Food Ran Out

I mean that does suck pretty bad--but short of apologizing to guests for the mishap, getting some of your money back, and writing honest reviews of the caterer....im not sure what else can be done.

You're doing all you can, and as you call explain that the caterer has also profusely apologized. Guests will still want you to enjoy and use their gifts!

Also, you can leave honest reviews. Leave emotion out of it, and be sure to mention the rectified situation, but it's a good idea to leave the review!

Catering nightmare, said the caterer.....

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they have newish servers who didn't know the portion size? Was it a buffet?

Really, I think making calls is a nice gesture, but how do you know who was affected? Did they call tables to the buffet and run out before the last ones?

I'd accept the refund, review with this specific complaint, just as you wrote it here. "The food was excellent and the service was top notch but we did run out of food so X number of guests did not get full meals. The caterer was very apologetic and offered us a refund immediately....."

You sound very balanced about this, and when dealing with your caterer and your friends, this always leads to the best results.

Good luck!

Yes, it was a buffet. The coordinators husband and parents (family) were at the 2nd to last table. No salad, potatoes, or mostaccioli. We had 3 meat options and one of those 3 meats was completely gone for the last table, and the other 2 meats were sparse. We will make our calls and write our reviews. Thanks for your thoughts!

Sounds like a lack of control/knowledge on the part of the servers who should know what constitutes a serving. Unless the guests served themselves, which is always a little dangerous.

(why was your family served last? Did I get that right? It's not an excuse by any means, but just an etiquette question....)

That's they I never understand why so many people praise wedding buffets as having a seemingly unlimited amount of food, including large portions, seconds, etc. - like a smorgasbord restaurant. I've never experienced that.

This just happened at my daughter's wedding. It also was a buffet. They ordered food for more than the number of invited guests, but ran out after only 2/3 of guests had eaten. They ordered additional food once the problem was evident, but it took a while to arrive, and it came in batches. And we still feel as though it wasn't enough. We feel terrible and apologized, of course, but it feels as though there is no way to make amends. We worked so hard to make a nice reception. We expected that not everything would go perfectly, but this was a REALLY big thing, probably the biggest thing that could go wrong. Right now it has tarnished our memories of an otherwise beautiful day. I am wondering if we will always feel this way? What has your experience been? Were you able to get past it, and feel good about your day?