Reference no: EM133181693
Shell's seafood Restaurant caters weddings and other events in a small New England town. The following is an overview of the planning-or lack of planning that took place last summer. Jason, the restaurant's co-owner and general manager, together with the wedding couple, planned an outdoor garden wedding and reception in a town park near the restaurant. At first, it seemed as if there were too many choices and decisions to be made, but as they went through the lists they had prepared, they were pleased with the arrangements.
They chose a wedding ceremony time of 2:00 P.M., followed by a reception at 2:30 P.M. The wedding couple and their families wanted it to be a special occasion but did not want to spend a fortune, so they decided to use Shell's Seafood Restaurant because they had enjoyed meals there in the past. Jason prepared a menu that the couple liked: cream of asparagus soup, chicken fricassee, potatoes au gratin, cauliflower mornay, and for dessert, crème brulee. Jason also suggested white and red house wines with an allocation of three-quarters of a bottle per person. The wedding couple's aunt made the cake, and it was delivered to the park, but when Jason's staff assembled it, the weight of the top two tiers caused the cake to sink into the thin layer of icing and fall over. The bride's father had promised to provide the champagne, and the 12 bottles arrived at the reception in their boxes at 3:20 PM. Jason and his team had planned for 25 guests, however, at last count, Jason's hostess had counted 38 guests who claimed to be part of the wedding party. As the wedding party settled into the available chairs, a group assembled under a tree nearby started to play loud music at what appeared to be a rowdy, "beer infused" picnic. Finally, as Jason was trying to figure out what to do, his phone rang and his chef at the restaurant informed him that Mr. Moneymaker, his investment partner was waiting at the restaurant for their scheduled 3:30 P.M. meeting to discuss their new business venture, an expansion of the restaurant. The chef also told him that the food for the reception was "running a bit late" as the Uber driver was careless and had spilled the cream of asparagus soup. He told Jason that he should not worry, the other items are on their way and should be there at 3:45 P.M. A fresh pot of soup will arrive later. As Jason looked at the sky for some solutions, he could not help but see the dark clouds in the sky and feel the tiny raindrops which had started for "fog" his thick eyeglasses. He looked across at the wedding party and saw the bride sitting and staring at the sky as the raindrops had started to soften her "heavily moussed" hairdo.
The wedding ceremony was a success, but as you can imagine, the reception was less so.
Questions
1. What planning errors were made?
2. How would you have planned the event differently?