So your wedding day is approaching and everything seems to be in order. Your caterer tells you everything’s fine. The venue is all set, and your wedding gown alterations are complete. The florist is due in an hour with your personally selected wedding bouquet and table cente!pieces. What could possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately…plenty!

Here’s a cautionary tale of what your wedding day is hopefully will NOT be like. You may want to reconsider whether you need help on this very special day.

1. Guest List/seating chart Mayhem – Your guests have all received their invitations with address cards and you’ve managed to get replies from all of them through one media or another. You’ve thoughtfully provided everyone with Google map but some critical guests are still missing right before the ceremony; or two sets of guests, who are not on speaking terms, have been seated at the same table, and, … Read more

The 1% will always be able to afford to rent posh rooftop venues, such as Tribeca Rooftop, 620 5th Ave or The Grammercy or Bowery Hotels— but how about the rest of us? You’ll be hard-pressed to find an attractive rooftop venue for under $6000 in Manhattan (most are significantly higher). While 6k may be fine for a medium to large wedding, but what about a smaller wedding, cocktail party or birthday? Are there less expensive places with the same fresh air and awe-inspiring views waiting to be discovered by intrepid DIY-ers?

Fortunately there are a few places, just slightly out of the way, that provide attractive venues, great views, and a variety of amenities, all for less than half the price of their better-known Manhattan brethren.

One of the spaces is the relatively new (c 2011) Attic Studios. Located in a commercial loft building in LIC, just a few … Read more

Catering seems like a pretty basic thing. You cook some food and bring it to the party/event and serve it up. So why does it cost so much for a catered event, especially one that’s not at a restaurant or dedicated catering hall?

Where does all this money go? Into the pockets of the caterers? Let’s try to unpack this just a bit and examine what a caterer actually does for all that money. As we’ll see, much of it has nothing to do with cooking food.

Catering Elements

Raw food costs

Caterers are able to purchase most foodstuffs at a considerable discount over what an ordinary consumer will pay. This is especially true for anything bought in bulk, such as canned (or fresh) vegetables, meat, seafood. For example, a caterer might pay $40 for a 10kg (22 lb.) box of top quality Holland Sweet Red peppers, while … Read more