Catering an outdoor wedding and it might rain

M

Marsha

Guest
We are catering an outdoor wedding on Saturday and the weatherman says it might rain. Ouch! The wedding is on a ranch and the backup plan is to have the ceremony and the dinner both in the carriage house. The carriage house is about 30 yards from the kitchen. I think I am in panic mode trying to think of all of the Plan B ideas I need to come up with if it does rain. Any sage words of advice from my fellow catering brethren out there? :eek:
 
I am not big into catering YET. I would guess you would have to have two work stations, one for outside and one for inside. Couldn't you load up all the food in your vehicle and drive it over if it rains? Might be possible, just thought I would throw it out there.

Good luck and pray for no rain.
 
Do as much as you can ahead of time. Relax and don't let them see you panic. I'm sure everyone will freak out if it rains but keep cool and roll with the punches. Be extra organized.
 
Prepare for rain, make this plan A. If it does not rain plan B is easier to implement.
 
Plan A: Pig Umbrella Mod

Plan B: Run like hell to the carriage house!
 
Last edited:
big brother smoke said:
Prepare for rain, make this plan A. If it does not rain plan B is easier to implement.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a great plan!

lazybonesmoke1 said:
Do as much as you can ahead of time. Relax and don't let them see you panic. I'm sure everyone will freak out if it rains but keep cool and roll with the punches. Be extra organized.
Click to expand...
Okay, I will take some deep breaths and keep smiling. :wink:

backporchbbq said:
I am not big into catering YET. I would guess you would have to have two work stations, one for outside and one for inside. Couldn't you load up all the food in your vehicle and drive it over if it rains? Might be possible, just thought I would throw it out there.

Good luck and pray for no rain.
Click to expand...
No, I am sure they would not let us drive it over, but I do have a big wagon! Two work stations... hmmmmmm.
 
NotleyQue said:
I agree with BBS.
Rent a canopy if need be.
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He does come up with those good ideas, eh? We are lucky that we have a large fold out awning on both sides of our BBQ trailer.

trp1fox said:
Will there be banana bread?
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Well I do know the groom's cake is a red velvet cake shaped like a John Deere tractor :grin:

Frank Sacco said:
Plan A: Pig Umbrella Mod

Plan B: Run like hell to the carriage house!
Click to expand...

Pig umbrella... Brilliant! Where can I buy one of those?
 
Plan A - I am now considering renting an extra cambro from the local rental place. If we have to carry the food over we need to keep more of it warm on the trip over. Better to have an extra than have cold food.

Plan B - The food will be served from buffet tables on the patio right outside the kitchen door.
 
Many Rental places will allow you to hold items for you but only charge you a small fee if you give them reasonable notice that you won't need them. Check and see if yours will give you such a deal, then you can have the equipment you need guaranteed to be available but save some money if the weather clears and you don't need it.
 
Treat the kitchen like it's a mile away. Set up the serving area, finish everything in the kitchen, Cambro it, then go set it out. We are catering 200/400 Friday night and it's gonna be a rain snow mix with no prep kitchen at the 400. We will show with everything ready to eat and in hot or cold storage. You can never have too many cambro's and coolers.
 
jbrink01 said:
Treat the kitchen like it's a mile away. Set up the serving area, finish everything in the kitchen, Cambro it, then go set it out. We are catering 200/400 Friday night and it's gonna be a rain snow mix with no prep kitchen at the 400. We will show with everything ready to eat and in hot or cold storage. You can never have too many cambro's and coolers.
Click to expand...

Some of the best advice I've seen... Plan A for me is always the worst case... Every thing else is a modifcation to it...

jbrink01 said:
Treat the kitchen like it's a mile away. Set up the serving area, finish everything in the kitchen, Cambro it, then go set it out. We are catering 200/400 Friday night and it's gonna be a rain snow mix with no prep kitchen at the 400. We will show with everything ready to eat and in hot or cold storage. You can never have too many cambro's and coolers.
Click to expand...
How true!
 
One of the secrets to successful catering is being able to prepare for the unexpected, because you will get it every single time. You really should have a canopy.

I agree with Lazybones, don't let them see you sweat!

I actually look forward to the unexpected, makes things exciting.... plus I am a bit of a egotist and I love to overcome difficulty.
 
CivilWarBBQ said:
Many Rental places will allow you to hold items for you but only charge you a small fee if you give them reasonable notice that you won't need them. Check and see if yours will give you such a deal, then you can have the equipment you need guaranteed to be available but save some money if the weather clears and you don't need it.
Click to expand...
I might give them a call and ask. Thanks!

jbrink01 said:
Treat the kitchen like it's a mile away. Set up the serving area, finish everything in the kitchen, Cambro it, then go set it out. We are catering 200/400 Friday night and it's gonna be a rain snow mix with no prep kitchen at the 400. We will show with everything ready to eat and in hot or cold storage. You can never have too many cambro's and coolers.
Click to expand...
Good advice, thank you!

Divemaster said:
[/COLOR]
Some of the best advice I've seen... Plan A for me is always the worst case... Every thing else is a modifcation to it...
How true!
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I am so thankful we don't have to deal with snow. Thanks!

tony76248 said:
One of the secrets to successful catering is being able to prepare for the unexpected, because you will get it every single time. You really should have a canopy.

I agree with Lazybones, don't let them see you sweat!

I actually look forward to the unexpected, makes things exciting.... plus I am a bit of a egotist and I love to overcome difficulty.
Click to expand...
We have awnings to work under, but then we do usually have a canopy in the back of the trailer, just in case.

Addendum to Plan A = NO SWEATING :smile:
 
Divemaster said:
[/color]
Some of the best advice I've seen... Plan A for me is always the worst case... Every thing else is a modifcation to it...
Click to expand...

Marsha said:
I am so thankful we don't have to deal with snow. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Trust me up here you have to prepare for even that... I've got a small gig next Thursday at the cigar shop and they are allowing me to sell package meat... Only problem is I don't have any in the freezer... Guess I'm going to have to cook up some of the 125 pounds of brisket tomorrow in the cold (21*) and snow. Then I get to do another cook on Thursday for the gig...
 
Marsha, all i can do is try to make you feel better......

Were vending tomorrow for hopefully 300 or so.

Temp is suppost to be 28* with 30 MPH gusts! :shock:

Good luck and hope you stay dry. :biggrin:
 
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