Organizing Guests, What to Serve at the Reception

So! Those of us who like to keep things organized (I may belong in that category) need a way to organize our guests, their seating arrangements, florists, dress-makers, hair stylists, etc.

What is a nice young lass (or lad) to do? Recently, at the wedding of a friend, I was very impressed to see her clever use of Google Docs in this arena, so I'm sharing some tips with you. The advantage of Google Docs is that it can be widely shared, easily, with no conversion problems, etc, and can be accessed from any computer, anywhere, at any time. That is a beautiful thing, especially if you're running around the day before the wedding, getting everything in its rightful place, setting up placecards, etc., and you need to know where Robert Buttkiss goes, or whatever. Look it up on your google doc, and, voila! He's NOT next to Angela Letwat, that's for sure.

A small note before we get into the specifics of making some Google Docs. When you're choosing a location for your wedding, take into account whether there will A) Be quick, easily accessible internet access nearby, and B) Be phone service. Sometimes these factors are out of your hands, for very good reasons, such as doing it in one hometown or another. But having a working phone is VERY IMPORTANT, especially in this day and age of cell phones replacing land lines. It's awful when your florist flubs up, or your tablecloths don't come the right way, and you can't get a hold of the people in charge to basically say, "Wait a cotton-pickin' minute, come back here, you rascals!" (Where in the blazes did that saying come from, anyway?).


So! Google Docs. Here's what I would do to organize my docs.  Make a spreadsheet. Include the following categories:

1. Main Guest Name. 
1. Arranged like this: Last Name, First Name, or, Last Name, The Family.
2. Number of Guests under that name. 
1. For example, if it's The Anderson Family, and they have two kids that they are bringing, this number should be 4, etc.
3. Name of +1's of the guest, etc. 
1. To continue the Anderson example, the main name might have been Greg and Emily Anderson, and then, under this heading, there will be listed their kids, Jimmy-Bob Anderson and Sarah-Bob Anderson, or whatever. 
4. Sent a "Save the Date?"
1. Many brides and grooms opt to send out an initial "invitation" that is essentially a postcard or a magnet. It acts as a "save the date," so people can put the wedding on their calenders ahead of time. This really isn't for RSVP purposes, it's more just to let people know you're gettin' hitched. 
5.  Sent an Invitation?
1. Invitations are important. I haven't really talked about how to do invitations yet, but that can come later. These are for RSVP purposes, so you can fill in the next column:
6. RSVP'ed?
1. Just mark yes or no, and then, about a month before the wedding, call the people who didn't.  At this point, go back to the beginning and fill in the +1 section, etc.
7.  Accommodations Needed?
1. If you have lots of people coming from out of town, make sure they have a place to stay.
8. Accommodations Arranged?
1. When you find out that people have a place to stay, make sure you list it here.
9. Any special dietary needs?
1. Make sure you know if you're going to have to whip up some vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, low-sodium, or sugar-free dinners, because that's a whole lotta chowda, as they say. 
10. Now, at this point, you could also add funny categories for yourself, such as, "Most Likely to Cause a Ruckus," and, "Most Likely to be Outrageously Dressed," and bet on who it will be with you hubby, who will be very happy to be involved. :D

People who will cause a ruckus brings us to our last topic for this post, what to serve at the reception, by which I mean, what alcohol to serve at a reception.  My friend had a clever way of solving this problem - namely, she had friends of the family act as bartenders, and bought a bunch of well liquor, and everybody got delightfully smashed. She also had her hubby make gallons of homemade apple wine and home-brewed beer. Which brings us to the following:

Now, home-brewing is really popular at the moment. It's fairly easy, involves a wee bit of chemistry, and is incredibly satisfying. The likelihood is that someone in your family makes wine, or beer, or champagne, or all three, and that, for a small price, he or she would be willing to give you some as your wedding gift. I've been to two weddings (one where my parents made all the wine, and this most recent one, where they groom made all the beer and wine) where homemade alcohol was provided, and it is a HUGE hit. Especially if the bottles have labels with pictures of the bride and groom (which, trust me, the home brewer will know how to do). It will likely be cheaper than providing a ton of people with store-bought wine or beer, and it may very well be better than what you could afford for store-bought wine or beer. Not to mention the novelty factor. Now, if you're reading this, and thinking to yourself, I just don't know if I could risk it/I don't know anyone like that, that's quite alright. There are some excellent deals out there for buying wine in bulk, and having a number of different beers from around the world etc, is also a neat and really cool way of serving your guests.