One more question....

[ladedah]

We've gotten all of our RSVP's...except for a couple (which I'm not too worried about)....how many extra do you tell the caterer? We are having a buffet.

20 days to go!!!

[Cirig]

I wouldn't tell him any extra. Why? Aren't you paying per head?

I'd like to hear what everyone else says though...

[ljeagle]

I would ask the caterer how much extra they make in case extra people show up.

[kenzies_mama]

I agree with LJ check with them first, our cater can cover upto 5% which for our wedding is only 5-7 people, but for my sister is 10 +. If they can cover a few extra I wouldn't tell the cater more than what have responded but if not then I would probably go with about 5-10% more.

[ljeagle]

It's getting close are you excited? Has every one sent in the RSVP yet?

[Complicated Woman]

I wouldn't tell them anything extra. We're paying per head...if you don't RSVP or respond to my follow up calls and then randomly show up at my wedding anyway, unless you're my grandma, you can pay for your own food.

[swtdl11552]

Especially for a buffet I wouldn't tell them any extra - the reason being... they don't make the pans they put out enough for 1-2 people. The pans they bring out oru whole pans, not per person servings. So they always make extra pans. I believe that even if you have 8-10 extra people you are going to be fine.

Also, if it is a buffet where people can get seconds - they'll definitely have enough. We did that at my first hoorah and there was so much food it was outstanding. And we had 7 people come that we thought weren't!

[syringa]

The trend the last couple of years, all over the country, is for people to RSVP that they are coming then not show up. Therefore, I wouldn't give the caterer any extra numbers. If you are hiring an outside caterer, then ask about leftovers and bring large zip-lock bags if necessary. You have paid for the food, so you should get leftovers of any items that can be served later.

[Lizbet]

When we did ours, it was just after Katrina, a lot of refugees from N.O. were staying at churches in the city. We sent our leftovers to one of these shelters. If you don't have another use for them, you may want to see if a local shelter or soup kitchen would be able (with all the health regulations) to accept any leftovers you may have.

[ladedah]

Thanks guys....wouldn't you know it that we had pretty much gotten all the RSVP's and the ones we didn't were people that we weren't expecting to show up anyways. The caterer said that if I just ordered the amount of people we had coming it would cover if there were say 5-7 extra...plus I didn't count in kids under age 4 who will eat, but not necessarily a child's serving (since we are paying per head)...wouldn't you know that after I called the caterer I had people call me and RSVP for 15 MORE PEOPLE!! Goodness Gracious...luckily it was okay just to call the caterer back. When we originally made our guest list we estimated 200 people on the "long side" and I guess we underestimated our friends and family because we have 245...eek. oh well, it will be a fun time....12 days left!!!

[ljeagle]

12 days It's so exciting not even 2 weeks.