Fear the Crab

I dreamt I was attending a wedding at a hotel. Seemed to have a very local, almost casual, feel to it. The only thing significant in my dream was that the bride found out some of the food couldn’t be delivered because of a “worm infestation.” I didn’t know if that meant the food was infected, or the banquet room was, but I do remember thinking that it was standard operating procedure.

Met with the chair-cover vendor yesterday. $8 a chair, for 200 chairs, equates to $1600. I will admit, chair covers greatly change the appearance and atmosphere of a wedding reception, especially when it matches the table linens and settings. I know some people would say that regular hotel-provided chairs would be fine, and I’d be inclined to agree. I would also be inclined to think that a regular t-shirt and jeans are appropriate wedding attire.

And that analogy is basically the difference between having and not having chair covers. Both “work,” but one just happens to give a more formal appearance. Besides, Maile wants them, so we’re going to have them.

The vendor also said they can dress the head table and cake table, but this decision will wait until we’ve heard from the florist. I may not even want table dressing, or only the head table. I don’t know. Maile and I have set a cap of $5000 for flowers (which is still expensive, but apparently the low expensive), and depending on what the florist quotes us, we’ll have to see what we can take away or substitute in order to retain the original vision.

Maybe we’ll just have low centerpieces on every table, instead of a mix of tall and short. Maybe we’ll have a few less flowers in the bouquet. Maybe the men won’t have boutonnieres, only handkerchiefs.

When I think about it, all this money is really paying for the convenience. No doubt I could find cheaper, if not free, substitutes by simply doing all the work myself. I could find, grow, or pick flowers and arrange them. I could buy linen in bulk from fabric stores and dress my own tables. I could fold my own cranes and arrange them into a nice pattern… wait, I’m still folding my own cranes. Anyway.

The point is, a lot of this money is for the fact that I don’t have to do it all myself. I won’t have to set up or volunteer someone to set up things, and I won’t have to worry about breaking things down and taking them home. I find myself asking each vendor what their set-up and breakdown policies are. Do they bring their own equipment and tools? What about transportation and storage? Every vendor has been self-sufficient. And why not, considering the thousands of dollars you’re giving them?