There is very good information at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook site:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos161.htm

This includes educational background, salaries, outlook, etc.

You may also find this helpful:

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/catering6.htm

(an article on catering careers)

You may also want to contact one of the staff at the National Association of Catering Executives:

http://www.nace.net/html/staffpage.html

They may be able to give you some more good information, as well. The association has many local chapters, so there may be one near you.

Keep in mind that your library may also have books on this topic or other online sources that you can’t get to via regular web surfing!

–Bill Pardue

Arlington Heights Memorial Library http://www.ahml.info

Librarians–We eat questions for breakfast!

Find your local Library at http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html

Choosing whether or not to have alcohol at your wedding can be tricky. You, ultimately, have to make the decision that best represents you and your fiance and not what you think other people want. A cash bar will decrease the amount your guests will drink, but some people do consider it tacky. If you have an open bar, you can limit the amount you provide to your bar (if that’s how your reception location is structured) or tell the bartenders to stop serving once they’ve hit a certain number of drinks or value of drinks served. And when the alcohol is gone, it’s gone. Having alcohol just for the toast is also a perfectly acceptable option. Don’t let anyone talk you into anything you don’t want at your wedding!