Anyone who knows me knows how much I love pedestals. Our warehouse manager has even tried to convince me to stop buying them because we were running out of space to store them. Since curtailing my pedestal obsession wasn’t really an option, I bought more shelves for these leggy beauties.
Many people believe that pedestals are simply designed for serving cake. I firmly disagree and believe they quite literally elevate anything you put on them into a work of art. Pedestals also epitomize all that is good and pure about weddings: traditional & foundational while still being fun & amusing.
In March of this year, my happy pedestal collection was placed on a very sudden and abrupt pause. Weddings were no longer permitted because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and our entire events industry came to a crashing halt, almost overnight.
I will spare you the gory details of how we were forced to shut down our operations with food already ordered, prepped and ready to go to parties. Much less having to lay off our team who are like family, commiserate with over a hundred devastated and befuddled wedding couples, search for ways to pay for expenses with zero revenue, all while managing the soul-crushing stress & exhaustion caused by this virus.
The next six months would be an excruciating wave of cancellations and postponements that turned on like a faucet every time Jay Inslee delivered more bad news. I would never have imagined how obsessed I would become over our governor’s press conference schedule.
Which brings us to the official “First Week of Autumn”. I’ve always loved the first of ANYthing because it feels fresh and exciting. Unfortunately “fresh & exciting” isn’t how most of us are feeling after living this Covid Groundhog Day for over six months. The First Week of Autumn would also normally be the perfect excuse for me to pop the Prosecco with our team to celebrate an amazing wedding season of happy & appreciative wedding couples. Unfortunately, even for someone who prides herself on finding the silver lining in almost any situation, I found myself coming up short.
But as I watch the leaves turn and the chill of fall set in, I realize that there’s at least one thing this pandemic has given me: time for lots of long walks with my dog, Skipper, where we could ponder what is truly important.
After countless miles, what became 100% clear was that I love every single weird little thing about this catering company and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Plus, as my husband lovingly (and mostly jokingly) tells me, I’m completely unemployable after owning the Radish for over 27 years. But mostly, I really do love everything about catering.
- I love hearing from a stranger that they were at one of our parties and are still haunted by our short ribs many years later.
- I love when our rental company delivers a daunting mountain of rental equipment and our team transforms it into a picture-perfect party in a matter of a couple hours.
- I love strolling through the dining room watching people’s reactions to our food while they become official members of “The Clean Plate Club.”
- I love how Washington was one of the first states to legalize gay marriage so we get to be a part of two brides or two grooms getting married while their friends and families cheer them on.
- I love getting to be the one who sneaks away with two flutes of champagne and full plate of hors d’oeuvre to find the couple while they have their first moments together after the ceremony.
- I love when our staff thinks on their feet…like the time we stashed a nervous and over-heated bride in the walk-in cooler just prior to the ceremony so she could catch her breath.
- I also really, really love wedding cake frosting more than I should.
So this is what the First Week of Autumn is really all about to me…an opportunity to remember what we love, reflect on what we’ve all been through this year, reset and decide where we want to go.
This also makes me feel such gratitude for Lionel, Jack and my friends, family & industry comrades. They all deserve very large awards for listening to me cry, whine, mope, freak out, yell and giving me the green light to evaporate under the sheets to solve another case with my friends on Criminal Minds when I’ve needed to escape for a little while.
I hope you all stay safe & healthy during these incredibly difficult times. We also hope you’ll stay tuned as the we navigate through this next season of change together. And I’ll be sure to post photos of any new pedestal treasures that cross my path.
Happy First Week of Autumn, everyone!
Lisbet
