29 May How Nicole saved $400

Guest Post: Nicole Brown
Tallahassee, FL

Party Time

This year was our 5th annual Kentucky Derby party. My husband and I normally prepare all the food, but we decided to hire a caterer and bartender this year, as well as use the newest Party Planning Tool, Siitch, to invite everyone.

It was just so easy to use. I invited over 150 people and in the end we had close to 100 show including 35 kids. What I really liked is how the guests list their diet needs as they reply.

I appreciated knowing that I was going to have all the bases covered. We knew all the allergies to avoid, and that made me so much more relaxed knowing we weren’t going to have any issues.

I invited the caterer and bartender to the party which was so helpful. They could see the RSVPs and guests’ answers whenever they wanted. I asked three custom questions.

   1. Do you prefer red or white wine?
   2. If you are a beer drinker, tell us what’s your favorite?
   3. Anything else you want us to know that we haven’t already covered?

Cocktails & Juice Boxes

In the past, we always end up with multiples cases of beer we don’t drink. This year, my bartender could accurately guess the amount of beer and hard cider to buy, plus she knew how many kids to plan juice boxes and water bottles for.  

My bartender bought exactly the right amount of wine – 4 bottles of red and two large bottles of white. We had no red left over, and only a half a bottle of white. We spoke with her after the event. She said having the information saved us $200!

“I will never host another event without using Siitch!”

The Food

As far as catering goes, using Siitch, we found out that a lot of people didn’t eat pork. We were going to serve pork and beef meatballs, so instead the caterer knew to make more beef, and to separate out the pork from the beef meatballs. Since she had the information, she made sure there was something for everyone. We also found we needed less chicken based on the total number of guests that RSVP’d. 

All foods were tagged so those with allergies knew what was safe

We have a wide variety of friends with specific religious and ethical diet needs, like Muslim, Kosher, and Vegan. With Siitch, our caterer could check the RSVPs right through the day of the event, so she could appropriately plan our menu. Compared to previous years, we hardly had any leftovers, so there was very little food waste: just one dish of macaroni and a few meatballs!

Savings

We normally spend $900 – $1000 on food for our party. Because she knew exactly what to make, the total catering bill came to $725. Conservatively, between food and drinks we saved at least $400!

I emailed Siitch the items I knew we cut back on. I couldn’t believe it when I learned we helped save over 8,000 gallons of water, simply by not buying items we didn’t need!

I forgot I could text people the invitation, so I’ll do that next year. I emailed most people, and also put the link into a Facebook invitation. Almost all of my guests replied via Siitch and I will absolutely use it again for our next event.

It gave me a peace of mind that I’ve never experienced before when party planning. I will never host another event without using Siitch!

Nicole and her family

Many thanks to Nicole, busy mother of two and former teacher for her review. Thanks to Samantha Stowell Photography for the photographs.

Start planning your next event today at Siitch to save time, money, and reduce food waste. Every first event under 100 people is free, and 10% of all net profits are donated to the L.A. Regional Food Bank.