Happily Ever After
The scene was set: a sunny March Saturday, a familiar venue, and a friendly team. As a catering company of five-plus years, Good Batch Mama has attended countless weddings, many of them with a setting similar to this.
But this one was different.
By specializing in custom catering, we have crafted hundreds of menus with meticulous detail to match the palates of many brides and grooms. It’s one of the best parts of our jobs, and we love doing it.
But this one was different.
As artists in charcuterie, we have displayed endless combinations of fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, and crunchy snacks on beautiful boards, bringing Pinterest boards and Google images to life before guests’ eyes.
But this one was different.
You see, this time, the bride was Good Batch Mama’s very own creative director, Kayla, and the groom was the Mama’s oldest son, Noah. And on this particular sunny March Saturday, the excitement that began with their engagement was ready to reach its culmination.
Now, I know your first thought is that I was crazy to cater the wedding for my own son, but we never even considered otherwise. In fact, throughout their engagement (which lasted almost a year), there were many days our office was filled with the craziness that came from planning the perfect day. I mean, what could you expect, with a future mother, sister, and brother-in-law all onsite most of the time? Admittedly, some days Adam just had to ditch his meeting agenda, look the other way, and chalk it up to “wedding energy.” By the time we made it to the special day, the menus were set and had been tested and re-tested (and re-tested and re-tested and re-tested - you get the idea). The rehearsal dinner would be an Asian flare, one of the couple’s favorites, and the reception would include mac and cheese and Caesar salad for her and meat and potatoes for him, complete with those yummy sourdough rolls everyone loves!
By the time the sun was beaming through the windows of the venue on the day of the ceremony, every detail was set. The guests had RSVP’d, the song list was finalized, the favors were done, the bridal party gifts were bought, the flowers were arranged, and the venue was decorated. In just a few short hours, the special day would begin. But one huge question still lingered… how are we going to pull off catering and be in the wedding?!
We had spent hours planning and scheduling, but if pictures were to take place at the same time the food prep was being done and we wanted any hope to sit and soak in the beautiful moments, we were going to need help. Along came the rest of our Good Batch Mama team, and help us they did! When you surround yourself with people who love you, sometimes the answer is that simple. The GBM team members who were not directly involved in the festivities spent the weekend gifting our family a meal to remember. They spent hours cooking. They spent time loading and unloading the equipment. They stepped in to help craft the charcuterie boards to perfection. They organized and served the buffet line. They refilled the drinks. They cleaned everything up. And they did it all with a smile and a heartfelt hug, allowing me to laugh, dance, cry, celebrate, and completely immerse myself in an evening forever marked as one of my favorite days. Good Batch Mama may only be seven strong during the week, but we were an army that weekend.
Now, this may be a common feeling among mothers of the groom, but this Mama can honestly say that there isn’t a thing that I would have changed about this wonderful weekend. Even capturing it in words is difficult. The weather was perfect. The venue was gorgeous. The food was fabulous. But what stood out the most was the love and happiness that permeated the entire event. Families and friends were blended, and both sides enjoyed miniature family reunions as people came together to celebrate Noah and Kayla. Laughter rang out as stories were told and toasts were given. Music pierced the air, and the dance floor was filled with shuffling feet, both young and old. As the day turned into night and the stars lit the sky, Kayla and Noah were sent off by the smiles and cheers of two families now forever joined, with the smell of the lavender seeds tossed on them still hanging in the spring breeze.
When the event you’ve planned, waited for, and worked so hard to achieve is finally over, you’re often left wondering if it really went as well as you thought. Well, that night, after everyone was gone and the quiet had set in, my phone buzzed with a text from Kayla, sent to her mom and me (her new mother-in-law), that simply read, “Thank you for making this day magical.” It doesn’t get more perfect than that.
