Speaking as one of the hosts, I would like to say I enjoyed myself far more than I expected. All of my guests seemed thrilled to be there and they made my job quite pleasant. I hope that they enjoyed themselves as well. (I was the host in formal Gothic attire: long flowing black coat, white gloves, and a neck ruffle.)
The starting delay was unfortunate, but there wasn't anything we could do about it. Logistically, yes, we needed more time between time slots to clean up from the previous one and prepare for the next, but this is what experience teaches us. Someone suggested to me, and I agree, that a separate line for departing guests to pay would have been more expedient, but I'm not sure how feasible that would have been for our venue.
About the lines: the person in question wasn't yelling at anyone for the sake of yelling, but if many people in the hallway are talking at once, then someone trying to get everyone's attention MUST raise her voice to be heard. I know that sometimes one comes across volunteers who are drunk with power and are eager to overuse it, but I assure you that this woman isn't one of them. I'm sorry if anyone feels she was unpleasant. Working lines is a necessary but very stressful and thankless job (I know this from experience) that nobody wants to do.
I also agree that it would have been nice to have had proper tableware, but we stressed that our guests could take any leftovers with them. This wouldn't have been practical with real china and flatware. I have to admit that reading the comments about cake portions amused me, though. If your piece of cake was too big...don't eat it all.
And really, if they were too small, people would have complained about that.
Uomaru, the large tables were attended by multiple hosts who shared a common theme, for the purpose of accommodating people who signed up in larger groups. Smaller groups and single guests were assigned to smaller tables, so it probably depended on how busy a given timeslot was, and whether someone decided not to attend (I had one no-show). Four was generally the maximum for the smaller tables.
Finally, I'd like to add my voice in commending the kitchen staff, organisers and entertainment. They all worked at least as hard as, if not harder than, the hosts. I really think that despite the setbacks, the event was a big success.
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