Crazy caterers...

Apparently MMH is going to start making demands if I don't write something every week and a half, so Steve and I are going to have to step up our game... =)

The two weeks have been relatively slow. We watched GT get slaughtered by the other Tech (worse than I expected, although I coped better than Steve expected) and went to a "They Might Be Giants" concert, which was just as good as Steve expected and not nearly as painful as I expected. Happy mediums.

We also celebrated our first anniversary with a relaxing weekend up in the mountains in a cabin that had (I kid you not) a heart-shaped Jacuzzi. Photos will come later when I'm back in Atlanta, in case you don't believe me. Despite my sincere hoping, we did not see the black bear that was rumored to be lurking in our area of the woods, although apparently everyone else returning keys did. Bummer. I tried to convince Steve to leave some of our dinner on the back porch, but he decided to eat it instead. Either he's just not adventurous or it was the best dinner on a grill ever- Although the latter is true, I still think the former played a part. ;-)

Anyhow, on to the stories and justifying the title of this post. Steve and I thought we'd settled on our caterer for the reception and were happy to have that behind us. After sending "sorry but we're not going to use you" notes to the others, I received a response from one asking for a chance to counter the offer we're taking. Sure, why not. So I forward this caterer (who shall be known as CC2, symbolic of being the 2nd crazy caterer we've encountered in this process) the proposal that we're planning on signing (from a company I'll call DE, symbolic of the fact that those are the company initials- clever, huh?). Let the crazy commence...

CC2 proceeds to call me while I'm working in DC to tell me that she's composed a two page email telling me what's wrong with the DE proposal, but would rather talk over the phone to help guide me through this minefield that I've gotten myself into. After I call back after hours and tell her I have better things to do, she emails me her story of fear and woe about how DE's proposal reflects significant understaffing for my event and how their parent company has filed for bankruptcy and how they'll give me bad food and steal my money and blah blah blah. I, like any good bride-to-be, immediately panic that I'm going to have 200 people for dinner and no food.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I called in a third caterer's opinion without revealing any names about who spilled the beans. She immediately identifies who CC2 works for and tells me they're notorious for doing stuff like this. Apparently they like to scare up business during the slow months by scaring accounts out of using their opponents. Having heard this, along with DE explanation of the filing, I've decided to stick with my original contract and ignore everything CC2 ever said. This only firms up my opinion that everyone in the wedding industry is crazy and in it to make me crazy too.

Upcoming events and things to do, in no particular order:
-GT plays Duke on Saturday
-Steve's friend Kevin is getting married on Saturday night and Janet Donnell is getting married on Saturday as well; we wish them both all the best!
-Mom's birthday is Saturday, so we're up in Dalton Sunday to celebrate
-my reception dress came in, so I'll see if I like it as much in real life as I did a month ago
-we have invitations we like so, barring finding them cheaper or changing our minds, we'll hopefully order those in the next few weeks
-we have a meeting Tuesday with a photographer, a friend-of-a-friend from college
-in the next 5 weeks, we have a movie premiere, Thanksgiving, and office holiday parties in DC, Boston, and Atlanta

Crazy times! Until the next time I'm really bored in the office, this is Nikki, signing off.