You are hosting something
A dinner for ten and a wedding for a hundred run on the same four things: a headcount you trust, a budget, a timeline, and somebody who knows what happens when.
Read in the order the work arrives, not the order the manuals sit on the shelf. Each step below names the one chapter to open first, so you are not starting at the top of a manual at two in the morning.
Catering or planning events for a living. These are written for the person hosting, not for the person hired.
The route
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As soon as there is a date
Event Planning
Purpose, guests, date and budget on one page. Everything downstream gets priced from this, so it is worth an hour.
Open atHow to Write an Event Brief: Purpose, Guests, Date, Budget
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Six weeks out
Wedding Florals
Stem counts and recipes before you order anything. Flowers are the line item people most often end up buying twice.
Open atHow Many Wedding Flowers to Order: Recipes, Counts, Sourcing
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The week before
Event Planning
Quantities for a crowd, buffet logistics, and the food safety rules that start to matter the moment food sits out.
Open atFeeding a Crowd: Party Food Amounts, Buffets and Food Safety
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The day itself
Event Planning
Who does what, when, and who to ask when it slips. A run sheet is what lets the host attend their own party.
Open atEvent Run Sheet: Day-of Timeline, Teardown and Debrief
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And if you have to speak
Everyday Speaking
Length, order and content for a toast. Two minutes, written down, rehearsed out loud, and sat down from.
Open atHow to Give a Toast: Length, Order, Content and Etiquette
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If you are baking it too
Baking Fundamentals Coming soon
The cake, and how far ahead of the day it can safely be made.
Open atWe will name the chapter here when the manual is published.
Everything here is free, needs no account, and can be opened at any chapter. The other routes · all the manuals.