We're having sixty people for the September soirée, using the parlor and the garden, with a jazz trio. I mentioned to Margot Pemberton that I hadn't settled the bar arrangement. She came over Thursday with a presentation in her tote.
Her deck was called ‘Beverage Service: A Framework.’ It was laminated and tabbed. I had expected perhaps a caterer's name.
She recommends one fixed cocktail station rather than roaming trays. Her concern is that trays interrupt conversations and encourage people to follow the drinks away from whoever they're talking to. I have watched that happen, including in the middle of a perfectly good proposal story.
She has been testing arrangements on her patio on Mohawk. The diagrams had weighted arrows. ‘The line is the party,’ she said, and showed me where people would stand.
We agreed on the northeast corner of the garden, by the Japanese maple. Margot says the sight line is important. I think she also wants to see the maple, which is understandable.
The caterer has the plan. Margot left her copy on my hall table, where Jonathan read it all the way through. He asked if she was taking clients. I reminded him that this is her time off.
— Ash