planning and then whenwe moved to Maine, we bought
(03:38):
the catering company to justbring everything in to have more
of a production kind of feel,and then, when everything else
fails, you buy a magazine on topof everything else.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Because you need something else to put on your
plate.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, you know it's pivoting.
Pivoting was word we used inCOVID, but I just think it's
extra avenues of income to comein because we do have ten
full-time employees.
So I always think about theirsalaries and how it affects.
So it has to come from multiplesources.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, it's interesting you talk about
pivoting, because I think, as awedding professional in
particular, there's a lot of uswho do multiple things just so
that we can, you know, make endsmeet.
Because, like when you're in alarge city like New York, or
like Dallas or Miami or LosAngeles, you know there's more
(04:30):
needs for an event planner, likein Cincinnati, you've got to be
working a lot to make a livablewage as an event planner and
you also can get a little bit ofburnout, and so that was one of
the reasons why I started thispodcast was because I needed
another little spark, andeverybody is always like you're
(04:50):
so good on camera, you're sogood in interviews and I'm like
you know what.
Start a podcast After thepandemic was over and, you know,
life started getting back tonormal, where you weren't
talking about COVID all the time.
You know, I launched thepodcast and it's been
fascinating because you canlearn so much just by talking to
different wedding professionalsabout what it is that they do
(05:12):
and what makes them great, andone of the things that we're
going to talk about today isjust some of the things when it
comes to catering, like, whatare some of these charges on the
bill.
What do they mean and you knowwhat is.
What is the different types ofways that you can distribute
food at a wedding and why doescatering cost what it costs and,
(05:33):
in particular, why is it soimportant to have a licensed
caterer?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Oh, my God license.
Let's just start with that one,Please make sure that you are
licensed and you are registeredand you have the proper
insurance that will cover youfor anything that might happen.
Let's just say somebody getssick with oyster poison.
You know they're eating anoyster and now they've gotten
really, really sick.
You got to save those tags.
When you get your oysters, nomatter where you get them from,
(05:58):
make sure those are there andthat they're in the file so that
you have them.
So if anything does happen, youcan track where they were sold
and where they were sold to.
For me, I am very transparent onmy proposals because I have
always found it interesting whensomebody says I think the
biggest thing that people talkabout in the industry is my
(06:20):
caterer overcharged me.
Well, I don't understand that.
If you have paid your holdingfee, which is non refundable,
your 50%, which is nonrefundable, then your balance is
50% of that.
So let's say it was, let's sayit was $10,000 and you've given
the caterer 10,000, 5000, youowe them five.
Where did you get?
(06:41):
Unless you have signed acontract stating whatever new
thing you've added, thereshouldn't be anything extra on
there.
So that means you're not doingyour due diligence as the client
reading your contract, or maybeyour planner is not helping you
read through the fine print,and that's the big thing.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
And reading a contract is so important and you
need to read the fine print andsee exactly what that means.
When you put down a retainerfor services, essentially what
you're doing is you arereserving that date.
That's what you're paying for.
You're paying access to thatvendor for that particular date,
(07:19):
for that particular service,and because you are booking them
for that, they can't booksomebody else in your plate,
correct?
So that is what you're payingfor and you know.
Planners, caterers, we tend tobe one of the first things that
books and we book anywhere from12 to 18 months in advance, like
(07:41):
I had a call this week forsomebody looking for March of
2025.
And if I book a date two yearsin advance and you cancel four
months before the wedding, oddsare I'm probably not gonna be
able to rebook that.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yep, and there's where making sure that your
contracts no longer say depositand I know we switched gears a
little bit, but it actually goesinto the whole contract thing
of why catering stuff is soexpensive, because none of that
is ever returnable anymore, andso that's why it's either
retainer and always make surethat non-refundable is followed,
(08:18):
or before it so that it's there.
And then we take it a stepfurther.
You have to sign every lineitem on our contract.
So that tells me you read it,that you have looked at it and
you have initialed and signedoff on it.
So everything, just like anattorney.
And when we do our contracts,for instance, the whole menu is
spelled out for you from thecocktail hour.
(08:39):
So we walk you through the wholething.
We let you pick from a huge listof hors d'oeuvres that are in
there, then your dinner, fromyour salad to dinner,
everything's on there.
We put the cake on there, eventhough we're not bakers, and it
always says in parentheses,provided by client or baker,
because we are not a bakingcompany and we don't wanna take
that on.
And so from there you have theper person price for food, your
(09:02):
staff fee, which is the staffthat is working your party, we
do add 20% and then our statetax is 8% and it is all spelled
out for you there.
If there is anything likerentals or the bar service, that
is a separate contract withthose separate vendors and those
get sent out separately butours is there and then we break
(09:25):
it down so that you can pay yourholding fee, which reserves the
date because we do not pencilanybody in, that $2,500 buys you
my calendar space, that your50% is the next payment that's
due and that's againnon-refundable, and it tells you
the date that it's due.
And then your final is onemonth before, and sometimes we
(09:46):
let them go two weeks before theevent, depending on how they
are.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Well, let's talk a little bit about the different
types of ways that you can, Iguess, distribute the food to
guests on the wedding day.
What are the three things thatyou see the most?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Sit down family style buffets or stations.
They're just calling themstation now, but let's be honest
, they're buffets.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
They're buffets.
You still have people Likebuffets that are broken up into
four tables instead of one bigone.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Exactly exactly, and so I am a fan of a sit down, and
here's why you can offer yourclient a little better deal I'm
not saying discount a littlebetter deal without having to
affect cost or quality, becauseeverything, down to the last
potato, is counted for.
Where you have a buffet or astation or a family style, you
(10:39):
are making.
Well, let's just be honest, afamily style is just a plated
buffet.
You're bringing food andputting it there and, to be
honest, when you do a familystyle, it only works on long
tables.
It does not work on rounds.
It's a clutter of platterseverywhere and then everybody's
passing dishes and servingpieces.
(10:59):
To me.
That's ugh.
I don't like that.
So you have your three priceranges.
I in my market tend to make thesit downs affordable in the $85
range.
Then the family style comesinto probably about 125, and
then buffet is about 150,because it's not just the buffet
.
Remember, there are peoplebehind the buffet that you now
(11:20):
have to hire extra staff forbecause the other staff are too
busy.
Clearing plates, moving plates,watering glasses, cleaning and
everything else that happensthroughout a wedding.
Broken glasses Do you know howmany times we have to clean up
broken glasses Cause somebody's?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
supposed to Ugh.
I hate it when they take themon the dance floor.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Exactly.
So that's why.
And then realistically thinkabout the buffet as well, or the
station, because now you needtables, rent them If your venue
doesn't have them.
You need tablecloths for themIf the venue doesn't have them,
and most caterers do not carrytheir own shaffers.
So now you're renting all ofthat equipment.
So you have now added to yourrental bill, let's say, another
(11:58):
$500, and onto your staff teamprobably another $700.
See how I just saved you money.
So if you do come in and say,oh I really need this to come
down, but I'm really fixated onhaving a buffet or a station,
well then you're not reallythere to save money.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Right, well, and the other thing that's interesting
too is, you know, a couple willsee a wide, wide price range in
catering cause, like around here.
Probably the high end is goingto be more in the 125 to 150
range per person and then thelower end tends to be more like
(12:36):
probably 25 to 40 per person,depending on the food type.
What separates the wide range?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The probably the caterer who's doing the $25 to
$30 is still working out of alicensed home kitchen and then
the person who's a hundred andto $150 is working from a
commissary that they own.
So there is a little bit moreof a cost factor, from electric
to insurance, to the employeesthat work their full time and
(13:09):
everything that comes into that.
And there's also vehiclesinvolved.
So if you have the 20 to 25person caterer, they're probably
most likely renting and there'sno shade renting a U-Haul
vehicle.
We own all of our trucks and sothere's maintenance and gas and
everything that comes into play.
That when you look at that bill, I think a lot of people get
(13:29):
sticker shock.
But what they don't percentcatering is only 11%.
I mean, when you factor ineverything you have to pay,
you're left with 11% to likereally take home and go.
Well, there's my.
That's why most of us have totake more than one job a weekend
, because you can't physicallylive on one catering job.
(13:49):
No one can.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and the other thing thatis, you know, interesting and I
had this come up last year is Ihad some people who Wanted to
try and do their own catering,which it it, it scares me.
You want to talk a little bit?
What about why that can be avery, very Scary and very
(14:15):
potentially liable situation forany couple planning a wedding
food poisoning number one.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Number two how are you going to be in two places at
the same time?
How are you going to be let'ssay it's the parents or the
Parents of the groom or parentsof the bride, and they're doing
well how are you going to walkdown the aisle and make sure the
food is hot?
And then are you going toinvite guests to the wedding,
but they're not part of thewedding, they're part of the
serving team.
And then, on top of everythingelse, who's going to clean it?
There's all of these variablesthat come into just going.
(14:45):
Oh, I want to cook the foodbecause I enjoy it.
Take this as the one day whereyou shouldn't cook your food
because of liability, andespecially, I don't think that
insurance companies will alsojust ensure you for, like the
event that somebody might getsick because you bought I Don't
know.
You went to Sam's and thechicken was on sale for 399 as
(15:05):
opposed to regular, because it'sfour days old and they're
trying to get rid of it and and,and you know that happens that
they're discounted it for rapidsale.
But now you bought all thechicken for your party, not
realizing that it should becooked that day, but you bought
it on Tuesday for Saturday.
Now it's sitting another fourdays in Refrigeration.
That's not up to temperaturebecause your house refrigerator
(15:27):
is just your house refrigeration, you don't have a walk-in
things like that.
So that is scary.
I I would never touch that witha 10-foot pole.
And once I was um, I Got put inthat predicament.
They called me and they saidwell, we have the chickens.
I said what do you mean?
You have the chickens?
And she said well, you're gonnacut them and defether them.
I said no, I'm not.
(15:47):
I said that's not what weagreed.
Yeah, so they had a farm andthey thought we would just kill
them and you know, take all thefeathers off.
And I said we're not butchersand we're not even prepared for
that.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Well, you have to be licensed to do that job alone.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
And so and a lot of it too most of us have.
You know, most of all of ushave to be serve safe.
You have to have yourcertificate of health from the
state that you are issued yourbusiness license from, and you
have to have insurance.
And those three things arerequired at our venues in the
state of Maine.
So we cannot walk into thevenue without giving them those
three things.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
And I'm going to expand a little bit on what
serve safe is because I havebeen seeing this a lot,
especially in Facebook groups,where you have people who maybe
are just getting started as aplanner who say I will take care
of serving your food for you.
That is illegal Unless you areserved safe certified.
(16:45):
And it's actually not thatdifficult to become served safe
certified.
If you go on serve safe comm,you can become a what is it
called like the supervisor orsupervising.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Exactly, and it's five years and I think it's like
three something, three fortynine, and it's five years, every
five years.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
But basically, it's a it's a self-paced online course
and it teaches you how to dofood protection when serving the
food.
And if you do not have thatlicense, you are not allowed to
serve food in the state of Ohioor anywhere.
And so If you have a plannerthat's saying, oh, I'll take
(17:26):
care of serving your chipotlefor you, or oh, your mom's
making the food, oh, we'll takecare of putting it out, because,
as your one, your planner isopening herself, him or herself,
up to huge liabilities thattheir liability insurance is not
going to cover, becausePlanners liability is going to
cover irrational missions andphysical liability which is
(17:46):
damaged to the property.
But, yes, just major, major,major red flag of things that
you just can't, it's, it's notsafe.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
I'm glad you said that, because when you said like
, let's say they brought inchipolies and again we're not
shaming chipotle or anythinglike, that no.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
no, I've had chipotle at weddings before, so they
bring it in.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
You have now released any liability.
If that food was bad and I'mnot saying it was like you put
it in Like that you put it inand now you've served it.
But here's also the problem.
If you are grabbing that foodwith utensils that haven't been
cleaned, your hands haven't beenwashed, hepatitis really flows
very different.
And now you got a proof thatthat hepatitis did not come from
you.
That's why you never grabglasses from the top where
(18:32):
people drink and put theirmouths on.
You grab them from the base oryou pick up the glasses with
black gloves.
So we do our team for cleanup.
They put on black gloves Toclean up.
That way they're not touchingsilverware and stuff like that,
and during covid it was really.
But black gloves have justskyrocketed price wise.
But for cleanup we let them doit, and you know everything else
is fine to serve it per the cdc.
(18:54):
But be careful with thatbecause you put yourself in the
line of fire and you shouldalways number one protect your
business above all else yep, andthe other thing too is just,
bartending is another thing thatcomes into play.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And, um, you know, as a, as a planner, I am not a
licensed bartender and I am notgoing to grab a bottle of
champagne and help the catererserve the champagne for a
champagne toast.
I'm not going to get behind thebar because I'm not licensed to
do that.
Um, how does your cateringcompany work with bartending?
(19:34):
Do you license?
Do you outsource that?
Do you have license?
Speaker 1 (19:37):
We outsource it.
In our state there's no suchthing as a licensed bartender,
so I don't know how.
I don't know how your stateworks, but for instance, there's
the blue law, and I don't knowif you have the blue law too,
where you cross we have the.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
our bartenders have to be tip certified Um, which is
A fancy way of saying you knowhow to cut somebody off properly
if they've had too much todrink exactly, but but that is
basically what tip certified is,and then you have to be insured
.
And, um, if you hire somebodywho is a bartender at a
(20:10):
restaurant for your wedding,that bartender is not covered
insurance wise, because whenthey're serving at a restaurant
they are covered under therestaurants insurance.
Independently, they are notinsured.
So you're also, um, if you havea family friend who's serving
um the alcohol, you are puttingthem in at so much risk and
(20:32):
liability that if somebody getsinto a car accident on their way
home, guess who's liable?
It's going to be your friendthe bartender, and you, the
couple, because you didn't havea license and insured bartender.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I'm so glad you bring up this topic because we do.
In our state we allow a lot ofvenues allow people to bring in
their own alcohol and then theyscream luxury.
And I put my hand up and I gowait a minute, um, I'm not
seeing luxury, because if I wasthe dad and I was rich, the last
thing I would do is unload mycar with alcohol that I brought,
(21:04):
that I have to at the end ofthe night, load back in.
That doesn't scream luxury tome.
What screams no is an open barthat the bar service brings in
everything and then takes itwith them.
That's luxury.
That's number one.
But number two it's alwaysprotect yourself.
Because if you do um a barwhere you bring in the alcohol,
(21:26):
and again in our state, if yousay you go to new hampshire and
bring it into Maine, you brokethe thing that's called the blue
lot and it all boils down totaxes.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
You cross state lines with liquor that was cheaper in
another state, you brought itin here, the state of Maine,
right now we have that too, andthat's actually an issue where
we live, because Cincinnati isright on the border of Kentucky
and our airport is actually inKentucky and so there's a couple
of Uh wholesalers in Kentucky.
(21:54):
People will go there a lot andthey'll buy it and then they'll
carry it over state line.
So that's actually an issuehere too.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And that's that's really big because it puts you
in a really awkward position.
And so now we is it we're so mycatering side of the company.
Under our insurance.
We can't touch any alcohol, sowe can't help you unload it, we
can't touch it, we can't put itaway, we can't even clear the
glasses.
So you have to have a barservice that has a bar back to
clear glasses that are liquorpoor, or my insurance will drop
(22:23):
me or hold me part of theliability, so we're very careful
with that.
So I have a licensed bar servicethat brings in their own
alcohol and he has been workingme for me for 16 years.
He does it all, I don't have toworry.
He brings the ice, the tonicsand, like I tell all my clients,
do your math.
If you, if you put aspreadsheet for everything else,
here's what it'll cost you foryou to go buy it and here's what
(22:45):
it'll cost if you hire aservice that brings everything
in.
Now, remember it might lookcheaper on paper, but time is
money.
Make sure you add your time forgetting all that, plus your gas
and whatever it costs for yourinsurance to drive back and
forth.
Those need to be added becauseeverybody forgets that.
So, with that said, the problemI sometimes have with somebody
(23:06):
buying their own alcohol andwe've done weddings but we're
very detached from it you,literally everyone that's in
there, has now becomeresponsible for that one person
who overdrank, because onelawyer will find everybody and
who has the best insurance andgo after that.
(23:28):
And that's what happens andtrust me, it does.
And so you have to be verycareful to watch everything
that's happening, because oncethat bar leaves in our state
they have 30 minutes.
Once they release the alcoholback to you, 30 minutes of
holding their breath thatnothing will happen, and once
that 30 minutes passes, that'sback on them, back on the family
(23:51):
.
So alcohol scares me sometimesbut it's a huge moneymaker for
some people and we've toyed with.
Do we bring it in?
Do we not bring it in?
And I'm choosing not to bringit in because it does people get
beer muscles and I don't havepatience nor the time for that,
you know.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
No Out here in Ohio I would say probably this is a
Cathy estimate probably about80% of them do use mobile
bartending services for thatexact reason.
There are still some that dosell the alcohol, but like one
in particular that we do workwith quite a bit, he owns a
(24:34):
retail storefront that sellsalcohol, so he has the liquor
license to sell the alcohol andso for him it already makes
sense because it's already partof his business plan.
But there's a couple othersthat we work with that they
always say here's our list ofpreferred bartenders and just
reach out to them and they'lltake care of it.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Do they allow them to come in and say, like some
places I know have allowedpeople who have no bartending
experience.
And then what the vent?
Which is really interestingbecause this goes back to all
the catering stuff we weretalking about.
As the catering company, wehave to provide so much
documentation before we set footon property, but everybody else
(25:21):
, you just watch, roll in andyou're like, sorry, my head's
going like this because, asthey're walking in and nobody
provides anything the bardoesn't provide anything, the
photographer doesn't provideanything and the makeup artist
doesn't provide anything.
And you're looking, but aren't?
These venues are requiring youto have insurance?
And half of them are like, oh,they don't want to give it to me
.
I'm like, well, then, stopasking me for it, because you
(25:43):
know I'm legitimate, so why doyou keep asking me?
But you don't ask anybody else.
And then we fall because we showup and we have 15 people in our
team working that we get lumpedinto everything.
That becomes disastrous becauseall they see is a catering team
, because 99% of the time peopledon't see everybody else.
(26:08):
They only see the people thatare clearing dishes and moving
here and cleaning that andsweeping the dance floor and
getting this.
They don't see the DJ evermoved.
They don't see the photographerdoing any of that.
So we become lumped in that ifthere's a mistake it happens to
us.
And the same thing with the bar.
Why aren't you doing it?
And the planner.
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I always joke that, like, your wedding planner gets
credit for everything and we getblamed for everything.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
There, you go.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I mean, there have been times where the timeline,
for example, I'd say the onething that could impact the
timeline the most is KarenBacoff that either didn't send
enough makeup artists for thenumber of bridesmaids that
required hair and makeup to bedone, or just it just took
(26:55):
longer for whatever reason.
That can set the schedule waybehind.
And then a photographer whodoesn't know how to manage large
groups and knock out thepictures can also set the
timeline behind.
And that is the number onething that can impact catering.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
You want to talk a?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
little bit about that .
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I do so.
For instance, if your weddingguest arrive at four for the
ceremony and your wedding is for30, you're really walking down
the aisle at four.
Five, four, 10, you'll be doneby five.
If you're getting marriedsomewhere with an officiant, you
are not doing an hour Catholicservice, so that let's just be
no, that's gonna be 15 minutes.
That's it, wham bam.
(27:36):
Thank you, ma'am.
And so let's say it's fiveo'clock and five to six is your
cocktail hour.
I'm assuming you're going to dosome more photos with your
photographer of anything thatwas missed if you didn't do a
first look, or if now you'redoing all of your photos that's
happening there.
What we do is we assignsomebody to the couple that that
job and their only job is tofeed them, give them drinks and
(27:59):
make sure they have everythingthey need.
Nobody else, just them.
Everybody else has two feet andcan walk and get their stuff
for them.
It's their day.
We take care of them.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I love it when caterers do that, because
usually that falls on me, and Ilove it when they appoint a
specific staff person.
That's all their job, becauseyou don't want that bride to
have to go through the buffetline with her, with her big
dress, which may or may not bebuckled at that point, depending
on whether she wants the effectfor her first dance.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Well, it's nice and that's it.
And it's funny because I saidto somebody once I said I
assigned somebody to you, so Iknow you ate, because if you
ever come up to me and tell meyou didn't need that's on you,
boo, because I have somebodythere that is just your person
all night.
You have to tell that person no, no, I'm good, leave me alone
because they're you know it has.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Do you know?
It has been a new thing thatseveral of my clients have
started doing and as a planner,I love it.
What they've been doing isthey've been sitting down and
eating dinner during cocktailhour privately, almost like at
the end of the night a couplethey're having like a private
last dance where they basicallykick everybody out of the venue
(29:06):
and then they just have the roomfor themselves.
They're doing the same thingwith their meal, and what's
what's great is that they theyget to actually sit down and eat
a meal, so I don't have toworry about them passing out on
my watch to their full.
So then they're happy and three.
During dinner they can goaround and visit with people,
(29:27):
because they've already eaten.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And it's actually really good.
And so the way we do it is fiveto six, cocktail hour at six
o'clock, and this just works forme and I sell it like this.
So at six o'clock you're doingyour intros.
First dance father, daughter,mother, son, toast or whatever
you know your toast.
Get them all out of the way.
And here's why All thegroomsmen's boutonniers are
(29:52):
still on, their jackets arestill on.
There's no sweat.
Stains, bouquets, look good, Ican find everybody.
I can find the moms, I can findthe dads, I can find the
photographer.
You have every let's say it's200 people.
You have 200 people's attentionat you.
So at 630, because your salad'salready down and you're eating
that, that's being cleared.
(30:12):
630 to 730 is dinner.
Now, sometimes we'll havesomebody like oh well, we gotta
take a sunset photo.
Or oh my God, there's thismassive rainbow and the sun
bursts are coming through it.
And I always tell my couplesthe same thing I said unless
there's a unicorn with a pot ofgold that you are specifically
going to get, you can leave.
But I'm serving dinner and ifyou come back and it's cold,
(30:33):
that is on you and yourphotographer, because there is a
timeline.
If you put it back into thewarming box it gets dried out.
All I'm asking is give us theone hour for dinner.
You have the rest of the nightto do whatever you wanna do.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
You can I actually I had a wedding a couple of weeks
ago and one of the very, veryimportant people who was like a
surrogate mom to the bride shegot lost on the way and we had
to delay the ceremony start byhalf an hour because we waited
for her to get there.
And who do you think the secondperson I told what was going on
(31:10):
was?
The first person was obviouslythe client.
Number two was the caterer.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
And we just need that because we need to either lower
the temperatures on the warmingboxes I don't know how
everybody works in your area,but one oven isn't gonna cut it
for 200 people, so you needboxes to kind of move the food
around, lower the temperaturefrom 180, bring it down a little
bit to get it to 160.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
So it stays no reasonable there and then Cause
the food continues to cook whenyou keep it at those higher
temperatures.
Absolutely, absolutely andthat's why you do that.
Because, like what like, when acaterer has their food, they
start the cooking process beforethey even leave their office
and it cooks while it's intransport, it cooks when they
(31:53):
unload it, it cooks when it'sbeing stored in those hot boxes
and it's being cooked throughtime according to the schedule
that you've approved.
So if your reception, if yourdinner is scheduled to start at
7.30, that food is being timedfrom like five o'clock to be
ready to be served at 7.30.
So if there's any hiccup inthat schedule, you need to tell
(32:15):
your caterer immediately as soonas you know that they're behind
schedule.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Exactly, and that's really good for everybody
because it really helps.
It puts the team back into thisand what I've been noticing,
especially this year and I don'tknow if you noticed it in your
neck of the woods we got awayfrom being team players with
each other, that we're rightback to where we were
pre-pandemic.
And, to be honest with you, Imiss the pandemic because it
brought us all together for thefirst time and I hate saying
(32:41):
that because I don't want thepandemic again, but we were
nicer.
You want COVID, we were nicer,we were nicer.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Yeah, no, I agree.
And my planning style and Iknow I believe I'm in the
minority with this, which I hopethere are planners listening to
this who maybe have more of anauthoritative style Mine is more
quarterback style, and I willtell a vendor when they need to
do their job.
I will tell them.
(33:10):
If there is an overlap of somesort, like, let's say, there's
an overlap between what the DJwas told and what the
photographer was told, I bringthose two vendors together and I
say, well, hey, you told youguys discussed this with the
bride, you guys discussed thiswith the bride.
We need to decide which is itgonna be, is it gonna be A or is
it gonna be B?
But I'm not a DJ.
(33:30):
I am not going to get behindthe sound equipment and I'm not
gonna get on the microphone.
You hired that DJ to do a joband let him do it because that's
what he does best.
And same thing with the catererand with the photographer.
You've been hired to do a job.
I expect you to do that job.
I'm not gonna do it for you.
(33:51):
My job is to direct you.
My job is to be the glue thatkeeps things flowing.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
I love that.
I love that whole the way yousort of kind of just laid that
out, because it makes a lot ofsense and there are a lot of
planners in our neck of thewoods sometimes that not
necessarily like to work with us, and because I am very like hey
, I follow things legally aswell, because my contracts are I
(34:18):
you know, during COVID gave nomoney back so because they're
pretty airtight And-.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Yes, there was a new word that every wedding
professional learned.
Yes and force.
The sure was another one.
And so you'll see those incontracts now.
Basically, the big differenceis that the God would be a
hurricane or an earthquake.
The pandemic was technically anact of God.
(34:45):
How the government reacted toit, it's worse major.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
There you go.
That's different and quantumroute, which takes it a step
further.
You just have to check withyour state if you're allowed to
use it.
In Maine we are Quantum route.
For instance, if somebody givesyou $10,000 and you can prove
$9,500 of billable hours, youreturn 500 bucks Pretty easy.
I don't know, I just in my head.
(35:12):
Contracts are scary and they'rescary for the client, they're
scary for everybody, but at theend of the day you protect your
business Exactly.
Also I'm gonna say it againbecause it's the most important
thing that you have to do- Well,and it also protects the client
.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
I hate to keep a looty to Facebook, but I've been
seeing this more and more,where you get people who might
be what the industry refers toas weekend warriors, where they
do it on the side and they'relike oh, I'll shoot your wedding
, hey, blah, blah, blah.
And I saw a girl who postedtoday that it took her a year to
get her photos from thisphotographer and she had a
(35:52):
contract and that contractprotected her because she was
able to call her lawyers and shethreatened the photographer
that, look, if I don't have myphotos within a week, I'm filing
legal action because, accordingto your contract that I signed
with you and guaranteed this.
So it protects the business,but it also does protect the
(36:14):
client as well.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Well, it's funny because I say this to planners
here sometimes and I'm workingfor somebody I said please, we
will help you with whatever youwanna do, and maybe this is your
area too, and maybe this is whycaters and planners sometimes
butt heads.
What they don't understand isthat everybody who's working for
me is on my books, becausewe're not allowed to have
subcontractors in the state ofMaine, so they are all legal
(36:38):
employees, so that's 10full-time people that I hired
and a hundred or so in thesummer.
Everyone is a W-9.
And so I find it reallyinteresting when they choose to
Tell my staff to move tables andI said you gotta ask the
captain, it's not, you gotta goby a chain of command, because
(36:58):
if that person hurts themselves,it is my workman's comp, not
yours, so there's no sweat offyour back.
But if you want all of thisstuff moved, then you should
have brought your own team andcharged the client.
But you can't use a cateringteam to do your bidding or your
job.
That's not fair, but it's moreof the legal ramifications that
(37:18):
come after it.
They can get hurt, they canpull their back, which a back
issue can't find it, and nowyou're out of work and now
you're paying them becausethey've now sued you.
They didn't sue the planner,they didn't sue the venue owner
who told them to move a table,that they weren't.
That's not their boss.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Yep, and see, like in our contract, we don't move
tables for that very reasonbecause our employees are
contractors and so we don't movetables, we don't dispose of
trash, we don't serve food, wedon't serve alcohol, and that's
(37:57):
because one I'm not licensed todo so.
And two, it's too much of aliability Good for you, and
there is somebody there that cando that, and that's a person
who should be doing it.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
And I wish more people understood that, because
sometimes they feel like, oh,you're not a team player and
like we are, we'll do whateveryou want to do, but you have to
do it within the legality of thecontract, and so because if I
changed something that theclient wanted and she told me
this and you decided this, thenit's me, she comes after, not
(38:31):
you.
So, yeah, it's just really agood balance.
So we do work with a handful,but we are primarily a planning
company, so 98% of the jobs thatwe have are we're planning them
from start to finish.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And the thing is is we get that weddings are
celebration, they're a happy day, they're a happy time and we
want to be there celebratingwith you.
But you also have to understandthis is our livelihood and this
is our business and that is whywe do what we do and it's I
mean I do.
I do wedding planning because Iget joy out of helping couples
transition from one chapter toanother and I have so many
(39:07):
clients like I have one clientright now.
She's a sweetheart and she'llbe like Kathy, are we gonna be
friends after, like, the wedding?
I'm gonna miss you so much.
And you know a lot of them I'mstill faithful friends with.
I see, you know, when they havetheir first children and I see
their milestones and all of that.
And you know my door is alwaysopen but, like, we have that
special bond during thatparticular period of time and I
(39:28):
want to bring that joy to theirlife.
But I also want them, you know,to understand that.
You know this is this is mylivelihood and I am a person
outside of this too, but this isthis is my job.
This is my job is to bring youjoy on your day.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And it's funny because when I look at vendors,
sometimes too, and I don't knowhow your contracts work in your
area, but we I don't allowdrinking at all- oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Absolutely no booze on the job.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Yeah, and I've seen vendors do it and I I've pulled
them aside.
I said, hey, can I just offeryou some advice?
You do you, but can I offer yousome advice?
I said you posted a picture acouple of weekends ago and
you're with the couple and youhave a drink in your hand and
she says, oh, they wanted me tohave it.
I said, okay, I'm going to playdevil's advocate here and I'm
going to do a scenario for you.
You were drunk.
(40:19):
No, I wasn't.
Prove you weren't, because all200 guests are going to side
with me because they came to mywedding.
Now I want my photos for free.
See how easy it was for me toget something from you for free,
even though you weren't drunk,you were photographed with a
drink in your hand and now it'sup to you to prove it wasn't.
But there are 200 people thatare going to say that
(40:40):
photographer was drunk at mywedding.
And here's proof.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
Do you want to hear a true story?
Some day I will write a book ofall the true wedding stories
that are just so unbelievablethat they're actually true.
I tell all my clients, if youhave hired a band, to add in a
no alcohol clause into theiragreement, because I've had this
(41:03):
happen twice where they wereboth like month of day of
coordination, so they hadalready booked this band before
they booked me.
And the one that was mostmemorable, I mean amazing band.
I mean this was a 15 piece bandand the MC was so drunk and he
kept visiting the bar.
(41:23):
And when you're a DJ or an MC,if you look at their paper, they
don't have the actual spellingof the person's last name, they
have it phonetically and so waittill you hear this.
So I had typed everything outfor him phonetically, so he had
(41:44):
everything right and I saidflower girls da, da, da, da, da,
da, da da.
Groomsman number one, da, da,da da.
Bridesmaid number one, da, da,da da.
So he gets on the microphone andhe goes oh no, groomsman number
one, groomsman number one.
And I do a double take on likewhat are you?
(42:05):
Oh my God.
And then he said hello,bridesmaid number two.
And I go up running and he'slike, oh, the flower girl, what
are you doing?
And he's like, oh my God, thething is, it's because he had
the microphone.
I'm gonna get on the microphoneand do that.
(42:28):
So at that point I'm like youjust gotta let this roll.
And my heart went out to thebride and the father of the
bride, because the father of thebride had the bride's mom had
passed away like six monthsbefore she got engaged, and so
they had the father of the brideand the mother of the bride had
(42:50):
celebrated their 50th weddinganniversary and that was the
band that they had there.
So dad's only request for thewedding was that this band be at
his daughter's wedding.
And the father pulled me asideand he's like, pull their tip,
because he I mean, what are yougonna do?
But I mean he was frequentingthe bar the entire night.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wow, that is terrible .
Speaker 2 (43:13):
It's terrible.
Well, and that was I mean.
And again, these are extremesituations, and one thing you'll
find with bands is that you getsome that are bar bands and
some that are event bands, andevent bands know, you just avoid
the bar, bar bands.
(43:33):
That's how the culture is.
When you play at a bar, you goto the bar.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
You get your shift, drink.
You do all of that and that'snot acceptable at a wedding and
I think it has to be with readthe room.
If the room is decoratedbeautifully to the nines, do not
come in and throw your shiteverywhere you can find it,
because that's visually whatyou're going to see.
And the same thing with a DJ.
You know you got a beautifultable, it's set up for you, and
(44:00):
then you come in, put all yourequipment and all the table
cloth is like crooked and that'sall you stare at all night
because everything is perfectbut that table.
And so that's one of thereasons why we angle the DJ off
to the side, because, number one, I don't want them in the back
of every photo.
And it's so funny because we'reso fixated with the efficient
(44:21):
not being in the kiss.
But it's okay for the DJ to bestanding there behind the dad
and the daughter dancing.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I never thought about that, but that actually makes
perfect sense.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
But the number one thing that I just go you blast
the person who is religiouslymarrying these two people,
because nobody else in the roomcan physically do that but this
one person.
You blast them for not moving.
But you're okay with the DJ andyou know how sometimes those
photos are.
They're just standing therelooking into the air.
(44:52):
Sometimes they're got theirfinger right here.
You're like what are you doing?
So that's my one advice foreverybody.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Wonderful, we'll stop .
So we're gonna wrap up here forthe wedding vendors that are
listening to this podcast.
Where are your next speakingengagements, so that we can come
and watch you?
Speaker 1 (45:14):
listen to you.
I'm very excited because I'mgoing to be at wedding MBA on
the 6th of November.
So 6th, 7th, 8th is when Ispeak on Monday, the 6th.
I will be in Vermont on the15th and 16th of November and I
will be at Cater Source inFebruary.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
You really truly are a leader in our industry.
It was such a treat having youon today, Falstow.
How can people find you online?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
You can check for me.
You can actually email me.
I'm good with Falstow atfalstowbluecom.
That's my email address.
I'm also on Instagram.
My personal page is my personalpage.
So what you see is what you see, don't get offended.
And then I do post.
You just do you right, exactly,and then we're Falstow, then
Blue Elephant events in catering, and then Instagram and stuff
(46:03):
like that.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Wonderful Falstow.
Thank you so much for being aguest today.
This is Kathy Peach Lucas withyour dream day.
Happy planning and thank youfor tuning in.
Take care.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Thanks everybody.
We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we
go, we are hoping that we'll goso either after, either after.
Hi, welcome to your Dream Daypodcast.
(00:32):
I'm your host, kathy Peek-Lukas.
We have a very, very, veryspecial treat today the one and
only Fausto Ferrer.
Are you, fausto?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I'm good.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Fausto is a huge, huge treat today because he is
one of the leaders in the eventsindustry.
I've heard him speak at WeddingMBA and he speaks at
conferences all over the country.
We even had the opportunity tohave him here at Greater
Cincinnati earlier this yearbecause he was speaking at a
catering conference.
We took you on a one-on-onetour of the Reading Bridal
(01:06):
District.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I was so happy about that.
What was that duck place wherewe had the brunch.
It was really good.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Oh gosh, taste of Belgium.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yes, it was really good.
I bought the t-shirt, or Iactually had him give it to me.
I had a wonderful time.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wonderful, but we are so excited to have you here.
I think today we're talkingabout a very, very, very
important topic, which we talkeda little bit before we started
recording, but I think we'regoing to hit a little bit about
catering, one-on-one and workingas a team and things that you
can and can't do as a plannerwhen it comes to catering.
(01:46):
Tell us a little bit about yourbackground.
Do you have a phenomenal resume?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Well, I went into my 37th year this August.
I tell people I am not old, I'mjust experienced.
But I am an experienced personwho still every day learns
something new about thisindustry and I still get
butterflies.
So my career started inPhiladelphia and then I moved
into New York a little bit andthen, when our daughter was born
(02:13):
, we moved to Maine and we'vebeen here for 16 years and I
watched Maine explode into theindustry.
Like when I moved here, youcouldn't find Chevari chairs
anywhere.
You had to go to Boston.
Nobody had them.
You're kidding.
ClearTop10 has just made theirway up this way and everybody's
(02:35):
like, oh, cleartop10.
I'm like, oh my God, we used touse those in 1995.
They're so hot inside, that'sthe last thing you want to do.
So it was really interestingand we've seen the whole
industry really explode.
It was 2014, right after therecession, that everything just
opened up.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And you actually work for a catering company as well,
correct, Well, when I firststarted out I had my own and
anybody who first starts out inbusiness you don't really know
what you're doing and it's sortof when it's way.
And I was young and I went towork for two women who gave me
my start in my career and I dida lot in Philadelphia with them.
(03:15):
There isn't any historicbuilding or mansion or museum
that I have not put my hands onand I'm very proud of that,
because I love a historicmansion or museum for a wedding
and the Philadelphia Zoo was oneof my pride and joys because we
created the picnic program forthem until Lancer took it over.
And then you know, on and on,you just go in, and then I went
into just planning and then whenwe moved to Maine, we bought
(03:38):
the catering company to justbring everything in to have more
of a production kind of feel,and then, when everything else
fails, you buy a magazine on topof everything else.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Because you need something else to put on your
plate.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, you know it's pivoting.
Pivoting was word we used inCOVID, but I just think it's
extra avenues of income to comein because we do have ten
full-time employees.
So I always think about theirsalaries and how it affects.
So it has to come from multiplesources.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, it's interesting you talk about
pivoting, because I think, as awedding professional in
particular, there's a lot of uswho do multiple things just so
that we can, you know, make endsmeet.
Because, like when you're in alarge city like New York, or
like Dallas or Miami or LosAngeles, you know there's more
(04:30):
needs for an event planner, likein Cincinnati, you've got to be
working a lot to make a livablewage as an event planner and
you also can get a little bit ofburnout, and so that was one of
the reasons why I started thispodcast was because I needed
another little spark, andeverybody is always like you're
(04:50):
so good on camera, you're sogood in interviews and I'm like
you know what.
Start a podcast After thepandemic was over and, you know,
life started getting back tonormal, where you weren't
talking about COVID all the time.
You know, I launched thepodcast and it's been
fascinating because you canlearn so much just by talking to
different wedding professionalsabout what it is that they do
(05:12):
and what makes them great, andone of the things that we're
going to talk about today isjust some of the things when it
comes to catering, like, whatare some of these charges on the
bill.
What do they mean and you knowwhat is.
What is the different types ofways that you can distribute
food at a wedding and why doescatering cost what it costs and,
(05:33):
in particular, why is it soimportant to have a licensed
caterer?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Oh, my God license.
Let's just start with that one,Please make sure that you are
licensed and you are registeredand you have the proper
insurance that will cover youfor anything that might happen.
Let's just say somebody getssick with oyster poison.
You know they're eating anoyster and now they've gotten
really, really sick.
You got to save those tags.
When you get your oysters, nomatter where you get them from,
(05:58):
make sure those are there andthat they're in the file so that
you have them.
So if anything does happen, youcan track where they were sold
and where they were sold to.
For me, I am very transparent onmy proposals because I have
always found it interesting whensomebody says I think the
biggest thing that people talkabout in the industry is my
(06:20):
caterer overcharged me.
Well, I don't understand that.
If you have paid your holdingfee, which is non refundable,
your 50%, which is nonrefundable, then your balance is
50% of that.
So let's say it was, let's sayit was $10,000 and you've given
the caterer 10,000, 5000, youowe them five.
Where did you get?
(06:41):
Unless you have signed acontract stating whatever new
thing you've added, thereshouldn't be anything extra on
there.
So that means you're not doingyour due diligence as the client
reading your contract, or maybeyour planner is not helping you
read through the fine print,and that's the big thing.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
And reading a contract is so important and you
need to read the fine print andsee exactly what that means.
When you put down a retainerfor services, essentially what
you're doing is you arereserving that date.
That's what you're paying for.
You're paying access to thatvendor for that particular date,
(07:19):
for that particular service,and because you are booking them
for that, they can't booksomebody else in your plate,
correct?
So that is what you're payingfor and you know.
Planners, caterers, we tend tobe one of the first things that
books and we book anywhere from12 to 18 months in advance, like
(07:41):
I had a call this week forsomebody looking for March of
2025.
And if I book a date two yearsin advance and you cancel four
months before the wedding, oddsare I'm probably not gonna be
able to rebook that.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yep, and there's where making sure that your
contracts no longer say depositand I know we switched gears a
little bit, but it actually goesinto the whole contract thing
of why catering stuff is soexpensive, because none of that
is ever returnable anymore, andso that's why it's either
retainer and always make surethat non-refundable is followed,
(08:18):
or before it so that it's there.
And then we take it a stepfurther.
You have to sign every lineitem on our contract.
So that tells me you read it,that you have looked at it and
you have initialed and signedoff on it.
So everything, just like anattorney.
And when we do our contracts,for instance, the whole menu is
spelled out for you from thecocktail hour.
(08:39):
So we walk you through the wholething.
We let you pick from a huge listof hors d'oeuvres that are in
there, then your dinner, fromyour salad to dinner,
everything's on there.
We put the cake on there, eventhough we're not bakers, and it
always says in parentheses,provided by client or baker,
because we are not a bakingcompany and we don't wanna take
that on.
And so from there you have theper person price for food, your
(09:02):
staff fee, which is the staffthat is working your party, we
do add 20% and then our statetax is 8% and it is all spelled
out for you there.
If there is anything likerentals or the bar service, that
is a separate contract withthose separate vendors and those
get sent out separately butours is there and then we break
(09:25):
it down so that you can pay yourholding fee, which reserves the
date because we do not pencilanybody in, that $2,500 buys you
my calendar space, that your50% is the next payment that's
due and that's againnon-refundable, and it tells you
the date that it's due.
And then your final is onemonth before, and sometimes we
(09:46):
let them go two weeks before theevent, depending on how they
are.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Well, let's talk a little bit about the different
types of ways that you can, Iguess, distribute the food to
guests on the wedding day.
What are the three things thatyou see the most?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Sit down family style buffets or stations.
They're just calling themstation now, but let's be honest
, they're buffets.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
They're buffets.
You still have people Likebuffets that are broken up into
four tables instead of one bigone.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Exactly exactly, and so I am a fan of a sit down, and
here's why you can offer yourclient a little better deal I'm
not saying discount a littlebetter deal without having to
affect cost or quality, becauseeverything, down to the last
potato, is counted for.
Where you have a buffet or astation or a family style, you
(10:39):
are making.
Well, let's just be honest, afamily style is just a plated
buffet.
You're bringing food andputting it there and, to be
honest, when you do a familystyle, it only works on long
tables.
It does not work on rounds.
It's a clutter of platterseverywhere and then everybody's
passing dishes and servingpieces.
(10:59):
To me.
That's ugh.
I don't like that.
So you have your three priceranges.
I in my market tend to make thesit downs affordable in the $85
range.
Then the family style comesinto probably about 125, and
then buffet is about 150,because it's not just the buffet
.
Remember, there are peoplebehind the buffet that you now
(11:20):
have to hire extra staff forbecause the other staff are too
busy.
Clearing plates, moving plates,watering glasses, cleaning and
everything else that happensthroughout a wedding.
Broken glasses Do you know howmany times we have to clean up
broken glasses Cause somebody's?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
supposed to Ugh.
I hate it when they take themon the dance floor.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Exactly.
So that's why.
And then realistically thinkabout the buffet as well, or the
station, because now you needtables, rent them If your venue
doesn't have them.
You need tablecloths for themIf the venue doesn't have them,
and most caterers do not carrytheir own shaffers.
So now you're renting all ofthat equipment.
So you have now added to yourrental bill, let's say, another
(11:58):
$500, and onto your staff teamprobably another $700.
See how I just saved you money.
So if you do come in and say,oh I really need this to come
down, but I'm really fixated onhaving a buffet or a station,
well then you're not reallythere to save money.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Right, well, and the other thing that's interesting
too is, you know, a couple willsee a wide, wide price range in
catering cause, like around here.
Probably the high end is goingto be more in the 125 to 150
range per person and then thelower end tends to be more like
(12:36):
probably 25 to 40 per person,depending on the food type.
What separates the wide range?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The probably the caterer who's doing the $25 to
$30 is still working out of alicensed home kitchen and then
the person who's a hundred andto $150 is working from a
commissary that they own.
So there is a little bit moreof a cost factor, from electric
to insurance, to the employeesthat work their full time and
(13:09):
everything that comes into that.
And there's also vehiclesinvolved.
So if you have the 20 to 25person caterer, they're probably
most likely renting and there'sno shade renting a U-Haul
vehicle.
We own all of our trucks and sothere's maintenance and gas and
everything that comes into play.
That when you look at that bill, I think a lot of people get
(13:29):
sticker shock.
But what they don't percentcatering is only 11%.
I mean, when you factor ineverything you have to pay,
you're left with 11% to likereally take home and go.
Well, there's my.
That's why most of us have totake more than one job a weekend
, because you can't physicallylive on one catering job.
(13:49):
No one can.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and the other thing thatis, you know, interesting and I
had this come up last year is Ihad some people who Wanted to
try and do their own catering,which it it, it scares me.
You want to talk a little bit?
What about why that can be avery, very Scary and very
(14:15):
potentially liable situation forany couple planning a wedding
food poisoning number one.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Number two how are you going to be in two places at
the same time?
How are you going to be let'ssay it's the parents or the
Parents of the groom or parentsof the bride, and they're doing
well how are you going to walkdown the aisle and make sure the
food is hot?
And then are you going toinvite guests to the wedding,
but they're not part of thewedding, they're part of the
serving team.
And then, on top of everythingelse, who's going to clean it?
There's all of these variablesthat come into just going.
(14:45):
Oh, I want to cook the foodbecause I enjoy it.
Take this as the one day whereyou shouldn't cook your food
because of liability, andespecially, I don't think that
insurance companies will alsojust ensure you for, like the
event that somebody might getsick because you bought I Don't
know.
You went to Sam's and thechicken was on sale for 399 as
(15:05):
opposed to regular, because it'sfour days old and they're
trying to get rid of it and and,and you know that happens that
they're discounted it for rapidsale.
But now you bought all thechicken for your party, not
realizing that it should becooked that day, but you bought
it on Tuesday for Saturday.
Now it's sitting another fourdays in Refrigeration.
That's not up to temperaturebecause your house refrigerator
(15:27):
is just your house refrigeration, you don't have a walk-in
things like that.
So that is scary.
I I would never touch that witha 10-foot pole.
And once I was um, I Got put inthat predicament.
They called me and they saidwell, we have the chickens.
I said what do you mean?
You have the chickens?
And she said well, you're gonnacut them and defether them.
I said no, I'm not.
(15:47):
I said that's not what weagreed.
Yeah, so they had a farm andthey thought we would just kill
them and you know, take all thefeathers off.
And I said we're not butchersand we're not even prepared for
that.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Well, you have to be licensed to do that job alone.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
And so and a lot of it too most of us have.
You know, most of all of ushave to be serve safe.
You have to have yourcertificate of health from the
state that you are issued yourbusiness license from, and you
have to have insurance.
And those three things arerequired at our venues in the
state of Maine.
So we cannot walk into thevenue without giving them those
three things.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
And I'm going to expand a little bit on what
serve safe is because I havebeen seeing this a lot,
especially in Facebook groups,where you have people who maybe
are just getting started as aplanner who say I will take care
of serving your food for you.
That is illegal Unless you areserved safe certified.
(16:45):
And it's actually not thatdifficult to become served safe
certified.
If you go on serve safe comm,you can become a what is it
called like the supervisor orsupervising.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Exactly, and it's five years and I think it's like
three something, three fortynine, and it's five years, every
five years.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
But basically, it's a it's a self-paced online course
and it teaches you how to dofood protection when serving the
food.
And if you do not have thatlicense, you are not allowed to
serve food in the state of Ohioor anywhere.
And so If you have a plannerthat's saying, oh, I'll take
(17:26):
care of serving your chipotlefor you, or oh, your mom's
making the food, oh, we'll takecare of putting it out, because,
as your one, your planner isopening herself, him or herself,
up to huge liabilities thattheir liability insurance is not
going to cover, becausePlanners liability is going to
cover irrational missions andphysical liability which is
(17:46):
damaged to the property.
But, yes, just major, major,major red flag of things that
you just can't, it's, it's notsafe.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
I'm glad you said that, because when you said like
, let's say they brought inchipolies and again we're not
shaming chipotle or anythinglike, that no.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
no, I've had chipotle at weddings before, so they
bring it in.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
You have now released any liability.
If that food was bad and I'mnot saying it was like you put
it in Like that you put it inand now you've served it.
But here's also the problem.
If you are grabbing that foodwith utensils that haven't been
cleaned, your hands haven't beenwashed, hepatitis really flows
very different.
And now you got a proof thatthat hepatitis did not come from
you.
That's why you never grabglasses from the top where
(18:32):
people drink and put theirmouths on.
You grab them from the base oryou pick up the glasses with
black gloves.
So we do our team for cleanup.
They put on black gloves Toclean up.
That way they're not touchingsilverware and stuff like that,
and during covid it was really.
But black gloves have justskyrocketed price wise.
But for cleanup we let them doit, and you know everything else
is fine to serve it per the cdc.
(18:54):
But be careful with thatbecause you put yourself in the
line of fire and you shouldalways number one protect your
business above all else yep, andthe other thing too is just,
bartending is another thing thatcomes into play.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And, um, you know, as a, as a planner, I am not a
licensed bartender and I am notgoing to grab a bottle of
champagne and help the catererserve the champagne for a
champagne toast.
I'm not going to get behind thebar because I'm not licensed to
do that.
Um, how does your cateringcompany work with bartending?
(19:34):
Do you license?
Do you outsource that?
Do you have license?
Speaker 1 (19:37):
We outsource it.
In our state there's no suchthing as a licensed bartender,
so I don't know how.
I don't know how your stateworks, but for instance, there's
the blue law, and I don't knowif you have the blue law too,
where you cross we have the.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
our bartenders have to be tip certified Um, which is
A fancy way of saying you knowhow to cut somebody off properly
if they've had too much todrink exactly, but but that is
basically what tip certified is,and then you have to be insured
.
And, um, if you hire somebodywho is a bartender at a
(20:10):
restaurant for your wedding,that bartender is not covered
insurance wise, because whenthey're serving at a restaurant
they are covered under therestaurants insurance.
Independently, they are notinsured.
So you're also, um, if you havea family friend who's serving
um the alcohol, you are puttingthem in at so much risk and
(20:32):
liability that if somebody getsinto a car accident on their way
home, guess who's liable?
It's going to be your friendthe bartender, and you, the
couple, because you didn't havea license and insured bartender.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I'm so glad you bring up this topic because we do.
In our state we allow a lot ofvenues allow people to bring in
their own alcohol and then theyscream luxury.
And I put my hand up and I gowait a minute, um, I'm not
seeing luxury, because if I wasthe dad and I was rich, the last
thing I would do is unload mycar with alcohol that I brought,
(21:04):
that I have to at the end ofthe night, load back in.
That doesn't scream luxury tome.
What screams no is an open barthat the bar service brings in
everything and then takes itwith them.
That's luxury.
That's number one.
But number two it's alwaysprotect yourself.
Because if you do um a barwhere you bring in the alcohol,
(21:26):
and again in our state, if yousay you go to new hampshire and
bring it into Maine, you brokethe thing that's called the blue
lot and it all boils down totaxes.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
You cross state lines with liquor that was cheaper in
another state, you brought itin here, the state of Maine,
right now we have that too, andthat's actually an issue where
we live, because Cincinnati isright on the border of Kentucky
and our airport is actually inKentucky and so there's a couple
of Uh wholesalers in Kentucky.
(21:54):
People will go there a lot andthey'll buy it and then they'll
carry it over state line.
So that's actually an issuehere too.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And that's that's really big because it puts you
in a really awkward position.
And so now we is it we're so mycatering side of the company.
Under our insurance.
We can't touch any alcohol, sowe can't help you unload it, we
can't touch it, we can't put itaway, we can't even clear the
glasses.
So you have to have a barservice that has a bar back to
clear glasses that are liquorpoor, or my insurance will drop
(22:23):
me or hold me part of theliability, so we're very careful
with that.
So I have a licensed bar servicethat brings in their own
alcohol and he has been workingme for me for 16 years.
He does it all, I don't have toworry.
He brings the ice, the tonicsand, like I tell all my clients,
do your math.
If you, if you put aspreadsheet for everything else,
here's what it'll cost you foryou to go buy it and here's what
(22:45):
it'll cost if you hire aservice that brings everything
in.
Now, remember it might lookcheaper on paper, but time is
money.
Make sure you add your time forgetting all that, plus your gas
and whatever it costs for yourinsurance to drive back and
forth.
Those need to be added becauseeverybody forgets that.
So, with that said, the problemI sometimes have with somebody
(23:06):
buying their own alcohol andwe've done weddings but we're
very detached from it you,literally everyone that's in
there, has now becomeresponsible for that one person
who overdrank, because onelawyer will find everybody and
who has the best insurance andgo after that.
(23:28):
And that's what happens andtrust me, it does.
And so you have to be verycareful to watch everything
that's happening, because oncethat bar leaves in our state
they have 30 minutes.
Once they release the alcoholback to you, 30 minutes of
holding their breath thatnothing will happen, and once
that 30 minutes passes, that'sback on them, back on the family
(23:51):
.
So alcohol scares me sometimesbut it's a huge moneymaker for
some people and we've toyed with.
Do we bring it in?
Do we not bring it in?
And I'm choosing not to bringit in because it does people get
beer muscles and I don't havepatience nor the time for that,
you know.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
No Out here in Ohio I would say probably this is a
Cathy estimate probably about80% of them do use mobile
bartending services for thatexact reason.
There are still some that dosell the alcohol, but like one
in particular that we do workwith quite a bit, he owns a
(24:34):
retail storefront that sellsalcohol, so he has the liquor
license to sell the alcohol andso for him it already makes
sense because it's already partof his business plan.
But there's a couple othersthat we work with that they
always say here's our list ofpreferred bartenders and just
reach out to them and they'lltake care of it.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Do they allow them to come in and say, like some
places I know have allowedpeople who have no bartending
experience.
And then what the vent?
Which is really interestingbecause this goes back to all
the catering stuff we weretalking about.
As the catering company, wehave to provide so much
documentation before we set footon property, but everybody else
(25:21):
, you just watch, roll in andyou're like, sorry, my head's
going like this because, asthey're walking in and nobody
provides anything the bardoesn't provide anything, the
photographer doesn't provideanything and the makeup artist
doesn't provide anything.
And you're looking, but aren't?
These venues are requiring youto have insurance?
And half of them are like, oh,they don't want to give it to me
.
I'm like, well, then, stopasking me for it, because you
(25:43):
know I'm legitimate, so why doyou keep asking me?
But you don't ask anybody else.
And then we fall because we showup and we have 15 people in our
team working that we get lumpedinto everything.
That becomes disastrous becauseall they see is a catering team
, because 99% of the time peopledon't see everybody else.
(26:08):
They only see the people thatare clearing dishes and moving
here and cleaning that andsweeping the dance floor and
getting this.
They don't see the DJ evermoved.
They don't see the photographerdoing any of that.
So we become lumped in that ifthere's a mistake it happens to
us.
And the same thing with the bar.
Why aren't you doing it?
And the planner.
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I always joke that, like, your wedding planner gets
credit for everything and we getblamed for everything.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
There, you go.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I mean, there have been times where the timeline,
for example, I'd say the onething that could impact the
timeline the most is KarenBacoff that either didn't send
enough makeup artists for thenumber of bridesmaids that
required hair and makeup to bedone, or just it just took
(26:55):
longer for whatever reason.
That can set the schedule waybehind.
And then a photographer whodoesn't know how to manage large
groups and knock out thepictures can also set the
timeline behind.
And that is the number onething that can impact catering.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
You want to talk a?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
little bit about that .
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I do so.
For instance, if your weddingguest arrive at four for the
ceremony and your wedding is for30, you're really walking down
the aisle at four.
Five, four, 10, you'll be doneby five.
If you're getting marriedsomewhere with an officiant, you
are not doing an hour Catholicservice, so that let's just be
no, that's gonna be 15 minutes.
That's it, wham bam.
(27:36):
Thank you, ma'am.
And so let's say it's fiveo'clock and five to six is your
cocktail hour.
I'm assuming you're going to dosome more photos with your
photographer of anything thatwas missed if you didn't do a
first look, or if now you'redoing all of your photos that's
happening there.
What we do is we assignsomebody to the couple that that
job and their only job is tofeed them, give them drinks and
(27:59):
make sure they have everythingthey need.
Nobody else, just them.
Everybody else has two feet andcan walk and get their stuff
for them.
It's their day.
We take care of them.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I love it when caterers do that, because
usually that falls on me, and Ilove it when they appoint a
specific staff person.
That's all their job, becauseyou don't want that bride to
have to go through the buffetline with her, with her big
dress, which may or may not bebuckled at that point, depending
on whether she wants the effectfor her first dance.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Well, it's nice and that's it.
And it's funny because I saidto somebody once I said I
assigned somebody to you, so Iknow you ate, because if you
ever come up to me and tell meyou didn't need that's on you,
boo, because I have somebodythere that is just your person
all night.
You have to tell that person no, no, I'm good, leave me alone
because they're you know it has.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Do you know?
It has been a new thing thatseveral of my clients have
started doing and as a planner,I love it.
What they've been doing isthey've been sitting down and
eating dinner during cocktailhour privately, almost like at
the end of the night a couplethey're having like a private
last dance where they basicallykick everybody out of the venue
(29:06):
and then they just have the roomfor themselves.
They're doing the same thingwith their meal, and what's
what's great is that they theyget to actually sit down and eat
a meal, so I don't have toworry about them passing out on
my watch to their full.
So then they're happy and three.
During dinner they can goaround and visit with people,
(29:27):
because they've already eaten.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And it's actually really good.
And so the way we do it is fiveto six, cocktail hour at six
o'clock, and this just works forme and I sell it like this.
So at six o'clock you're doingyour intros.
First dance father, daughter,mother, son, toast or whatever
you know your toast.
Get them all out of the way.
And here's why All thegroomsmen's boutonniers are
(29:52):
still on, their jackets arestill on.
There's no sweat.
Stains, bouquets, look good, Ican find everybody.
I can find the moms, I can findthe dads, I can find the
photographer.
You have every let's say it's200 people.
You have 200 people's attentionat you.
So at 630, because your salad'salready down and you're eating
that, that's being cleared.
(30:12):
630 to 730 is dinner.
Now, sometimes we'll havesomebody like oh well, we gotta
take a sunset photo.
Or oh my God, there's thismassive rainbow and the sun
bursts are coming through it.
And I always tell my couplesthe same thing I said unless
there's a unicorn with a pot ofgold that you are specifically
going to get, you can leave.
But I'm serving dinner and ifyou come back and it's cold,
(30:33):
that is on you and yourphotographer, because there is a
timeline.
If you put it back into thewarming box it gets dried out.
All I'm asking is give us theone hour for dinner.
You have the rest of the nightto do whatever you wanna do.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
You can I actually I had a wedding a couple of weeks
ago and one of the very, veryimportant people who was like a
surrogate mom to the bride shegot lost on the way and we had
to delay the ceremony start byhalf an hour because we waited
for her to get there.
And who do you think the secondperson I told what was going on
(31:10):
was?
The first person was obviouslythe client.
Number two was the caterer.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
And we just need that because we need to either lower
the temperatures on the warmingboxes I don't know how
everybody works in your area,but one oven isn't gonna cut it
for 200 people, so you needboxes to kind of move the food
around, lower the temperaturefrom 180, bring it down a little
bit to get it to 160.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
So it stays no reasonable there and then Cause
the food continues to cook whenyou keep it at those higher
temperatures.
Absolutely, absolutely andthat's why you do that.
Because, like what like, when acaterer has their food, they
start the cooking process beforethey even leave their office
and it cooks while it's intransport, it cooks when they
(31:53):
unload it, it cooks when it'sbeing stored in those hot boxes
and it's being cooked throughtime according to the schedule
that you've approved.
So if your reception, if yourdinner is scheduled to start at
7.30, that food is being timedfrom like five o'clock to be
ready to be served at 7.30.
So if there's any hiccup inthat schedule, you need to tell
(32:15):
your caterer immediately as soonas you know that they're behind
schedule.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Exactly, and that's really good for everybody
because it really helps.
It puts the team back into thisand what I've been noticing,
especially this year and I don'tknow if you noticed it in your
neck of the woods we got awayfrom being team players with
each other, that we're rightback to where we were
pre-pandemic.
And, to be honest with you, Imiss the pandemic because it
brought us all together for thefirst time and I hate saying
(32:41):
that because I don't want thepandemic again, but we were
nicer.
You want COVID, we were nicer,we were nicer.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Yeah, no, I agree.
And my planning style and Iknow I believe I'm in the
minority with this, which I hopethere are planners listening to
this who maybe have more of anauthoritative style Mine is more
quarterback style, and I willtell a vendor when they need to
do their job.
I will tell them.
(33:10):
If there is an overlap of somesort, like, let's say, there's
an overlap between what the DJwas told and what the
photographer was told, I bringthose two vendors together and I
say, well, hey, you told youguys discussed this with the
bride, you guys discussed thiswith the bride.
We need to decide which is itgonna be, is it gonna be A or is
it gonna be B?
But I'm not a DJ.
(33:30):
I am not going to get behindthe sound equipment and I'm not
gonna get on the microphone.
You hired that DJ to do a joband let him do it because that's
what he does best.
And same thing with the catererand with the photographer.
You've been hired to do a job.
I expect you to do that job.
I'm not gonna do it for you.
(33:51):
My job is to direct you.
My job is to be the glue thatkeeps things flowing.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
I love that.
I love that whole the way yousort of kind of just laid that
out, because it makes a lot ofsense and there are a lot of
planners in our neck of thewoods sometimes that not
necessarily like to work with us, and because I am very like hey
, I follow things legally aswell, because my contracts are I
(34:18):
you know, during COVID gave nomoney back so because they're
pretty airtight And-.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Yes, there was a new word that every wedding
professional learned.
Yes and force.
The sure was another one.
And so you'll see those incontracts now.
Basically, the big differenceis that the God would be a
hurricane or an earthquake.
The pandemic was technically anact of God.
(34:45):
How the government reacted toit, it's worse major.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
There you go.
That's different and quantumroute, which takes it a step
further.
You just have to check withyour state if you're allowed to
use it.
In Maine we are Quantum route.
For instance, if somebody givesyou $10,000 and you can prove
$9,500 of billable hours, youreturn 500 bucks Pretty easy.
I don't know, I just in my head.
(35:12):
Contracts are scary and they'rescary for the client, they're
scary for everybody, but at theend of the day you protect your
business Exactly.
Also I'm gonna say it againbecause it's the most important
thing that you have to do- Well,and it also protects the client
.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
I hate to keep a looty to Facebook, but I've been
seeing this more and more,where you get people who might
be what the industry refers toas weekend warriors, where they
do it on the side and they'relike oh, I'll shoot your wedding
, hey, blah, blah, blah.
And I saw a girl who postedtoday that it took her a year to
get her photos from thisphotographer and she had a
(35:52):
contract and that contractprotected her because she was
able to call her lawyers and shethreatened the photographer
that, look, if I don't have myphotos within a week, I'm filing
legal action because, accordingto your contract that I signed
with you and guaranteed this.
So it protects the business,but it also does protect the
(36:14):
client as well.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Well, it's funny because I say this to planners
here sometimes and I'm workingfor somebody I said please, we
will help you with whatever youwanna do, and maybe this is your
area too, and maybe this is whycaters and planners sometimes
butt heads.
What they don't understand isthat everybody who's working for
me is on my books, becausewe're not allowed to have
subcontractors in the state ofMaine, so they are all legal
(36:38):
employees, so that's 10full-time people that I hired
and a hundred or so in thesummer.
Everyone is a W-9.
And so I find it reallyinteresting when they choose to
Tell my staff to move tables andI said you gotta ask the
captain, it's not, you gotta goby a chain of command, because
(36:58):
if that person hurts themselves,it is my workman's comp, not
yours, so there's no sweat offyour back.
But if you want all of thisstuff moved, then you should
have brought your own team andcharged the client.
But you can't use a cateringteam to do your bidding or your
job.
That's not fair, but it's moreof the legal ramifications that
(37:18):
come after it.
They can get hurt, they canpull their back, which a back
issue can't find it, and nowyou're out of work and now
you're paying them becausethey've now sued you.
They didn't sue the planner,they didn't sue the venue owner
who told them to move a table,that they weren't.
That's not their boss.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Yep, and see, like in our contract, we don't move
tables for that very reasonbecause our employees are
contractors and so we don't movetables, we don't dispose of
trash, we don't serve food, wedon't serve alcohol, and that's
(37:57):
because one I'm not licensed todo so.
And two, it's too much of aliability Good for you, and
there is somebody there that cando that, and that's a person
who should be doing it.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
And I wish more people understood that, because
sometimes they feel like, oh,you're not a team player and
like we are, we'll do whateveryou want to do, but you have to
do it within the legality of thecontract, and so because if I
changed something that theclient wanted and she told me
this and you decided this, thenit's me, she comes after, not
(38:31):
you.
So, yeah, it's just really agood balance.
So we do work with a handful,but we are primarily a planning
company, so 98% of the jobs thatwe have are we're planning them
from start to finish.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And the thing is is we get that weddings are
celebration, they're a happy day, they're a happy time and we
want to be there celebratingwith you.
But you also have to understandthis is our livelihood and this
is our business and that is whywe do what we do and it's I
mean I do.
I do wedding planning because Iget joy out of helping couples
transition from one chapter toanother and I have so many
(39:07):
clients like I have one clientright now.
She's a sweetheart and she'llbe like Kathy, are we gonna be
friends after, like, the wedding?
I'm gonna miss you so much.
And you know a lot of them I'mstill faithful friends with.
I see, you know, when they havetheir first children and I see
their milestones and all of that.
And you know my door is alwaysopen but, like, we have that
special bond during thatparticular period of time and I
(39:28):
want to bring that joy to theirlife.
But I also want them, you know,to understand that.
You know this is this is mylivelihood and I am a person
outside of this too, but this isthis is my job.
This is my job is to bring youjoy on your day.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And it's funny because when I look at vendors,
sometimes too, and I don't knowhow your contracts work in your
area, but we I don't allowdrinking at all- oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Absolutely no booze on the job.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Yeah, and I've seen vendors do it and I I've pulled
them aside.
I said, hey, can I just offeryou some advice?
You do you, but can I offer yousome advice?
I said you posted a picture acouple of weekends ago and
you're with the couple and youhave a drink in your hand and
she says, oh, they wanted me tohave it.
I said, okay, I'm going to playdevil's advocate here and I'm
going to do a scenario for you.
You were drunk.
(40:19):
No, I wasn't.
Prove you weren't, because all200 guests are going to side
with me because they came to mywedding.
Now I want my photos for free.
See how easy it was for me toget something from you for free,
even though you weren't drunk,you were photographed with a
drink in your hand and now it'sup to you to prove it wasn't.
But there are 200 people thatare going to say that
(40:40):
photographer was drunk at mywedding.
And here's proof.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
Do you want to hear a true story?
Some day I will write a book ofall the true wedding stories
that are just so unbelievablethat they're actually true.
I tell all my clients, if youhave hired a band, to add in a
no alcohol clause into theiragreement, because I've had this
(41:03):
happen twice where they wereboth like month of day of
coordination, so they hadalready booked this band before
they booked me.
And the one that was mostmemorable, I mean amazing band.
I mean this was a 15 piece bandand the MC was so drunk and he
kept visiting the bar.
(41:23):
And when you're a DJ or an MC,if you look at their paper, they
don't have the actual spellingof the person's last name, they
have it phonetically and so waittill you hear this.
So I had typed everything outfor him phonetically, so he had
(41:44):
everything right and I saidflower girls da, da, da, da, da,
da, da da.
Groomsman number one, da, da,da da.
Bridesmaid number one, da, da,da da.
So he gets on the microphone andhe goes oh no, groomsman number
one, groomsman number one.
And I do a double take on likewhat are you?
(42:05):
Oh my God.
And then he said hello,bridesmaid number two.
And I go up running and he'slike, oh, the flower girl, what
are you doing?
And he's like, oh my God, thething is, it's because he had
the microphone.
I'm gonna get on the microphoneand do that.
(42:28):
So at that point I'm like youjust gotta let this roll.
And my heart went out to thebride and the father of the
bride, because the father of thebride had the bride's mom had
passed away like six monthsbefore she got engaged, and so
they had the father of the brideand the mother of the bride had
(42:50):
celebrated their 50th weddinganniversary and that was the
band that they had there.
So dad's only request for thewedding was that this band be at
his daughter's wedding.
And the father pulled me asideand he's like, pull their tip,
because he I mean, what are yougonna do?
But I mean he was frequentingthe bar the entire night.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wow, that is terrible .
Speaker 2 (43:13):
It's terrible.
Well, and that was I mean.
And again, these are extremesituations, and one thing you'll
find with bands is that you getsome that are bar bands and
some that are event bands, andevent bands know, you just avoid
the bar, bar bands.
(43:33):
That's how the culture is.
When you play at a bar, you goto the bar.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
You get your shift, drink.
You do all of that and that'snot acceptable at a wedding and
I think it has to be with readthe room.
If the room is decoratedbeautifully to the nines, do not
come in and throw your shiteverywhere you can find it,
because that's visually whatyou're going to see.
And the same thing with a DJ.
You know you got a beautifultable, it's set up for you, and
(44:00):
then you come in, put all yourequipment and all the table
cloth is like crooked and that'sall you stare at all night
because everything is perfectbut that table.
And so that's one of thereasons why we angle the DJ off
to the side, because, number one, I don't want them in the back
of every photo.
And it's so funny because we'reso fixated with the efficient
(44:21):
not being in the kiss.
But it's okay for the DJ to bestanding there behind the dad
and the daughter dancing.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I never thought about that, but that actually makes
perfect sense.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
But the number one thing that I just go you blast
the person who is religiouslymarrying these two people,
because nobody else in the roomcan physically do that but this
one person.
You blast them for not moving.
But you're okay with the DJ andyou know how sometimes those
photos are.
They're just standing therelooking into the air.
(44:52):
Sometimes they're got theirfinger right here.
You're like what are you doing?
So that's my one advice foreverybody.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Wonderful, we'll stop .
So we're gonna wrap up here forthe wedding vendors that are
listening to this podcast.
Where are your next speakingengagements, so that we can come
and watch you?
Speaker 1 (45:14):
listen to you.
I'm very excited because I'mgoing to be at wedding MBA on
the 6th of November.
So 6th, 7th, 8th is when Ispeak on Monday, the 6th.
I will be in Vermont on the15th and 16th of November and I
will be at Cater Source inFebruary.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
You really truly are a leader in our industry.
It was such a treat having youon today, Falstow.
How can people find you online?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
You can check for me.
You can actually email me.
I'm good with Falstow atfalstowbluecom.
That's my email address.
I'm also on Instagram.
My personal page is my personalpage.
So what you see is what you see, don't get offended.
And then I do post.
You just do you right, exactly,and then we're Falstow, then
Blue Elephant events in catering, and then Instagram and stuff
(46:03):
like that.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Wonderful Falstow.
Thank you so much for being aguest today.
This is Kathy Peach Lucas withyour dream day.
Happy planning and thank youfor tuning in.
Take care.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Thanks everybody.
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