Weddingbee boards

Wow - OK, so backstory..

My couple I was supposed to shoot yesterday broke their engagement about 2 months ago. Because of that, I was free to attend the wedding of two close friends of ours, and I was crazy excited. It's been over 3 years since I have been to a wedding just as a guest. I was really... REALLY looking forward to this. No camera (OK, I couldn't help myself, I brought one camera with one lens ;-), I could go to the bar, I could dance with my fiance and friends, I could do all kinds of fun guest things!

Ceremony, GORGEOUS. It was perfect. It was so them.  It was at 2pm, so I didn't really get a chance to eat at all that morning, and I figured it was an early reception so not too bad.

Cocktail hour - beer/wine/soft drinks. Awesome. Good selection of wine, so I got my glass of Cabernet and lamented that there was only ONE tray going around to about 150-175 guests with tiny little apps on it. I did have one pinwheel. I finished my glass of wine, we enjoyed talking to friends, etc.  Time for reception. EVERYONE was hungry and talking about how hungry they were, but we figured dinner was right around the corner.

I fight the bar for my dinner drink. I get a 2nd glass of Cabernet.

IT TOOK FOREVER for the buffet. In all my years every weekend at a wedding, I've never seen it take so long. Then, the DJ SKIPPED our table and we were last in line. It didn't matter, 2 tables before us they RAN OUT OF FOOD!  At this point, I haven't eaten all day, I've had two glasses of wine, the 2nd waiting a good hour for our turn at the buffet, and I had a whopping two rolls, and 1.5 cherry tomatoes. 

THAT WAS IT!

There were no apologies from the event staff. They stood there looking like, so what. One told a guest "some others who had already eaten had cut in line before you, so we ran out."

Excuse me? That's no excuse for people not eating! About 1.5 of the three tables got to eat some corn and mashed potatoes. The other table and a half (including mine) got rolls. And even those ran out! (ps, no butter, just a dry dinner roll).

I am borderline hypoglycemic. I didn't think much of drinking the wine because dinner was coming. Everyone around us had these great plates of food and everyone was saying it was really really good.

At this point, I am PISSED. I'm a bit tipsy, starving, and can't physically have a good time. It's getting to that time of the month so now I'm also fighting tears. I am sitting at my table, feeling queasy and light headed, watching all my friends dancing and having a good time. The one thing I was so looking forward too! People would come over like, come on and dance! It's like, how do you say, I can't... I didn't eat!? 

I know they got a great deal on the food, we were going to evaluate them for our own wedding... Easy decision there. But now, I'm terrified of the conversation with our friends. I had a really lousy time at their reception. FI and I only got to dance to ONE song together, and it was while we were waiting for our table to be called to "eat"! We were the one awkward couple dancing while no one else was ;-) but we wanted the practice for our own wedding, lol. Because..... we're the next to be married!

I'm dreading this conversation after their honeymoon. I have it in my mind to write a very nasty letter to the caterer, stating that they not only lost our business, but I will be spreading their name among all my wedding contacts and planner colleagues at the disservice done to their clients. Also pretty much demanding they refund the price of 3 tables, 24 people to the B&G. But, I don't know if our friends know of what happened. No one wanted them too, the point is going to support them, and we wanted them to have the most awesome day.  I even heard a waiter get mad at the FOB for trying to take a strawberry off the platter she was carrying. He was like "I'm the father of the bride, and I paid for that strawberry" and she rolled her eyes at him! I was 5 people from the cake table (we were getting some cake, gosh darn it) and I NEVER saw that tray of strawberries again.

Do I tell the truth? "Well, we won't be going with them.... why? Well, because... we still don't know what the food tastes like. there were a few tables, including ours that got no food... at all, and I got sick and almost passed out."

Oh ya, and btw, the bar packed up with over an hour to go and with 30 min. to go there was NO WATER AVAILABLE!!!!!

I didn't think stories like this was possible! But help, what should I tell my friends?

ps, after the wedding, Everyone was talking about the "after party" and my FI and I had to decline to go find food. I'm so happy my friends had a great wedding day, but I feel awful because I honestly want to forget it and had a really horrible time at the reception. I'm so dreading seeing them now!