Back in January when the Kiln Guy and the Chef were here they mentioned they would be catering a wedding on an island off the coast of Maine this summer and wanted to know if I, or anyone else I knew wanted to help out.
The gig would pay $250, I’d get lunch and dinner and get to attend a wedding I didn’t have to pay for.
At first I said no {mostly because I didn’t want to go alone}. But after thinking about it a bit more I asked The Duck Lady if she’d be interested in doing it with me and she said yes and so I said yes and that was that.
So on Saturday morning after a quick stop at Holy Donuts for breakfast, we met up with the rest of the catering crew {there were 22 of us total!} on the docks in downtown Portland and boarded a private water taxi to head out to the island.
They say getting there is half the fun. And when you’re in Maine, that couldn’t be more true.
Once we got on the island, unloaded the water taxi and then loaded up the truck and trailer, we were on our way to the wedding venue. I can’t even imagine the amount of details that go into planning a wedding on a small island with pretty much no services {just homes!}.
Everything… and I mean EVERYTHING has to be brought in via water taxis.
The staff, flowers, linens, table setting, tables, chairs, food and drinks, a dance floor, musicians, tents, a full outdoor kitchen set up, extra bathrooms, oh, and guests! 😉
Apparently there’s a new app out there that will turn regular arms into monkey arms.
There were over 200 guests at the wedding… so there was A LOT to do.
All set up and ready to go.
Iced tea with lemon, cucumber mint, lemonade and lemon water. I loved this! And I also loved the farmhouse country theme of the wedding.
Instead of a traditional cake, there were tons of cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, cookies and then a small cake for the bride and groom.
I snapped this photo in case anyone wanted to make their own cupcake stand.
When it came to food prep we were divided into 2 teams: team appetizers and team dinner.
Luckily I was on team appetizers and got to help make party platters and keep the serving trays filled while others went around serving people oysters on the half shell and lobster rolls.
Once we were done with the appetizers and had that area cleaned up, our team headed over to the main outdoor kitchen area and were instructed on how to serve the dinners the dinner crew were preparing.
Pro Tip: Anytime you need to get over 200 dinners plated and served in about 10-15 minutes… use an assembly line.
Watching them plate the dinners was pretty fun to watch. But eating our dinner after everyone was served was even better. 😉
And then there was the clean up. That whole process was a huge assembly line too.
After everyone finished, we had a little over an hour to remove all the plates {salad, then dinner} silverware, goblets, coffee cups and napkins from the tables and get them washed and stacked. PLUS we needed to totally clean up the kitchen/prep areas before loading everything back on the trucks to get down to the dock in time to catch the last water taxi back to the mainland.
It was crazy and fun and I am so glad I said yes to being part of the catering crew.
It was a long day, but I made $250 and we all received a $50 tip and the Duck Lady and I decided we’d both totally do it again if we were asked.
$300 for a day’s work on an island I’d never been to on a beautiful day, plus we were fed. Not too shabby if you ask me.
I love Maine. Have I told you that already? 😉
~Mavis
jess says
Thanks for sharing! I am sure if you got all detail-y it does not break down to a good hourly wage.. BUT that is not the point.. what a fun experience to have been a part of. The locations, the details, good food with friends! Those are priceless!
Lana says
I would have done it too! I love that kind of team effort and food prep and serving. The pay was a great bonus!
Mama Cook says
Oh that looks like fun!
A couple of years ago my daughters and I helped with serving at a backyard wedding. We made $150 each for 2 hours, but the gem was in the pictures!!! I gleaned so many fantastic ideas! Now I’m ready to host our own backyard wedding without reinventing the wheel! Sometimes the benefits come me from more than the pay!!!
suzanne says
The total cost of that wedding is mind boggling. It does sound like a fun day for everyone involved though.
Stacie says
Now that looks like a fun day!! What a great way to make some extra money and get to be part of a happy celebration!
Diana says
What an awesome day! I used to help out a balloon/party store when they did Atlanta parades. We’d be out there at the crack of dawn filling balloons for a release when the parade started. Lots of band aids later, I’d get some cash, a food ticket and tickets to Six Flags. Totally worth it.
Hope you let the caterer know you’d do it again. You’d get to see some pretty neat wedding venues, I bet…
Donna Knight says
Oh, what fun. I would totally do that.
Kim says
Do you get to spend the money on groceries? Hahaha
Great experience!
Jim D says
That seems like an incredibly awesome day, and thanks for sharing :)!
LindaT says
I really appreciate the details you give. I tell my HH, hardly a day goes by that I don’t learn something new and different, either from you or one of your readers. I’m living new things vicariously, and in a setting that I know and love -Maine. Thank you.
Lindsey says
I love it when odd ball like your wedding serving opportunities come my way! Even if the pay works out to less than an regular job per hour, the experience makes it more than worth it. And you seem like such a hard worker, they were lucky to have you. (I love shrimp! I could not have been trusted not to eat half of what I was supposed to be putting on the trays.)
Dianne says
What a great and fun experience! The seafood looked so yummy! I hope you find another venue to participate in. Seems to be something you really enjoyed!
Vicki in Birmingham says
This is a prime example of why I was in the Hospitality Industry for 20 years. Hard work, long hours but it was fun and immensely rewarding. I am happy you decided to experience it!
Molly says
I’ve always wondered what it is like on House Island! I love watching what is going on over there. Sounds like a fun exhausting day.
Christina says
I loved this post so much! It felt like we went along on the wedding adventure with you…What a gorgeous place to have a wedding. And the food looked scrumptious. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your day – and hey, 300 bucks is a great day’s wage!
Deb says
This was one of my favorite posts! Thanks for taking us along…