Author Archives: Victoria Pratt

What Do You Say Dear?

Posted on by

0

I recently acquired a copy of a 1958 children’s etiquette book called What Do You Say Dear by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (who did Where the Wild Things Are, if you didn’t know). And it is GREAT!

It gives really fun situations as examples to children of what polite thing to say:

You are flying around in your airplane and you remember that the Duchess said, “Do drop in for tea sometime.”

So you do, only it makes a rather large hole in her roof.

What do you say dear?

“I’m sorry”

And of course the illustrations are great:

 

 

Apparently it was part of a series of similar books about etiquette for kids, which is lovely. I feel like these kinds of lessons in a fun book really stick with kids and it’s a shame they are out of print. But I thought it would be fun to show everyone and then you can all track it down for your own kids if you want!

Pros and Cons of Wedding Seating Styles

Posted on by

1

In Part 1, I discussed the variety of food service options you can use at a wedding, and now I will follow up with your options for seating.

First you have to decide if you will dictate where people sit or not:

Assigned Seating

This is when you make a seating chart of what guests will be at which table number and indicate to them prior to entering the reception area what table they will be at. This can be done with “escort cards” or a favor with their name and table number or a big chart.

Pros:

  • This is absolutely the easiest and least stressful from a guests point of view- they know where to go! Also, they have a “home base” for the night where they can stash their stuff.
  • Everyone stays organized and gets seated smoothly.

Cons:

  • Guests may not like where you put them- they don’t like their companions, they wanted to sit with someone else, they are too far away, they are at the “bad” table.
  • You have to make a seating chart and figure out something to display the table numbers and do escort cards or a chart. It’s generally more work for you.

Unassigned Seating

This is when you set up a bunch of tables and chairs and everyone comes in and chooses a seat.

Pros:

  • Less planning work for you!
  • People can sit where they want and with whom they want.

Cons:

  • Can end up with a bit of a musical chairs situation where everyone rushes in to grab a seat. Or even worse, a high school lunchroom where a oddball guest (ie someone who ONLY knows the bride or groom) doesn’t know where to sit. (And yes, I get that people are grownups and will deal, but it CAN cause a lot of anxiety and stress for many people.)
  • Difficult for people with mobility issues to get to a spot. (Consider setting aside a table for elderly relatives.)

Full Seating

This is where everyone has a chair at a table.

Pros:

  • Everyone gets a chair!

Cons:

  • If you do unassigned seating, you might consider making a few extra places so couples don’t have to split up if you end up with a bunch of tables with one seat left. And people inevitably move chairs around. Just a thought.

Best for:

  • Full sit down meals involving cutlery.
  • Long receptions- cocktails, dinner, dancing, etc.

Cocktail Seating

This is when you have a mix of high tables, regular chairs and tables, and lounge seating.

Pros:

  • It’s fun and lets people move around.

Cons:

  • People really do like having a “seat” where they can stash their stuff for the evening. And people who DO get the seats at tables generally will not give them up.
  • If you don’t get a seat, it’s difficult to manage a drink, a plate, and cutlery.
  • Difficult for people with mobility issues (consider setting aside a table for elderly relatives).

Best for:

  • Cocktail receptions with finger foods.
  • Shorter receptions- just drinks, finger foods, and cake.

 

Ultimately, people will be fine and enjoy your reception whatever style you decide to go with. And there will ALWAYS be whiners who aren’t happy with what you chose. But there is a fine line between doing what you want and what you envision for your big day and doing something because it’s easier or cheaper for you at the expense of your guests comfort. So I do urge you to consider your guest list. Mostly older relatives are going to be more comfortable fully seated with food service that they recognize. People your own age are going to be a lot more flexible.

And, I mean, I have been to and I’ve heard about weddings that we absolute disasters as far a guest comfort went, but they still created fun memories and people had good times at them.

And even I can’t even begin to decide if a wedding with somewhat bland plated food that all arrived at the same time and allowed me to eat with the people at my assigned table and a wedding with awesome, unique food where I maybe had to stand in line or be the last one to sit down at the one remaining table  with a bunch of strangers was better! They were both great!

And sometimes, the best you can do is the best you can do when working with limited space, time, and budget.

Pros and Cons of Wedding Service Styles

Posted on by

0

So, when you are planning a wedding or other large event, you will have to make a number of choices about how your event will be run. It can be difficult to consider all the choices available and make the best decision for your event. So I’ve run through some of the popular options for serving food and made pros and cons list for them so you can be sure to make your guests as comfortable as possible (which is your main aim as a host).

Plated:

This is your traditional food service style- all the guests are seated at tables and waiters come around and bring them prepared plates of food, possibly in several courses.

Pros:

  • Tables are generally served together and the people at that table get to sit and talk with each other while they wait and while they are eating.
  • Generally fast and convenient for hosts and caterers.
  • Everyone gets the same thing and you are unlikely to run out of food or leave people hungry.
  • You can do speeches and dances in between courses.
  • Is practical for everyone regardless of mobility.

Cons:

  • Less mingling time for the guests.
  • You generally need to assign seating, especially if the guests had to indicate beef or chicken or whatever ahead of time.
  • Guests who are at a table they don’t like are stuck with it for the whole meal (too bad for them!)
  • Less choice of food and less ability to offer unique food options.

Buffet:

This is one or two very long tables set up with a variety of dishes. People get up and serve themselves and bring their food back to their tables.

Pros:

  • Able to offer a wide variety of foods and everyone can choose what they like.
  • People can mingle a bit while waiting in line or waiting for their table to be called.

Cons:

  • Some popular dishes may run out (when doing a buffet, it’s best to plan on too much food so the last people to go through aren’t stuck with dregs)
  • Difficult for guests with mobility issues to navigate. Also difficult for parents with small children (if you have many at your wedding)
  • Can have long , slow lines (hard for people in heels!) (Can be fixed by having duplicate buffets and/or utilizing both sides of the table)
  • If you call people up by table, the first group may be done eating by the time the last group gets their food, creating a lull in the party (keep those lines moving fast!)

Family Style:

This is when everyone is seated at a table and the waiters put big platters of food in the center of the table so everyone can serve themselves.

Pros:

  • Able to offer a wide variety of foods and people can choose what they like.
  • Combination of the best of plated service (everyone sitting and eating together) and buffet (being able to select your food).

Cons:

  • Some piggy guests might take too big portions of a dish leaving not enough for the rest of the table (make sure your servers know to keep an eye out and refill as necessary)

Stations:

This is where there are several stations of food set up around the room (such as a carving station, a taco stand, a soup bar) and people go to each one and then bring their plates of food back to their table. Kind of like a spread out buffet.

Pros:

  • You can get REALLY crazy and fun with the food- think mashed potato bar, build your own tacos, fresh carved roast beef, etc.)
  • Like a buffet, people can select what they want and in what portion.
  • People can mingle and compare the different options.

Cons:

  • Guests can spend even more time in line than a traditional buffet since they will probably have a wait at each station.
  • A line for each station may mean guests’ food from the first station might get cold as they’re waiting for the fourth.
  • Hard to coordinate eating with your table companions since everyone is jumping up and down to visit the different stations.
  • Can be difficult for guests with mobility issues.

Cocktail:

This is when you just serve small bites and appetizers either passed by waiters or at stations.

Pros:

  • Can do really delicious foods and a big variety.
  • Can be cheaper than full meals (though not always!!!)
  • Encourages walking around and mingling.

Cons:

  • Generally cannot serve as a full meal. Current etiquette says that if you have your reception over a generally recognized mealtime (11am-2pm, or 5pm-8pm), you need to serve a full meal.
  • Can be difficult for guests with mobility issues.

 

Part 2 will be different seating styles!

 

Wedding Invitation Hack

Posted on by

2

Earlier this week, I talked about rude lifehacks. But I was also reminded this week about a cool invitation thing that I wanted to share- you can send your wedding invitation to certain important people and get a response, with the most popular being The President of the United States and Mickey Mouse!

Okay, technically you no longer need to send an actual invitation to the President- they have a handy form online that you can fill out for a wide variety of milestones- baby’s birth, major birthdays, Eagle Scout/Girl Scout Gold awards, etc. You can find it here. Note, this service is available to US citizens only.

For a response to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, send it to:

Guest Letters

Letters to Mickey Mouse

P.O. Box 10040

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-00100

 

If you are a British citizen (or Canadian, Australian, or New Zealander), the Queen will send you a greeting for a milestone birthday (and they mean serious milestones- 100+ only) or wedding anniversary (starting at 65 years!) but (not for a wedding). Find the form here.

 

And if you have a deceased loved one who is a Veteran of the United States, you can find information about requesting a flag here.

 

Rude Lifehacks

Posted on by

1

Lifehacks are that fun internet thing where someone comes up with a better way to do a thing that everyone does and makes everyone go WHOA! Like, if you take a cupcake and tear the bottom portion off and put it on top of the frosting, like a sandwich…that’s somehow better than eating it the normal way.

…some lifehacks are better than others.

The problem with lifehacks is when the hack is downright rude. I found a round up of lifehacks that had been shared on Reddit, that bastion of goodness and propriety, and some of them are shocking!

Many of them are full on illegal or unethical, cheating the system- like using blank Visa gift cards to make in flight purchases because the credit card scans aren’t processed until the plane lands.

However, many of them break etiquette in a particular way- they are something that might be okay if one person does it but if everyone did it, it would be impossible to get away with. This has actual real life repercussions- for example, student loans can’t be discharged through bankruptcy (mostly). Part of the reason why the law changed in the 1970s to disallow it was the fear that too many people would take the risk and declare bankruptcy when they didn’t really need to, early in life so that it wouldn’t affect them that much.

That’s an extreme example, but putting traffic cones in a parking space to hold it (winter snow parking excluded in some regions), is only going to work for one person. If everyone does it, then you’re going to see a sea of orange cones that no one pays attention to. Basically, you’re breaking the social contract and being a big jerk to everyone around you. And being a jerk is rude.