The Wedding Planners

 It’s the end of the school year. As students and professors anticipate the warm freedom of summer, restaurants around the valley prepare themselves for a change of season as well.
 For the restaurants though, it isn’t summer they anticipate – it is wedding season.

 “Summer is huge,” said Jamie Humphreys, an event coordinator for the Riverwoods Conference Center.  “In June we are catering 20 plus weddings – almost a wedding every day. On June 23 I have three weddings.”

  Summer isn’t the only time local restaurants will scramble to cater weddings. According to Dustin McKay, head chef of Elements restaurant, the number of weddings surge whenever students leave school.

 “Right after school gets out, the first two or three weeks are the wedding season,” McKay said. “We typically get a peak in December after finals week when everyone is out of school. When spring break hits it will get busy too because they have a week off and can have their honeymoons.”

 In a college town, catering weddings is big business. Engagement ring jewelers, tuxedo shops and dress stores line Main Street in Logan. Many of the well-known restaurants in Cache Valley offer wedding catering services.

 Gia’s, Le Nonne, the Coppermill, Elements, Beehive Grill, the Bluebird and even chains like Café Rio all have business in catering weddings. For the Bluebird however, the weddings don’t fluctuate with the seasons.

 “We have about three or four a week,” said Bluebird manager Gui Xu. “It generally stays the same year round.”

 The competition is stiff, however. A few buildings down is the Coppermill, which is owned and operated by the same people as Elements. Down the street are Gia’s and the Beehive Grill, which also have wedding catering services.

 “It’s hard,” Xu said. “There are a few restaurants out there trying to do the same business as us.”

 Catering weddings is no easy business either. According to McKay, what makes a good wedding can change with time—and the bride.

 Chocolate fountains used to be a must at weddings. Now, cupcake trays and cheesecake buffets are the fashion. For some, crepes are the ideal dessert rather than a cake.

 Some brides prefer crepes as the dessert over a traditional cake.

 One couple hired McKay to cook carnival-themed wedding with funnel cakes and corn dogs as the main fare.

 “There are always trends that evolve that we try to meet,” McKay said. “We try and do all that we can to satisfy the needs of the clients.”

 For Humphreys, planning a wedding can be a strenuous and stressful affair.

  “There’s constant contact with the couple and their family,” Humphreys said.  “Then there’s what room they would like to be in, the setup of the room and the décor. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into it.”

 Humphreys also noted that despite the long hours of planning, cooking and consulting that go into catering a wedding, there is a silver lining to the job as well.

 “I enjoy making these families happy,” Humphreys said. “That is what I love the most: making their dream happen.”