I'm so over wedding planning, I just want it done. The date cannot come soon enough.
So I got in touch with a bartender that a coworker used, and highly recommended. Got a quote from him, talked about what I'd like, etc. Good communication. Got the contract, was a bit of a sticker shock, but it's pretty much for labor only, and he threw in 3 water containers for flavored water, and 2 wine buckets. So he charges $40/hr for his services, and $30 for servers/barbacks. I kind of expected it, but not really I guess. Frustrating, but okay, w/e. Tell FH about this, show him the contract/quote, and he doesn't like it. His friend - someone I wish I can drown in the ocean - who works in hospitality is telling him that that's too pricy, blah blah. We're in the most expensive area of the COUNTRY!!! We're on budget, actually, under budget so far by like 3k. FH wants more options.
K. Sure. We're only 2-ish months away. No bigs. Who gets to research? I do. Yay! /s
So the last few days I've been contacting bartender services in the area, and they're either all booked, or are all inclusive only, and others are telling me they need more servers, a few haven't gotten back to me. Including the original guy, I've contacted 7 bartenders, 4 are out instantly. Two have follow up questions, but I'm dreading their quotes, and I have one more to contact tomorrow. So I'm just frustrated.
Then on to the transportation. My mom told me that the venue is too far away for my family (40-45 min away drive), and that some people may not be able to make it because of that. That it's also a friday, so school for some kids, may not be able to take day off work, blah blah. ... Yeah, that's why I sent out the STD SIX MONTHS IN ADVANCE (though online, but paperless post shows who read it, and all but two - my two attorneys that I work for - have read it). FFS, can they really not request 1 day, just one freaking day, to go to the wedding. They go to plenty of other places that far away, but this they're going to the East Bay, instead of the Peninsula, so it's "different". Mom suggested she pay for transportation from our city to the venue. For about 15 people ish. Yeah, so I contacted transportation ppls for quotes based on time and service, and none are cheaper than $700. I don't think she realized how expensive it is. I'm tempted to suggest that I can get a Lyft plus for $160 total to pick up 5 people (mom, two aunts, two uncles) from the City and drive them back. I need to have this talk with her tonight or tomorrow. The other 10 are cousins who know how to drive, drive that distance in other direction for wine tastings, work, other friend events. They can figure it out. I have driving directions on the website. They also can google map it.
Okay. Than you for letting me rant.
On a bright note, we're doing donuts from our fave place instead of cake. Win. (Guess who had to get a quote for that one too? Mainly because I briefly looked into bakeries, and decided it's not worth my time to quote them and then arrange tastings.)
