Did he forget that I didn’t work for him? “Oh, I am,” I smiled sweetly at him. “It sounds to me like Kristen wants to provide their guests with selections that are easy to navigate when they’re holding an appetizer plate and a drink.”
“That’s right,” she nodded and glanced between us.
“But babe,” Carter whined. “We said we want to disrupt the wedding industrial complex.”
The camera pushed a little closer to the pair.
“Withsnails, though?” Kristen asked, frowning at him.
“It’s not just a question of what you’d be comfortable with but what your guests can handle. Do you have an aunt who’d be horrified if she got butter on her dress? A great uncle with arthritis who might struggle with the tongs?” I said, trying to make it sound more official than just ‘escargot is messy and weird.’
“Nothing’s off limits for my baby,” Carter declared.
He leaned in close to kiss her. When they pulled apart Kristen was wearing a tiny furrow that no one else seemed to notice but me.
“That’s really sweet,” I said. I forced myself to smile when I felt the camera swing to me. “But let’s not rush into any decisions. We have so many more dishes to consider so why don’t we table this one for a bit?”
“No, I think we should hash it out right now,” Drew said smoothly. “Each appetizer choice impacts the rest of the meal. We’re creating a unified experience from start to finish. For example, if they select a scallop appetizer then we obviously can’t consider our scallop entrée.”
“Of course, understood,” I said through gritted teeth. “But should they really decide that before eventastingthe scallop entrée? What if they decide they like that better than the appetizer? Or what if they find out the maid of honor is allergic to shellfish? We don’t have to make the call right this second.”
Drew moved closer to me. “The timeline for this event is quick, and our escargot is wild caught and hand harvested in France. We need lead time to make that happen.”
“Oh damn. That’s so baller,” Carter laughed. “I’mintoit!”
I glanced at Kristen and she was now fully frowning and not trying to hide it. I didn’t want to go head-to-head with the groom but Drew Icould handle. I resolutely pushed away thoughts of which parts of him I’dliketo handle and focused on the issue in front of us.
“It sounds like a complicated way to plan,” I said. I felt like I needed to be a human shield in front of Kristen, so I took a few steps closer to Drew. “And a little inflexible, I think.”
“No, it’s actually quite simple,” he relied in a tight voice. “We let ourguestsmake the decisions and we follow their wishes.”
“Well, I like to make sure that we have a consensus between our bride and groom and thateveryoneis happy. I think in this scenario the best way to do that is table the escargot for now and circle back.”
“I just explained to you that we can’t move on to the next part of the tasting without knowing exactly which appetizers we’ll be serving,” Drew said. “Were you not paying attention?”
Was this guy serious? The whole point of sampling the food ahead of time was to determine what they wanted to serve and that meant tasting everything on offer.
“Of course I’m paying attention. The only thing that matters to me is my clients’ happiness. As inbothof them,” I scowled at him. “In all of my years of wedding planning I’ve never encountered such an inflexible menu policy.”
He crossed his arms and stared down his nose at me. “Maybe that’s because you don’t often experience the type of luxury experience that Ashford Resorts has to offer.”
Did this man just imply that I was cheap? No way, buddy. Them’s fighting words.
“Ormaybe it’s a case of me opting to work with resorts who understand that wedding planners act on behalf of their couples, and who honor the planner’s well-honed opinions, which are based on years of experience. And you?Howmany weddings have you done?”
I held my hand up to my ear obnoxiously as I waited for him to answer me.
Drew’s jaw tightened. “I oversee every aspect of my resorts so I’m more than comfortable weighing in on this very important event.”
“But you’re not a wedding planner,” I shot back, refusing to yield an inch. I braced myself for the kill-shot. “Remind me, does the resort even have one on staff?”
Drew’s eyes flashed at me. A direct hit.
“We have an incredible and very experienced team of people working together to ensure that Kristen and Carter have a wedding day that exceeds their wildest dreams.”
“Um, guys? Can we take a quick break? I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed,” Kristen said.
Drew and I seemed to deflate at the exact same moment. What the hell were we doing? We’d totally shifted the focus from the couple to ourselves, and that wouldn’t do.
