Whine-free wine-pairing dinner

Please note: Wine in wine coasters on the buffet with place card holders displaying the course which has been matched with the wine.

Now, the person serving the wine can serve without confusion and the guests will be able to review and note the wines they enjoyed with specific courses.

Sticking my qualified neck on the line here and daring to point this out (ah-hem): If one were to offer the food and wine from two buffets as a self-service sort of affair of small plates and tasting size (2 ounce) servings, this presentation would also be useful.

Just one more reason to miss Southern Accents magazine.

Just because one is a diva

... does not make one incorrect, and it still does mean you are only human after all.

Jennifer Lopez "threw a fit"when guests were late to her 40th birthday bash:
An Evening With Lola was supposed to be perfect — Lola is Marc Anthony's nickname for Lopez, and she entered the party to the song "Whatever Lola Wants." But there were empty seats when the dinner started and Jennifer was fuming.
-Gatecrasher

While Jennifer Lopez may have a reputation for being an impossible and demanding diva, she is also a generous and capable hostess whose parties have been thought highly of in many powerful circles for years. It seems a shame that anyone, of any stature, would be late; especially for a birthday celebration.

Recently, I was disgusted to find no fewer than twenty four empty seats at a wedding reception and more guests leaving as soon as dinner was served. If thirty of the one hundred twenty or so original guests remained for the liqueurs, I would be surprised.

As a rule of thumb, if you accept an invitation unless one is gravely ill three days beforehand, you should attend. Three days before the party is generally when the head count is due. When one is a no-show, the couple must pay for the those heads which is certainly no sort of gift to give people just starting out together. Secondly, a note of apology along with a gift should be sent immediately.

If you are late for a seated event (which should only happen if you are delivering a child by the side of 95 or advising the President on a matter of national security) upon entering the room go directly to the hostess and apologize quickly and quietly. She will point you towards your seat. If you are late and you are a woman, you should approach the host in the same manner. In either case, take care not to interrupt the evening in progress and refrain from regaling the table with the pressing matter that caused your lateness. Wade into the conversation already underway.

Do not accept two dinner invitations on the same evening, it is deplorable and smacks of hedging one's invitations. It is for the uncouth and unpolished. Now, a brunch or an afternoon open house and a dinner or dessert and champagne party on the same day is a perfectly wonderful plan, and in my estimation, great reason to find myself exhausted on a Sunday morning.

On the opposite side of the coin, it may be very difficult (especially in the case of an emotional event such as a wedding) to keep feelings at bay. But a hostess will not be well served by doing anything but enjoying the lovely company she does have and focusing on the happiness and well-wishes around her. Take a few deep breaths and release your frustration silently into the air. Concentrate on joy.

Finally, do not forget that you have a little time left to enter the reader giveaway for Taste, Acquiring What Money Can't Buy, by Letita Baldridge, here. And the ChillinJoy giveaway here.